When Coach Says “bulk”, You Bulk

When Coach says “bulk”, you bulk

Jason was a big eater. “I eat a lot” was half his personality, the other half being “I play football”. At 6ft7 and 250 lbs, Jason left highschool as a beast of a man, with huge muscles and a slight belly that always filled out his shirts, something he was very proud of. Not only was the extra bulk useful for playing offensive line, he viewed his gut as a sign of strength, masculinity, and proof that he knew how to enjoy life. "What’s the point of having a six pack if you can’t eat a large pizza in one sitting?“, he often said.

Going into college, Jason thought he’d have an easy 4 years in front of him: living his best life, being on the team and eating whatever he wanted, without pesky parents to worry about how big he was getting. 

He was wrong, but not in the way you’d expect.

"I need you to get bigger,” Coach told him. “You can put a lot more bulk on your frame. With, let’s say, an extra 100 lbs on you, you’ll be as impassable as a brick wall.”

Jason was surprised, but it didn’t sound too bad. Eating even more? That sounded like just the thing for him.

Then he found out the dietary targets Coach had set for him. 

It was a lot.

A real lot.

Days began with the biggest breakfasts Jason had ever eaten, that left him with a heavy and bloated stomach that weighed down as he made his ways to classes. He’d barely started digesting that lunch time came, with even more food to cram into his poor belly.

And that’s to say nothing about his training sessions. Bloated 24/7, Jason felt like he was exercising with a stack of plates in his stomach, forcing his core and legs to work harder, and more than once, a big impact in his gut area made him worry he might burst.

At the end of the day, despite his belly being so full, Jason would look at the chart coach gave him and realize he was still thousands of calories behind schedule. So, he’d make a big shake, and chug it down, one hand gently stroking his musclegut, hoping to stretch it a bit farther.

Jason didn’t so much lie down in bed as collapse in there, brought down by the huge mass inside his belly. And didn’t so much fall asleep as pass out from a food coma. Sometimes, he’d wake up the next morning his stomach still bloated.

“How does your stomach not explode?” once asked his roommate.

“I honestly don’t know,” Jason replied. 

It was a challenge, but Jason pushed through. When the coach told you to bulk, you bulked. 

And his hard work was not without reward. Soon it wasn’t just Jason’s belly that was straining his clothes, but also his growing muscles. Jason’s already big arms were getting thicker, while his legs were starting to rival tree trunks. Another X had to be added to his clothes size. His lifts in the gym kept going up, and on the field, he had gone from a brick wall to a reinforced concrete wall with fortifications. 

As Jason got bigger, he found his diet was getting easier to stick to. He no longer finished meals worried his stomach might burst, but was now enjoying the sensation of fullness, proudly showing off his big bloated belly to his teammate. Going to bed stuffed to the max became as essential to sleeping well as lying down. Sometimes, Jason would wake up in the middle of the night, his stomach now half empty from digestion. In that case, he’d make himself another shake, chug till he once again got that comfortably full feeling, and go back to sleep enjoying his tightly packed musclegut.

A serious athlete, Jason didn’t go out partying much, but when he did, he would steal the show. Not only did the big lineman attract lots of attention, he was good at whatever challenge came up. Arm wrestling? With biceps that big, no one stood a chance. Actual wrestling? Not injuring anyone took more effort than winning. Beer chugging? Jason’s stomach could hold tremendous amounts of beer, and with all those nutrients in his system, he was well immune against the ill effects of alcohol and could keep drinking for much longer.

***

“360 pounds”, said Coach, reading the scale. “Damn, you’re a big boy!”

Jason grinned awkwardly. That was 10 lbs over their initial target.

“That okay, sir?”  he asked. Jason had gotten so used to his mammoth diet that he wasn’t sure how he’d handle having to cut down on his eating.

“The doctor said all your tests came in fine, and I like what I’m seeing in the field,” Coach said. “I’m keeping you on the same diet for now.”

Jason smiled, and proudly patted his belly. He was, in the end, living his best life.