Why "Bulking" is Useless...
Build real muscle without the fat...
How many of you still think that ‘dirty bulking’ is still a valuable way to gain muscle?
That adding that extra body fat is worth the ROI…?
Look I get it, you do look bigger, when you have an aggressive bulk, but it’s not muscle you’re adding to your frame.
It’s fat. And not only that, but the negative downsides that come with gaining unnecessary fat to your physique.
This article is going to challenge the bro science method of ‘dirty bulking’ or even ‘bulking’ in general & give you a superior, elite operator framework to follow that have used successfully with clients world wide…
Dirty bulking has been part of the bodybuilding culture for the last 30+ years.
In fact, my father & uncle were both professional bodybuilders in Australia and swore by this method…
They would purposely gain as much size as possible, they didn’t care whether it was fat or muscle, the only priority was to look at big as possible at all costs…
And the costs? Heart issues in their late 40’s & many other metabolic issues that we will cover in more detail shortly…
GONE ARE THE DAYS OF THE DIRTY BULK
Now, if your one & only focus was to put on as much muscle tissue as humanly possible, you would think that being in a high calorie surplus would be the smartest decision, right?
Well, Helm’s tested this in a study in 2023, and found no statistically significant difference in someone who is in a 1000 calorie surplus, versus someone who is in a 200 calorie surplus…
The only minor difference was that of strength progression, but the negative health effects of adding body-fat, outweighs a slight increase in strength numbers…
The man eating 1,000 extra calories a day is building no more muscle than the man eating 200 extra. He’s just getting fatter, faster, and calling it a plan.
And the ROI on that fat? Catastrophic.
Once you cross 15% body fat, your entire hormonal environment turns against you:
Testosterone tanks, estrogen climbs
Libido flatlines
Energy becomes unreliable
Cortisol spikes
Organ inflammation increases
Cancer and cardiovascular disease risk go up
And this is the exact reason that we advise against this approach with our clients as health should always be the foundation of performance…
SO WHAT DOES THE ELITE OPERATOR DO?
Each of our clients falls into 1 of 3 objective categories:
Sub 10% body fat
12-15% body fat
15% + body fat
For each of these scenarios we have a specific strategy, which we are going to discuss now…