Tips and Foods for Effective Muscle Building & Bulking

Many people struggle to eat enough food to build muscle. Here are my best tips if your goal is to put on size and you've been having a tough time.

Bulking Principles

If your goal is to build muscle, you need to train your body hard and provide sufficient fuel and rest to recover. If you don't train frequently enough or if you train too frequently, you won't build muscle. If you eat too little, you won't build muscle. If you sleep too little, you won't build muscle.

A good bulking meal is BIG and includes protein, carbs, and fats. Avoid snacking as snacks tend to be smaller, and since digestion uses energy, constantly grazing is going to require more energy. Try to eat BIG and then aid digestion with light activity like walking, deep breathing, and by drinking plenty of water.

For a natural lifter, it's ideal to eat a small calorie surplus so that most of the weight gain is muscle, not fat. If you really struggle to gain weight, consider decreasing the amount of activity you're doing by spending more time resting and less time moving around.

Clean Bulking Foods

Most of your foods should be healthy and nutritious. Aim for a minimum of 30 grams of protein per meal. Here are high-calorie foods that can help if you're not feeling hungry but need more calories:

Milk

Drink whole milk. If your stomach can't handle milk, drink a milk without lactose. Drinking calories is the easiest way to get more and you can just replace your water at meals with a cup of milk.

Protein Shake

Protein shakes are great for bulking because drinking calories is easier than eating them. Here are additions to increase the calorie content:

• Whole Milk

• Peanutbutter

• Oats

• Banana

• Yogurt

• Honey

• Chia seeds

Olive & Coconut Oil

Fats have more calories than any other macronutrient, so by cooking your food in more oil it's very easy to get extra calories with zero additional effort. Stay away from fats high in omega-6 like vegetable oils.

Beef & Steak

Eating chicken is good for lean protein, but if you're having difficulty putting on weight, red meat is the way to go because it has many more calories.

Salmon

Salmon is very high in calories and it won't make you feel quite as full as eating red meat, so it's a great option.

"Dirty" Bulking Foods

Most of your calories should come from healthy sources, although at times it can be necessary to eat more palatable foods. The following foods should make up no more than 20% of your diet and be used as a calorie supplement to aid your muscle gain. If you eat too much of these foods, you'll get fat, so be careful.

• Pizza

• Burritos

• Cheese Burgers

• French Fries

• Pancakes & Waffles

• Bacon

• Fried Chicken

Pretty much any fast food restaurant is going to have a very high calorie content. If you're particularly skinny and really struggle to eat enough, eating these foods are actually going to be healthy for you in moderation. One of my biggest mistakes when trying to build muscle was only eating "clean" foods and this greatly limited my progress. Include "dirty" meals occasionally, especially if you have a difficult workout and want to build muscle.

If you have questions, leave a comment below or send me a message. Hope this helps! - Tom