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If you’re a beginner, this term may confuse you. You may have always heard about ‘bulky’ and ‘lean’ people, but this method is a little different from what you’d assume it to be.
Lean bulking is a strict diet that people follow, to increase their muscle mass and put on good weight, while also working out and training their muscles with high-intensity resistance training.
If you’re wondering about what exactly goes into this diet and lifestyle, or want to know more about who it’s meant for and why it’s done, then you’ve landed on the right page because we’re going to start with the basics and cover almost everything you need to know about lean bulking. Let’s dive right into it!
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What is Lean Bulking?
Previously, the common idea was that to put on weight or “bulk” yourself up, you just had to eat until you felt like you couldn’t anymore. This idea was followed by almost everybody, including some of the world’s most famous boxers and heavy-weight lifters.
Over the years, with the knowledge we now have of the human body and its needs, nutrition and its importance has started to influence how we choose to bulk up our bodies.
Here’s where lean bulking comes in: the simplest definition to this is that you watch what you eat, even when you’re just trying to put on weight.
The slightly more complex definition is that you take on a very measured and strict intake of calories and macronutrients which have a proven chance of increasing your body weight and muscle gains in a good way, without the negative effects of feeding your body with just about anything to put on weight.
You can also read “How to calculate your body mass index – BMI” ?
The reason why this method has been tried and trusted by so many people today is that it reduces the chances of people putting on unwanted fat in the process of gaining weight.
When eating sugary or processed foods, a person’s weight can easily shoot up, but the unfortunate part is that the amount of fat in their body increases as well (not to mention the other side-effects that junk food can cause to a person’s health in the long run).
These side-effects (such as an increase in unwanted fat) can only be noticed later on, after which it becomes double the effort to reduce the unwanted fat and cleanse the body of all its toxins.
As a means of fixing this unhealthy method of weight gain and muscle building, lean bulking was first introduced and has since been promoted by numerous fitness enthusiasts.
How is it Beneficial?
Coming to the factual part of it, lean bulking is a more healthy way of putting on weight because of the foods that are used as weight boosters during the process. People who use this method must strictly adhere to whole foods which have very minimal processing.
For this same reason, many people refer to the diet as ‘clean bulking’, because it pushes individuals towards intaking food which is an overall healthier option, and naturally free of unnecessary sugars and preservatives. To know more about the nitty-gritty of what goes into this diet and what stays out of it, you can read and study more about the lean bulk diet on this page.
When it comes to the benefits of this diet, it rests mostly on the philosophy — “You are what you eat”. Clean bulking is a way for athletes, boxers, wrestlers, and other sports persons to stay fit and maintain a lean yet healthy weight even when they aren’t in training.
This is done by cutting out ‘dirty foods’ such as any kind of junk food or highly processed food
When people follow a lean bulk diet, they focus on maintaining a healthy diet that includes just about everything—proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, minerals, and just the right amount of calorie surplus as well.
By using whole foods which are healthy and unprocessed, people can put on a healthy weight and increase their muscle mass with regular and high-intensity workouts.
Who Does it Benefit?
There are several different reasons why people use this method, but here are some common goals which can be achieved by following a strict lean bulking diet and lifestyle:
Sportspersons
The diet is primarily used by individuals who are in sports, especially those who belong to sports such as wrestling, kickboxing, boxing, and so on.
The reason for this is that they need to maintain a very strict body weight and muscle mass to truly excel at their sport, and this can only be done when a strict and rigid diet is combined with regular and intense workout sessions.
Thin or underweight people
Everyone’s body is different, and there are individuals who truly struggle when it comes to putting on weight. Very often, they’re advised to ‘bulk up’ by feeding their bodies with just about anything.
However, with lean bulking, they’ll be made to eat an extra amount of calories in the form of healthy and non-processed foods, which in turn will reduce the possibility of gaining unhealthy fat which may result in obesity.
Instead, they’ll be able to get a lean and fit body, even though they’re eating more than what they’d eat on a regular day. The key is in what they consume, as much as how much they consume, which together form the basis of a lean bulk diet.
