​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 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?

​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:

​If you’ve been reading this blog since 2019 (hats off to you, OG Reader!), you might remember “Hardgainer, Now What?”, an article I published in January 2019.
 
Over two years later, I decided it was high time to revamp the original post, tackling the topic from a new perspective:
 
What are some key aspects of training and nutrition, which hardgainers typically struggle with, and which could have a dramatic impact on your physique?
 
First of all, a hardgainer is someone who thinks they struggle to build muscle or to put on any weight at all. They usually look like the typical “skinny kid” and believe they have “bad genetics” for muscle growth.
 
I view myself as a hardgainer and, at some point in my bodybuilding journey – and sometimes to this day – I’ve had all three of the issues I’m going to cover in this article.
 
What’s more, over these past years working as a coach, I noticed that many clients who wanted help building muscle, were facing similar hardships.
 
So I’m going to share:

• Three hardgainers’ common problems
• How to solve them

 
Ready for the brain gains?

​What if you’re doing everything you can to build muscle, but you’re still not getting the results you expect?
 
You don’t need a better pre-workout drink. You don’t need to hop on a new program from the latest fitness magazine. You don’t need to sprinkle more protein powder over your problem.
 
What you need is this article. (I talk big, I know.)
 
Are you ready to take the start of 2021 as a new beginning to upgrade your physique?
 
Then read on to learn three simple steps that can make your training three times more productive.