Building Bodies

Hypertrophy is triggered by resistance training, but it doesn’t end there. Muscle growth requires proper stimulus, proper nutrition (macro-nutrient and caloric surplus) and rest (sleep, non-training days) to happen.  I think you get the idea: You eat, you sleep, and you train for bodybuilding. Have I ever seen that somewhere?

But bodybuilding isn’t just about building muscle! It’s also about revealing it. As we have learned, growing muscle takes proper nutrition, which involves a caloric surplus. When a person wants to build muscle they need to eat more energy than they spend, hence having leftover to add lean tissue on their frame. However, science has not yet come to a clear consensus on the exact caloric surplus needed to put on lean tissue exclusively. Meaning that ­— as far as we know — with any surplus, eventually comes fat gain. *Gasp* ...Oh, no!  And thus we encounter:  Bulking and cutting. Bulking is performed when one aims to build muscle.

So yes, bulking is a hypertrophy-oriented phase, meaning, muscle gain is prioritized. However, as we have also established, with such comes the inevitable fat gain, or “getting too soft” in bodybuilding lingo. “But bodybuilders are shredded!” you may think. Well, yes, they are, because after they’re done building their muscles they often lose the fat. This is called “cutting” or “prep” for builders in preparation for a bodybuilding show where they need to drop body fat.
Some people see this pattern of dieting and think of “yo-yo dieting”. And although it is a close concept, it doesn’t cover the entire picture.