Jose Raymond shares his personal tactics for building muscle while avoiding as much fat as possible.
Bodybuilders often go through a cycle during the year. That cycle is bulking and and cutting. Bulking is when you focus on building muscle to be as large as possible. Cutting is when you shred down to transform that mass into a sculpted conditioned physique. The problem is – the more fat you gain during bulking the harder cutting becomes. So how do you build mass without gaining too much fat? In our latest GI Exclusive interview, Jose Raymond shares his tactics for building muscle and avoiding fat.
While we spoke with Jose Raymond in our recent interview, we asked him how aspiring bodybuilders can learn to improve their bulking phase. How does one avoid getting too fat and sloppy while they build mass? Jose Raymond admits that each body is different. Genetics can take someone a long way. But for the sake of insight, he shares his personal tactics that work for him.
In one sense, Jose Raymond doesn’t have an exact strict science during his bulking phase. He instead goes with his gut. Literally. He looks towards his stomach and makes sure that no matter how much weight he’s gaining – that his abs are still visible. If his abs start to fade, then he’s going to far with his bulking diet and gaining too much fat.
This is Jose Raymond’s general rule of thumb that works for him. It’s a guiding principle that works because he understands his body and where he gains fat as he bulks. So what kind of nutritional diet does he follow in order to avoid fading away his abs?
Check out our latest GI Exclusive segment with Jose Raymond above!
Jose Raymond focuses on clean foods. Some bodybuilders, when the bulk, will eat anything to put on the pounds. This is partially because they have favorable genetics that allow for more dirty foods in their diet. Other bodybuilders can’t get away with this. It makes for a much more grueling cutting phase. It opens up the chance that you won’t dial in your conditioning enough or time it correctly with your show.
In terms of nutrition stats, that means Jose Raymond avoids carbs. He typically will eat no more than 100 carbs a day during his bulking phase. This helps him avoid putting on unnecessary fat as he bulks.
Jose Raymond is also a bodybuilder who has been known to not have an offseason. The offseason is usually when the hardcore bulking occurs. When bodybuilders beef up but also get a little soft. Jose Raymond avoids this. The funny thing is – this wasn’t specifically a tactic. It was a product of him doing so many shows throughout the year.
Jose Raymond admits that his reputation for avoiding offseason has little to do with a specific tactic. He’s never had enough time to truly go offseason because of the large number of shows he does throughout the year. When he finishes one show, his next one is right around the corner. So he can’t afford to cut loose with an offseason phase. He’s not against full on bulking or an offseason. He’s just hardly ever been able to find the time to make it work for him.
WATCH MORE: Check out this detailed mass building exercise guide from Jose Raymond courtesy of Muscle & Strength above!
You can watch Jose Raymond go into full detail about his bulking tactics in our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
