If you're aiming to take your fitness goals to the next level and build muscle, a well-structured bulk up diet plan is essential. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about eating for muscle growth, drawing from bodybuilding traditions, athletic practices, and the latest scientific research.
What is Bulking?
Bulking is the phase where you consume more calories than your body burns, leading to weight gain, primarily in the form of muscle mass. It's a strategic approach to fuel intense workouts and support muscle repair and growth. However, bulking isn't about eating more and getting bigger; instead, it is about eating smart.
The Importance of a Calorie Surplus
The most important part of any bulking diet is the calorie surplus. Not everyone needs to get into a surplus to build muscle, but most skinny people, lean people, and intermediate lifters do. A calorie surplus provides the extra energy your body needs to synthesize new muscle tissue. As a rule of thumb, gaining around a pound per week should allow you to build muscle fairly fast while keeping your gains quite lean. Skinny beginners are often able to build muscle faster, and you might be able to gain 1-2 pounds per week without gaining much fat.
How to Achieve a Calorie Surplus
- Add Calories to a Steady Diet: Add 250-500 calories on top of what you’re currently eating to maintain a stable body weight. This could be as simple as having a smoothie between breakfast and lunch.
- Follow a Meal Plan: Estimate how many calories you need using a bulking calorie calculator, then follow a meal plan with classic bulking recipes.
- Track Your Calories: Use a calorie-tracking app to monitor your intake and make adjustments as needed.
Adjusting Calories Based on Weight Gain
Adjust your calories based on how much weight you gain each week. If you’re not gaining weight, add 200 calories. If you’re gaining weight too fast, remove 100 calories.
Macronutrients: The Building Blocks of Muscle
Food contains nutrients. The nutrients that contain energy are called macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat, and fibre) and the ones that don’t are called micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, probiotics, phytonutrients, etc). Macronutrients are the three general types of nutrients that provide energy to a person: protein, carbohydrates, and fats.
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Protein: The Muscle Builder
Protein is undoubtedly the main factor behind muscle building. Protein provides essential amino acids to your body, which helps repair and grow muscle tissues after a heavy workout. Aim for roughly 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. The latest research shows that eating as little as 0.7 grams/pound/day is enough to maximize your rate of muscle growth.
Lean protein sources to add to your diet plan for muscle gain include:
- Chicken
- Eggs
- Fish
- Tofu
- Whey protein
Carbohydrates: The Energy Source
Carbohydrates work as the primary energy source for your body. It fuels your intense gym sessions by replenishing glycogen stores in your muscles. Elite athletes usually get 50-60% of their calories from carbs. The National Strength & Conditioning Association recommends getting 45-65% of our calories from carbohydrates.
Include the following carbohydrate sources in your diet:
- Whole grains, such as oatmeal, quinoa, rice, cereals, and popcorn
- Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, corn, and peas
- Fruits, such as oranges, apples, and bananas
Fats: The Hormone Regulator
Do not make the mistake of completely removing fats from your diet. Fats are important for your body’s hormone production such as testosterone. You want at least 0.3 grams of fat per pound of body weight per day, but almost everyone already eats enough, and bulking doesn’t require any extra.
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Make sure you add healthy fats to your diet such as:
- Avocados
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Olive oil
Micronutrients: Vitamins and Minerals
Micronutrients consist of vitamins and minerals in your diet. While many don’t consider these micros as important as macros in meal prep for muscle gain, they are equally vital. Macros assist in your muscle repair and energy production.
Meal Timing and Frequency
Ideally, it is recommended to have your meals every 3-4 hours. This ensures a regular supply of nutrients to your body, maintaining energy levels, supporting muscle growth, and preventing muscle breakdown.
Pre-Workout Nutrition
Your body needs energy before you hit heavy weights in your workout. Therefore, a balanced meal before the workout, including complex carbs and proteins is essential. You can have meals such as oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder or a chicken sandwich on whole-grain bread.
Post-Workout Nutrition
Once you are done with your workout, your muscles need speedy recovery. You can have a protein shake or a balanced meal with protein and carbs.
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Sample 7-Day Meal Plan for Bodybuilding
Here is a sample 7-day meal plan for bodybuilding. These foods provide the balance of macronutrients that a person needs to maintain health while following a body-building exercise program. The quantity of each food will vary based on the person’s gender, size, age, and, most importantly, whether they are in the bulk phase of building muscle or the cutting phase of losing body fat while preserving muscle.
Day 1
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs, stir-fried veggies, and oatmeal
- Snack: whey protein shake
- Lunch: grilled chicken breast, mixed greens, and baked sweet potato
- Snack: hard-boiled egg(s), carrot sticks, and whole grain crackers
- Dinner: broiled fish, green beans with brown rice
Day 2
- Breakfast: protein pancakes with fresh berries
- Snack: apple slices and almonds
- Lunch: lean ground beef burger on lettuce with tomato, onion, and green beans and a side of roasted potatoes
- Snack: protein shake
- Dinner: shrimp stir-fried with bell pepper and brown rice over spinach
Day 3
- Breakfast: Greek yogurt, almonds or walnuts, whole grain granola, and fresh berries
- Snack: protein shake
- Lunch: grilled fish with a spinach salad, quinoa and broccoli
- Snack: egg white omelet with bell peppers and mushrooms, and an English muffin
- Dinner: chicken breast topped with fresh salsa with a sweet potato and a side salad
Day 4
- Breakfast: oatmeal with berries and scrambled eggs
- Snack: turkey breast with carrots and celery and a baked potato
- Lunch: sirloin steak with broccoli and mushrooms
- Snack: apples with natural nut butter and a turkey in a whole wheat pita with hummus
- Dinner: broiled fish, brown rice, and a mixed green salad
Day 5
- Breakfast: protein shake with oatmeal
- Snack: hard-boiled egg whites with sliced peppers, hummus, cucumbers, and whole grain crackers
- Lunch: grilled chicken with white bean, quinoa and tomato salad
- Snack: Greek yogurt with berries and nuts
- Dinner: grilled fish with quinoa and green beans
Day 6
- Breakfast: scrambled egg whites with cheese, peppers, herbs, and whole grain bread
- Snack: protein shake
- Lunch: grilled chicken breast with bell peppers, black beans, corn and onions over romaine lettuce
- Snack: apple and almonds
- Dinner: sirloin steak with sweet potato and asparagus
Day 7
- Breakfast: Greek yogurt with whole grain granola and berries
- Snack: turkey breast with carrots and celery sticks
- Lunch: grilled chicken breast over spinach with quinoa, sliced strawberries and almonds
- Snack: protein shake and carrots with hummus
- Dinner: shrimp stir-fried with peppers, onions, and broccoli over brown rice
Foods to Incorporate for Easier Bulking
To make bulking easier, we want to lean into foods that are nutritious, energy-dense, and easy to digest.
- Smoothies: Blend up some frozen berries, a banana, spinach, yogurt, oats, and a scoop of protein powder.
- Bananas: Rich in fibre, vitamins, and minerals.
- Nuts (and nut butter): A tablespoon of peanut butter has 100 calories and four grams of protein.
- Trail mix: Has over 500 calories per cup.
- Milk and soy milk: Easy sources of calories and protein.
- Muesli cereal: A cereal made from nuts, grains, and dried fruit.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: A nutritious source of fat.
- Rice: A great source of carbohydrates.
- Oats: Contain more fibre and micronutrients.
- Eggs: Have 150 calories and 13 grams of protein, along with plenty of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.
- Extra-lean ground beef and chicken: Lower in saturated fat, easier to chew, and quicker to digest.
- Beans: High in carbs, protein, and fibre, along with several different vitamins and minerals.
- Salmon (and other fatty fish): High in protein and omega-3s.
Foods to Limit or Avoid
While it’s important to eat a variety of different foods, there are some you should limit when bulking and cutting:
- Alcohol: Can negatively affect your ability to build muscle and lose fat, especially if consumed in excess.
- Added sugars: These offer plenty of calories but few nutrients. Foods high in added sugars include candy, cookies, doughnuts, ice cream, cake, and sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soda and sports drinks.
- Deep-fried foods: These may promote inflammation and - when consumed in excess - disease. Examples include fried fish, french fries, onion rings, chicken strips, and cheese curds.
- High fat foods: Fatty meats, buttery foods, and heavy sauces or creams
- High fiber foods: Beans and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower
- Carbonated beverages: Sparkling water or diet soda
The Role of Supplements
When you think of eating a good diet, you probably wouldn’t think of bodybuilding supplements like pre-workouts, energy drinks, and protein shakes. Protein powder is an easy source of protein. It isn’t better or worse than other sources of protein, just more convenient. Whey protein and plant-based protein powders are similarly effective. You can have 1-3 scoops per day for several months at a time. Creatine is one of the few supplements that can help you build muscle faster. It’s cheap, healthy, effective, and has been thoroughly tested for many decades. It increases your rate of muscle growth.
According to a recent review that examines the cautions of taking supplements, specific ones that may help a bodybuilder include:
- Creatine monohydrate
- Beta-alanine
- Omega-3 supplements
Hydration: An Essential Component
Your muscles are about 75% water. Thus, staying hydrated is crucial. Dehydration can lead to slow recovery of your muscles and affect your performance. A general rule of thumb is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water daily.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
- Unbalanced Surplus: Overeating can lead to unwanted fat gains. Make sure your muscle building meal plan is focused on a balanced surplus.
- Neglecting Hydration and Micronutrients: Proper water intake is also crucial for your workout performance and recovery. Moreover, do not make the mistake of taking your micronutrients lightly.
- Irregular Eating Patterns: Skipping your meals or eating your food in an irregular pattern can resist your progress.
- Over-Reliance on Supplements: Supplements are not going to skyrocket your bulk and muscle gain. Therefore, do not just completely rely on supplements. Make sure whole foods are always the primary source of your nutrition.
- Lack of Progress Tracking: All while keeping your focus on the workout and muscle building meal plan, make sure you also regularly check on your progress. Track your weight, muscle gain and strength improvement. As you make progress, you will have to make proper adjustments to your calorie intake.
Potential Health Benefits and Risks of Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding focuses on muscularity and leanness rather than athletic performance. Achieving the desired look requires regular exercise and special attention to your diet. For the most part, bodybuilding is a lifestyle associated with several health benefits, but there are some things to know before embarking on this journey.
Health Benefits
- Increased Muscle Strength and Size: Resistance training increases muscle strength and size.
- Improved Heart Health: Aerobic exercise improves heart health and significantly lowers your risk of developing or dying from heart disease.
- Reduced Risk of Chronic Diseases: Following a healthy eating pattern, including nutrient-dense foods from all food groups in appropriate amounts, can significantly lower your risk of chronic diseases.
Risks
- Low Levels of Body Fat: Low levels of body fat can negatively affect sleep and mood
- Anabolic Steroids: Anabolic steroids can have adverse effects