Getting into a calorie surplus can be hard for some

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  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    He knows what to do (because everyone has told him exactly what to do), he just can't bring himself to do it

    Hard to say what the resistance is, gym phobia, ED, or whatever but it's like arguing with your teenage daughter.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    jofjltncb6 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I'm usually a lurker, but I wanted to chime in. I'm a 5'9" woman, and I'm 6 weeks into my first bulk. In the time this thread has been going, I've gained some weight, been a boss in the gym, and increased my daily calories by 100. This thread has been incredibly helpful to me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I've learned a crap-ton about bulking. Secondly, I've realized that no matter how neurotic I may feel on this bulk, I'm not nearly as crazy or out-of-touch as OP. On behalf of all of the lurkers out here reaping these benefits, thank you for your time and knowledge.

    well at least we helped someone...

    glad to hear that your bulk is progressing nicely ...

    sadly, mine is about to come to an end...:(

    Mine too. In fact, I'm ending mine about a month short so I can join a local program with my wife to provide her motivations and supports with her weight loss. Ultimately, I added ~20 pounds over ~6 months in a nice steady slow bulk of almost 1 pound/week...ending at 195 pounds at 5'11" so a little short of my 200 GW. (Bonus: my calculated TDEE (without exercise) went from ~3100 to ~3500 during this time presumably because of the weight increase.)

    Now, no one talk to me for the next 3-5 months as I shed 10 of these pounds.

    I am either stopping at 185 or February 1st whatever comes first...I have been gaining just about over .5 pound per week, and all my measurements have been increasing...including my waist! LOL

    started at 175ish and as of last week I was 183.5 ...

    Now I need to cut down for beach season ...vanity is my favorite sin, to quote Al Pacino...:)

    I hear ya. Same with me, except my waist measurement fortunately stopped gaining for a long while mid-bulk. Had recently started increasing again. That's my last place to lose too. And yeah, I cut for summer too...why, I don't know since I'm an old married guy. I'll just be ready about a month earlier than usual...or maybe I'll actually get down to the BF% I want this year. From there, I plan to do a slow bulk/recomp over the summer and then back to EAT ALL TEH FOODZ!1!!eleven!!1 in the fall again. I'm still trying to make up for decades of chronic scrawnyism, so I'm still trying to add net mass each year. That also gives me an excuse to only seriously cut once each year and be at least at a slow bulk the rest of the year.

    And ugh. Just thinking about eating at a deficit is making me angsty...especially since I'm planning to be at a slight deficit for several months because that's harder than a more substantial deficit IMHO.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    edited January 2015
    He knows what to do (because everyone has told him exactly what to do), he just can't bring himself to do it

    Hard to say what the resistance is, gym phobia, ED, or whatever but it's like arguing with your teenage daughter.

    You must have nice teenage daughters. This IS irritating but he's got nothing on my lassies =D
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    3laine75 wrote: »
    He knows what to do (because everyone has told him exactly what to do), he just can't bring himself to do it

    Hard to say what the resistance is, gym phobia, ED, or whatever but it's like arguing with your teenage daughter.

    You must have nice teenage daughters. This IS irritating but he's got nothing on my lassies =D

    My teenage daughter and I almost never argue about anything. In fact, we very seldom even disagree on anything.

    I must be doing it wrong.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    jofjltncb6 wrote: »
    3laine75 wrote: »
    He knows what to do (because everyone has told him exactly what to do), he just can't bring himself to do it

    Hard to say what the resistance is, gym phobia, ED, or whatever but it's like arguing with your teenage daughter.

    You must have nice teenage daughters. This IS irritating but he's got nothing on my lassies =D

    My teenage daughter and I almost never argue about anything. In fact, we very seldom even disagree on anything.

    I must be doing it wrong.

    LOL, I have 4 daughters and the third one is now 16, so please tell me how you did it so wrong so I can make the same mistakes! ;)
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    I do have a question in regards to training with my machine. Should I be training to absolute failure? I am wondering what would be the better thing to do with this since I haven't seen much information on training with machines. I have done so with a couple exercises, but wasn't sure if it's something I should really be doing or not.
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  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    I do have a question in regards to training with my machine. Should I be training to absolute failure? I am wondering what would be the better thing to do with this since I haven't seen much information on training with machines. I have done so with a couple exercises, but wasn't sure if it's something I should really be doing or not.

    Stop worrying about training to failure. What you need to do is train longer than 20 or 30 minutes. Obviously you have decided that that "machine" is what you're sticking with. 10 pages of advice out the window I guess.

    As far as training to failure, no you don't train to failure.
    Ok, I'll stop a couple reps short of failure then. I've generally been resting 1-2 minutes between sets when I bench press, and it sounds like I need to rest longer even with higher reps. I've been struggling to get the same number of reps in on following sets.
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  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    I realize this a "lesser of two evils" situation. But in keeping with my training plan, I'm trying to decide whether I should just do quite a few sets of leg presses on leg day or should I include some leg extensions and/or leg curls. In other words, would I be better off doing 5 or 6 sets of leg presses with no isolation exercises or fewer sets of leg presses and add in the isolation exercises? Not sure if it matters, but as mentioned earlier in the thread I would be leg pressing one leg at a time.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    just disengage people! Ole Jason is never going to bulk or ditch his machine in favor of a gym..

    we tried, it did not work, and this thread is an epic failure.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    edited January 2015
    Ugh. Because I'm recoverying from shoulder surgery and doing a legs only machine based workout I'll reply.
    I'm playing around getting familiar with Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE) and will go back to a barbell routine utilizing an RPE program.
    For now, I use RPE for Leg Press.
    Day A: Couple of warm up sets, then a heavy set in the 9-10 rep range at an 8.5 RPE, then reduce load by ~7% and do 4-5 more sets of 9-10.
    Forget it, I'm not wasting my time typing Day B and C. Hopefully Sara will provide you a program and you'll stick to it.
    Basically I'm doing legs at different loads and volumes 3 days a week. Leg Press and curls 3 days a week, Extensions and calves 2x a week and a variety of glute work 3x a week.
  • elfman5150
    elfman5150 Posts: 116 Member
    I am watching this thread solely for the purpose of amusement at this point. Carry on.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    elfman5150 wrote: »
    I am watching this thread solely for the purpose of amusement at this point. Carry on.
    I don't think it's going to keep going much further. There isn't really anyone here that thinks any part of my plan can work, so there's no use for me to keep asking questions about how to make it work.

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    You don't have a plan really- so- you're right it won't work. But shrug- we can't fix what you don't want to fix.
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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    elfman5150 wrote: »
    I am watching this thread solely for the purpose of amusement at this point. Carry on.
    I don't think it's going to keep going much further. There isn't really anyone here that thinks any part of my plan can work, so there's no use for me to keep asking questions about how to make it work.

    your plan appears to be going full scale ahead with what you have been doing, which has lead to your current state of affairs...

    #fail
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,899 Member
    I am not even trying to gain weight (I've never had a problem doing that, heh), but even I can tell the OP is doing it wrong.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...< OP does this sound familiar...?????????????????????????
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...< OP does this sound familiar...?????????????????????????
    True, but I'm still clinging on to a bit of hope that just maybe, a little more food and a little more training can push my upper body out of this plateau. As it is, I think I'm still gaining strength in my legs from leg pressing.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...< OP does this sound familiar...?????????????????????????
    True, but I'm still clinging on to a bit of hope that just maybe, a little more food and a little more training can push my upper body out of this plateau. As it is, I think I'm still gaining strength in my legs from leg pressing.

    You know what the result will be? Little or no results. You need a lot more calories and a a lot more lifting volume from what I see if your "training"
  • joan23_us
    joan23_us Posts: 263 Member
    edited January 2015
    your young dont bother about that 1 lb per month slow lean gain... that's for advanced lifters who can't put on as much anymore. YOU on the other hand still has a big potential for growth spurts so why be stingy? If i were you back when I was 20 yrs. old I will ditch the walk lean all year and bulk up to a decent size for a good 3-4 years even 5 then by this time ( 25 yrs old ) hopefully you didnt get as fat then cut slowly to retain as much muscle mass as you can, I wouldn't think you'll gain that much fat sensing you already know what you want and doing.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...< OP does this sound familiar...?????????????????????????
    True, but I'm still clinging on to a bit of hope that just maybe, a little more food and a little more training can push my upper body out of this plateau. As it is, I think I'm still gaining strength in my legs from leg pressing.

    WHY.... why are you "hoping" for a little..... when the answer to a real tangible results requires REAL commitment and not just "a little"

    I don't understand why you're clinging to hope for a tiny tiny maybe when a resounding push of calories and training will get you what you want.

    What advantage are you hoping to gain? What could you possible get out of that?
    Building muscle is hard enough- you are literally hammy stringing yourself and practically setting yourself up for failure.
    -
    My question has- and continues to be WHY would you want to do that?
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...< OP does this sound familiar...?????????????????????????
    True, but I'm still clinging on to a bit of hope that just maybe, a little more food and a little more training can push my upper body out of this plateau. As it is, I think I'm still gaining strength in my legs from leg pressing.

    WHY.... why are you "hoping" for a little..... when the answer to a real tangible results requires REAL commitment and not just "a little"

    I don't understand why you're clinging to hope for a tiny tiny maybe when a resounding push of calories and training will get you what you want.

    What advantage are you hoping to gain? What could you possible get out of that?
    Building muscle is hard enough- you are literally hammy stringing yourself and practically setting yourself up for failure.
    -
    My question has- and continues to be WHY would you want to do that?
    Yes, I do want more than just "a little" progress, but where I'm still in the dark is the "how to" with the training. I still believe that Sara is right; there's got to be a way it can work to a certain point with my setup (as long as the weights remain challenging enough).

    Another thing, while I can certainly find out, I'm not even 100% positive that my nearest campus gym even has the right equipment. I know at one point they didn't even have a bar for pullups.
  • JeffseekingV
    JeffseekingV Posts: 3,165 Member
    OMG
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  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...< OP does this sound familiar...?????????????????????????
    True, but I'm still clinging on to a bit of hope that just maybe, a little more food and a little more training can push my upper body out of this plateau. As it is, I think I'm still gaining strength in my legs from leg pressing.

    WHY.... why are you "hoping" for a little..... when the answer to a real tangible results requires REAL commitment and not just "a little"

    I don't understand why you're clinging to hope for a tiny tiny maybe when a resounding push of calories and training will get you what you want.

    What advantage are you hoping to gain? What could you possible get out of that?
    Building muscle is hard enough- you are literally hammy stringing yourself and practically setting yourself up for failure.
    -
    My question has- and continues to be WHY would you want to do that?
    Yes, I do want more than just "a little" progress, but where I'm still in the dark is the "how to" with the training. I still believe that Sara is right; there's got to be a way it can work to a certain point with my setup (as long as the weights remain challenging enough).

    Another thing, while I can certainly find out, I'm not even 100% positive that my nearest campus gym even has the right equipment. I know at one point they didn't even have a bar for pullups.

    Are you kidding??? You don't know "how to"? Have you read any of your own thread? This thread? Unreal.

    And your campus may not have the right equipment, which equipment? The machine?
    Maybe it wasn't obvious, but the "how to" was referring to my weight machine.

    I set foot in that gym once or twice, but it's been too long for me to remember what exactly they have. If the pictures I'm seeing online are accurate for this particular gym, it does indeed look like they have machines, but I can't tell if there are free weights.

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  • nicoleromine
    nicoleromine Posts: 92 Member
    I just ate a chocolate chip cookie dough protein bar covered in s'mores peanut butter. Then, I'm headed to the gym for what I hope is a PR on my deadlift - here's to 160#. Doesn't that sound awesome? Just do it, man.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    insanity = doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results...< OP does this sound familiar...?????????????????????????
    True, but I'm still clinging on to a bit of hope that just maybe, a little more food and a little more training can push my upper body out of this plateau. As it is, I think I'm still gaining strength in my legs from leg pressing.

    WHY.... why are you "hoping" for a little..... when the answer to a real tangible results requires REAL commitment and not just "a little"

    I don't understand why you're clinging to hope for a tiny tiny maybe when a resounding push of calories and training will get you what you want.

    What advantage are you hoping to gain? What could you possible get out of that?
    Building muscle is hard enough- you are literally hammy stringing yourself and practically setting yourself up for failure.
    -
    My question has- and continues to be WHY would you want to do that?
    Yes, I do want more than just "a little" progress, but where I'm still in the dark is the "how to" with the training. I still believe that Sara is right; there's got to be a way it can work to a certain point with my setup (as long as the weights remain challenging enough).

    Another thing, while I can certainly find out, I'm not even 100% positive that my nearest campus gym even has the right equipment. I know at one point they didn't even have a bar for pullups.

    Are you kidding??? You don't know "how to"? Have you read any of your own thread? This thread? Unreal.

    And your campus may not have the right equipment, which equipment? The machine?
    Maybe it wasn't obvious, but the "how to" was referring to my weight machine.

    I set foot in that gym once or twice, but it's been too long for me to remember what exactly they have. If the pictures I'm seeing online are accurate for this particular gym, it does indeed look like they have machines, but I can't tell if there are free weights.
    Oh, sweet jesus. They have some kind of free weights. Every gym in the world has some kind of free weights. It may not have the ideal setup, but if it's billed as a gym (not a yoga studio or something like that), it has heavy things that are not attached that you can pick up and put down. Even the tiny community rec room-style gyms have some kind of dumbbell rack. I first picked up a barbell in a PT clinic.

    They have free weights. Go and do.
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