A clean bulk cycle will help you develop the ultimate physique, becoming bigger and leaner. That’s why you should learn how to do it correctly. Everyone is familiar with the bulking cycle, but not everyone knows how to do it right. Lots of people are searching to lose weight and burn fat nowadays, but bulking is still a common goal for gym goers to get buff. A clean bulk is what helps you build a lot of muscle without gaining a lot of fat in the process. That is something everyone wants, but lots are making lots of mistakes. For example, instead of a clean bulk, many go for a dirty bulking plan, adding more fat than muscles in the process.
A clean bulk is not only sustainable in a healthy way, but it is also highly effective at avoiding excess fat gains. So, let’s get a closer look at clean bulking as a whole.
What is a Clean Bulk?
In short, bulking requires a calorie surplus. It means that you should eat more calories than you burn. As you try to gain weight, you need more calories. You will need to get that calorie surplus alongside high intensity resistance training. This way you ensure you gain weight in the form of muscle or fat. Resistance training ensures you gain muscle from that calorie surplus. However, a clean bulk (AKA lean bulk), means that you pay attention to the calorie surplus and the food type and quality. This way, you ensure you avoid gaining excessive fat.
Lots of people believe that they must eat as much as possible, getting as many calories as possible in order to gain weight. That’s why they think that eating whatever they want to increase their calorie surplus is a good idea. That’s a dirty bulking plan, but it is not the way to go, because while it will most certainly help you gain weight, a lot of that would come from fat gains.
Dirty bulking will promote faster gains. However, while a clean bulk is slower than other bulking methods, it is definitely healthier, and it limits fat gains. It will promote lean muscle growth. For this reason, you limit the calories from junk foods and other types of unhealthy foods.
Clean bulk vs Dirty bulk
Generally, during a dirty bulk, you do not need to calculate your macronutrients or your calories. The sole aim of a dirty bulking plan is to consume calories in surplus. Usually, the higher the surplus, the better. That’s why there’s basically nothing you can’t have during a dirty bulk plan. This is the reason why it is a good bulking plan only for those who have no concern for fat gain.
A clean bulk may be slower, because you do calculate your macronutrients, ensuring you get a healthy and proper balance. You also calculate your calories. While you still eat in surplus, you go for a controlled calorie surplus (usually, about 10-20%, or about 500 calories, over your calorie maintenance). Of course, with both you have the same workout plan, which focuses on regular, intense, hypertrophy training.
A dirty bulking sounds great as it helps gain muscle and strength fast, but remember that it comes with side effects such as:
- Excess fat gains
- It may make you feel sluggish
- Increases cholesterol levels
- High blood sugar levels
A clean bulk pays close attention to the type (and amount) of foods you eat, as you focus on a healthy, balanced, and varied diet, with a controlled calorie surplus to maximize muscle gains and minimize fat gain.
Starting a Clean Bulk Diet
If you want to start a clean bulk plan, you need to first know your maintenance calories. That’s the number of calories that your body needs to maintain its current weight. You can find it out by using an online calorie calculator based on various factors such as age, height, weight, weekly activity level, and other facts. After you find it out, add about 10-20% or more to it, to make a calorie surplus.
After that, calculate your macros. You will need a lot of protein (0.7-1 grams per pound of body weight per day). The rest should come from complex carbs and healthy fats. About 10-30% of total calories should come from healthy fats, and the rest (what remains from fats and proteins) should come from carbohydrates. You could use a fitness tracking app to keep an eye on your bulking macros.
While all of these calculations can be a bit tedious, it will make sure that you track your progress and it will significantly help you out. Also, do not forget to increase the calorie intake every once in a while as you continue gaining weight.
Understanding clean bulk macros
When you want to pack on weight, you need to increase your calorie intake. However, if you want to pack on weight in the form of muscle, you need to keep track of your macros, otherwise, that weight may come from excess fat. Your food is broken down into protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
When you pay attention to these macros, you can make smart choices about your foods, making your clean bulk diet sustainable and healthy, avoiding fat gains. If you’re new to clean bulking foods, track your progress, as it could help get started. Most importantly, you need to pay attention to your nutritional intake in close detail.
Generally, a clean bulk diet plan will break down your bulking foods (calories) into the following: 40% of protein, 30% of fats, and 30% of carbs. This will make the 100% of calories you eat per day. The combination of healthy fats, complex carbs, and plenty of protein will provide your body with the energy and nutrients it needs to achieve your fitness goals. It will help you feel energized, provide muscle recovery, and help smash that iron in the gym.
Clean Bulking Foods
During a dirty bulk plan, you can eat whatever you please. But if you want to avoid fat gains and want to stay healthy, you better focus on clean bulking foods. That involves whole, unprocessed foods, avoiding high calorie, high fat, sugary, junk, and processed foods. Or at least keeping them at the minimum limit.
What to eat?
Include healthy fats from avocado, nuts, olive oil, seeds, and fatty fish. Lots of protein from foods like chicken, reduced fat cheese, eggs, protein powders, turkey, fish, greek yogurt, tofu, and others. Fruits such as berries, bananas, apples, and numerous others. You’re also going to need a lot of veggies and legumes such as all beans, chickpeas, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and others, including leafy greens like spinach, collard greens, and others. Don’t forget about carbohydrates, complex carbs from oats, whole grain pasta, sweet and white potatoes, white and brown rice, quinoa, and others. Drink lots of water and may have unsweetened coffee and tea.
What to avoid?
You need to avoid junk foods that are highly processed such as chips, fast food, canned soups, fried foods, sugary cereals, full fat ice cream, cakes, cookies, candy, processed meats, and everything else that you know is unhealthy, and not doing good for your physique. Avoid processed sausages or fatty cuts of pork or beef. Also avoid saturated fats such as those from various oils, butters, and margarine. Don’t forget that drinks may add extra calories too. Avoid any drinks with added sugar!
What Else Do You Need For a Clean Bulk?
Get lots of sleep!
Working out intensely and regularly and eating right every day is the quintessence of building muscle. But you still won’t build muscle if you do not sleep enough. Rest is very important when it comes to building muscle because this is the period where you actually grow muscle. Lifting heavy every day could lead to overtraining, making you feel fatigued. Being tired, overworked, and/or fatigued could also make you tempted to go for the wrong food choices. Avoid overtraining (3-4 strength training per week is enough for most people), and aim for about 8 hours of sleep every night to give your time the time it needs to recover.
Exercising
It is obvious that in order to grow muscle, you need to train hard and regularly. As said, you need to avoid overtraining, but at the same time, do include regular weightlifting if you want to see yourself grow. Include compound movement. Isolation lifts are perfect as accessory workouts, but compound exercises are crucial to bulk up. Compound lifts help you train multiple muscles with every lift, and allow you to lift heavier. It secretes more testosterone and promotes more muscle mass gains. Do combine with isolation movements. Also, it would be great to pair cardio with your clean bulk plan. It won’t only promote cardiac health, but it will help burn excess fat, and may even help aid recovery. Generally, it will be great to keep you generally fit. Avoid high intensity cardio or prolonged cardio sessions though.
Don’t bulk for too long
A clean bulk focuses on a sustainable and healthy way to help you bulk up. While you can keep on bulking for longer periods, you still need to discontinue every once in a while. Your body will need “recovery” from that calorie surplus. Staying in surplus (with lots of carbs) for a long period may decrease the body’s insulin sensitivity. This means that you may stop progressing and it may be easier to gain fat. Stopping your bulking every once in a while (eating in maintenance) will help your body get adjusted to the new weight.
The Benefits of Clean Bulking
- Limits excess fat gains – you have a calorie controlled approach, limiting excess fat gain. Especially because you avoid junk foods, and focus on whole, unprocessed, and healthy foods.
- Reduces health risks – as you eat a varied and healthy diet, it will lower health risks associated with eating too many calories, especially junk foods. You significantly lower the risk of high cholesterol, hypertension, and other health issues.
- Overall great nutrition – most foods you eat during a clean bulk are whole unprocessed foods, full of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs, offering a great source of micronutrients too. Overall, your body gets lots of vitamins, fibers, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients. You won’t only reduce health risks and look much better, but you’re going to feel much better too.
Clean Bulk Downsides
- Slower progress – compared to a dirty bulking plan where you can eat as much as you want, whatever foods you want, you may not gain weight so fast. That’s obvious because instead of having a solid surplus of 300-500 calories per day, you could have a surplus of 1,000 or even 2,000 calories per day. But those extra calories, as said, may add to your weight in the form of fat.
- Clean bulk is pretty strict – despite the fact that it is a bulk, requiring you to eat in surplus, it is still a relatively strict eating diet plan. You shouldn’t eat more than the calorie limit, and you cannot eat whatever you please. You still need to avoid overly processed and sugary foods. Or at least keep them to an absolute minimum.
Ready to Bulk Up Fast?
A clean bulk may appear pretty restrictive, but it is actually the plan that helps you stay healthy, feel better, and look awesome. It is the diet plan that focuses on the right balance of calories and macronutrients.
If you find it really hard, you could go for a balance between a clean bulk and a dirty bulk. This means that you could aim to get 90% of your calorie intake from unprocessed, healthy, and whole foods, but get the 10% rest from the high fat and high sugary foods. After all, you’re still bulking.
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