Bulking is simply a term used to describe an individual who is intentionally eating a surplus of calories for the purpose of gaining weight. Many bodybuilders and strength athletes bulk in the off-season. It can be beneficial to carry some extra body fat for a plethora of reasons. Some people like to be heavier, they feel healthier at a slightly higher body fat percentage. Others are trying to build muscle and gain lean mass, which is more easily done when bulking. Carrying extra body fat can also improve one’s appearance if that individual prefers a larger look.
If you’re a hardgainer, you’re likely bulking for some or all of the reasons mentioned, but finding it difficult. Perhaps you’ve tried multiple times but didn’t see the results you had anticipated. Bulking is different for hardgainers, having to take a more unique and dialed-in approach.
In this article, we’re going to dive into the different methods and strategies of bulking specifically for hard gainers.
Force-feeding
Let’s be up-front and honest here. If eating enough is challenging for you, you’re probably going to have to force-feed yourself. We’re starting with force-feeding because most sources don’t touch on this and it needs to be addressed. Yes, you can bulk without force-feeding, but I strongly believe that some individuals (such as myself) will succeed once they have learned how to appropriately force themselves to eat more.
Force-feeding is kind of a scary word. Probably because I associate it with pushing myself to the absolute limit at a cheap buffet, then doing my best to clean off the last plate. But what I’m suggesting is to implement force-feeding tactics and strategies to break the barrier and get into that caloric surplus, even if it’s 50-100 calories.
There may be one or more points throughout the day where you feel full and cannot eat another bite. This isn’t the time to push yourself. If you insist on having more, let the food settle and wait for a half-hour. The time to push yourself is when you haven’t eaten in the past hour and you’re probably not hungry or even thinking about food. You can write yourself a note, set an alarm on your phone etc. The point is that you have to be focused on feeding yourself all day long.
Eat when you’re distracted and wouldn’t normally eat. This is force-feeding. If you eat 3 meals a day, that’s great, but not enough. Force yourself to eat 3 meals plus snacks in between.
Eat breakfast.
If you eat breakfast every morning, and I mean every morning, then skip this one. I’m talking to the people who fast until they get their lunch break at work. To those people I would like to say: stop doing that! Eating breakfast has been scientifically proven over and over again to be one of the best habits for your health.
How does it help me gain weight, you ask? Well, a common technique for weight loss is time-restricted feeding or intermittent fasting. When you skip breakfast you are restricting your feeding window for the day. Instead of beginning at 6 AM, you may have your first bite at 10, 11, or even 12. This significantly reduces your body’s ability to digest your caloric goal before you go to bed at night.
Eating early in the morning can make some people feel sick. I am one of those people, however, I can assure you that your body adapts and the upset stomach goes away after a few mornings.
It can help significantly to have a mass gainer shake for breakfast. Preferably a homemade one, to really load up on the fruits and veggies that a store-bought powder lacks. If you can toss in some super healthy foods like eggs, fruits, veggies, oats, then you’ve just given yourself a crazy good fuel to start the day out. You’ll start the day with a full stomach and that means that you are going to be starving by the time it digests, probably around lunchtime.
Add structure to your days off.
It can be easy to adhere to a new diet Mon-Fri while you’re at work, but the weekends are a whole different ball game. You can’t bulk for 5 days a week and slack off for the other two. There are 52 weeks in a year. That’s 104 days out of a 365 day year that you slack off if you don’t structure your weekends.
I struggled with this for so long, please don’t make the same mistake. For me, it was difficult to bulk on Sat/Sun because I didn’t have the structure that my job gave me. I would only eat when I was hungry, never forcing myself to eat throughout the day.
A little bit of dirty bulking.
A “dirty” or “dreamer” bulk defines a method of bulking where the individual leans heavily toward calorie-dense junk food. For optimal results, one should be consuming healthy whole foods with an abundance of fruits and fibrous vegetables.
It’s easier for some people to clean bulk. Many people bulk on just 2700-3000 calories a day. If that’s all we needed, a whole food diet wouldn’t be so intimidating. However, real hardgainers are likely going to be above 3,000 and that’s a lot of food, however, you quantify it.
Consider a 20% rule. Commit to clean foods for 80% of your daily caloric intake, and allow yourself to source the remaining 20% from “dirty” sources like those Pop-Tarts you’ve been hiding in the back of the pantry.
Save these cheat foods for when you need them. These sweet and savory foods are easy to eat, so save them for when you’re full and can’t eat any more broccoli and rice.
Commit.
It’s going to take time. We live in an age where we get what we want almost immediately, but when it comes to weight gain, we still have to be patient. You might see some results after a week, you might not. Perhaps you won’t see any noticeable gains until you’re a month or two into it, and that’s ok. Consider a year from now. If you’ve been eating in a surplus, not slacking off, you’ll be bigger. The laws of science say so!
Key points.
- Track your calories.
- Force yourself to eat between meals.
- Eat breakfast every morning.
- Don’t slack on your days off.
- A little bit of junk food is ok.
- Stay consistent and results are guaranteed.
Thank you for making it to the end of the article, I appreciate you taking the time to read this. If you want to support me or support the website, consider sharing this post or telling your friends about us.