What is a dirty bulk?
Dirty bulking has seen a constant rise and decline in popularity within the weight training scene over the years. A traditional dirty bulk refers to going all out in terms of putting on weight when trying to gain muscle. No mind is payed to where the calories come from – the general rule of as much as possible applies. Typically, the bulker will opt for very calorically dense foods such as fast food, lollies, ice cream and neglect any vegetables to fit in more. The dirty bulk bro won’t pay attention whether it’s fat or muscle, as long as the scale increases from day to day, week to week, it’s a win in his eyes! But is it really a win?
Why do people do it??
Sure, speedy weight gain and always being in an overfed state have their perks in the weight room. Who doesn’t mind strength gains and massive pumps? The bulking bro will inevitably make gains when focusing on progressive overload and being consistent with his routine, but there are a couple of caveats to consider when opting for this method of muscle building.
The Problem!
At some point, the trainee will get to a point where he’s reached a level of bodyfat that leaves him feeling uncomfortable, lethargic, with no appetite and some nasty consequences typical for high levels of bodyfat. Constant sweating, feeling nauseous during training sessions and bad skin, just to name a few – yum!
Now comes the bulking bro’s time to shine. It’s time to finally shed all the accumulated fat and reveal the muscle he’s worked so hard for. This is where the problem starts. To get back down to a decent level of bodyfat again, he’ll have to either cut very aggressively for an extended period of time, or diet for at least twice as long as he’s been gaining for – it’s not uncommon to have to diet for an 8-10 month period after making this mistake. This means that no matter how diligent you are with your diet, you are bound to lose muscle.
What you should do 🙂
In conclusion, you are way better off at trying to make progress in the gym by only running a slight calorie surplus of ~300cals above maintenance and focusing on progressively upping your lifts in the weight room instead of going all out in the kitchen. This way you’ll ensure minimum fat gain with near max potential muscle gain and you won’t have to diet for very long once it’s time to shred down – meaning there is exponentially more time for you to be in a surplus and make gains instead of being in a deficit, losing them and spinning your wheels by constantly fluctuating up and down in
weight. So stop wasting your time and opt for patient, consistent progress!
If you want a more in depth review of a dirty bulk, click here:
https://barbend.com/dirty-bulking/
