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Setting Goals.

The easy part here is recognising what needs to be done – ‘I need bulk up’. Whether this is to gain weight or build on muscles the hard bit is actually doing it, and doing it well. Once you have decided on your objective - to bulk up, an error many people make is setting unrealistic goals. The main mistake most people make is giving themselves false hope by having unrealistic expectations about exactly how long it will take to achieve their goal. Unrealistic goals boost the risk of dropping out. Instead you need to set a realistic goal and realise your time constraints to achieve those goals.

1	Give Yourself Time to Build Your Muscles The hardest part about bulking up is knowing how much to bulk up and what an appropriate target is. Keep your workouts under one hour. Short and intense!
2	Set Short Term Goals Aim at reaching little milestones along your way as opposed to just having one big end goal. For example if you have aimed to bulk up, celebrate the first session you have when you need to increase the weights you are using.
3	Track Your Progress Using note books, charts or visually tracking your weight and muscle gain is a great way to keep you on track and motivated. If you don’t know what you have accomplished then you won’t get the motivation or excitement to keep going.
4	Think About Long Term Goals Post up on your wall or fridge at home your long term goal, it makes all the short term goals that much more exciting, see what you are working towards.

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Beating Procrastination.

Once you have set your long and short term goals for bulking up, the next obstacle you need to face is procrastination. We all know that weight training shapes our body. Our mood improves, it strengthens our muscles, it helps us to sleep better, and it can be fun. So with all these amazing benefits, why do most of us procrastinate about getting started?

Procrastination comes easy to some people and they seem to just look at the negative aspects of the task. It’s easy to abandon long term goals in favour of short term desires. We tend to focus on the unpleasant tasks instead of the pleasant ones however most of the excuses are insignificant compared to the massive benefits of weight training as a whole.

1	From setting realistic goals, we have outlined what it is you want to achieve. To beat procrastination, make sure you remind yourself of your small challenges/goals along the way, as opposed to just focussing on your long term goal as one whole task to complete.
2	Set up a fun environment. Weight Training does not need to be you in a small dark garage at home. Set up your stations in an enjoyable environment where you can listen to music and invite friends over to join. Think positively about this space and you will find that you do not dread going there to workout.
3	Don’t overdo it. If you start off working out every single day at extreme rates you will overdo yourself and end up dreading your weight training programme. Instead start out by building up your training and adding to it.
4	Try to establish consistency and to change any bad habits. For example, aim for a set number of workouts or cut out highly processed snacks from your diet.
5	Set your sights on your performance goals at the start and don’t expect major physique changes just yet. You won’t be discouraged as long as your performance improves.
6	The 3 month mark is when you will start visually seeing changes. Then 6 months down the track you will be well on your way to achieving your long term goals.

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New Eating Habits.

First of all, bulking up is not about eating everything in sight and trying to lift as heavy as possible hoping that all of the increased weight gain will come in the form of muscle. To gain weight you must eat more calories than your body burns off. The most important thing is that you need to eat to gain weight. You need to eat like you've never eaten before (but not junk food like pies and chips or chocolate). In other words, you need a weight gain diet.

First of all, bulking up is not about eating everything in sight and trying to lift as heavy as possible hoping that all of the increased weight gain will come in the form of muscle. To gain weight you must eat more calories than your body burns off. The most important thing is that you need to eat to gain weight. You need to eat like you've never eaten before (but not junk food like pies and chips or chocolate). In other words, you need a weight gain diet.

Protein provides the building blocks for muscle growth, and an intake between 1.2-2.0 grams of protein for each kilogram of your body weight is needed. Consuming more protein does not lead to greater gains. Increasing the total amount of food in a well-planned diet will allow most players to achieve this level of protein intake.

1	Increase your protein intake to 1.5 grams of protein per pound bodyweight.
2	Increase your carbohydrate intake to between 1.5-2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight.
3	Increase your intake of good fats.
4	Eat 5-6 times a day.
5	Eat 5-6 times a day.
6	Eat fruits and vegetables throughout the day.
7	Drink more water and cut out calorie-containing beverages (such as beer).
8	Focus on consuming lean proteins throughout the day.
9	Save starch-containing foods until after a workout or for breakfast.

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Workout Habits

Goals should always be among our top priorities to attain a healthy lifestyle. Exercise should form an important part of everybody's life. We should always make the necessary adjustment to make time for exercise.

The hardest part to any type of regime is sticking at it and making it work, It is important that you realise and understand what works for you and what doesn't, then adjusting you plan to suit those needs. Here are some great tips that can get you started on your ‘bulking up’ plan.

1	Plan your weight training sessions by putting it in your calendar. If you sit down at the start of each week, plan out what you have to do for the next 7days, you will be able to see visually when you will have time to exercise. This will make it easier to follow and get you more motivated to actually go, as you will feel more organised for the week. Making exercise a priority is a big mental obstacle that needs to be overcome so when to do exercise is a definite must.
2	Make weight training session’s fun with friends by including them in your regime. Lifting weights with a friend is a lot more fun than by yourself. It really helps when you are both working towards common goals, you can motivate each other and commit to making the habit work. You could also make your flat part of the bulking up experience by inviting them to do weight routines with you.
3	Refer back to your goals. It is a good idea to always refer back to your goals so that you can be motivated to keep up with your fitness regimen. And remind yourself why you started this in the first place.
4	Psyche yourself up on doing exercise routines by reading fitness magazines and the likes. Reading health magazines or websites mentally helps motivation for carrying out your goal. You will find that the glossy pictures and workout ideas help get you excited and inspire you.
5	The idea in each work out it to stress your muscles. You don't have to go overboard and lift the heaviest weights in the gym or at home, but you must subject your body to out-of-the-ordinary stress each workout to grow muscle and to gain weight.
6	Keep your workouts under one hour. Short and intense!
7	Concentrate on free weight exercises Concentrating on free weight exercises that work the large muscle groups is a good idea. The best weight training exercises for building mass are the simple ones. For mass, stick with compound free weight exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups and bar dips.

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