To say that bodybuilding has surged in popularity over the years would be a gross understatement. Once upon a time, the term may have been used to refer to professional athletes. Now, anyone who reads a fitness magazine can claim to be a bodybuilder – the beach body is thrown at us from umpteen angles every day.
In short, having those bulging muscles and a rippling six pack is fashionable. In fact, it’s almost become a staple of modern-day life. In slightly more scientific terms, this refers to the process of putting on muscle mass and bulking up.
Unfortunately, despite what the magazines might suggest, none of this is easy. The 6-week plans might provide slight improvement, but it’s not going to be game changing by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, some workouts are better than others, but few would disagree that the main recipe for a beach body is dedication and hard work – alongside that solid exercise regime and an adequate diet.
In fact, many people have found that following the above path is much harder than anyone is led to believe. It’s for this reason that supplements, of the legal variety we should add, have become increasingly popular. Sure, supplements have been around for decades, but it’s only recently they have been developed into safe and valuable forms of help that can make the above goals so much easier.
Following on from the above, let’s take a look at the bulking process in further detail, and highlight how you can use supplements to fuel your journey.
Table of contents
Muscle mass and bulking
Before we move into the ins and outs of how to speed up the process, let’s take a look at muscle mass and bulking in-detail.
While the phrase is branded around fairly often in the fitness industry, it could be said that it’s quite often misunderstood and few people know the real elements of this topic.
What is muscle mass and bulking?
Firstly, there are two definitions here. Muscle mass and bulking might be spoken about in the same sentence but despite this, the two are completely different.
Muscle mass is probably the most simple of the two to define. This basically refers to the size of your muscles; meaning that if you are attempting to gain muscle mass, you are effectively looking to grow your muscles.
Then, there’s bulking. This is the process of “getting bigger”, usually through food. As we all know, to experience those increases in muscle size you have to eat accordingly. In the bulking process, this means taking on more calories in a bid to facilitate that muscle growth.
So to summarize – muscle mass refers to the size of your muscles, and bulking is the process you enroll in to increase your muscle mass.
How do you bulk?
As we’ve already mentioned, a large part of bulking refers to your diet.
Some people will opt for the “clean bulk”. As some of you may have been able to determine, this is the method in which you will eat more calories, but they will be mainly of the healthy variety. It means that you are still trying to stay lean and this means that it can be hard to put more weight on.
The alternative to this is the “dirty bulk”. This is eating everything and anything in a bid to bulk and put on that muscle mass. Anyone bulking in this manner will consume fats, sugars and anything else in their path. The result is that they will be consuming a large amount of calories, but these will be by no means nutrient dense.
Naturally, this approach isn’t recommended by the experts, as it can put your physical health at risk. Sure, the initial weight gains might be hefty, but you will also put more fat on and this can lead you onto further challenges later ahead.
Of course, it’s not all about eating. You have to supplement this with an appropriate weight training plan, so you can use the protein that you have consumed and help build that bigger muscle mass.
What about legal steroids?
Now we are over the introductions, let’s move onto some of the ways in which you can ignite your muscle mass goals. As the previous section may have indicated, bulking is no easy task – and there is a fine line between consuming lots of calories, and consuming excessive fats (the dirty bulk).
This is one of the reasons why legal steroids have become so prominent in the industry over recent times. For years there was plenty of focus on anabolic steroids and in some regards, it was for every good reason. After all, real anabolic steroids had tremendous effects – they could make you boost your muscle mass and strength to emphatic levels. The fact that so many celebrities used them at one point, with Dwayne Johnson openly admitting this, highlights just how popular they were. Unfortunately, and it’s a huge downside to using anabolic steroids, this can at a detriment to your general health 1. We don’t need to dive deep into all of the side effects but suffice to say, they weren’t pleasant.
This has paved the way for legal steroids to enter the picture. Let’s get one big issue out of the way first – these are by no means anywhere near as potent as the real deal and if you’re expecting instant results, you’re likely to be disappointed.
However, a lot of people are shocked at how they still manage to supercharge bulking results, and effectively turn Mr Average into Mr Beach Body in a much faster process than the supplement-free route.
So, what exactly are legal steroids? In simple terms, they use natural ingredients to mimic the results of their older brothers, the real steroids. The beauty about this is that they affect your body identically in relation to building muscle, but don’t cause any of those terrible side effects due to the natural ingredients.
The natural ingredients can range tremendously. For example, one of the most common is Tribulus Terrestris which, in its raw terms, is a fruit extract. The big difference is that it has also been found to boost the amount of testosterone that your body produces and considering all of the studies that have been conducted about testosterone and muscle growth, this is pretty significant. Elsewhere, the likes of L-Carnitine is also hugely popular and has been found to increase energy levels as well as aiding muscle growth. All of these ingredients are backed by scientific studies, meaning that there is certainly method behind the legal steroid hype.
In a nutshell, these legal steroids have been designed to accelerate your progress in a completely safe manner. The benefits might not be quite as strong, but there are still notable differences and this is why they have caused such a stir in the industry.
Legal steroid manufacturers
The popularity of legal steroids has led to something of a saturation problem. In other words, there are umpteen companies offering legal steroids and unfortunately, not all of them are reputable. Many are just in there to make a quick buck, so to speak, and their products are far from desirable.
One of the main reasons behind this issue is the internet. It has become exceptionally easy to launch a product and with so much hype surrounding legal steroids, many small players are jumping on the bandwagon and hoping to take a slice of a constantly growing industry.
Some of the products just don’t provide any of the direct benefits that legal benefits should give you and naturally, this is a huge problem.
To avoid the above, you should only look to shop with the reputable merchants if you’ve decided that legal steroids are your thing. The following companies most definitely fall into this category, particularly since they have virtually been around since this industry exploded onto the scene.
Crazy Bulk
If shopping with a big name is your thing, Crazy Bulk could be the solution. This was one of the first brands to offer legal steroids and this is evident with the quality of their products they offer. They have been able to leverage this reputation and provide several key benefits to consumers as well, with free shipping and an investment in excellent customer service being a couple of these. The only drawback that we have found with Crazy Bulk is their emphasis on stacking. Now that they offer so many products, they regularly attempt to upsell and persuade you to stack them. While this does tend to result in bigger gains, it’s not necessarily always essential.
Flexx Labs
We spoke about free shipping with Crazy Bulk and if this is one of your key buying considerations, you should be aware of the shipping fees charged by Flexx Labs. Sometimes, it can be as much as $13.99, so it can add a considerable sum to your purchase. At the same time, if you spend more than $150, you won’t pay anything.
Now that the downsides are out of the way, let’s take a look at the immense history behind Flexx Labs. The American nutritionists behind the brand have over 20 years of experience in sports supplementation, meaning that the science behind them is absolutely second to none. A lot of customers are also supportive of their money-back guarantee, which arrives with all purchases.
Crazy Mass
There’s no doubt that Crazy Mass comes with the big recommendation. In fact, the only drawback we found with this company is that they aren’t completely transparent with the ingredients in their products – preferring to keep their proprietary formulas under wraps, which can be a big no no for some people.
That’s why we recommend CrazyBulk.
If we hone in on the positives, let’s start with their free shipping and their exceptionally high-quality ingredients (Usually ignored, but this is very important). The products are formed in facilities which are FDA and cGMP approved, with the former carrying out an inspection every year. In relation to free delivery, this is the “real deal” so to speak. What you may usually find with companies in this industry is that free delivery might be offered, but it will be performed by lesser-known carriers which have exceptionally long delivery rates.
As CrazyBulk have warehouses across both the UK and the US, it means that long shipping times are not an issue. In fact, a maximum of five business days is the advice that is usually handed out.
Bearing this in mind, and the fact that their support system is both over the phone and via email which is unusual for this industry, and the simple fact that THEIR PRODUCTS WORK, hopefully it becomes understandable why Crazy Bulk are regularly recommended.
What legal steroids are used for Bulking?
In keeping with the overall theme of this article, we’re only going to focus on bulking products here. In truth, there are scores of products available, but for the purposes of bulking up it’s probably advisable to stick with the following three. All three happen to be from Crazy Bulk, which as the previous paragraph may have indicated, is the manufacturer of choice for numerous reasons.
D-Bal Dianabol Alternative
What is D-Bal?
First on the list is D-Bal. This is a product which has been built off the back of Dianabol, which was once one of the most popular steroids in the world. It had immense muscle-building properties, and D-Bal has attempted to build on this via its natural ingredients.
The way in which D-Bal works is via nitrogen retention 2. It will allow your muscles to keep more of this substance, which has the domino effect of prompting further protein synthesis. As we all know, protein is the bread and butter of bodybuilding, so the fact that D-Bal is able to encourage this is huge.
Buy D-Bal from the official crazy Bulk website
(Only buy directly from the official website to avoid fake products and replicas)
D-Bal Reviews
Submit your review | |
I've really found my endurance increase through this product. From when I started using the product a couple of weeks ago, I've increased my bench from 225lb to 240lb. No other supplement has helped me as quickly as this.
I've always struggled to lose fat but with this product I shifted 3% in just one cycle. Also managed to increase my bench from 60kg to 75kg - which I've never been close to before. Really happy with the results here.
I've noticed a big difference in my squats, deadlifts and bench. I've only been using this for two weeks but already I'm excited to how else my body is going to react! My muscle mass has increased slightly - I'm shocked as it's such a clean product (in comparaison to others of course). I recommend it!
Buy D-Bal from the official crazy Bulk website
(Only buy directly from the official website to avoid fake products and replicas)
Testo-Max
What is Testo-Max?
The name will give plenty away with this next suggestion, with TestoMax designed as a legal steroid which can boost your testosterone levels 3. Unlike a lot of the legal steroids that have made it onto the shelves, this isn’t based on a traditional steroid and is simply focused on the philosophy of increasing the amount of testosterone.
It taps into an ingredient we’ve already looked at, tribulus terrestris. This has been found to luteinize your hormone levels, thus facilitating the production of testosterone.
Buy TestoMax from the official crazymass website
TestoMax Reviews
Submit your review | |
Still my favorite testbooster much better then any other product on the market.
I tend to judge supplements (and I've tried a lot) on my bench press - it's not the most accurate way but it's easy to compare. Testo-Max has helped me gain 20kg pretty much straight away - I just couldn't be happier!
I noticed all of the increases in strength and stamina that others have said, but one of the big things for me was my mood. I couldn't believe how much better I felt, I just felt more in the zone before each workout.
Buy TestoMax from the official crazymass website
Trenorol
What is Trenorol?
Next on the list is Trenorol, which is named only slightly differently to its “traditional” older brother, Trenbolone. This was again a hugely powerful steroid and just like D-Bal, it has been found to boost nitrogen retention.
For anyone looking for that extra push during workouts, Trenorol has been found to boost red blood cells which will mean that more oxygen is delivered to your muscles when the going gets tough.
Buy Trenorol from the official crazy mass website
Trenorol Reviews
Submit your review | |
I have been researching about legal steroids and have actually tried some of the products that you mentioned above like d-bal and anadrol i must say these are by far the most subtle and how should i say, well worth the money products. I tried crazymass that made me a bit sick.
I've been using Trenorol for 16 days and just can't believe the difference in size. My biceps, shoulder and chest have all increased by half an inch, while my thighs have made even bigger improvements. So excited to see what the next 16 days bring
I've been using this product whilst working out for five days a week and the difference is really noticeable. So many people are stopping me with compliments - I've never had that before even though I'm going to the gym the same number of times.
In the past I have used steroids (the real type), but I just couldn't keep on living with the side effects. I've changed to Trenorol and it's as close to the real thing as I've ever seen. I've got the results and I'll reorder for sure.
Buy Trenorol from the official crazy mass website
Which product is most suitable for you?
While this industry may have exploded over recent times, this has brought its own challenges. One of these is that it’s become very hard to navigate; in other words, there are countless products and it’s hard to find one that is going to work the best for your individual requirements.
We’re going to assume that you’re in this to bulk and suffice to say, not all legal steroids are going to accommodate this aim. Some are designed to help you stay lean, others to lose fat – with both of these examples hardly suitable for the modern-day bulker.
It’s not just about the bulk-factor though. For example, some of the supplements that place an emphasis on testosterone production are going to be more suitable for men rather than women. At the same time, anyone who is slightly older is more likely to benefit from these types of supplements, as it’s during the latter years where testosterone production decreases.
Bearing this in mind, the protocol for buying legal steroids certainly doesn’t focus around buying the first that comes into your sight. You do need to consider your own situation, as well as the goals of the product.
What about stacking steroids
If you have conducted any sort of research into this field, you will have most probably come across stacking. We have already touched upon it through this guide – as some of the big manufacturers of legal steroids place a big emphasis on stacking and upsell their products based on this principle.
So, what exactly is stacking? This covers the process of where you take on several products and use at the same time for maximum advantage. For some people, it might come in the form of taking one before your workout and one after, while other people may take on an even more advanced system.
When we talk about one of these systems, one surrounds cutting and bulking. We’ve already covered some of this in earlier sections of the guide, but cutting refers to the practice of dropping body fat (and minimizing the amount of muscle you lose at the same time).
Bulking on the other hand tends to occur before cutting – although this is by no means a rule as different people will opt for slightly alternate systems. As we’ve explained previously, this is all about getting as much muscle as possible. The fact that you may also accumulate some fat means that many people always feel that they should cut after a bulking phase.
What about cycles?
Our next topic, and the last for that matter, revolves around cycles. If you’ve been tuned in to the fitness industry over recent years you will have probably heard all about cycles and many athletes will be combining them with stacking.
So, what is a cycle? This is very simple to describe and revolves around the amount of time you use a steroid. This period is referred to the “on” cycle by the experts and unsurprisingly, when you stop using the steroid, you will then be “off” cycle.
Unfortunately, it’s at this point where things don’t become quite as straight forward. In other words, there are different cycle rules for different products and while some will advocate a legal steroid cycle of four weeks, others might suggest that this can be as long as eight. In fact, bulking products tend to have shorter cycles than cutting ones, or this is at least the case with many of the major legal steroid brands.4
Sources
- The difference between anabolic steroids and legal steroids (MensAnswer) George Allen
- Nitrogen retention – US national library of Medicine. Increased weight gain, nitrogen retention and muscle protein synthesis – F M Tomas, S E Knowles, P C Owens, L C Read, C S Chandler, S E Gargosky, and F J Ballard
- Effect of testosterone on muscle mass – US national library of Medicine. – Effect of testosterone on muscle mass and muscle protein synthesis – By Griggs RC1, Kingston W, Jozefowicz RF, Herr BE, Forbes G, Halliday D.
It's as simple as 'record - connect - solve'
The answers to all your questions will coming flooding back to you in seconds, and you can get on with your day.
Check out our video :
Download the App
