The volume phase is the one in which we try to gain as much muscle mass as possible while minimizing to the maximum the fat gain that can be caused during this weight gain.

In this phase it is convenient that we control certain variables since if we don’t do it, we’ll probably be burdening our progress both in the short and long term (and maybe also our health). Therefore, we strongly recommend that you try to avoid making the following mistakes.

Start without reverse diet

If you have been in a caloric deficit for a long time, as part of a definition stage, it is most likely that you have generated some damage at the metabolic level. This will have led to that right now you have an optimal hormonal environment to accumulate fat instead of to gain muscle mass. In other words, the opposite of what we are looking for

To reverse it, it is convenient that you use a reverse diet as a transition between the two stages. This is nothing more than gradually increasing calories instead of abruptly. As long as you keep your protein high, increasing a hundred calories every two weeks in the form of carbohydrates until you reach the final surplus can be a good idea.

Gaining too much fat

During this process it does not matter that you gain too much fat, quite the opposite. If you gain too much fat, in addition to the fact that it will be more complex for you to gain muscle mass due to the hormonal state that you will acquire, you will also have to lose it later, so that you will be during all that time without being able to progress.

This excess fat gain can be due to several reasons, so you have to assess which one is yours in particular, but the most common are usually the following:

• Run a very aggressive surplus (by underestimating intake or overestimating physical activity).
• Include a large amount of ultra – processed foods in the diet.
• Not training with enough intensity or not accumulating enough training volume.
• Do not resort to a reverse diet.
• Not giving sleep the importance, it deserves.

Go too fast

This as such would be an error that we could have included in the previous list, but it is something so important that it is convenient that we develop it. Gaining muscle mass is not a complicated process, but it is very slow. If we do things quickly and running, we will not be able to go faster, quite the opposite.

What does it mean to be in volume?

In beginners and intermediate people training it is recommended that the weekly weight gain corresponds to between 0.25% and 0.5% weekly, while in advanced people the gain should not exceed that 0.25%. This is so because advanced people have a lower capacity to gain muscle mass, so going faster will not help.

If you have been in the field of fitness and bodybuilding for some time, the word “volume” has surely reached your ears. A term that goes beyond determining the amount of physical exercise and is also used to refer to a period of muscle gain.

The bulking phase in the gym means precisely this. An interval of time in which our objectives will be aimed at gaining muscle. For good performance, you can try out the popular hgh humatrope 24mg

Although it is usually related, we do not have to make the mistake of relating a volume phase with a period in which we will gain “strength”. The relationship is not always intrinsic since the main priority of an athlete who is in volume is to increase muscle.

The bodybuilders are fully aware of the importance of this phase but athletes or athletes who have competing claims often make the mistake of obviating this period or pass it overlooked the sole argument “not be covered”.

The volume phase should never be seen as a “problem”

Obviously, everyone likes to show off a defined body on the beach but what many fitness athletes should ask themselves is that of; ¿ What will I determine if I have nothing to define what?

Indeed, to be able to show off your muscle groups to the fullest, you will first have to work on them. This takes time, patience, and progressive growth.

In any properly planned bulking stage it is impossible to increase muscle mass significantly without giving up a low percentage of body fat.

Although good planning will seek to maximize lean mass gain and minimize fat mass, maintaining a high level of definition will be impossible.

Obviously here is the grace and the work of physical trainers and nutritionists. Knowing how to program this stage as best as possible. The more fat you gain, the harder it will be to redefine. The correct distribution of the macronutrients will be essential to successfully overcome this phase.

“The more fat you gain, the more difficult it will be to redefine”

It is generally customary to limit 25% body fat as the limit for a bulking stage. Higher figures may be given in certain cases, but great care should be taken not to excessively lengthen the subsequent definition phase.

A bulking phase is achieved mainly through a hypercaloric diet. That is, a nutritional guideline that in a healthy way helps you gain weight. A phase of caloric surplus in which we will contribute more calories to the body than we actually “spend”. It is important to follow a healthy hypocaloric diet to avoid precisely this excessive accumulation of fat that I mentioned earlier.

Generating a caloric surplus based on saturated fats and processed foods is very easy, do it in a healthy way and with foods rich in micronutrients, I assure you that it is not so much.