Am I ready to bulk?

MagnumBurrito

I would think that with 3 months total lifting experience in you life. As others have said you do not have a good foundation of muscle and a BF in the 10-15% range. Looking at the pictures I don't think you are there.

It doesn't matter what his exact BF% is. From the pic you can tell he needs to add muscle and he's got low enough body fat where it'll be very beneficial to bulk. Once you've done a legit bulk and have a good baseline of muscle, then follow the 10-15% bulk/cut repeat protocol.

Packerjohn

MagnumBurrito wrote: »

I would think that with 3 months total lifting experience in you life. As others have said you do not have a good foundation of muscle and a BF in the 10-15% range. Looking at the pictures I don't think you are there.

It doesn't matter what his exact BF% is. From the pic you can tell he needs to add muscle and he's got low enough body fat where it'll be very beneficial to bulk. Once you've done a legit bulk and have a good baseline of muscle, then follow the 10-15% bulk/cut repeat protocol.

Agree he needs to add muscle. He's only reached his maintenance weight and started lifting 3-4 months ago (and is fairly weak). IMO, he would be better off doing more of a recomp for 6 months or so, eating enough to cover the calories burned lifting to get the eating and exercise habits ingrained before doing a full blown bulk.

jmule24

MagnumBurrito wrote: »

I would think that with 3 months total lifting experience in you life. As others have said you do not have a good foundation of muscle and a BF in the 10-15% range. Looking at the pictures I don't think you are there.

It doesn't matter what his exact BF% is. From the pic you can tell he needs to add muscle and he's got low enough body fat where it'll be very beneficial to bulk. Once you've done a legit bulk and have a good baseline of muscle, then follow the 10-15% bulk/cut repeat protocol.

^^^ This ^^^^

OP - I was YOU about 2 years ago! Same weight but 2 inches shorter. Now is the best time to decide on a goal and stick to it! Regardless if you want to build muscle primarly/build strength primarly/or mix the two you need to start eating!

I made some pretty awesome strength and muscle gains using a 5x5 program. You can do the same with any good program that has 'progressive overload' incorporated into it. Here are a few links of programs I've successfully used....



https://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/jason-blaha-ice-cream-fitness-5x5-novice-workout

https://content.tigerfitness.com/juggernaut-fitness-linear-hypertrophy-program/ (most time effecient)

slideaway1

Slow bulk for two-three years adding between 20-30lbs of muscle (with newbie gains). In that time you might add about 15lbs of fat which will still look fine because of the muscle gains (You will be looking noticeably different/better after a year). Then go on a 12-16 week cut and looked ripped. Enjoy.

Packerjohn

slideaway1 wrote: »

Slow bulk for two-three years adding between 20-30lbs of muscle (with newbie gains). In that time you might add about 15lbs of fat which will still look fine because of the muscle gains (You will be looking noticeably different/better after a year). Then go on a 12-16 week cut and looked ripped. Enjoy.

If I'm reading this right you're saying 35-45 pound total gain over 2-3 years which would be a bit over a pound a month? I could go with this as opposed to someone that was suggesting a pound a week.

coryrood

I think I'm going to up my calories to 2750 for the next two weeks and retake my measurements and reevaluate

Packerjohn

coryrood wrote: »

I think I'm going to up my calories to 2750 for the next two weeks and retake my measurements and reevaluate

Sounds reasonable Best of luck.