What Is Bulking? Mandatory Sports Children Know!

YOGYAKARTA - If you ask what is bulking? That is a term commonly used by bodybuilders.

This generally refers to a progressive increase in the amount of calories consumed outside of your body's needs in combination with intense load training.

While some people claim that bulking is unhealthy, others insist that it is a safe and effective method to gain muscle mass.

This article describes everything you need to know about bulking, including what it is, how to do it safely, and what foods you should eat and avoid.

Exercise is a recreational and competitive sport that respects muscle size and definition.

The three main phases in bodybuilding are bulking, cutting, and maintenance. Among competitive bodybuilders, preparations for their contest can be considered a fourth phase.

Bulking is a muscle formation phase. You are meant to intentionally consume more calories than your body needs for a certain period of time - often 4-6 months. This extra calori gives your body the fuel needed to increase muscle size and strength during load training.

For various levels, body fat tends to accumulate during bulking due to excessive calorie intake.

The cuts, or the fat loss phase, refer to a gradual drop in calorie intake and an increase in aerobic exercise to reduce excess body fat from the bulking phase, allowing for increased muscle definition.

During the cutting phase, bodybuilders eat less calories than their bodies need, which puts them in an unfavorable position to build muscles. The goal of this phase is generally to maintain not increase muscle mass.

One review found that the average calorie intake of bodybuilders during the bulking phase was 3,800 calories per day for men and 3,200 for women, compared to 2,400 and 1,200 calories during the cutting phase, respectively.

Determining your calorie and macronutrient intake

Bulking needs more calories than your body needs.

You can estimate your daily calorie needs by using a calorie counter, which takes into account your daily body weight, gender, age, height, and level of physical activity to estimate your daily calorie needs.

Experts recommend consuming 10-20% above your daily weight-preserving calories during the bulking phase for an average weight gain of 0.25-0.5% of your weight per week.

For example, if you need 3,000 calories daily to maintain your weight, you should consume 3,3003,600 instead, depending on your level of experience. For someone who weighs 150 pounds (68 kg), this is equivalent to an increase of 0.4-0.8 pounds (0.2-0.4 kg) per week.

While novice bodybuilders who have 6 months or lack of load training experience should target a higher end to this calorie range, bodybuilders with a few years of experience should target the lower end to limit body fat increases.

If you get less or less than 0.25-0.5% of your weight per week, you should adjust your calorie intake.

Macronutrient

Once you set the amount of calories you need to bulk, you can define your macronutrient ratio.

Macronutrients - carbohydrates, fats, and protein - are the nutrients needed in greater quantities in your diet. Carbohydrates and proteins each contain 4 calories per gram, while fat packs 9.

Experts recommend that you get:

4560% of your calories are carbohydrates

3035% of your calories come from protein

1530% of your calories come from fat

For example, if you decide to eat 3,300 calories per day, your diet will contain:

371495 grams of carbohydrates

248289 grams of protein

55110 grams of fat

While you can make adjustments based on your diet needs, the proportion of calories from the protein must remain at 3035% to support optimal muscle growth.

You can use the calorie tracking app to help you stay in your calorie budget and macronutrient range.

Is bulking safe?

Many people view bulking as unhealthy because it can increase fat mass, especially when your calorie excess is too high.

During bulking, some bodybuilders also tend to eat calorie-intensive and nutritional-poor foods that are usually not consumed during the cutting phase, including candy, desserts, and fried foods.

This food, especially when eaten as part of a high-calorie diet, can increase inflammation markers, increase insulin resistance, and increase fat levels in your blood.

However, it is not about extreme overeating or giving freedom for every desire.

This can be done in a healthy way if you maintain the right calorie surplus and focus on eating nutrient-intensive foods. These foods contain a high amount of nutrients for their calorie count.

Remember that bulking is also meant to be followed by cutting phases to lower your fat levels.

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