Bulking is NOT the “Off Season” — Transcript

All right, so today's video we're talking about getting back to the roots of what bodybuilding is: understanding bulking, cutting, the off-season, the stuff that we need to know as natural bodybuilders that allows us to grow and have that physique that we want to achieve.

physique that we want to achieve the issue that I'm seeing these days and it's not even just recently this is sent since I started lifting I've been bombarded with this luckily I've had the common sense to break through some of

The issue that I'm seeing these days, and it's not even just recently, this has been since I started lifting, I've been bombarded with this. Luckily, I've had the common sense to break through some of these misconceptions and some of these, I guess, short-term mindsets that a lot of lifters have. When you're in it for the long run, you don't necessarily fall into this trap as easily, but there's a lot of new lifters that have a mindset that is premature, and I'll touch on what this means in a second.

a mindset that is premature and I'll touch on what this means in a second so you look at bodybuilding what does that mean it's building your body so the first word is body which implies yourself your physical body the

So you look at bodybuilding, what does that mean? It's building your body. So the first word is body, which implies yourself, your physical body. The second word is going to be building, and it's building the body.

how they look in pictures when they first start lifting and it's perfectly fine and I encourage you to have that mindset eight years down the road you if you're getting sucked into trying to maintain leanness and somehow think your your

Too many people, too many new lifters especially, get caught up in the body fat percentage portion of bodybuilding. They get way too concerned with their leanness, their cuts, how they look in pictures when they first start lifting, and it's perfectly fine, and I encourage you to have that mindset. Eight years down the road, if you're getting sucked into trying to maintain leanness and somehow think your physique will just magically grow, you're falling for a myth basically.

bodybuilding building your physique patience is something that it teaches really well so it's I understand where you're coming from when you have these desires to just be shredded and not focus on the actual building but I encourage you to try and avoid this

So the word of today is going to be patience. Patience, I think, is the most important thing to have for bodybuilding, and ironically, when it comes to bodybuilding, building your physique, patience is something that it teaches really well. So I understand where you're coming from when you have these desires to just be shredded and not focus on the actual building, but I encourage you to try and avoid this mindset and avoid procrastinating on what truly needs to be done, which is just put on more muscle, which for some reason doesn't get talked about.

shredded guy it's some shredded jacked guy people focus so much on the leanness but they don't focus on the muscle that that person's built people will worry about their training but then they they don't bulk they worry about their

We celebrate leanness. We look up to leanness all the time. Every physique you see on social media is just some shredded guy, some shredded, jacked guy. People focus so much on the leanness, but they don't focus on the muscle that that person's built. People will worry about their training, but then they don't bulk. They worry about their program. They obsess over their programming, which is great and it's important, but they do it in a cut.

wrong but I can tell that enough people are blinded by the the shreddedness and the leanness that these guys have that they can't see why they're why those people are into the whole leanness thing as a more advanced lifter

And you see these things that, in my mind, with the experience that I've had, I can see where these people are going wrong, but I can tell that enough people are blinded by the shreddedness and the leanness that these guys have that they can't see why they're into the whole leanness thing as a more advanced lifter.

allows you to have successful bulks but you need to develop patients to succeed in bodybuilding too many guys see a shredded bodybuilder and chase their leanness before chasing their muscle when bulking they worry about losing their abs and blind themselves from

So bulking, it's not your off-season. It's the most important part of lifting, and don't get me wrong, you can't bulk without a cut. They complement each other really well. They're opposites that I think attract, and that's what allows you to have successful bulks. But you need to develop patience to succeed in bodybuilding.

the leanness and I get it it looks good it's cool but the leanness means nothing if you don't have the physique so that's what I was talking about earlier when you have a premature mindset once you have all of

Too many guys see a shredded bodybuilder and chase their leanness before chasing their muscle. When bulking, they worry about losing their abs and blind themselves from seeing the opportunity to improve literally every other muscle, including their abs. Funny enough, it's ironic, right?

and so many times when lifters go into a bulk they focus so so so much on losing their abs that they miss they're they're blinded by losing their abs that they miss the opportunity of okay well yeah maybe your abs are fading a little bit

So people get so obsessed with the leanness. They see someone like Chris Bumstead or whoever it is, whatever influence that person's following, so obsessed with the leanness. And I get it, it looks good, it's cool, but the leanness means nothing if you don't have the physique.

else right so it pains me it pains me to see that we've lost the focus on actual muscle building and we've become so obsessed with the leanness and it has to be now it's always instant wait be patient go through a bulk see

So that's what I was talking about earlier when you have a premature mindset. Once you have all of the muscle that you want, go enjoy a lean physique. Try and sustain something that's as lean as you want that is sustainable. Figure something out like that, and that's totally cool, but you have to build the muscle first.

have my most shredded Peak physique yet when I'm a kid or in my early 20s and I still have all these years to build muscle anybody in their teens or 20s unless you're like well over 20 body fat

And so many times when lifters go into a bulk, they focus so, so, so much on losing their abs that they miss, they're blinded by losing their abs that they miss the opportunity of, okay, well yeah, maybe your abs are fading a little bit, but every single other muscle group has the opportunity to grow, including your abs. Like I said, your abs grow during a bulk. When you cut next time, your abs will look better. It's building muscle just like anything else, right?

teens and 20s and you get into your 30s 40s 50s and you never built up your base that's gonna suck because you're going to look back and say what was the point of being lean this whole time when I

So it pains me. It pains me to see that we've lost the focus on actual muscle building, and we've become so obsessed with the leanness, and it has to be now, it's always instant. Wait, be patient, go through a bulk, see some muscle that you grow, and you'll be like, all right, well I built a decent amount of muscle during this bulk, let me keep going, let me do a mini cut and keep bulking. Maybe I don't need to have my most shredded peak physique yet when I'm a kid or in my early 20s, and I still have all these years to build muscle.

the muscle first I think that's the secret that so many people are too blind to see because they're too obsessed with their abs and it's it's unfortunate to see because I think I think leanness is cool and I

Anybody in their teens or 20s, unless you're like well over 20% body fat, I don't see a reason to try and stay shredded. When you're in your 30s or when you're older and you've built up most of your muscle, that's when you can enjoy your cuts. If you just stay shredded throughout your teens and 20s and you get into your 30s, 40s, 50s, and you never built up your base, that's gonna suck because you're going to look back and say, what was the point of being lean this whole time when I never built up muscle?

that's the secret and you have to you have to embrace the bulk and the way that so many people bulk is it's so backwards these guys don't take their training seriously on a bulk because it's the off season they

And now I'm older, and now I have to start everything I've been procrastinating because I chased leanness versus chasing the muscle. Once you have enough muscle, then you can chase the leanness, but you have to chase the muscle first. I think that's the secret that so many people are too blind to see because they're too obsessed with their abs, and it's unfortunate to see because I think leanness is cool, and I think it's necessary. I think cutting can be a rewarding process, but building is what's rewarding.

take their training seriously and I'm like oh it's so backwards it's so frustrating to see because yeah like I respect it it's cool to refine your training and understand programming but you're in a cut it so it doesn't

Building is what's fun. Building is how you get the physique that you want and how you level up past other lifters and become more advanced. That's the secret, and you have to embrace the bulk. And the way that so many people bulk is so backwards. These guys don't take their training seriously on a bulk because it's the off-season. They stop trying because it's the off-season. It doesn't matter, they're fluffy anyways, who cares, right?

some reps on probably some overhead pressing probably a little bit of bench any bigger lower body compound lifts yeah you're going to lose a little bit of strength on there it's like it just it's like just maintain just do

Or they go chase strength or something else, which isn't building them as much muscle as they should be anyways. And then when it comes to cutting, they take their training seriously, and I'm like, oh, it's so backwards. It's so frustrating to see because, yeah, like I respect it, it's cool to refine your training and understand programming, but you're in a cut, so it doesn't matter.

to not ease up on your training but to stop over analyzing is what I'm trying to say still train hard train as hard as you need to to maintain your muscle but take a step back from being obsessed with

It's defeating the purpose, and I think when you're cutting, of course your programming matters, but it's like you're kind of just maintaining. You're just doing the same thing. Yeah, a few lifts are going to go down. You'll lose some reps on probably some overhead pressing, probably a little bit of bench, any bigger lower body compound lifts. Yeah, you're going to lose a little bit of strength on there.

don't you're not building muscle take your foot off the gas a little bit when it comes to programming mods and optimizing everything do what you need to do don't overthink it don't over analyze and just let it be when you're

It's like, just maintain, just do your minimum effective volume on a cut, focus on recovery, just shed fat, maintain your muscle. It's as simple as that. And I'm not trying to say that you treat your training on a cut like it doesn't matter, but when you cut, that's the time to not ease up on your training but to stop overanalyzing, is what I'm trying to say.

me to see so many guys that need to bulk try to bulk lose their abs and maintain or go right back into a cut they go back and forth all these times it it's so we need we need to make a

Still train hard, train as hard as you need to to maintain your muscle, but take a step back from being obsessed with your programming. That's what I do on my cuts. I take a step back. I go into the gym, I get out, I don't really think about it much. The diet's enough to deal with anyways, right?

I'm not going to judge anybody for what they decide to do with their bodybuilding because ultimate ultimately it's you in my mind I have no business being shredded I have another probably five six years of like legit bulking where I

So enjoy the cuts. You're not building muscle. Take your foot off the gas a little bit when it...

that I really don't see a point just trying to get shredded mini Cuts sure that's one thing but I'm why now why now I'll do it when I have all that muscle so when I'm at the most level of muscularity that I want to be

sure then I'll cut and when it comes to bulking it's nobody takes their bulk seriously like how how many times do you hear these guys talk about I gain this many pounds per month I'm doing my bulk for

this long of a of a time period I'm aiming to hit this body weight and gain this much per week per month Etc nobody talks about it the way that most people bulk especially these influencers they get way too shredded with not enough

muscle they just take good pictures and good lighting so they look a little bit a little bit bigger than they are and this isn't to try and call it influences or whatever but this is what I'm trying to say

these guys get super shredded you want to copy them because they look great on Instagram and have a bunch of followers they call their bulk the off season so they get super shredded realize it's not sustainable do a bodybuilding show or

whatever rebound gain like 15 pounds in a month and then just maintain that higher body fat percentage physique until they have to cut again and they call it a bulk that's not a bulk a bulk is it's the inverse of a cut just a

slower process if you're cutting losing eight pounds a month or two pounds a week for four weeks six weeks whatever a bulk is probably I don't know maybe a quarter of that rate for four times as long it's pretty straightforward but

we're so precise with our Cuts but when it comes to bulks it's like all right well just rebound gain a bunch of fat real quick which destroys your health and then just maintain that weight for six months until you decide you want to

get shredded again that's the least productive way to go about things if you're going to do a bulk take it slow pick a Target I mean to give you a general rule of thumb guys I'd say two to maybe three and a half to four

pounds gained per month for a beginner training hard that's not a bad starting point for my intermediate guys a pound and a half to two pounds a month maybe two and a half is great if you're a little bit

more advanced a pound a month maybe a pound and a half a month is a perfect spot to be in I'm aiming for about a pound and a half maybe up to two pounds per month on my bulk right now I'm

weighing myself every day I have a a chart that that checks my trend line to make sure I'm on Pace this isn't me just oh I finished my mini cut so now it's off season let me just gain

15 pounds right back and and call it bulking and half-assed my training when I was cutting yeah my training I'm not I'm not gonna say it was half-assed because I was still training hard but I didn't think about it I just said all

right well this this will maintain my muscle I'll just go do this could I have done better maybe could I maintained a little more muscle maybe but now that I'm bulking I have systems in place to allow me to maximize the

work that I'm doing and maximize volume when I need to and progress when I need to Nobody Does this on a bulk because you you start bulking you just get afraid that your abs are gone and you're just

you're blinded by that you need to look outwards you have every single other muscle in your body to grow and to give hypertrophy to so it upsets me to see the potential that so many lifters have and and not to

mention just the the mental health aspect when you're so caught up in just constantly being shredded that takes a toll on you I see it all the time when it comes to building when you focus on building muscle and you put that as your

top priority you don't really care if you lose your abs because yeah maybe my abs are a little bit more faded but every single other muscle group is growing including your abs you just don't see it yet because you haven't cut back down to

see the growth but when you're bulking make it precise give your body a it's a couple extra calories a couple extra calories to support muscle growth a little bit of fat is going to come with that and that's totally fine but muscle

that's what's going to stick on you that's what stays the fat is temporary I think so many of us caught get caught up in how we feel in the current present moment how do I feel right now well

bodybuilding isn't about right now and that's the I think that's the best way to put it and that's brings me back to that first topic I had it's about patience bodybuilding builds patience don't focus on how you feel right now

take the steps to get there when you're cutting down focus on your leanness don't worry so much about your training like I said enjoy that time get shredded see see the muscles come through like you're not building muscle in a cut so

don't focus on that don't put all don't waste all your time and energy focusing on that because you're just going to want to bulk when you're bulking don't worry about trying to stay shredded you've used to save that for the cut put

that mental energy there when you're bulking focus on building up all the muscle that you possibly can and that distracts you from worrying about your abs when you see everything else grow and guess what once you have all that muscle you can

get to a point where you're pretty satisfied with your physique and just maintain it from there and maintain a leaner physique like you've earned it at that point but if you're if you're a newer lifter or a younger guy even if

you've been Lifting for a while like myself like I've been Lifting for a while and I'm still a younger guy I still have so much time there's no need to do it yet it's the patience and that that patience that I have now was

built through bodybuilding like that I wasn't just like born some perfect oh I get it when I'm 32 I'll just get lean like that it's lifting that taught me that and I want lifting to teach you guys that too because I'm nothing

special I'm just a normal guy I think that's what I like about this channel is I'm not a genetic freak I'm not a genius I'm just a normal guy that's gone through the right experience so I think that's valuable

let's see what else I have on here don't sacrifice the future for the present the future will soon be the present that's pretty much all I got for today so if you guys have any questions or anything let me know in the comments

this should be an interesting one because I have not talked about it on the channel I'll see you guys soon