Use This Winter Bulking Guide to Maximise Strength, Size, and Smart Supplementation
Playing the gains game requires serious focus and dedication at a time when most people are hibernating indoors.
Winter is the ideal season to transform yourself into a mass monster because we experience various changes in hunger and hormones that can support the gains game.
As bulking inevitably causes some fat gain, the added layers of clothing make it easier to accept the trade-off in conditioning during winter.
A well-planned bodybuilding program also needs periodised phases, alternating between bulking and cutting phases. Winter is ideal for a muscle-building block, followed by a phase in spring to get beach-ready by summer.
For these reasons, those who remain dedicated through the colder months stand to gain the bulk of the benefits, emerging from winter bigger than before.
Munching for mass
It is common for your appetite to increase in winter, so are you taking full advantage? This happens due to several factors, including physiological responses to cold weather and changes in seasonal habits and emotions.
Our body needs more energy to generate additional body heat, so hormonal fluctuations drive the urge to eat, making this the ideal time to make muscle mass magic happen with an influx of calories.
Specifically, hormones like ghrelin, which signal hunger, and leptin, which suppresses appetite, can fluctuate seasonally, potentially leading to increased food cravings.
These factors make winter prime time for all those hearty, calorie-dense meaty comfort foods, like stews and casseroles. In winter, these aren’t just indulgent meals; they serve as bulking fuel that helps you optimise your caloric intake for maximal muscle gain.
But a smart approach means giving the ‘dirty bulk’ a skip. Focus mainly on quality ingredients and calorie-dense foods from natural sources, keeping fast and convenience foods to a minimum.
What your body needs for a superior winter bulking phase is a comprehensive nutrition plan that supports recovery and muscle growth with sufficient calories and the right combination of macronutrients.
Bulk up your diet
Recommended calorie intakes for those looking to add significant mass can exceed 3,500 calories a day during a mass gain phase, which is a significant daily intake.
A mass gainer supplement offers a convenient and tasty way to support – not replace – a predominantly whole-food diet, helping you hit that daily calorie target and meet your macronutrient requirements.
When it comes to selecting the best supplement to support your growth, you need something that delivers the right amount of calories and energy from carbohydrates and sufficient protein to repair damaged muscle tissue and support growth.
A product like Primal Mass High Impact Bulking Agent provides the serious calories you need to build serious mass. This high-protein, high-calorie energy meal replacement is designed with one goal in mind – to help you pack on the mass.
Formulated using high-quality whey protein concentrate, with a triple-action carb blend that includes maltodextrin, brown rice powder and ground oatmeal powder. Added Tolerase helps your digestive system deal with all the extra calories.
Train to gain
Without the need to shed fat, you ditch the cardio and HIIT to focus on pure, unadulterated heavy-a$$ weight lifting. Winter is the time to build the foundation, not the façade. Your abs are safe, nestled under all those mad gainz.
Adding serious size in winter needs an intense weight training programme built around the core compound lifts, with some muscle isolation work targeting a key muscle group a day.
A good guideline to follow is increasing your training volume to 20 sets a week per major muscle group and 12 sets a week for smaller or accessory muscles.
And winter is the perfect time to add extra sets and reps to your routine as quieter gyms make for better workouts.
Splitting your programme into an upper-body, lower-body routine can support the higher volume training approach as you train major muscle groups twice a week.
An ideal intensity is 85% of your maximum weight for 8-10 reps per set. You can also add another rest day to your weekly schedule during your bulking phase to support recovery due to the high training volume.
Support your performance
A supplement like Primal Creatine Charge can support higher training volume and supercharge the intensity of every session to promote better gains – it’s the turbo-boosting fuel you need to lift heavier and grow bigger.
Primal Creatine Charge is scientifically formulated with pure creatine monohydrate, dextrose monohydrate and alpha-lipoic acid to maximise creatine absorption to support the strength and performance gains that can increase muscle size.
After smashing those heavy weights in the gym, your muscles are screaming for amino acids to repair the damage and support growth.
Whey protein supplements like Primal Whey Protein are renowned for their ability to support recovery after training with their rapid digestion and absorption rates.
This means those building blocks of muscle get to your muscles fast, especially after a workout, giving them exactly what they need, exactly when they need it.
With its triple-action blend of whey protein isolate, concentrate and hydrolysate, with high levels of BCAAs, Primal Whey Protein is the ideal option to assist with muscle repair and support growth after training.