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For most of the bodybuilding population, the eventual goal is nothing less than a strong, muscular physique with impressive, razor-sharp definition.

You want to be huge, and you want to be shredded as well. Because of the strong desire for this “ideal body”, most people eagerly dive into their programs headfirst. Everyone is motivated to bulk up, but at the same time are afraid of putting on excess body fat.

If you want to add a significant amount of muscle to your frame over as short a period of time as you can, you will always end up gaining some extra body fat along with it.

This is simply the nature of the entire process and if you really want to travel a significant way in the “bulking” direction, you have to be willing to accept this.

In order to increase the amount of muscle gain, you have to consume a large amount of calories in order to support the protein synthesis your body is going through. There is simply no way that every single calorie will go to muscle gain. Some if it will always end up as body fat.

You first goal is for the most dramatic gain in the shortest time. To that end it’s always better to focus first on muscle gain over a set period of time, followed by another period of time concentrating on losing the unwanted body fat.

Based on what we’ve covered so far, the goal of a bulking phase is simple: build as much muscle size as possible while minimizing body fat gains. Your goal during a bulking phase is never to LOSE body fat; it’s only to gain as little as possible.

There are three primary ways to accomplish this:

1) Use a precise caloric surplus. A caloric surplus is required to fuel muscle growth, but haphazardly cramming more food down your throat beyond what is necessary to build muscle tissue will simply cause you to gain more fat.

The general rule of thumb for muscle gain is to take 15-20% more calories than you need to keep your weight. If you are already within this range, there’s no need for you to add more.

2) Pay attention to your food choices. The vast majority of your food intake should be coming from lean, high quality proteins, natural/high fiber carbohydrates and healthy/unsaturated fats.

Instead of thoughtlessly eating every food item at hand, be sure that you’re primarily keeping to lean protein sources. It’s also important to keep your blood sugar levels stable by choosing the right kinds of carbohydrates and avoiding large amounts of saturated fats.

3) Don’t forget the cardio. You don’t have to go wild, but a good, solid 2 to 3 sessions of cardio workouts during the week will help keep your body on track, and cut back on the body fat.

Stick to high intensity/low duration forms in the range of 10-20 minutes, as these types of sessions do not cause the same degree of muscle loss as longer duration forms do.

Once you’re at a size you’re happy with and the muscle gain you want, you can focus your attention on losing that body fat. However, you want to keep working to avoid losing the muscle you’ve just gained. And remember that while bulking up, you’re going to gain body fat. There’s simply no way around it.

However, just keep in mind that while bulking up, gaining some body fat is inevitable and the trick is simply to minimize it rather than totally avoid it.

Stop wasting your time, effort and money on B.S. “Miracle Programs” that don’t deliver results! Learn the honest truth revealed by a real Body Building expert and finally start noticing the gains you want. Visit us if you want to read more Bodybuilding Articles