A Complete Beginner's Guide to BULKING | Everything you NEED to know!

So you want to bulk up... trust me I get it. As a skinny kid once before, I struggled to find information on how to gain weight and build muscle as a new lifter. But after years of experience and learning from my mistakes, I've finally figured out what works and what doesn't. So to make things easier for you, I've put together a complete guide to answer all the questions you may have about bulking: "What is bulking? Is bulking effective? Why should you do it? What should I eat? How do I start?" the list goes on... Whether you're a complete beginner in the gym or a seasoned pro, this video will provide necessary information to all.

00:00 Intro

00:28 What is Bulking?
Bulking is simply eating in a calorie surplus (more calories than you burn per day) with the intent of gaining weight in order to speed up muscle growth.

01:47 Lean Bulk vs Dirty Bulk
A lean bulk utilizes a small calorie surplus with a larger focus on nutrient dense foods. Even though you will gain weight slower, the distribution of muscle to fat you will gain is higher. A dirty bulk utilizes a large calorie surplus by eating any types of food. This method allows you to gain weight quicker, but also increases the amount of fat you gain.

02:58 Nutrient Partitioning
This is how your body utilizes energy. Lower calorie surplus diets (in addition to proper training) will use more of those excess calories to build muscle, while higher calorie surplus diets will store more as fat.

03:33 Which should you do?
I recommend lean bulking for most people, unless you are really underweight and have no experience in the gym.

04:15 How to Build Muscle
Building muscle is a signal dependent process which means if you provide your body with the right signals, you will build muscle. These signals include your training, recovery, and fuel.

05:56 Why should you Bulk?
Bulking makes it easier to adequately achieve all 3 of these signals without putting your body at risk. By eating more, you have more energy for your training, more fuel for your body, and better chances of recovering efficiently.

07:10 When should you Start?
If you're under 12-15% body fat, bulk no question. If you're still not sure, answer these 3 questions: Are you very overweight? Do you have muscle that can be revealed? Have you lifted for more than 1 year? If you answer no to all 3, then bulk. If you answer yes to 1 or 2, then assess yourself and get a second opinion. If you answer yes to all 3, then do not bulk.

08:04 When should you Stop?
You should stop bulking at around 20-23% body fat. This is when bulking becomes less productive as your insulin sensitivity decreases, your nutrient partitioning worsens, and your calories get too high.

09:21 How Long should you Bulk?
I recommend bulking for around 6-12 months. Anything less than 6 months doesn't really give you enough time to build as much mass as possible, but anything more than 12-18 starts to become less productive.

09:48 How to Start
I recommend eating at your caloric maintenance for 1 week, tracking your weight, and seeing what happens. If you maintain your weight, add on 250-500 cals and start your bulk. If you gain weight, eat that amount of cals and start your bulk. If you lose weight, add on 750-1000 cals and start your bulk.

11:51 Basics of Nutrition
The 6 essential nutrients include protein, carbs, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. A well balanced bulking diet should include adequate amounts of each.

12:41 Diet
Most people recommend a diet of around 20-30% of your total cals from protein, 20-30% from fat, and 40-60% from carbs.

13:50 Protein
These are the main building blocks of muscle. I recommend eating around 1g per lb you weigh, split up and spread out through multiple meals throughout the day.

16:01 Carbs
These are your body's main energy source. They should be eaten preworkout to fuel your training, and postworkout to replenish glycogen stores.

17:26 Fats
These promote cell growth, lower risk of diseases, and keep your body functioning. They contain 9 kcal per gram which makes them very calorie dense. Stick to unsaturated fats for the most part.

18:19 Recap

18:48 Outro

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About Me: I'm a college student with a passion for fitness hoping to make it my career. I started training in 2019 and have devoted a big portion of my life to it ever since. Now, with the help of this amazing community I've been blessed to be a part of, I will try my best to give back the information I've learned for those hoping to embark on a journey of their own.

Make sure to leave a like if you enjoyed, comment what you want to see next, and subscribe for more! #Gym #Bulking #Bulk

[MaxEuceda]

Hopefully the audio is okay :/ I recorded this on my phone... I need to invest in a better set up 😅
But hopefully this answers any questions you have about bulking! Let's get these GAINS 😤

I'm currently giving away $150 worth of Myprotein products on my Instagram!

[wow]

Direct, straight up, and packed with info. No hype or BS. Exactly why I subscribed.

[faint]

Just letting ya know that even though this video is 2 years old, it’s still helping random humans like myself who stumbled on your contents 🤝🏼

[aaronlents]

As someone who got their BS in exercise science and physiology, this is some top tier information! I’ve been maintaining for awhile now because i’m not sure I can mentally handle the idea of gaining so much fat, but this bulk guide is really great for anyone looking too. Keep up the amazing work!

[blake]

Can’t wait for the cut vid! No joke, ive been on a bulk for over a month now and I’d love to know what I can do to effectively cut and reveal the muscle once I’m through with bulking. Thanks for the info, great content brother!

[ernestomendez]

Man this is one of the most informative videos I’ve seen in the fitness community, you made in 1 video what other do in 20. Keep uploading this kind of content, it’s great!

[mahhaddd]

Honestly, this is by far the most precise and informative video I've ever seen. It really helped me understand the whole concept.

It must have taken a hell lotta research and work to compile all of this into a single video. Hats off MAX !!

[vancaelan]

At the beginning of 2022 I have been following a workout routine completely based on your videos. Thanks man for the very informative videos man and keep on going 💪🏻

[Gokanaru]

Eyy I'm bulking rn, super convenient info for me brother :]

[saul-wvfk]

Dude, just started going at the gym one month ago, and i think i found GOLD. So informative and valuable video!

[omarelsherif]

Dude thank you so much..You basically summarized everything a beginner and a seasoned lifter wants to know about bulking

[bao]

This man is such a blessing in this community

[jkleins]

my ADHD brain thrives on how organized and concise your videos are 😂 keep up the great content bro 💪🏻

[davidgrech]

Thank you so much for your awesome advice and I hope you know how much I appreciate you. I was just crossing the street from my job in the crosswalk and I was hit by a distracted driver and I was just given a five percent chance of surviving and I’m just glad to be alive and well and back in the gym. So please keep your videos coming and have a great week ahead 🙏💪

[senpai-kldc]

THIS VIDEO IS SO DAMN GOOD, I WANTED TO START BULKING AND THIS HELPED ME START . I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE CUT VIDEO, MAX IVE BEEN WATCHING YOU FOR YEARS AND YOU ARE THE MAIN REASON IM GROWING

[calebpacifici]

Literally the most informative no bs video on YT on this subject answering all the necessary questions. Definitely would like to see more of these videos in the future! Keep grindin man!

[peterblake]

Was waiting for this video for over a month, looks very great, thanx max again for this wonderful video...

[the__archangel]

I love your advice on everything Max. I really hope every new lifter gets through all your info and technique videos. You've been of much help and i love your physique man, keep it up.

[leowilson]

Man, you are the best. Thank you very much for making this video. This is the most informative video I've seen on bulking. It's very well structured and explains everything so well. Thank you.

[griggboat]

Debatably the best video of seen on bodybuilding, explains well, how, , when, why, and what. And man has real results