What 'encourages' a bulk?

[thebeginning88]

Small backstory - over the past few years I've bulked up overall from ~140 to 180. But in the last year I've gone back down to a lean 160 due to travel and other personal issues, and want to regain my mass as quickly as possible (and am hoping rebuilding is faster).

I am quite well versed in the "lift progressively heavier compounds and eat a lot" staples of bulking...but what are the 'extra somethings' that can really encourage gains?

What (besides alcohol) would DIScourage them?


For cutting there's keto, ice baths and thermogenics like an EC stack, IF, etc. What would their counterparts be in the gaining world?

Just how much help is that extra hour of sleep, or vegetables and vitamins, or even creatine?

Edit for clarity: I'm already very comfortable with the 'lift big, eat big, right macros, multi, etc' basics, have successfully utilized those to gain my first 30+ lbs. But is there anything beyond those that most people miss?

[DGMan99]

What encourages a bulk? Being a twig, being skinny, being muscle-less, wanting more muscle.

What discourages a bulk? Being a hippo, being fat, not being able to fit in a doorway, wanting to get leaner.


Hope that helped.

[Jcart159]

but what are the 'extra somethings' that can really encourage gains?

Nutrition, training, and rest is the 80% in the 80/20 rule that will give you most your results.

Focus on nailing your nutrition (consuming adequate macros and micros, while eating at a caloric level that is in line with your goals), train on a proven program that is tailored to your current needs, focus on progressive overload (you hinted at this in your OP) and make sure you are getting proper rest and relaxation.

Everything other than that is the 20%, that you should only focus on when you get the 80% down pat.

[gbullock32]

Proper calorie, protein and fat intake, coupled with a good routine.

Micros for health, and carbs based on performance preference.

[thebeginning88]

Nutrition, training, and rest is the 80% in the 80/20 rule that will give you most your results.

Focus on nailing your nutrition (consuming adequate macros and micros, while eating at a caloric level that is in line with your goals), train on a proven program that is tailored to your current needs, focus on progressive overload (you hinted at this in your OP) and make sure you are getting proper rest and relaxation.

Everything other than that is the 20%, that you should only focus on when you get the 80% down pat.

Thanks man. Proooobably wasn't clear enough in my OP, but it's the 20% I'm mainly referring to.

[SeanFxxx]

Less important stuff? Maybe food timing, variety, digestion (though I consider it very important).

[Gxp23]

You can bulk on keto.

What do ice baths do in regard to cutting? Curb hunger?

IF isnt a cutting tool either. You can bulk with it.

In regards to the encouragement, what more do you need? You want to regain mass, when you start to see that mass add up little by little and the other gains that come with it, you should be encouraged enough, no?

[thebeginning88]

You can bulk on keto.

What do ice baths do in regard to cutting? Curb hunger?

IF isnt a cutting tool either. You can bulk with it.

In regards to the encouragement, what more do you need? You want to regain mass, when you start to see that mass add up little by little and the other gains that come with it, you should be encouraged enough, no?

I didn't mean emotional encouragement - just the few things that tend to help when bulking.

Example: If you eat 500 calories of crappy food (sugar, fast food) over maintenance you will gain, but you won't get the test-building benefits of eating steaks, broccoli, eggs, brazil nuts, etc.

And even though creatine only helps a small amount, it definitely is a help, especially when taken with beta alanine.

I'll be kicking in that, along with progressive lifting and sleeping a lot. Just curious if there was anything else I was missing. I'd rather do it all as efficiently as possible than simply get it 'good enough to gain weight', already been down that road.


As for IF, I always viewed it as a way to more easily restrict calories and insulin spikes...but I'm not super experienced with it.

Ice baths are thermogenic, essentially. Definitely worth looking into it, or cold therapy / cold thermogenesis in general. Pretty awesome stuff, not broscience or hippie nonsense.

[loganhart]

I didn't mean emotional encouragement - just the few things that tend to help when bulking.

Example: If you eat 500 calories of crappy food (sugar, fast food) over maintenance you will gain, but you won't get the test-building benefits of eating steaks, broccoli, eggs, brazil nuts, etc.

And even though creatine only helps a small amount, it definitely is a help, especially when taken with beta alanine.

I'll be kicking in that, along with progressive lifting and sleeping a lot. Just curious if there was anything else I was missing. I'd rather do it all as efficiently as possible than simply get it 'good enough to gain weight', already been down that road.


As for IF, I always viewed it as a way to more easily restrict calories and insulin spikes...but I'm not super experienced with it.

Ice baths are thermogenic, essentially. Definitely worth looking into it, or cold therapy / cold thermogenesis in general. Pretty awesome stuff, not broscience or hippie nonsense.

[thebeginning88]

Maybe it's because I haven't been here in a while, but what was so weird about that? It's like everyone sees anything past "eat, lift, take a multi" as nonsense. Or was it the cold thermogenesis thing? I didn't pull that out of nowhere - exposure to cold activates brown fat, increases metabolism, etc:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23780370

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67803

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1864780

[EjnarKolinkar]

What the hell are we talking about brown fat and Ice baths in a thread about going the extra mile to assure gainz? Ice baths are hippie nonsense.

In regard to supporting mass gains beyond the basics, I'd say extra sleep is of value, adequate micros from veg and or vitamins is of value, and creatine would be a good bet for the cost as well.

Beta alanine and Citruline malate are iffy. YMMV.

[magician27]

illegal substances highly do that, consistency would be a big one as far as natural gains