By Dr. L. Lowery
An Aggressive approach not for the feint hearted.
A mass-seeking lifter has to overcome the energy-sapping variables that life presents in order to
guarantee anabolism (muscle growth). Frankly, that takes an element of aggression. A man can't
just be thinking he's eating more. He must be eating more. So forget what you believe to be eating
more, and get serious in the battle of the knife and fork. If you're not eating again when you're not
"ready," you're simply not eating enough. We're not using the term "battle" inadvertently here. This
isn't always fun. It's not a "dirty bulk" done purely for enjoyment. It's a goal-oriented, serious
endeavour that can be very tough. There's a price to pay to become more muscular than those
around you. You must get more aggressive. Controlled aggression can pay dividends, though. You
just need a plan and the cajones to stick to it for months until the weight is gained.
Here's how:
10 Pounds of Scale Weight
Step 1:
For a while, you're going to focus on the scale. Your first goal is to "eat on" 10 pounds of scale
weight.
Use Chris Shugart's weighing guidelines for consistent feedback: Weigh first thing in the morning,
after a bathroom trip and before eating or drinking anything. Use the same scale every time. Don't
weigh at other times of the day or use different scales.
Now, EAT. Eat until you put ten pounds on the scale using the same weighing guidelines as above.
This may take a month. It may take three. Doesn't matter. Forget fussing with 100 extra calories here
and there. Eat.
Always carry portable foods like apples and peanut butter, low-sugar granola bars, dried fruit and
mixed nuts, FINiBARs and protein shakes. Drinking plentiful calories is huge. At time, liquids may be
33-50% of calorie intake when appetite fails. Fine, do what you need to do to keep meals big,
frequent, and moderately clean. A skipped meal is like a skipped workout. Believe it.
Stop fearing dietary fat and quality carbs, especially around workouts. Remember, these calories are
your ticket onward and upward. The scale will be your impartial judge.
Step 2:
Reach your new body mass: 10 pounds, or about 5-8% above your baseline body weight. Don't
pussy-foot around. If you're eating like a man, you should be half-way there in a month.
You can tolerate the 10-pound gain, even if it's 30-40% fat mass at first. Let's say it again: the scale is
an impartial judge of whether you're winning the battle of the knife and fork. Do you want to remain
stuck at 180 pounds forever, or force your way into a bigger shirt size?
Step 3:
Hold your new size for six months to recompose it with heavier and more intense lifting. As a bigger
man, you can lift more. If you aren't lifting hard, you'll just get fat.
Now, check out some of the good things about how a heavy lifter's body responds to aggressively
moving the fork when he's also aggressively moving more plates in the gym.
A warning to those who are overweight already:
There are limits to this aggressive approach. If you're already over 18% fat or you can't discern
moderately-clean overfeeding from junk food bingeing, this approach isn't for you. Family history of
obesity? Not for you either.
