How do you know when it's time for first bulk?
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For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.0
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galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
sounds good ..I would consider increasing cals by 250 a week and go for one pound per week loss....that would take you up to 2050 and should help with your lifts...0 -
galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
If you bulked at 0.5lb/ week you'd need to get to 183lbs to be at 20% BF. I guess after both of their responses I can definitely see the benefits of doing a recomp until Summer's end.
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galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
sounds good ..I would consider increasing cals by 250 a week and go for one pound per week loss....that would take you up to 2050 and should help with your lifts...
Thanks. Yeah, so far this is resonating with me the most. Since no one is recommending I stay at 1.5/week I'll at least increase to 1 pound a week deficit and take it from there. Possibly go to maintainance if I start seeing a good improvement in composition and strength.0 -
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galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
If you bulked at 0.5lb/ week you'd need to get to 183lbs to be at 20% BF. I guess after both of their responses I can definitely see the benefits of doing a recomp until Summer's end.
I was actually going to also suggest that if he wanted, recomp into bulk.
I typed out my long response over 20 minutes as I did some other stuff here so I didn't see the last 4 or 5 posts on page questions until now
No worries.....it's good to have a product conversation in these forums. As soon as you venture outside of "Gaining Weight" ALL BETS ARE OFF!!!!
OP - did you cut 30 lbs of weight in 16 weeks? Something I had to get out of my head was the added fat gain. Bulking should be a controlled weight increase i.e. 250 - 500 cals/week. When following these proven guidelines it's harder to gain weight than one thinks. It's such a mental game all of it!
I wish I could build up my self confidence to post before/after/current progress photos. Mad props to you for doing so!
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galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
If you bulked at 0.5lb/ week you'd need to get to 183lbs to be at 20% BF. I guess after both of their responses I can definitely see the benefits of doing a recomp until Summer's end.
I was actually going to also suggest that if he wanted, recomp into bulk.
I typed out my long response over 20 minutes as I did some other stuff here so I didn't see the last 4 or 5 posts on page questions until now
No worries.....it's good to have a product conversation in these forums. As soon as you venture outside of "Gaining Weight" ALL BETS ARE OFF!!!!
OP - did you cut 30 lbs of weight in 16 weeks? Something I had to get out of my head was the added fat gain. Bulking should be a controlled weight increase i.e. 250 - 500 cals/week. When following these proven guidelines it's harder to gain weight than one thinks. It's such a mental game all of it!
I wish I could build up my self confidence to post before/after/current progress photos. Mad props to you for doing so!
Thanks! Yes, 30 pounds in 16 weeks, I was doing 2/week for a little while at first, then slowed it to 1.5, basically by taking all the good advice the veteran MFP members had to offer.0 -
galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
If you bulked at 0.5lb/ week you'd need to get to 183lbs to be at 20% BF. I guess after both of their responses I can definitely see the benefits of doing a recomp until Summer's end.
I was actually going to also suggest that if he wanted, recomp into bulk.
I typed out my long response over 20 minutes as I did some other stuff here so I didn't see the last 4 or 5 posts on page questions until now
No worries.....it's good to have a product conversation in these forums. As soon as you venture outside of "Gaining Weight" ALL BETS ARE OFF!!!!
OP - did you cut 30 lbs of weight in 16 weeks? Something I had to get out of my head was the added fat gain. Bulking should be a controlled weight increase i.e. 250 - 500 cals/week. When following these proven guidelines it's harder to gain weight than one thinks. It's such a mental game all of it!
I wish I could build up my self confidence to post before/after/current progress photos. Mad props to you for doing so!
Honestly, I was hesitant, then I was like "do I want the help or not?" I think it's easier when you look good and have before and after pics to show off. So yea, I see where it's harder to post current pics of yourself that are not even close to your goal body composition...
Anyways, Here's my before pic for kicks. This was a couple weeks in, so about + 25lbs from my current weight.
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^^^ That's awesome! You're totally ripped now too. way to go!0
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galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
If you bulked at 0.5lb/ week you'd need to get to 183lbs to be at 20% BF. I guess after both of their responses I can definitely see the benefits of doing a recomp until Summer's end.
I was actually going to also suggest that if he wanted, recomp into bulk.
I typed out my long response over 20 minutes as I did some other stuff here so I didn't see the last 4 or 5 posts on page questions until now
No worries.....it's good to have a product conversation in these forums. As soon as you venture outside of "Gaining Weight" ALL BETS ARE OFF!!!!
OP - did you cut 30 lbs of weight in 16 weeks? Something I had to get out of my head was the added fat gain. Bulking should be a controlled weight increase i.e. 250 - 500 cals/week. When following these proven guidelines it's harder to gain weight than one thinks. It's such a mental game all of it!
I wish I could build up my self confidence to post before/after/current progress photos. Mad props to you for doing so!
I wish I did this myself as well. Self confidence was zero when I started this.0 -
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jdscrubs32 wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
If you bulked at 0.5lb/ week you'd need to get to 183lbs to be at 20% BF. I guess after both of their responses I can definitely see the benefits of doing a recomp until Summer's end.
I was actually going to also suggest that if he wanted, recomp into bulk.
I typed out my long response over 20 minutes as I did some other stuff here so I didn't see the last 4 or 5 posts on page questions until now
No worries.....it's good to have a product conversation in these forums. As soon as you venture outside of "Gaining Weight" ALL BETS ARE OFF!!!!
OP - did you cut 30 lbs of weight in 16 weeks? Something I had to get out of my head was the added fat gain. Bulking should be a controlled weight increase i.e. 250 - 500 cals/week. When following these proven guidelines it's harder to gain weight than one thinks. It's such a mental game all of it!
I wish I could build up my self confidence to post before/after/current progress photos. Mad props to you for doing so!
I wish I did this myself as well. Self confidence was zero when I started this.
And here I thought that maybe you popped in to give advice.
This is one of the very rare occasions in which you have actually given good advice to someone. Keep it up. Always better to be nice to someone instead of being mean spirited to them.0 -
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I love this thread - its so filled with great, collective advice and level-headed discussion. I get so freakin' sick of the arguing and bashing and ego crap on some threads. Thanks for your post, OP - and to the contributors for the great replies. I'm a noob to all this and I've learned a lot. Gonna bookmark and hope you follow up with your continuing progress, OP.0
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Ugh... maybe I spoke too soon ... please don't turn this into the usual crap thread for the OP's sake.0
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^^ lol, I think I got what I wanted out of the thread already. So if it goes to crap, than that's just the fate of it, and most other threads. But I think the advice has been fantastic and helpful so far.0
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galgenstrick wrote: »^^ lol, I think I got what I wanted out of the thread already. So if it goes to crap, than that's just the fate of it, and most other threads. But I think the advice has been fantastic and helpful so far.
You're not done with this thread until we sa you are!!!
I want to see more progress photos when you move to recomp or bulk status. You've clearly shown your dedication to change your body!!! Again kudos to you sir!!!
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galgenstrick wrote: »^^ lol, I think I got what I wanted out of the thread already. So if it goes to crap, than that's just the fate of it, and most other threads. But I think the advice has been fantastic and helpful so far.
You're not done with this thread until we sa you are!!! I want to see more progress photos when you move to recomp or bulk status. You've clearly shown your dedication to change your body!!! Again kudos to you sir!!!
For sure. I'll keep it updated with more photos. I've been taking them once a month for fun.0 -
Great! I look forward to your progress and pics. Best to you in your journey. ^_^0
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jdscrubs32 wrote: »jdscrubs32 wrote: »galgenstrick wrote: »For me I think aesthetics helps with the vanity. My main fear is that if I start bulking now I'll hit 20% and look like a meatball and have to do another long cut. I've been cutting for 4 months now and have the momentum and will power to keep it up for another 2 or more, but only if it will pay off in the long run.
If you bulked at 0.5lb/ week you'd need to get to 183lbs to be at 20% BF. I guess after both of their responses I can definitely see the benefits of doing a recomp until Summer's end.
I was actually going to also suggest that if he wanted, recomp into bulk.
I typed out my long response over 20 minutes as I did some other stuff here so I didn't see the last 4 or 5 posts on page questions until now
No worries.....it's good to have a product conversation in these forums. As soon as you venture outside of "Gaining Weight" ALL BETS ARE OFF!!!!
OP - did you cut 30 lbs of weight in 16 weeks? Something I had to get out of my head was the added fat gain. Bulking should be a controlled weight increase i.e. 250 - 500 cals/week. When following these proven guidelines it's harder to gain weight than one thinks. It's such a mental game all of it!
I wish I could build up my self confidence to post before/after/current progress photos. Mad props to you for doing so!
I wish I did this myself as well. Self confidence was zero when I started this.
And here I thought that maybe you popped in to give advice.
This is one of the very rare occasions in which you have actually given good advice to someone. Keep it up. Always better to be nice to someone instead of being mean spirited to them.
there is always one...0 -
galgenstrick wrote: »Squat: 100
Bench: 120
Row: 95
OH press: 60
Deadlift: 175
Based on his lift totals he's a novice and definitely in a newbie catergory. We may have different definitions of "newbie" gains. He's got a lot of strength gains to be had even at maintenance calories.....
No way could those be the extent of his newb gains. Plenty more in the tank I'm sure0 -
So I'm curious: how much does training age impact the recommendation to bulk vs. recomp? Of course it's only one factor among many, but how does it factor in?0
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galgenstrick wrote: »Squat: 100
Bench: 120
Row: 95
OH press: 60
Deadlift: 175
Based on his lift totals he's a novice and definitely in a newbie catergory. We may have different definitions of "newbie" gains. He's got a lot of strength gains to be had even at maintenance calories.....
No way could those be the extent of his newb gains. Plenty more in the tank I'm sure
Are newbie gains determined by how long you've been training properly whether in a deficit or a surplus? or are they determined by how far away you are from your genetic potential?0 -
How long you've been training. I'm legitimately curious, because I've heard different responses.galgenstrick wrote: »
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galgenstrick wrote: »
Both play a factor.
Training age - I like to think of it as the "law of diminishing returns." Your body adapts and gets accustomed to the added stressors (training volume) on the body. You will need to continue to increase volume over time in order to increase muscle mass. (Progressive overload) You can manipulate volume in a multitude of ways.
Age of trainee - It's a proven fact that younger men (19-29) have much higher levels of testosterone and for some reason at age 30 it begins to decline. You can still gain muscle mass well into your 40s - 50s but your recovery time is extended and getting the volume needed maybe more of a struggle. (I can only speak for males on this as I don't have the same tools as females.....)
Those are both quick 101 answers....
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galgenstrick wrote: »
Both play a factor.
Training age - I like to think of it as the "law of diminishing returns." Your body adapts and gets accustomed to the added stressors (training volume) on the body. You will need to continue to increase volume over time in order to increase muscle mass. (Progressive overload) You can manipulate volume in a multitude of ways.
Age of trainee - It's a proven fact that younger men (19-29) have much higher levels of testosterone and for some reason at age 30 it begins to decline. You can still gain muscle mass well into your 40s - 50s but your recovery time is extended and getting the volume needed maybe more of a struggle. (I can only speak for males on this as I don't have the same tools as females.....)
Those are both quick 101 answers....
I thought the decrease in T was primarily due to a decrease in muscle mass in older, untrained individuals. Or is there another component of ageing that decreases it?0
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