The term bulking phase is a term used by some amateur pumpers as an excuse to add a few pounds, but what does it really mean? The fitness professor provides the answer.
As the name suggests, the bulking phase is all about building more body mass. The term comes from the professional bodybuilding scene and has been used for decades to describe the practice of building up more body mass through increased food intake in the non-competitive period. But how does it actually work and what should you pay attention to?
More calories for more muscle mass
Biologically, this behavior is easy to explain: If you want to build more muscle mass, you should consume more calories than the body needs to maintain its organ functions and the so-called thermogenesis (the body’s own «heating»).
After all, why should the body build muscle when it is in a caloric deficit (i.e. a kind of mini-famine)? More muscle mass would only mean more organic mass – and thus require a higher calorie intake. In the body’s survival function, of course, this wouldn’t make sense. So say goodbye to the idea of going on a «hard diet» and building massive mountains of muscle at the same time.
According to various studies, this is possible to a limited extent, but in most studies it was only about minimal calorie deficits and more or less untrained subjects.
Tips to avoid fat gain
When you talk about mass, of course, the muscle mass is meant, but unfortunately that doesn’t always work so well, and so a few pounds of fat like to sneak in during the bulking phase. In order to avoid this or at least to keep the increase in fat mass as low as possible, it is advisable not to become «excessive». Means: Get a rough overview of how many calories your body really needs and then add a little extra. Here you can take Harris and Benedict’s formula for example:
- Basal metabolic rate for males = 66.47 + (13.7 * body weight) + (5 * height) − (6.8 * age)
- Basal metabolic rate for women = 655.1 + (9.6 * body weight) + (1.8 * height) − (4.7 * age)
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Please do not forget here that the value that you calculate is only the basal metabolic rate. That is, the amount of energy your body needs to survive with virtually no stress. Then there is the physical movement. You could either measure this using tracking systems or simply calculate it using the so-called PAL value (PAL = physical activity level).
If you then want to play it safe, add another 500 calories and you’re already in the bulking phase.
What would a bulking phase be without the definition phase that follows?
In the definition phase, you go the other way. You reduce the calorie intake slightly below the required turnover (about 300 to 500 calories) and try to get rid of the excess fat and thus expose the newly gained muscle. It’s like redefining your body.
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What should be considered during training?
Theoretically you can also adjust your training to the different phases, but this has not been scientifically examined and everyone preaches something different here. My recommendation: During the bulking phase, also do “light endurance training” to keep fat burning alive and do not train too often or for too long in the definition phase so as not to run the risk of even being in a too severe calorie deficit losing muscle mass.