This will likely be the most specific and niche article that I will ever write, I’m always looking into bulking strategies and new ways for the average gym goer to build muscle. Bulking throws up many issues that I’ve covered in the past:
Bulking with a low appetite
Lean bulking
Lean bulking without counting calories
What you should eat on rest days when bulking
Bulking on a student budget
At a quick count I’ve covered around 50 topics when it comes to the ‘art’ of bulking however one thing that is glaringly obvious that people don’t ever consider when discussing a bulk is whether or not your clothes will fit you 6 months from now.
Bulking Clothes Don’t Fit? When starting a bulk of any sort you need to be accepting of the fact that you will gain size, that is the aim after all. What is never factored in however is that your current clothes won’t fit once you get deeper into a bulk, especially any pants.
With this in mind I’m just going to run through some quick tips and advice for anyone that is about to start bulking or is midway through a bulking phase and starting to realise that certain clothes don’t fit anymore.
Table of Contents
Bulking Clothes Don’t Fit
The main purpose of a bulk is to gain size, for some it’s as much size as possible whereas for others they want to build as much muscle as possible whilst also gaining as little fat as they can during the process.
Regardless of what your specific aim is, the overall aim of someone on a bulk is to put on size in one form or another. During a bulk however what you think contributes to size and what actually contributes to size are two different things.
Muscle building is actually the slowest way to gain any size, the actual rate of muscle growth is very slow and a beginner will do well to gain a few pounds of lean muscle mass per month whereas someone more advanced will be fighting just to gain a single pound per month.
Something that is muscle related and will increase size sooner is maxing out your glycogen stores in your muscle groups. Glycogen is the energy source of the muscles and when this is depleted your muscles will look smaller and flat. When you max out these stores with training and a calorie surplus high in carbs then your muscles will look fuller and rounder.
Next up is water retention, the surplus of calories and in particular carbs means that you’ll not only store more glycogen but for every gram of glycogen stored you will also store roughly 3g or water. An average human can store around 400g of glycogen so when combined with water this is an additional 3.5lbs of weight gained at the start of a bulk alone. (Source)
Finally the number one culprit for weight gain on a bulk is actually in the form of excess fat storage. I’m strongly in favor of minimizing fat gain on a bulk for the main purpose of ensuring optimal hormonal efficiency from testosterone production and insulin sensitivity but also for aesthetic reasons.
There is no point in gaining unnecessary fat if you then need to work just as hard (if not harder) to lose it again in the long run. This is the factor that can easily be minimized on a bulk however depending on how aggressively you approach a bulk in terms of a caloric surplus the more fat you will gain in the process.
The main importance of fat in relation to this article is that typically in most males we are prone to fat storage around the midsection which includes the waist, abdomen, lower back and hips. Therefore the most drastic change you will see from a bulk is that you go up a waist size or two meaning that unless you live in elasticated jogging pants your regular pants will start to get very tight!
As you can see there are a range of factors when it comes to gaining weight and size on a bulk and some of them you likely wouldn’t have considered before. For this reason it’s easy to see that when bulking clothes don’t fit properly after a while.
Do You Need to Buy New Clothes When Bulking
Whether you need a separate wardrobe for bulking and cutting will depend entirely on your current choice of clothing. If you always wear loose fitting loungewear, activewear or oversized clothing then it’s likely you will be able to get by on your current clothes without needing anything new during a bulk.
If however you wear anything tailored in the form of suits, jeans, buttoned shirts or any form of tight fitting clothing already then you will quickly start to struggle with these clothing options. There’s also the point to consider whether you wear a uniform for work.
As you can see bulking could get quite costly for some and it’s something that’s best to be thought through earlier on in the bulking phase.
If you take an aggressive approach to bulking then the water retention and fat gain will come about very quickly, it’s not unheard of for people to gain up to 10lbs in the first few weeks of a bulk as a complete beginner.
I once tested out a routine that was something along the lines of the 30 or 40 squat day challenge where you basically squatted everyday for the duration of the program. There was a combination of heavy and light days but each day you were squatting and working your legs to some degree.
At the end of it I had two pairs of jeans that I could no longer get my legs in to, I’m not saying I packed on the muscle but just from cell swelling, glycogen stores and water retention my legs actually went up a jean size in just one month.
If you are going into a bulk then you need to have the mindset that at some point your regular clothes just won’t fit you anymore, or at least until you cut down again. Therefore it’s a good idea to get some clothing essentials specifically for a bulk.
Best Clothes for Bulking
The best clothes for bulking will come down to individual style and taste so I’m not going to be recommending a specific brand or style but rather specific items that are essentially bulk proof.
Elasticated Joggers
These are the number one choice for frequent gym goers and McDonalds goers alike (though clearly for different reasons). An elasticated waist on jogging bottoms essentially means you can add a few inches to your waist without discomfort to your clothing choice.
Whilst elasticated joggers are good for the gym and general loungewear in the house there are now companies that design elasticated waist jeans and suit pants, whilst this is a very niche option it means that you are covered for most occasions and more importantly bulking and cutting!
Oversized Hoodies and Jumpers
Usually it’s females that can pull off an oversized hoodie whereas a guy just looks like they have bought the wrong size. When bulking however, you will soon start to fill these out and it will go with a certain look.
Old school bodybuilders always wore oversized jumpers and hoodies because they didn’t have the fabric or garment choices that we have today, especially in terms of the ability to blend cotton or polyester with elastane.
Therefore they had no choice but to purchase larger items and then grow into them during the offseason. These will therefore allow more freedom of movement in the gym and will also keep you covered up to avoid showing off any unwanted fat gains.
Elastane Blend
I just touched on this however modern technology in the garment industry means that you can blend a material with elastane to give your clothing a stretched fit. Activewear has boomed in recent years with market leaders like Gymshark pushing this style of clothing.
With an elastane blend it will hug your skin at the start of a bulk and simply stretch as you grow meaning you can basically wear the same item for the full bulking cycle. Finding clothing with an elastane blend is therefore the number one clothing option for a bulk.
You can purchase most things with an elastane blend now and it’s not just necessarily activewear. Jeans and formal wear have categories called stretch fit which means they will essentially fit you for the duration of a bulk.
The only thing you need to be aware of is how receptive you are to weight gain, a hardgainer might only gain a few pounds over a bulk whereas someone that naturally stores more fat might fly up the clothing sizes.
If you are in this category then even elastane blends won’t save you from outgrowing your clothes. You’d therefore need to take a slower more meticulous approach to bulking (though I advise that for most) to try and minimize fat gain along the way.
What Next
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