Terry's 12 Week Bulk

terizius

Week 6 Review: This marks the midpoint of my bulk so its a good time for a review. Instead of reviewing each graph as normal, I wanted to create new ones that highlights the changes from then to now.


In the 6 weeks that I've been bulking, I've increased weight by 11.2 lbs while body fat has increased by 0.5%. This results in about 2lbs fat and about 9.5lbs LBM (water, glycogen, muscle, etc). Not too bad.


Overall, I've increased measurements by 9.65". This breaks down to:

Shoulders: + 2"
Chest: + 1.35"
Hips: + 1"
Waist: + 0.6"
Thighs: + 1.55"
Neck: + 0.25"
Calves: + 0.4"
Biceps: + 1.7"
Forearms: + 0.3"


Lifts have increase nicely as well. I did include my max lifts over the 6 weeks, not necessarily my week 6 lifts. This is because I switched to ATG squats and my current squat numbers haven't got back to my week 3 numbers yet. I also posted my highest tricep numbers in week 3. I'm well on track to meet my goal to increase all lifts by 20%. In fact, I've already reached that goal with my bent over rows.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my progress so far. However, I have decided to switch to Stronglifts 5x5 for the second half of my bulk. I want to do a comparison between my current hypertrophy program and a strength-based program. I'm hoping to see similar gains in growth and explosive gains in strength

keithcw_the_first

Good luck with Stronglifts!

nerdygymrat9

I forgot about the graph! I am going to see if I can make one myself! But Terry your progress is fantastic Glad that you are on this bulk journey with me!

terizius

Thanks! If you need any help with the graphs or excel, just let me know.

terizius

Week 7 Update: I switched to Stronglifts this week to do a comparison between my old hypertrophy program to this one. I don't want to make any judgments yet, so we'll just see how it goes over time.


I made a real effort to lower my fat intake this week since it was higher than I wanted. Fortunately, I was successful. Unfortunately, I didn't sufficiently replace it with carbs/protein to make up the difference so I was low on calories. That was reflected in my lack of weight gain this week.


Measurements were mixed, with gains and losses. Apparently, I do happen to have an ever expanding butt. It looks like everything I lost elsewhere went to my lower body. Thighs gained again as well, which I expect to continue since I'll be squatting every other day for the next 6 weeks.


Nothing too special on the lifts. Since its my first week doing the SL, there's nothing to compare to until next week. In theory, it will be a very linear periodization with no hiccups. The only thing of note is that I underestimated deadlifts after squats and ended up not making 5 reps. I'll try again this week and see how it goes.

keithcw_the_first

You're doing deadlifts 1x5 right?

terizius

That's the idea, but I only did 1 last time due to a pulling sensation in my lower abs. I had pulled 335 the week before and didn't fully set up for 275. Rookie mistake. I've been out of town for a few days, but tomorrow I'll give it another go.

brentopia

Just checking in to say kudos on your progress. I read the thread from time to time. Inspiring!

terizius

Thanks Brent! This week was a total disaster, but I'm back on the wagon tomorrow

leoboyten

Awesome progress, love reading your posts and learning knowledge, great job on all the planning you put together.

galengentry

Amazing posts!

terizius

Thanks everyone!

terizius

Week 8 Update: This past week was an utter disaster in terms of bulking. I had to travel out of town on business during the first half of the week, putting in 12 hours + days, so I had no gym time. I was also so busy that I didn't really eat enough either. When I got back to town, I had a ton of work to do on a new website that I created ( www.realbodiesrealresults.com ), so I didn't do any tracking/gym then either.

Ultimately, I lost 1.8 pounds, gained 0.15" in the waist, increased body fat by 0.9% and didn't track anything else. So, we are going to just pretend that week 8 doesn't really exist and give it another go this week

nerdygymrat9

terizius wrote: »

Week 8 Update: This past week was an utter disaster in terms of bulking. I had to travel out of town on business during the first half of the week, putting in 12 hours + days, so I had no gym time. I was also so busy that I didn't really eat enough either. When I got back to town, I had a ton of work to do on a new website that I created ( www.realbodiesrealresults.com ), so I didn't do any tracking/gym then either.

Ultimately, I lost 1.8 pounds, gained 0.15" in the waist, increased body fat by 0.9% and didn't track anything else. So, we are going to just pretend that week 8 doesn't really exist and give it another go this week

It is alright man, I lost like 1.5 pounds too so kind of sucks. You will push through and make week 9 better I know it

brentopia

Life has a way of throwing us the unexpected. No biggie, you got this. Looking forward to reading more of your journey.

auddii

Stupid question for you, why the limited bulks? Granted, I have no bulking experience (nor do I need to bulk, just curious), but it seems that a lot of people in this section will bulk for extended periods of time, with 3 months being on the shorter end of the range. And your first bulk was only 6 weeks.

For both of your bulks, it seems that you've been pretty conservative with your calorie intake and as a result have ended up with fairly minimal fat gain. So why not do longer bulks to try and maximize your results?

terizius

Auddii, great question, with a pretty simple two-part answer. First, I don't like bulking! While I like the results, I don't like eating that much and I really don't like the excess fat gain. At 12% body fat, I'm fatter now than I've ever been. For the first time in my life, I actually "noticed" my belly last week. I'm more accustomed to 6-8% body fat. Also, I have a pretty conservative weight goal of 165 lbs, and I'm not in a rush. Despite all of those things, I would likely keep going for longer except for the second reason - Life.

The last bulk was cut short when I get a new job and moved my family to northern Cali. Coincidentally, I am cutting this bulk short this time as well due to another move - we just purchased a house and are in the process of packing now. I have the move, 2-3 business trips, and a website project that I'm deeply engrossed in now that take up pretty much all of my free time. Once things settle down in a month or two, I will start it up again.

terizius

So, with the above post being made, I will call this bulk and report on the results tomorrow.

keithcw_the_first

Looking forward to the final graphs!