​Bulking is the process of building new muscle mass through a combination of training and nutrition. It’s empowering and rewarding, but it can be daunting if you’ve never done it before.
 
In order to arm you with the knowledge you need to approach a bulking, or muscle-building, phase successfully, this article is going to address the following questions:

• What does “bulking” mean?
• Who is it for?
• What are the priorities in a bulking phase?
• How do you structure training?
• How do you structure your diet?

 
To make the most of a bulking phase, I recommend you start with this article and run a Kickstart Phase.
 
When you’re done, come back to this bulking guide and keep reading.
 
It’s time to put some muscle on.

​If you’re relatively new to the pursuit of a leaner and stronger physique, you may be asking yourself: “Should I cut or bulk?”
 
Indeed, it’s a question I get a lot during clients’ initial consultations.
 
To start, let’s get our terms straight. A “cut” is a fat loss phase, focused on body fat reduction. A “bulk” is a muscle-building phase, focused on an increase in muscle mass.
 
So, which one should you do first?
 
My answer to these newbie clients is: Neither.
 
If you’ve never done a properly structured bulk or cut, you may not have the skills to get the most from either just yet. Imagine if your primary school teacher asked you to write a novel before you learnt the alphabet. Would you have been able to do it?
 
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
 
All aspects of training and nutrition require knowledge and skill, so you need practice. 
 
That’s why, before you cut or bulk, you need the Kickstart Phase, an initial stage that I guide all of my newbie clients through in order to boost their future results.
 
In this article, I’ll take you through the answers to these questions:
 

• Who needs a Kickstart Phase?
• Why does it help?
• What results can you expect?
• How long does it last?
• How do you set it up?

 
Let’s kick things off with:

​If you want to build as much muscle as you can, doing a list of random exercises for 3 sets of 12 reps each just won’t cut it, unless you’re a true beginner. What you need is an effective muscle-building program.
 
The components of any good program are called training variables, which can be structured together in a variety of ways, depending on your fitness level, goals, and needs. In this article, we’ll focus on three of the most important variables for muscle growth:
 

• Volume
• Intensity of load
• Intensity of effort

 
We’ll cover what they are, what the current scientific literature can tell us about them in relation to muscle growth, and how to implement them in your own program.
 
Ready for the brain gains?

Useful Links: Part 1 | Part 2
​

In the third and final instalment of this multi-part series on bodyweight data and dieting, I’m going to tackle the following topic: How do you make adjustments to a muscle gain phase based on your bodyweight?

Before we dive into this subject, I want to point out that the most important component in a muscle gain phase is your training, not your diet.
 
Your diet can only help you gain muscle if you’re giving your body the necessary stimulus to grow muscle, a stimulus that only training can offer.
 
If you eat in a caloric surplus, but you don’t train, you can eat all the protein you want… but the only mass you’ll be putting on, sadly, will be fat.
 
So, before you read the rest of this article, make sure you have a solid training program, and that you’re consistent with it.

​Training and dieting plateaus are normal to an extent, but they can cripple your results if they are too frequent.
 
Being able to assess your training in an objective manner and to identify why you’ve plateaued, is going to be essential to chart a path out of your current funk and to create a preventative strategy for the future.
 
This article breaks down the following common reasons for a plateau and the troubleshooting approach to each one:

1. The structure of your current program
2. Too much variety
3. Not enough variety

 
Start with the reason that seems most likely, apply the suggestions for that alone, then wait at least four to six weeks before re-evaluating whether you’re still “stuck”.

Why not try all of these solutions at once?
 
Though it might seem slower to produce results, this trial-and-error approach is the most effective in the long run. Altering too many variables at once will make it challenging, if not impossible, to figure out which change was the most helpful.
 
Now, let’s tackle the first reason: