How To Bulk Up Like a Baby

My life has just changed for the better because last week my wife Patricia gave birth to our first child “Harvey Lee Hayward”.

Having a baby certainly gives you a new perspective on life. There is a lot you can learn from observing a new born baby and their daily habits.

Much of this can directly relate to “BodyBuilding”. After all, the process of growing bigger and stronger is critical to a baby’s survival. If a baby doesn’t grow, he won’t make it, simple as that.

In this blog post I’m going to cover 3 habits that can help you build a bigger, stronger, and more muscular physique. These 3 habits come naturally to newborn baby’s and if you follow them yourself you will be able to “Bulk Up Like a Baby” 🙂

Bulking Like A Baby Habit # 1 – Frequent Feedings

When it comes to bulking up you need to consume a caloric surplus. Which simply means that you need to eat more calories than you burn off in order to have a surplus from which to grow from.

A common complaint that I hear from skinny guys is:
“I’m eating a lot of food, but I still can’t gain weight.”

Very often when we look deeper into their daily diet we’ll see that they are indeed eating “A LOT”, but only in 1 or 2 meals per day. They may have a small breakfast, small lunch, and then pig out and stuff themselves at dinner.

Trying to consume all the calories you need for bulking in just a few meals is not the best approach. It’s much easier to meet your caloric needs for growth by having multiple smaller meals throughout the day.

You can see a prime example of this with newborn baby’s. They will feed every couple hours during the day and they stop feeding once they are satisfied. You can’t “Force Feed” and stuff a baby. If you try to do so they’ll just spit it up. When you are bulking up you shouldn’t try and force feed yourself either. It’s much easier physically and mentally to consume a small meal every 2-3 hours during the day, rather than stuffing yourself with a big meal a couple times per day. By purposely stopping your meals before you feel over stuffed you’ll be hungry again sooner and this will make it easier to eat more frequently and thus consume more calories over the course of the day.

Bulking Like A Baby Habit # 2 – Lots Of Sleep

Sleep serves many vital functions. For bodybuilders the main functions we focus on are recovery, growth, and mental alertness. Without adequate sleep the time you spend in the gym is to a large degree wasted.

Up to 70% of your daily human growth hormone secretion occurs during sleep. So if you are getting poor quality sleep this can negatively impact your human growth hormone levels, hindering your recovery and growth.

During sleep is when your brain gets a chance to recharge. Resting the brain is critical for bodybuilders, especially during hard training. Your motivation and energy levels are highest when your brain is well rested. So if you find that you don’t have much energy and motivation for your workouts, lack of sleep could be the culprit.

Newborn baby’s will sleep 16+ hours per day. While adults don’t need to sleep that much, it’s a good idea to strive for 8-10 hours of quality sleep per night, especially when bulking up. The easiest way to do this is to go to bed earlier. Most people are already sleeping in as late as they can in the morning and still make it to work or school on time. So if you want to get more sleep, you need to go to bed earlier.

To help you sleep better, start your bed time preparations a couple hours before you plan to go to bed. Purposely dim the lights and turn off the computer, turn off the TV, turn off your smart phone, tablet, or whatever electronic devices you are using. These things can over stimulate your brain and hinder the sleep cycle process.

If you want to do something to keep yourself entertained before bed, read a book. Reading before bed can be relaxing and help put you to sleep without the over stimulation that you get from electronic devices.

Bulking Like A Baby Habit # 3 – Persistence

Have you ever watched a baby try to walk?

They’ll give it their best effort, struggle, and fall. They will repeat this process of trying and falling, trying and falling, over and over again… But they seem not at all perturbed by the process. They just get up and try again, and again, and again.

Eventually they will start making some progress and begin to walk. It could take them a year or more, but it doesn’t matter, they just keep on trying regardless of how many falls they have along the way. Adults can learn a lot by observing the determination that baby’s naturally have. A baby doesn’t quit, they just keep on trying until they succeed.

I get a chuckle when when I hear people say things like;
“I’ve been working out for 3 whole months and I’m still skinny, what am I doing wrong?”

Very often the only thing “wrong” is they haven’t given themselves enough time to succeed. Building a muscular physique takes time. It’s not something that’s going to happen over the course of a few weeks or a few months, but something that will be developed through persistence over several years.

Now I’m not saying that it’s going to take several years before you see any progress. However, it will most likely take at least few years of consistent training in order to develop a big muscular physique. But the years are going to pass by regardless of what you do. If you take action now you’ll be able to look back in a few years time and be proud of the body you’ve built, or you can look back in regret wishing that you had been more persistent in your training. The choice is yours, so choose wisely…

“Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”
– Napoleon Hill

There you go, 3 awesome habits that a baby can teach you that will help you build a bigger, stronger, and more muscular physique!

If you have any questions or comments related to this blog post, please post them in the comments below.