Looking for some encouragement/advice. Women bodybuilding

swalberg0625

So I'm looking for any advice, opinions, encouragement. Anything you got for a beginner to the program. I enjoy strength training over cardio and have done some lifting so I am excited to start this program but feeling a bit overwhelmed. I just calculated my caloric intake for the first phase. At 5'3" 134lbs I'm @ 27% BF which puts me at 3291cals for the build/bulk phase. That just seems insane! Have any women started with a cut phase first? Or used a different formula for caloric intake? TIA!

swalberg0625

Program is Body Beast btw.

AliceDark

What formula or site did you use? That seems really high, honestly. We have similar stats (I'm 5'4", 125lbs), and when I was bulking I was gaining at around 2300.

swalberg0625

STEP 1. [100 - Body Fat %] / 100 x weight = Lean Body Mass (LBM)

STEP 2. LBM x 10 = Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)

STEP 3. RMR x .3 = Caloric Modification for Recovery (CMR)

STEP 4. RMR + CMR = Resting Metabolic Rate Modified for Recovery (RMR2)

STEP 5. RMR2 + 600* Calorie Intake to Maintain Weight (CIM)

STEP 6. If Body Fat (BF) is more than 20% you would take your CIM and add 10% more during the fist 2 of 3 Body Beast Phases.

AliceDark

The formula in Step 1 looks odd. Is the formula using pounds or kg?

Based on your stats, you have 97.82 pounds of LBM. According to your formula,

RMR = 978.2
CMR = 293.4
RMR2 = 1271.6
CIM = 1871.6
CIM+10% = 2058.7

Try this site; it seems to be fairly accurate: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

FromHereOnOut

I think your math is wrong. Is there an online calculator?. Unless I misunderstood, I got between 2059 and 2246 for you.

swalberg0625

I must've done my math wrong. That definatley sounds more reasonable! Thank you!

sarahstrezo

Personally, I would not bulk if I was 27% body fat. You do know that a bulk will add fat as well and muscle, right? And that there is no way around that. You can expect about 1/2 of your total gains to be lean mass (if you are lucky and train right).

I'm 5'5"...I started my first bulk at 126lbs and about 19% body fat. Over 20 weeks, I gained a total of 11 lbs (about 5-6 lbs being lean mass) and, toward the end....had to increase my total cals to 2900 to continue to gain.

This time around...I'm 10 weeks into my second bulk (after a cut over the summer) and started at 130lbs and about 17.5% body fat. I've put on about 5-6 lbs so far and just upped my cals to 2750 because the scale stopped moving.

I lift heavy 4 days a week for about an hour and that's it for exercise.

sarahstrezo

And...to add:
You can totally strength train (meaning actually getting stronger) and change the shape and appearance of your muscles while on a deficit to cut body fat.

usmcmp

sarahstrezo wrote: »

Personally, I would not bulk if I was 27% body fat. You do know that a bulk will add fat as well and muscle, right? And that there is no way around that. You can expect about 1/2 of your total gains to be lean mass (if you are lucky and train right).

I'm 5'5"...I started my first bulk at 126lbs and about 19% body fat. Over 20 weeks, I gained a total of 11 lbs (about 5-6 lbs being lean mass) and, toward the end....had to increase my total cals to 2900 to continue to gain.

This time around...I'm 10 weeks into my second bulk (after a cut over the summer) and started at 130lbs and about 17.5% body fat. I've put on about 5-6 lbs so far and just upped my cals to 2750 because the scale stopped moving.

I lift heavy 4 days a week for about an hour and that's it for exercise.

I have to agree with this. 27% should be the absolute end allowable body fat for a bulk. Usually bulks start at under 20% and end at 25% for a female. It's important to start at a lower body fat due to nutrient partitioning.

I suggest continuing to strength train and lose weight until you are below 20%. You will probably still make some small gains while losing.

JoRocka

^^ I'd support these comments.

I bulked a bit on the high side- but I wasn't looking for muscle mass specifically- I was looking for specific strength gains on my lifts- so I took the hit- and one of the reasons I'm not bulking this winter is because getting back down to pre-bulk weight is harder when you start higher.

I don't know what I was back then- but Id' say mid/high ish twenties- and I'm back to prebulk weight- took several months to drop it- and thanks to my bulk- I'm the same weight- and I don't look nearly as lean as I did a year ago- prebulk.

So YAY muscle mass- boo- I still don't look as cut as I want. LOL