Looking to build some muscle!

ParwezJay

hey everyone! I'm 6'3 and I'm looking to gain some weight. I've been working out for 8 months now, but I haven't been dieting or training properly. I've been slacking lots, and it's time that I've realized that I've been doing it all wrong. I want to take action in the right way and begin a new journey. Any advice would be great! Thank you

_Bropollo_

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

xcalygrl

The sticky is here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10049766/bulking-a-complete-guide-for-beginners/p1

It isn't a sticky anymore, but it is listed in the "Most Helpful Posts" stickied at the top.

ParwezJay

_Bropollo_ wrote: »

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

Thanks for the advice! I'm just so sick of having to look at myself in the most miserable way. The mirror is literally my enemy.

AsISmile

I just want to advice that if you are new to lifting, start with a pre made program first because those are balanced in muscle groups and structured in rests and weight increases.
Also, read the link posted.

Good luck!

JoshAylward

This may not be appropriate but when I first started training my work outs mainly consisted of doing sets of 12 reps then going down by 2 reps I.e 12.10.8.6 but the idea is you increase the weight each time by 2.5kg and week on week you increase the weights each week by 2.5kg so if you do an over head press for example the 1st week begin with 12 reps - just the bar, 10 reps - bar + 2.5kg, 8 reps - bar + 5kg .. And so on, then the following week begin with 12 reps - bar + 2.5 kg and so on

hope that that makes sense and helps

erickirb

JoshAylward wrote: »

This may not be appropriate but when I first started training my work outs mainly consisted of doing sets of 12 reps then going down by 2 reps I.e 12.10.8.6 but the idea is you increase the weight each time by 2.5kg and week on week you increase the weights each week by 2.5kg so if you do an over head press for example the 1st week begin with 12 reps - just the bar, 10 reps - bar + 2.5kg, 8 reps - bar + 5kg .. And so on, then the following week begin with 12 reps - bar + 2.5 kg and so on

hope that that makes sense and helps

Makes sense, but as a beginner it is advised to follow a tried tested and true program, don't try to invent your own, why invent the wheel when the wheel is working well.

Packerjohn

_Bropollo_ wrote: »

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

Some sources will tell you a male should be no higher than the 12-15 % BF range before bulking.

_Bropollo_

Packerjohn wrote: »

_Bropollo_ wrote: »

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

Some sources will tell you a male should be no higher than the 12-15 % BF range before bulking.

The point where most men start a cut is 20% bf. You are correct that they will usually take it down to 10-15% bodyfat (depending on goals, how bored they get cutting, etc.) before bulking. This buys most people about 6-9 months before they have to start a cut again.

Samm471

_Bropollo_ wrote: »

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

What's the ideal body fat% for a woman to start a bulk?

ndj1979

Samm471 wrote: »

_Bropollo_ wrote: »

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

What's the ideal body fat% for a woman to start a bulk?

18-22% give or take

Samm471

_Bropollo_ wrote: »

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

What's the ideal body fat% for a woman to start a bulk?

ndj1979 wrote: »

Samm471 wrote: »

_Bropollo_ wrote: »

There used to be a sticky for beginning a bulk, not sure where it went. You need to have two key things down to build muscle: a calorie surplus, and a training program with progressive overload, where your muscles are forced to grow to keep up with the loads they are being forced to pick up.

-For the calorie surplus, just tell MFP you want to gain 0lbs per week, see what it sets for you, then add 300 calories to that number. If your weight does not go up by 0.5-1lbs a week, you keep tacking on 100 calories to your daily calorie goal every two weeks until it does. Then you stay put until the weight gain stalls again, and add another 100. This process repeats until you decide you are done bulking.

-For training programs, you could follow a premade program like Stronglifts or Ice Cream Fitness. Or you can create your own; just make sure whatever you program for yourself, you build progressive overload into the program, or you will make zero progress. I recommend full body workouts every other day, or upper/lower split where you workout every day, but take a rest on the 5th day and pepper in extra rest days as needed. Programs that focus on just a couple of body parts each day will be less effective because they don't provide the weekly frequency your muscles need to maintain peak synthesis rates for new fibers: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

I will note that if your bodyfat is too high, it will hinder your ability to bulk/gain muscle. Bodyfat levels over 20% for men lead to lower use of your surplus calories toward muscle building and more into fat storage (this is called the p-ratio). So you should get an accurate bodyfat measurement using calipers (NOT those home scale tests, those are very inaccurate) so you have an idea if you should be bulking or focusing on fat loss first.

What's the ideal body fat% for a woman to start a bulk?

18-22% give or take

Cheers