What’s realistic progress? How many pounds of muscle can you gain? How do you measure growth? Is it pounds? Inches? And how does this coincide with training? Are short term, intense programs the way to go? Or a surefire way to crash? You have to set realistic expectations. If you’re constantly looking at the scale, you’re probably [...]
What’s realistic progress? How many pounds of muscle can you gain? How do you measure growth? Is it pounds? Inches?
And how does this coincide with training? Are short term, intense programs the way to go? Or a surefire way to crash?
You have to set realistic expectations. If you're constantly looking at the scale, you're probably heading in the wrong direction. And you're probably making one silly mistake that's keeping you from where you want to be.
Uncertainty.
Distrust.
Fear.
Merrian-Webster tells us these three words are the heart of the definition of doubt.
Doubt is dangerous. More so than ignorance. Ignorance is aplenty, but it doesn't always stop progress. Doubt kills progress.
Yaknow that bench and curl meat head at your gym? You know the guy everyone likes to make fun of online? Want to know why he has a bigger chest and bigger arms than you? He doesn't doubt. Sure, he sure is ignorant. But he doesn't question his path.
Purgatory, as mentioned in the video supplement to Clean Bulk Fail #6, is full of doubters. Full of people that don't know which way to turn.
Hundreds of e-mails reached my inbox after I wrote about whether or not you should cut or bulk. Wanna know what everyone was asking?
Whether or not to cut or bulk.
My heart wanted to link them to the 2000 word article I spent a week crafting, but I was nice enough to hear them out. Some eventually ignored my advice. That's fine with me, really. I just don't want anyone stuck in purgatory.
I was in purgatory from 2006-2010. It was the same story every October. I made decent progress in the summer (proof is in the pudding), but I felt like I needed more. So I did the bulk and cut thing. Over. And over. And over.
Progress was always lackluster, but I always sheepishly crawled back because I slaved to the wrong metrics. I always wanted to gain “x” pounds in “y” time. Body weight was my sole metric. So, at the end of the summer, if the scale didn't do me justice, I felt like I had to make drastic changes. I'd re-enter the bulking realm — a voluntary skinny-fat suicide that only Chiaotzu would be proud of.
But now?
I never use the scale. I hate the scale. It's the last metric that I'd use for clean bulking. So let's talk about the right metrics. Metrics that make sense. Metrics that won't lead to purgatory or suicide.
Good metrics, bad metrics, and further Chiaotzu suicide…
I gained ten pounds of muscle with no additional fat in one year with the Chaos Bulk. Unless you're already a muscular brick house, this is realistic yearly progress.
So the breakdown:
- 10 pounds / 12 months = 0.83 pounds per month
Let's apply this logic (albeit misguided application — my progress wasn't linear) to any short-term quest for gaining muscle without fat.
Perhaps you decide to clean bulk over the summer. Assuming you don't start a new game of Final Fantasy VII, and actually devote your free time and energy to training and doing everything as correct as possible in the kitchen, you might lock in three pounds of muscle to your frame in four months.
Great!
…right?
The problem is that weight can fluctuate daily by 5+ pounds.
So how can you gauge short-to-intermediate duration progress with a scale?
You can't.
(I could mention chaos as it relates to biological systems here, but that would make the Chaos Bulk seem way too awesome and cool….oh…wait….)
If you're focusing on the scale, you will fail.
I'm actually amazed at how many people care about scale weight.
- “How many pounds do you think I need to lose?”
- “How much muscle do I need?”
Your mind is the only thing that cares about the scale. The body doesn't know pounds, kilograms, or stone. It doesn't synthesize in a linear manner suitable for arbitrary standard measurement.
Here are four metrics you should care about:
- What the mirror reflects
- How you personally feel (body composition-wise and physiologically)
- Your progress in a handful of targeted exercises
- Your trust in the process
If you're embracing chaos, these metrics are all you got. Apply the Chaos Bulk to a progressive training program with worthwhile targeted exercises, and both the mirror and feelings will take care of themselves. So if you aren't already doing my eight essential exercises for the x physique, shame on you. Grab 8.4.X. here.
There's a big but here though. Buttttttt not all progressive training programs are ideal for clean bulking. Some will actually hinder progress. Check out the video below to find out which ones to stay away from.
Intense and concentrated short-term programs won't end well. It's not that the programs are bad. Some of them are damn good. But clean bulking simply won't match the demand. It's not built for it. Clean bulking is more of a convince than a command. You're gently pushing adaptation. It's the slow card, which makes the last metric all the more important.
You have to trust. If you have any shred of doubt, you will fail. Ignorance is better than doubt. Remember?
A lot of money is spent on ensuring trust.
- “This program will put on eighteen pounds in three seconds.”
- “This supplement will improve your nutrient partitioning overnight.”
But the money spent is often for naught…unless it brings something illegal to your doorstep.
Nothing delivers results quite like complimentary training and nutrition…and then trusting the process. Combine those three things and you're looking at an ultima weapon limit break with full health.
But how do you trust? How is it possible?
You trust your physiology all the time. You just never think about it.
You've experienced thirst long enough to kinda-sorta know how thirsty you are. But you never really know how much water will prevent dehydration.
The silly linear solution to thirst is filling a cup to the same level, and drinking the entire cup (no more…no less) whenever thirst strikes. Sometimes the cup will be enough. Other times it won't be enough. Other times it won't be enough.
(Sounds a lot like bulking and cutting right?)
You've learned to drink “enough.” You trust your judgement.
A supplement doesn't help you trust. Trust comes from understanding signals, recognizing signals, and then reacting accordingly. This is the Chaos Bulk — the future of the clean bulk.
If you don't know what signals to look for — the cues that shape muscle building — you're never going to trust.
It sounds scary, I know. For a long time, I was afraid to accept the reality of trust. But we're a chaotic system. We aren't linear. We need a nutrition program that compliments chaos. But we also need to trust. We need to find beauty in the chaos.
If you don't and can't, you won't have realistic expectations. And when you expect a chaotic system to behave linearly, you're going to fail.
Soooooo…..
This wraps up my series on the clean bulk. If you have any questions, drop them below. Be sure to check out the previous articles:
Clean Bulk Fail #1 You're Creating Training Noise
Clean Bulk Fail #2 You're Tuned Into the Wrong Station
Clean Bulk Fail #3 You Don't Have Cojones
Clean Bulk Fail #4 You're Think a Calorie Is Just a Calorie
Clean Bulk Fail #5: You Aren’t Eating Enough
Clean Bulk Fail #6: You Don't Understand the Solid Base
