People who wish to develop a muscular physique should watch out for potentially unhealthy and harmful practices advocated on social media. — 123rf.com
Bulking is the practice of building muscle mass through a high-calorie, high-protein diet, combined with intense physical training.
Currently popular on TikTok, particularly among young people, bulking is not without health risks.
The videos posted on the platform usually involve physical transformations, or before-and-after videos, showing someone going from a slim body to a more muscular, toned physique.
While bulking is a practice long employed by bodybuilders and weightlifters, their transformations are generally medically supervised.
But today, more and more young people are taking up the practice without guidance.
Paris-based nutritionist Dr Faïza Bossy has noted this trend since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There has been 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 says.
The aim of bulking is to gain muscle, in particular, by modifying your diet and focusing on high-protein foods.
However, care should be taken not to exceed the recommended amount.
“Average consumption should be 0.8 grammes of protein per kilo of weight per day.
“Above one or two grammes, the kidneys, which are responsible for eliminating proteins, find themselves working much harder.
“In some cases, this can lead to kidney stones,” she says.
Bulking can also initially lead to bloating, gas, constipation or headaches, according to Dr Bossy.
In women, amenorrhoea (absence of menstruation) can 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”.
Clean vs dirty bulking
Dr Bossy also 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,” she explains.
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 men – often 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,” she explains.
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On TikTok, thousands of videos advocate dirty bulking and attract millions of views.
Unsurprisingly, this type of bulking is the most dangerous, as it can lead to “hyperglycaemia and even increased blood pressure,” says Dr Bossy.
Building muscle progressively
So how do you build muscle without damaging your physical health?
Dr 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.
Paris-based dietician-nutritionist and sports coach Juliana Massamba explains: “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, she advises adopting progressive loading, which consists of periodically increasing the intensity of your sessions.
“You increase the intensity of your workouts over time, i.e. 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, but above all, to give the muscles time to adapt and avoid plateauing.”
She adds: “To start with, for one month, you’ll use 10-kilo weights, and the following month, you’ll increase them by three to four kilos.”
According to the expert, this process will enable the muscles to be constantly challenged, and thus, help them gain in mass. – AFP Relaxnews
