Well, I’m officially five weeks into the offseason and the return of Project Big Ben, and I guess you could say things are getting pretty serious.

Not familiar with Project Big Ben? Check out this video (and click through to buy the PBB course)!

Over the past five weeks, I’ve gone from an all-time low bodyweight of 184 in prep to an all-time high of 240. That’s a FIFTY-SIX pound gain in 5 weeks.

Now, to be fair, the 184 was a morning weight and 240 an evening one – but I’m still waking up over 230 every day. And I’m eating close to 1000 grams of carbohydrates most days, so there’s a lot of water and glycogen bumping up my weight. But still, that’s pretty incredible progress, at least in my opinion.

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How’d I do it? Well, to be honest, I just followed Justin Harris’s instructions to the letter – but here are some general tips I’ve learned for getting huge:

  1. Cycle carbohydrates. When done properly, this method of bulking can actually increase hunger. Even as I eat more and more and get bigger and bigger, my appetite is still increasing. Justin calls this “becoming a food-processing machine,” and he’s right – my body seems to soak up all that food much more quickly and easily than I ever could have imagined.
  2. Train frequently. Take advantage of those excess calories but increasing your training workload. If you’ve followed my Unf*ck Your Program series, you know that I recommend very cautious increases in training days per week, but bulking season is one time when you can typically get away with that.
  3. Do cardio. While this seems counterproductive, cardio can help increase appetite and maintain leanness. I walk a mile first thing in the morning four times per week, and perform HIIT twice a week after training.

There’s a lot more to come in Project Big Ben, Part 2, so I hope you stay tuned!

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