Clean Bulk for women (very thin!)

Bellchick91
Bellchick91 Posts: 148 Member
Hey Everyone

So there is a lot of info out there for tips and advice on weight loss for everybody and bulking for men. I find it difficult to find a good "bulking for women" resource. I know women have different muscle building capabilities due to hormone differences etc so the "lean bulk" for men doesn't really fit well for women.

Can anyone help me with this? I am aiming to gain just 5kg for the meantime. I am thin, at 50kg at 5'5" but I have gotten much stronger. I lift weights only - don't do cardio as muscle gain (with minimal fat) is my goal.

I haven't been doing my best with the weight gain part of things basically because I haven't been eating enough! However, I don't want to gain so much so fast that I gain mostly fat. I want to do it properly. I get to the gym about 4 times a week, each workout is about 1 hour long at least. I am fatigued after each workout.

I would really appreciate any advice regarding this (experience etc) and macros maybe? What has everyone here had success with? I also do not get my biggest meal of the day in after my workout - I work out in the morning and my largest meal is at night time. That's when I get most of my carbs to be honest. I still eat them throughout the day but my biggest meal is dinner!

Any advice - please! And tips? Thank you!
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Replies

  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
  • Bellchick91
    Bellchick91 Posts: 148 Member
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - what do you mean by "clean" bulk"?

    here is my advice:

    1. eat in a 250 calorie surplus.
    2. get in on a structured lifting program. I would suggest strong lifts, new rules of lifting for woman, or all pro beginner routine
    3. set your macros to .65 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat per pound of body weight and fill in the rest with carbs.
    4. make sure you hit micros, but don't be afraid of calorie dense foods like ice cream, pasta, bagels, etc.
    5. repeat until you get desired results
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)

    ignore that ..

    if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    edited July 2015
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)

    ignore that ..

    if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program

    Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.

    When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.

    If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.

    Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
    http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

    An actual schedule (under #10):
    http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training

    Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.

    There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. :) If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.

    I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. :) Each to their own!

    Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
    http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/

    I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. (The hype in the title is nothing more than that--hype!!!) I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.

    Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I did it. *sighs*
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Increase your calories until you are consistently gaining about a half pound a week. Don't worry about being "clean", it won't make a difference in what type of weight you gain as long as you get enough protein. If you hit all your nutritional needs you don't get "bonus" points for more veggies. There's nothing wrong with adding in some ice cream in order to hit your calorie goals.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)

    ignore that ..

    if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program

    Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.

    When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.

    If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.

    Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
    http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

    An actual schedule (under #10):
    http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training

    Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.

    There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. :) If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.

    I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. :) Each to their own!

    Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
    http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/

    I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.

    Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I tried. *sighs*

    this whole post is based on you not the OP. Why don't you focus on the OP and not yourself? I am guessing that OP is new to lifting and does not have your, or my, experience. She probably has zero familiarity with compound movements, pyramid schemes, etc.

    So I think she would do better with a good beginner program, learn proper form, run said program for three to four months and go from there.

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)

    ignore that ..

    if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program

    Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.

    When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.

    If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.

    Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
    http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

    An actual schedule (under #10):
    http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training

    Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.

    There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. :) If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.

    I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. :) Each to their own!

    Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
    http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/

    I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. (The hype in the title is nothing more than that--hype!!!) I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.

    Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I did it. *sighs*

    What does most of this have to do with the OP?
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)

    ignore that ..

    if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program

    Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.

    When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.

    If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.

    Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
    http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

    An actual schedule (under #10):
    http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training

    Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.

    There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. :) If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.

    I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. :) Each to their own!

    Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
    http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/

    I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. (The hype in the title is nothing more than that--hype!!!) I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.

    Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I did it. *sighs*

    You do know early high school was about 20 years ago now? And that all the OP asked, basically, for food advice, right?
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)

    ignore that ..

    if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program

    Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.

    When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.

    If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.

    Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
    http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html

    An actual schedule (under #10):
    http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training

    Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.

    There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. :) If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.

    I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. :) Each to their own!

    Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
    http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/

    I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.

    Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I tried. *sighs*

    this whole post is based on you not the OP. Why don't you focus on the OP and not yourself? I am guessing that OP is new to lifting and does not have your, or my, experience. She probably has zero familiarity with compound movements, pyramid schemes, etc.

    So I think she would do better with a good beginner program, learn proper form, run said program for three to four months and go from there.

    QFT
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????

    Because they had us doing pyramids in 9th grade? That's pretty beginner.

    She also says she already lifts and is looking for "bulk."

    I'm coming to the conclusion that other people's athletics programs were really light on the weight room compared to ours. LOL. We lifted 2x per week from 7th grade onward and had progressive lifting programs by 9th grade. You could choose either a "bulk" schedule or a "toning" schedule, and you had a card and went through it, station by station. This is what our volleyball players did, even
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????

    Because they had us doing pyramids in 9th grade? That's pretty beginner.

    She also says she already lifts and is looking for "bulk."

    I'm coming to the conclusion that other people's athletics programs were really light on the weight room compared to ours. LOL. We lifted 2x per week from 7th grade onward and had progressive lifting programs by 9th grade. You could choose either a "bulk" schedule or a "toning" schedule, and you had a card and went through it, station by station. This is what our volleyball players did, even

    You know new concepts have been discovered since you were in high school, right?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????

    Because they had us doing pyramids in 9th grade? That's pretty beginner.

    She also says she already lifts and is looking for "bulk."

    I'm coming to the conclusion that other people's athletics programs were really light on the weight room compared to ours. LOL. We lifted 2x per week from 7th grade onward and had progressive lifting programs by 9th grade. You could choose either a "bulk" schedule or a "toning" schedule, and you had a card and went through it, station by station. This is what our volleyball players did, even

    you have no idea what OP means by "lifting"…she could consider lifting using 10# dumbbells or machines….

    why is your reference point 9th grade and high school????

    Maybe you should let OP clarify these things so we can all give her knowledgeable information. If a pyramid scheme is so basic then why had OP never heard of it? All you did was confuse her.

    We like to keep the pseudo science/bro science/lack of overall misinformation to a minimum in this forum. I would ask that you do the same.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - I would suggest you read the below stickies. One is on bulking and one is on recomp (which you may or may not be interested in)
    Recomposition:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/33125652#Comment_33125652

    Bulking:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10049766/bulking-a-complete-guide-for-beginners
  • Unknown
    edited July 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    edited July 2015
    I agree with NDJ and love the Stronglifts program. Good luck.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    edited July 2015
    I agree with NDJ and love the Stronglifts program. Good luck.

    Also agree string lifts is a great program op !! I also like nrofl too !
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
    edited July 2015
    OP, it would behoove you to listen to @ndj1979, he knows what he speaks of and he's someone I trust implicitly when it comes to lifting.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    > small surplus
    > lift on a progressive loading program (strong lifts- starting strength- new rules of lifting- strong curves)
    > rest
    > sleep

    lather
    rinse
    repeat
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP - what do you mean by "clean" bulk"?

    here is my advice:

    1. eat in a 250 calorie surplus.
    2. get in on a structured lifting program. I would suggest strong lifts, new rules of lifting for woman, or all pro beginner routine
    3. set your macros to .65 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat per pound of body weight and fill in the rest with carbs.
    4. make sure you hit micros, but don't be afraid of calorie dense foods like ice cream, pasta, bagels, etc.
    5. repeat until you get desired results

    This is a really good starting point. Personally, I liked strong lifts because it seemed less confusing to me, and having never picked up a barbell really, I wanted it as simple as possible. But, all three programs suggested I've heard a lot of food things about.
  • terar21
    terar21 Posts: 523 Member
    edited July 2015
    I'm about to start bulking as well. Based off what I've read (here and elsewhere), I really wouldn't worry too much about thinking us ladies have different needs for bulking. The difference is really just in the size of calorie surplus. Stick to 250. We still need to hit the same macros (ndj noted them in this thread).

    About your struggles to gain, the only thing I would comment on based off my personal experience during maintenance, be careful to plan ahead if dinner is your biggest meal. That's how I tend to eat as well. I like light breakfast/lunch with snacks and a large dinner. But if I don't plan ahead, I screw up and end up not hitting my calories because the meal didn't have as many calories as I thought or I got full. Or I do get the calories but my macros are all over the place. So just keep a plan in mind so you don't end up getting to the end of the day and realizing you don't have a surplus. I know that'll be a big focus for me. Maybe that's why you're struggling to eat enough. You have to get that surplus in or it doesn't matter what strategy you're using for lifting. And like other posters said, don't worry about trying to hit that surplus "clean" and fear heavy foods. You can use things like ice cream to help get your surplus. You didn't really say anything about what you're currently eating but I suspect that might be an issue here.

    If you are looking for advice on exercise, definitely follow a structured program. Good suggestions here. Lots of options...just get the surplus too.
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    I can't wait to bulk again, not that I really ever left...

    Yeah, 250 daily and your there OP.

    Enjoy the extra feeds.

    Its glorious.
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.

    why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????

    Because they had us doing pyramids in 9th grade? That's pretty beginner.

    She also says she already lifts and is looking for "bulk."

    I'm coming to the conclusion that other people's athletics programs were really light on the weight room compared to ours. LOL. We lifted 2x per week from 7th grade onward and had progressive lifting programs by 9th grade. You could choose either a "bulk" schedule or a "toning" schedule, and you had a card and went through it, station by station. This is what our volleyball players did, even

    you have no idea what OP means by "lifting"…she could consider lifting using 10# dumbbells or machines….

    why is your reference point 9th grade and high school????

    Maybe you should let OP clarify these things so we can all give her knowledgeable information. If a pyramid scheme is so basic then why had OP never heard of it? All you did was confuse her.

    We like to keep the pseudo science/bro science/lack of overall misinformation to a minimum in this forum. I would ask that you do the same.

    cosign
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I can't wait to bulk again, not that I really ever left...

    Yeah, 250 daily and your there OP.

    Enjoy the extra feeds.

    Its glorious.

    I have about 2.5 months until run mine again ...
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I can't wait to bulk again, not that I really ever left...

    Yeah, 250 daily and your there OP.

    Enjoy the extra feeds.

    Its glorious.

    I have about 2.5 months until run mine again ...

    Likewise!
  • paris458
    paris458 Posts: 229 Member
    I have the same issue, I lift weights but I dont eat enough to gain any bulk. I am afraid I will put on more fat than muscle. so I am just going to follow your thread :)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    edited July 2015
    paris458 wrote: »
    I have the same issue, I lift weights but I dont eat enough to gain any bulk. I am afraid I will put on more fat than muscle. so I am just going to follow your thread :)

    assuming a regular ratio your fat to muscle gain should be 1:1 so if you put on 10 pounds, five will be muscle and five will be fat.

    if you want to bulk, then you have to accept that you WILL gain fat, no way around it.
  • musclegood_fatbad
    musclegood_fatbad Posts: 9,809 Member
    Like others have said, eat in a small surplus and lift weights. You should aim to gain about 1/2 lb per week as a female. Clean or dirty doesn't really matter especially while bulking. Analyze your progress every few weeks to see if you need to make calorie adjustments based on what you have gained.

    I start my bulk in about another month and a half. I find it much harder to bulk than cut.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    edited July 2015
    Like others have said, eat in a small surplus and lift weights. You should aim to gain about 1/2 lb per week as a female. Clean or dirty doesn't really matter especially while bulking. Analyze your progress every few weeks to see if you need to make calorie adjustments based on what you have gained.

    I start my bulk in about another month and a half. I find it much harder to bulk than cut.

    really???

    bulking for me is easy ...just eat more food...

    I find cutting difficult, especially the first month after a bulk ....
This discussion has been closed.