When you're young, bulking is easy. You hit the gym and you lift like there is no tomorrow. You're strong, you recover quickly, and gains aren't all that hard to come by. Your need for rest increases a bit, so you meet it, thanks to the generous personal time that being young often grants. And the diet? Fuggetabout it! You are probably on the "See-Food" diet in which you eat pretty much everything you see. You stay relatively lean due to your level of muscle mass, daily activity, and high metabolism, but you sure do eat a lot! Steak, cheeseburgers, ice cream, and just about any source of fat, carbohydrates and protein that taste good usually end up on your plate. Bulking is fun when you're young. Health and body fat aren't that much of a concern, and thanks to your elevated testosterone levels, muscle gains come easy.

When you get a bit older, things get a little tougher when it comes to bulking for muscle mass gains. First off, your metabolism begins to taper off from age 25 onward. By the time you're 30, you may notice a bit of a spare tire arriving, and it will only grow over time - even if you exercise - if your bulking goes overboard. You have to deliver a surplus of carbohydrates, fats, and particularly protein - but not so much that the overall caloric surplus leads to unreasonable body fat gains.

Health becomes a major concern for the bulking bodybuilder after the age of thirty as well. It's unusual to see heart attacks in active individuals in their twenties. However, as people reach their mid to late 30s, heart disease, particularly onset by high fat/cholesterol diets and genetics, begins to become a concern. If you have a family history of heart disease and you're over 30 years old, you are taking a substantial risk by engaging in the same bulking diet as a man 2/3 your age.

Testosterone levels are another concern for the bodybuilder over 30 years of age. As you may already know, your T levels peak at age 18, then slowly decline for the rest of your life. Most 30 year olds envy the virility of men who are 18 years old - and that's only a fraction of the drop they'll see in the coming years. To keep your testosterone levels high while consuming a great deal of food, you will want to stay away from processed carbs and saturated fats. Get your abundance of calories from lean cuts of meat and healthy carb sources such as pasta or rice. Steak, white bread, and peanut butter need to be on your menu less and less as you age.

It's fine for a man over the age of 30 to enjoy a nice bulking period in order to add some mass to his frame. However, he should be aware of the risks and other facts that come into play with such a practice in his semi-advanced age. Train hard, be smart, and use your brain when composing your diet. Good luck!