Bulking Warning

 Currently balls deep in the festive season many of us will be enjoying that sacred time of year loved by gym goers all around the world…bulking season! Traditionally that tends to be an excuse to shovel down loads of junk food…’’its ok bro, I’m bulking!’’. However, this only ever tends to end one way. Yep, as sure as chips are chips and cheese is cheese you will end up fat! Following this kind of approach just makes the next time you want to get lean to show off your ‘‘gainz’’ even harder.

Don’t get us wrong, we love a cheat meal as much as the next person. But, lean mass is what makes the most sense. Even on a lean mass programme you're likely to increase body fat. However, you should never let trying to add muscle be an excuse to just chunk up. You don't need us to tell you the health risks of looking like the guy in the picture, but here are 2 physiological reasons which explain why adding too much body fat is the worst thing you can do if you really want to build muscle:

Insulin Sensitivity 

 One of the most important factors influencing your ability to build muscle is insulin sensitivity. This refers to how sensitive the body is to the effects of insulin & it's ability to utilise nutrients properly (carbohydrates especially), repairing and building muscle in this case. Carbohydrates are crucial for building muscle on a lean mass phase. But, if body fat gets too high, insulin sensitivity will diminish and over time you will become more insulin resistant due to persistently elevated glucose concentrations. This means your body will struggle to get the nutrients you consume to the right places for muscle growth and can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes.

Maintaining a level of condition is crucial even on a mass programme. At Primitive Performance we monitor our clients body composition weekly which keeps them honest and ensures we keep making the progress we want. Its great to see weight going up on the scales, but if you're only getting fatter this can be counter productive.

 Aromatisation 

Aromatase is an enzyme responsible for a key step in the formation of estrogens, it lives in fat cells. Aromatisation is the process of testosterone being converted into estrogen. Increases in estrogen levels lead to stubborn body fat in problem areas, moobs or man boobs around the pecs, back tits around the scapular, muffin top around the lower back and abdomen the most common for men. This means that the available testosterone you have to repair and build muscle can also be compromised. 

Read the end of the first sentence again to understand this important evidence…yep, this evil gainz sucking, fat making enzyme lives in fat cells. So, what do you think happens when you let yourself get fat?! Lightbulb!

The good news is that our systems tend to be quite resilient. This means that it’s not too late! If we treat them & feed them right we can improve our health as well as the way our body’s feel and look. Through controlled monitoring we can also increase overall capacity of food even including regular consumption of favourite treats.

 Going forwards, if you're serious about adding muscle or getting in real shape we offer bespoke diet & training programmes tailor made to your body, goals & lifestyle. Check out our testimonial page for results & transformation programmes for more details of our service options.