Guest blog Rene Spoelstra: tips for a successful bulking season

Promoting healthy eating, motivating people and going for the best result together: we can't do it alone. We do it with you and with our SportMeals Athletes. Every so often we ask one of them for their story. This time it's the turn of Rene Spoelstra, online personal trainer. In this blog he talks about his background and gives tips for a successful bulking season.

NICE TO MEET YOU

My name is Rene Spoelstra, I'm 27 years old and in daily life I'm an online personal trainer. You may know me from the TV programme 'Temptation Island Love or Leave'. I came into contact with fitness when I was around 15. I soon found out that training and nutrition really interest me. I was at the gym several times a week. When my friends went out drinking at the pub, I had a Coke Zero.

At secondary school everyone looked at me strangely when I turned up with trays of rice with chicken and a shaker bottle. After HAVO I started studying Business Administration, but because sport is really my thing, I then switched to Sport, Health and Management. In 2018 I started with (online) personal training and I still do it today. The people I help have different goals. It's not purely focused on building muscle. I have a lot of 'lifestyle' clients. Think of women who want to lose weight after a pregnancy, for example, or someone who wants to get in top shape but also wants to go out for dinner at the weekend.

BULKING SEASON

In this guest blog we'll briefly talk about bulking. You probably all know it. The goal of bulking is to build muscle mass. In my view, an important side goal is to gain as little fat as possible. Once you come out of a fat loss phase and your body is lean enough (in my view under 12 percent as a man), you're ready for a 'bulk' phase. Personally, I prefer to start even lower in body fat, and I do the same with my clients.

Curious about our meals made for bulking season? View all Build muscle meals here.

It's important to find out what your maintenance level has become after a cut. You can do this in an easy way: add roughly 150/200 kcal to your diet and see what happens to your weight over two weeks (weigh yourself every morning on an empty stomach and take the weekly average).

Does your weight stay stable? Then you have your (new) maintenance level. On top of that maintenance level, you add another 150 to 200 kcal. The week after, you weigh yourself again and check whether your body weight is slowly climbing. If it is, you're on the right track and you keep the kcal where they are.
When the increase in weight stops and your weight stays stable again, you add another 150 to 200 kcal.

MACROS

When you look at your macros, protein and fat stay stable, while carbs are lowered and raised. I'm at around 2.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, counted as lean mass. Fat is around 0.8/1 gram per kilogram of body weight. I make sure I get protein several times a day, to support protein synthesis.

Digestion is also hugely important. Make sure you eat foods that you digest well, and eat as many unprocessed/healthy foods as possible. You can also look at the timing of your food and certain supplements. Around and after your training, protein and carbs are important. During training you can also drink cluster dextrin, for example, to support performance and recovery.

More tips:
1. It's also important to drink enough water;
2. Try to sleep well for at least 8 hours every night;
3. Pay attention to stress management too, and make sure your body is in optimal condition to build muscle mass.

TRAINING

When it comes to training, it's important to keep a logbook. Luckily, I see more and more people doing this. Focus on progressive overload and make sure you get better at what you do every week.
So: more reps, a higher weight or better execution.

In terms of volume, do as much as you can recover well from. I recommend keeping cardio in your schedule. It supports your overall health. By keeping low-intensity cardio in your schedule, you recover faster.

In my view, it's important to track everything: your training, nutrition, weight, body fat percentage, but definitely also your health and recovery.

So when is your bulk over? It's time for a (mini) cut when: you've built up too much fat, you really have no appetite any more, or your performance in the gym is declining or you feel tired. Make sure you stay in an optimal state to bulk for as long as possible, and give yourself time to build muscle mass. This process is slower than losing fat.

Do you need help with bulking this coming winter? Take a look at my site and let me help you.

Curious about our meals?
View them here and choose healthy, quick meal preps.