While weight loss is a more common goal today, some people are more interested in gaining weight for specific purposes. However, can you eat all you want? Can you rack up calories with a Big Mac post-workout or should you swap that urge for a simple chicken and veggie plate?
We all love cheat day on the diet – it's the only thing that helps us get through our workouts, but it seems that sometimes we can make the mistake of liking this day too much. According to a survey of 3,000 people by Musclefood.com , nearly 9 in 10 fitness fans confessed to regularly eating junk food; while only 13% stated that they adhered to a healthy lifestyle.
The question is: is this practice profitable? Can trying to make a dirty volume have negative consequences ?
What is dirty volume?
In general, the term refers to a controlled phase of consuming a calculated calorie surplus, and combining it with sufficient resistance training to increase muscle and strength gains.
The idea is simple: train hard in the gym and eat as much food as you can. Junk food or fruit, it doesn't matter: just put in the necessary calories to feed your muscles enough. Pizza, Donuts, Burgers, French Fries… They would all have a place in your diet if you executed your bulking period in this way.
Is dirty volume useful?
The basic premise of dirty volume is true; people using Dirty Bulking need a lot more calories than the average person. However, dirty volume is another “too good to be true” idea.
One can use this type of diet, and achieve muscle gains in no time, but this is not only far from optimal when it comes to muscle gains, it is downright unwise in terms of your overall health.
Negative effects of dirty volume
Along with the potential muscle and strength gain, unclean volume is also associated with potential negative side effects.
Unwanted fat gain
Since calorie consumption is not usually tracked in these types of diets, it is easy to achieve excess calories, which certainly leads to weight gain.
Although part of this weight will be muscle gain, a considerable percentage will be added fat.
Should not be used long term
Although dirty volume can be effective in certain situations, it is generally best used with a short-term approach during the off-season of your sport. Especially if it is focused on muscle gain.
Following one of these diets for an extended period can lead to compromised or poor health.
The reality of dirty volume
Junk food contains a lot of calories, and those calories help increase muscle mass . However, this food is called junk food for a reason: Its simple, processed, and fiber-lacking carbohydrates cause sugar and insulin levels to skyrocket that will eventually lead to possible insulin resistance.
If your body becomes less sensitive to insulin, not only will you be on the road to diabetes, but you will have a difficult time transporting nutrients to your muscle cells. Your body will also be much more likely to store fat, which is the exact opposite of what most are looking for.
Also, if you develop diabetes, your risk of kidney failure, heart disease, and stroke can increase by up to 4.
conclusion
In conclusion, if you want to gain muscle mass easily and quickly for a single occasion, dirty volume is a good option, as long as you have the monitoring of a professional nutritionist.
In the long term it can be very harmful so you have to use this type of diet with caution. Instead, a better option would be to follow a clean diet – muscle gain will take longer, but with much better and healthier results.
References
- Evans, R. (2019). Dirty Bulking: Why You Need To Know The Dirty Truth! For Bodybuilding [Revised December 2019]
- Ling, T. (2016). Will dirty bulking help you build muscle. For Menshealth [Revised December 2019]
- Preiato, D. (2019). Dirty Bulking: Everything You Need to Know. For Healthline [Revised December 2019]
