Eric Bugenhagen (a.k.a. professional wrestler formerly known as Rick Boogs) is a bodybuilder amid a bulking phase. Considering Bugenhagen’s physique is already massive, and he was known in the ring for his feats of strength during his matches, it’s worth a double take if he intends to pack on even more mass.

On Dec. 30, 2023, Bugenhagen published a video on his YouTube channel wherein he shared how he’s gaining muscle via a caloric surplus and a lot of protein to kick off 2024. Check out his bulking tips below:

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Dirty Bulking vs. Clean Bulking (Why Not Both?)

Bugenhagen lambasts dirty bulking, the practice of eating anything, typically a plethora of junk food, to achieve a caloric surplus, and clean bulking, the practice of eating tons of chicken and rice and other “clean” foods to build muscle without satisfying one’s tastebuds.

Bugenhagen believes there is a sufficient middle ground between the two dieting camps; that one can consume requisite calories without measuring every single morsel of food or relying on fast food lacking nutrition.

High-calorie, Easy-to-Eat Snack

Bugenhagen’s number one dieting trick blends dirty and clean bulking for a heavy protein boost. He dollops a tablespoon of peanut butter on a pair of Nature Valley Crunchy bars. The oat bars contain 190 calories. A tablespoon of peanut butter is 200 calories. The combo snack is approximately 600 calories per bar duo, with 27 grams of protein. Bugenhagen typically eats two or three — sometimes up to five — packages of the Nature Valley bars, amounting to 3,000 calories and 135 grams of protein.

While this peanut butter-smothered oat bar trick might work for Bugenhagen — and is not intended to replace meals — the real takeaway is how Bugenhagan found a way to consume his goal calorie count efficiently. Sometimes, a caloric surplus requires eating so much food that it becomes a challenge. Elite bodybuilders like Hunter Labrada are known for blending their food into liquid form to make it all easier to digest.

Bugenhagen’s choice of oat bars and peanut butter provides him with magnesium, zinc, resveratrol, antioxidants, and monounsaturated fatty acids. It’s a trick for him to bulk on the go with his busy travel schedule.

He lauds his crunchy bars and peanut butter snack for the complex carbs that keep him full of energy throughout the day. And it’s relatively cheap! Nature Valley Crunchy oat bars cost approximately 50 cents per package, and a jar of peanut butter costs about five dollars. Bulking like a bodybuilder is not often inexpensive, but finding a hack like Bugenhagan’s can help offset some financial burdens without compromising with excess sodium or unhelpful cholesterol.

Featured image: @ericbugenhagenofficial on Instagram

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