SCROLL through social media at the moment and you will see loads of very ripped and stage ready athletes. Yes, the 2025 bodybuilding season is just about upon us. HOORAH! I love this time of year. People showcasing their physiques, displaying their hard work and effort from their prep. But more importantly, I like to have a look to see how people have improved after an off season.
If you’re new to the weird and wonderful world of bodybuilding, us bodybuilders go through cycles of eating and training. We ‘bulk’ in off season. This is where we relax on the cardio, increase the amount of food we eat and we train hard. Like, really hard. The extra calories we consume are put to good use in the gym. Simply put, we can’t grow muscle in a calorie deficit, only in a calorie surplus (assuming we are talking about someone who’s natural).
Once we have got to the point in our training that we are now living the lifestyle, the bulk/cut cycle is just part of the deal. We all want to improve – get bigger, stronger, fit enough to outrun a zombie attack (or stand and fight). But after you have cut a couple of times you develop a skewed sense of what looks good and what doesn’t. In a nutshell, we get a form of body dysmorphia. This can range from never thinking we are muscular enough, to never feeling lean enough.
Many, if not all of us, hate getting out of shape, even when we know it’s a temporary measure. And it’s pretty darn important to actually progress and make positive changes in our physiques. So what are the options? The answer is to either do a lean bulk, or a dirty bulk. When you do a lean bulk, you eat the same foods that you would on a cut, but higher portions. Your intake would be about 200 calories above maintenance, but with the addition of more carbs. A dirty bulk, on the other hand, is where you eat off plan, or at least incorporate non ‘clean’ foods into your diet, calorie intake would be much higher, up to or exceeding 500 calories in surplus. Two different approaches with pros and cons on both sides. Let’s explore both sides of the bulking coin.
• Staying in shape all year round
• Ensuring gut and overall health
• High energy
• Easier to transition into the cutting phase
• An easier cut as not loads of fat to lose
• Feeling smug proud that you have superhuman will power!
• Having to stay disciplined all year
• Less food choices
• Weighing out each meal
• Keeping regular cardio in
• Slower muscle gain
• Having your bodybuilding pals (with less will power) envious of your off season abs!
• More varied food choices
• Freedom around social events
• Not having to weigh out food
• Faster muscle gain
• Being strong as f**k
• Feeling like the shackles are finally off and you can enjoy life again.
• Becoming a fat b*****d
• Needing two wardrobes because none of your smaller clothes fit
• Feeling not as healthy as eating more processed foods
• Health potentially being impacted
• Low energy/constantly tired
• Having way more fat to lose when cutting starts
• Feeling like you’re just fat and wondering if you will ever see your six-pack again.
I have done both clean and dirty bulks. Which do I prefer? Hmmm, it’s a toss up, honestly. I have never had an eating disorder, so bulking has never really affected me in a negative way. I’m very capable of bulking to an ungodly weight to achieve my goals. In 2018, I did a full dirty bulk. I didn’t bother tracking or weighing foods. I have no idea how many calories I was on, but an educated guess would be that I was on all of them. Every calorie in the world. Was I fat? Yes. Was I happy being fat? No. Did it stop me? No. I definitely looked out of shape, but you better believe I was strong!
That was the year of my 440kg x 6 leg presses (takes a bow). I’ve not hit that weight since and I’m very OK with that. But the result of my dirty bulk was seven pounds of muscle gained and I was thrilled. I am of the opinion that all competitive bodybuilders should do at least one dirty bulk in their career as it really does promote rapid muscle growth.
Then in 2023-2024 I did a huge lean bulk. The plan was to gain as much weight as possible while still eating on plan. I took 18 months and bulked to 93kg (average off season weight before was about 80kg). But because I was only eating planned foods, I found cutting for comp down to just under 70kg relatively easy. The fat gained was significant, but not stubborn. It seemed to fall off pretty easily.
But honestly, I detested the sheer volume of food I needed to eat daily. I would moan like a bitch every day about how stuffed I was. You don’t really get that with a dirty bulk. Personally, I now only want to clean bulk, but I have reached a level of size and muscle that I am happy with. I’ll forever look to improve, but I don’t feel the need to bulk to any significant size anymore.
Bulking is so important to grow muscle and to improve year on year. If you see athletes prepping for a show that look the same this year (as the year before and before that), then the chances are they have not bulked successfully. And that’s usually because they are too fearful of losing the look they created when lean. And that’s fine. But for the rest of us who really are trying to look The Hulk, well stop being a ***** and get eating.
*Read more from Louise Plumb here.
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