HOW TO BULK LIKE A HULK?
So you want to get big? do you think it is simple? I’ll just lift me some big weights and eat me loads of protein. Easy peasy. To a degree you’re right and if you do this you will get bigger, but the smarty pants amongst you will have already asked yourself, is it really that easy, and although I’ve seen results over the last 5 years from doing just these two things I’ve often wondered about the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ behind ‘bulking up’.For conventional hypertrophy training for the novice through to the well trained, a large volume of research recommends an 8-10RM load (75-80% 1RM). Lost you already? Basically you should be lifting around three quarters the weight you can lift in just one rep – the maximum weight you can lift – for 8-10 reps to failure or near failure. Failure does not mean you can’t be bothered to lift anything else, it means you struggling to lift your final rep. Notice I say struggling. You should be able to complete it. If you can’t then you’re lifting too much. Initially you should be aiming to complete 1-3 sets per exercise, with progression from 1-2 to 3-6 sets total per muscle group.
This includes your legs. Each repetition should be performed at a ‘moderate’ velocity – the experts recommend 1-2 seconds for each concentric and eccentric cycle (each lift and lowering phase). Ideally you’re looking for 2-3 sessions per muscle group per week although I, like others, find this much more manageable by splitting my workout into body zones.
By: Saad Ali