Bulking is the practice of building muscle mass through a high-calorie, high-protein diet combined with intense physical training. But while this has been a longtime goal of many health followers, especially young people on social media, bulking is not without health risks.
Just search for “bulking” on TikTok and you’ll see a host of videos on the subject. The content posted usually involves physical transformations, or before-and-after videos, showing someone going from a slim body to a more muscular, toned physique.
Bulking has long been employed by bodybuilders and weightlifters, who are generally medically supervised. But today, more and more young people are taking up the practice without guidance. Paris-based nutritionist Dr Faïza Bossy, contacted by ETX, has noted this trend since the pandemic.
“There was a resurgence of interest in body sculpting among young people, to make up for the lack of social outings. Nevertheless, it’s a process that’s not without health risks,” she said.
The aim of bulking is to gain muscle, in particular by modifying your diet, although care should be taken not to exceed the recommended amount of protein.
“Average consumption should be 0.8g of protein per kg of weight per day. Above 1-2g and the kidneys, which are responsible for eliminating proteins, find themselves working much harder. In some cases, this could lead to kidney stones,” Bossy explained.
Bulking could also lead to bloating, gas, constipation or headaches, according to the doctor. In women, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) might occur. And that’s without mentioning the injuries that can be caused by lifting heavy weights, such as “muscle or tendon injuries, and in some cases, lower back pain”.
Different forms of bulking
Bossy points out that there are different types of bulking: “Clean bulking consists of taking on extra calories from protein, but in a healthy, controlled way. You monitor the type of food ingested, and the amount of protein per day.”
But there are other, more extreme forms of bulking, which generally lead to weight gain rather than increased muscle mass, such as “dirty bulking”. This practice is generally carried out by young men.
“This one boils down to taking on protein-rich foods, mostly unhealthy, in astronomical quantities. This usually turns into weight gain rather than mass gain,” the expert explained.
On TikTok, thousands of videos advocate dirty bulking and attract millions of views. The account of user vinceazziz for example, is dedicated to this practice, and has over 300,000 followers. Unsurprisingly, this type of bulking is the most dangerous, as it can lead to “hyperglycaemia and even increased blood pressure”, Bossy noted.
Building muscle progressively
So how do you build muscle without damaging your physical health? Bossy recommends a rich and varied diet, including plenty of vitamins and minerals. It’s also important not to exceed the daily protein threshold to avoid side effects.
Juliana Massamba, a dietician-nutritionist and sports coach based in Paris, chimed in: “You can use supplements such as protein powders, as long as they don’t replace your diet. One protein shaker a day is more than enough with a good dietary intake in most cases.”
Weight-training sessions should be supervised by a sports coach to avoid injury. If you can’t be supervised by a professional, Massamba advises adopting progressive loading, which consists of periodically increasing the intensity of your sessions.
“You increase the intensity of your workouts over time, that is, the weights lifted, the repetitions or the frequency of workouts. It’s recommended not to exceed a 10% increase from one week to the next to avoid injury and, above all, to give the muscles time to adapt and avoid plateauing.
“To start with, for one month, you could use 10kg weights, and the following month you’ll increase them by 3-4kg.”
According to the expert, this process will enable the muscles to be constantly challenged, and thus help them gain mass in a safer way.