How to Dirty Bulk: Gain Muscles the Right Way
For most people, going to the gym means losing weight and looking skinnier, but this isn’t the case for some. This set of gym-goers desire to gain more weight, primarily to increase their muscle mass and get stronger without having to go on some strict diet. If you want to achieve all these, you should know how to dirty bulk.
If you’re no gym newbie or you’ve done some research, chances are that your gym instructor or some internet results have warned you against dirty bulking and how it only makes you fat and unhealthy. Well, the truth is, dirty bulking isn’t the danger they think it is. If it is done the right way, that is.
In this article, we’ll show you all about dirty bulking and staying healthy while at it. This way, you get to have a better training routine and become stronger.
Let’s get started!
What is Dirty Bulking
Dirty bulking is simply eating more calories than you can burn to increase body mass. This is usually coupled with intense exercises to convert the mass you gain into muscles. You must know that without the right exercise routine, you’ll only end up gaining fat, which pretty much kills the motive of visiting the gym.
When dirty bulking, there are no restrictions to what you can or should eat. Unlike clean bulking where you have to cut down high-calorie junk foods, dirty bulk demands that you eat whatever your heart desires.
Dirty bulking is ideal for anyone with the intention of bulking up. Ranging from bodybuilders to powerlifters and weightlifters.
That said, here are the three components of dirty bulking we’d be covering in this article:
- What you eat,
- How heavy you should lift,
- How you live, and
- Understanding your body.
Eat Everything and Anything
When it comes to dirty bulking, there are no dietary restrictions whatsoever. You are expected to eat as many calories as you can – the more, the better. The sources from which you get your calories do not matter also. All that matters is that you can gain enough weight that’d later be converted to muscles, making you look bigger and stronger. So, if you enjoy eating junks, this is your ideal bulking-up strategy.
However, you can’t ignore the basic dietary requirements that aid muscle growth. While you’re encouraged to have anything your heart desires, you can’t solely depend on that. A healthy dirty bulk meal plan is necessary. You need certain foods to boost your muscle gain, unless, you’d only gain more fat that you can’t easily convert to muscles.
So, while you’re having your favorite junk food every day, bear in mind that having protein, vitamins, and minerals in your diet is important. Your body needs about 1.5 grams of protein per pound of your body weight daily. Try out some highly proteinous meals like tofu, salmon, whole eggs, and pork.
When bulking up, try out various nutritious foods and do not stick with one. With a diverse food intake, you get to supply your body with all the nutrients it needs to develop into what you need. A combination of highly nutritious foods also allows for adequate blood flow, reduces the risk of heart diseases, coupled with other health benefits.
Take Protein Supplements
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Supplements are usually associated with bodybuilders, and this is because it gives them the extra calories they need to bulk up. Not just that, supplements provide the body with vitamins, minerals, sugar, and proteins.
Taking the right supplement gives your body the extra boost needed to train harder and more effectively. It is important that you only take supplements that are scientifically proven to keep the body in the right state to exercise and increase metabolism. Supplements like caffeine, protein powders, and creatine aid your workout sessions and provides your body with the right amount of protein it needs daily.
Your Workout Routine Matters Too
Hitting the gym is the only possible way to convert the fat gained into muscles that’ll make you look bigger and stronger. Exercising is more like the critical puzzle piece you need to get your desired body.
So, how do you go about that? Training between 4-5 times a week of course. Yes, you don’t have to train all week long. Why? Because your muscles need time to rest and heal. When lifting weights, your muscles experience some microscopic tears and your protein intake heals your muscles. And just like with every damage, torn muscles and tissues need time to heal.
You also need to dedicate each day to different muscles in your body. Your chest, legs, and back muscles have to be worked on differently and are usually not on the same day.
Here are a few tips to improving your workout routine:
1. Higher reps are more important than heavier lifts
Unless you plan on becoming the next biggest powerlifter, your number of reps should be all that matters. Lifting heavy will only make you stronger, not bulkier. So, focus your energy on doing more reps to give your muscle the breakdown it needs to get bigger. Lifting heavy is going to wear you out easily, making it impossible to do as many reps as you need to bulk up.
2. Lift slowly
The more calories you take in, the more intense your workout routine should be. Lifting slowly builds muscles faster by bringing them to a point of momentary muscle failure, which pushes the body to build muscles more quickly. The slow lifting technique forces your muscles to hold the weights a little longer, keeping them fully active.
3. Do some cardio too
With all the weight gain and muscle building, you’d be needing better blood circulation than usual, and doing some cardio helps with this. Skip, jog, or simply use the treadmill – all that matters is that you get some cardio done to keep your heart healthy. Cardio will help keep your heart healthy from all the junk you ingest.
4. Adopt the progressive overload principle
To see better results and improve your strength, do not rush to lift the heaviest weights. Instead, start out small and gradually increase your workout frequency and the weights you lift. This helps you build strength and gain more muscles too. So when next you see your gym buddy lifting heavy, do not be tempted to do the same. If you’re consistent enough, you just might be able to lift heavier and do more reps than they can.
A New and Improved Lifestyle
To achieve your desired results, you need to focus on every aspect of your life. It goes beyond exercising and high-calorie intake; you need to work on certain habits that could hinder your progress.
1. Get more sleep
As said earlier, you need to recover from the tears in your muscles and tissues, and what better way to heal than having a sound sleep. Not getting enough sleep is going to make bulking up an impossible goal to achieve.
You need at least 8 hours of sleep daily to be fully rested and energized to bulk up. Have enough rest at night and take at least an hour’s nap during the day to stay productive. Whatever you do, try not to sacrifice your sleep when trying to bulk up.
2. Practice enough self-care – Look healthier
Stay hydrated, take long baths, and meditate often to release the tension and sores you feel from working out. Practicing self-care keeps you in the right mental space to work out longer and more effectively.
Take your headsets to the gym too and listen to a workout playlist that keeps your energy up.
Are you a hard gainer?
Ideally, a dirty bulk is for hard gainers. This set of people find it hard to gain muscles and/or weight as much as they’d need to. Hard gainers have a faster metabolism. So, dirty bulking is an effective way to get hard gainers to increase their body mass and convert them to big muscles.
Dirty bulking demands that you eat at least 500 calories above your normal Total Daily Energy Expenditure. As a hard gainer, you should be aiming at about 3,000 calories daily and should vary depending on how much of a hard gainer you are.
If you have a small appetite, you’re more unlikely to bulk up, hence the need to dirty bulk. However, for people that gain weight easily, dirty bulking is a bad idea, as they’d be gaining more fat than muscles. So, pay close attention to how well your body processes food before having a large-sized pizza for dinner.
The Bottom Line
Clean bulk and dirty bulk require high-calorie intake, but the latter has no limits to what you can eat. It is especially the perfect muscle gaining strategy for young skinny and energetic gym enthusiasts who wish to bulk up.
When dirty bulking, you’d be eating a whole lot of junk and processed food, so you need to even this out with other healthy meal options to reduce the risk of heart diseases and excessive weight gain. Remember, exercising is just as important as eating. Never miss out on an opportunity to hit the gym.
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