Research mode for first bulk

bioklutz

I am in research mode for my first bulk. I plan to start around July and go till January (26 weeks). I am around 100ish pounds. My plan is to put on 10 pounds. That works out to be 0.38 pounds a week. I was just going to round down to 0.35 pounds/week or an extra 175 calories to start.

A lot of the reading I have done suggests 0.5 lbs/week on the low side. Does anyone know where this number comes from? I assume there is no harm in taking it a tiny bit slower. I know there is a possibility that I may feel a little too fat before I gain 10 pounds and might stop a little earlier than planned.

Does anyone have a reputable resource they can share with me. I am really interested in learning the reasoning behind reps/sets and lifts that a lot of programs choose. It is very difficult for me to weed through the good and bad information on-line without more knowledge.

mattw4jc

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226536/bulking-for-beginners
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read

bioklutz

Thanks, I have read those stickies.

I definitely am not a "hard gainer". I have been eating at maintenance for a little over a year while lifting. I will have no trouble eating more calories than I am eating now. Just to clarify, I am not underweight - just short!

What I crave is more knowledge about the science behind weight lifting. I was hoping for some book recommendations or a couple of reputable authors or websites. I have read new rules of lifting for life and many of Lyle McDonald's articles on http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/. I would like to learn more!

HamsterManV2

What are your stats? Age, height, training history, current max lifts (bench, squat, deadlift), etc. We can provide a better answer then.

Beware of over analyzing... consistently going to the gym and eating at surplus or deficit >>> researching every nook and cranny for "what's optimal"

psuLemon

HamsterManV2 wrote: »

What are your stats? Age, height, training history, current max lifts (bench, squat, deadlift), etc. We can provide a better answer then.

Beware of over analyzing... consistently going to the gym and eating at surplus or deficit >>> researching every nook and cranny for "what's optimal"

And considering there is no set specific one answer. Muscle growth has many variables like alluded to above. Some of those major variables is that the OP is a women, which kind of works against her in the muscle growth department (not nearly the amount of testosterone as a male).

bioklutz

I am 41 years old. Female. 5 feet tall. Around 100 pounds. I am eating 2,000 calories/day to maintain my current weight. I know that I am at a disadvantage for gaining muscle because of my age and sex.

I have no idea what my max lift would be. I prefer to train at a medium for me weight - but more sets. I am a worried about higher weights and reps/sets because I do not want to hurt myself. Sometimes my form suffers if I add weights to the bar too quickly. I like to be active outside of lifting weights so do not want to have an injury that would make that not possible. I have been doing this for a little over a year at maintenance and think that my body fat is getting low enough to bulk.

Is more information needed for how quickly/slowly I should try to gain weight? Does the 0.5 lbs/week recommendation come from this: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html/?

It has nothing to do with over analyzing - I am also very curious about how programs are created. I have looked at a few and really do want to understand more about how they are designed. Just one example: 5x5 does not have a push and pull in both the A and B workout. They also have squats and deadlifts in the B workout. The big 6 includes a push and pull in both workouts but separates deadlifts & squats into different days. Both are effective workouts but the differences between the two make the 5 year old inside me ask why!?

HamsterManV2

To gain or lose 1lb per week, you need to be eating +/- 500 calories. That's easy for a 200lb guy, but much harder for a 100lb girl. The general consensus for the lower weight class is to aim at +10% to +20% of your TDEE, where closer to 10% for a "slow bulk" to minimize fat gains. The mentality behind this is so that there is a finite amount of muscle one can build, especially as you get older and more female. You need less additional calories to drive the muscle adaptations. So for you, I personally suggest a slow bulk at +10% to 15% your TDEE.

Now for the 5x5 programs, I will explain because I am quite familiar with them. This is a strength program for novice lifters, where the goal is to put on the most amount of strength in the shortest amount of time. This is done by starting at a weight that just begins to challenge you, and slowly increasing the weight each time you do the lift. That means your squat will go up +15lbs per week. A novice is able to do this because they are still learning proper form, stressing the body which forces it to break down the muscles and rebuilding them better than before - adapting to it. Because the weight is relatively low, the trainee can constantly increase the weight session to session as the body keep on adapting. This is the fastest method of progression, commonly called noob gains. They eventually come to an end when the stress of the workout surpasses the recovery time required to raise the lift session to session, and a more complex method is required (i.e. the novice can now squat 1.5x his bodyweight but fails to complete all 5 reps if the weight is increased any further).

So a program like Strong Lifts or Starting Strength will work on your full body 3 times a week = you can increase the weights each and every time versus a bro-split (different bodyparts for the whole week = you increase the weight once a week).

After this stops working, you are no longer a novice! You can choose a different intermediate program (people split and choose between strength or hypertrophy/bodybuilding). A strength program like Texas Method or Madcow now have you increasing your max weight once per week instead of 3 times per week as you require more stimulus to drive the growth. Advanced programs like GZCL or 5/3/1 increase your max weight once per month as it takes even more stress and programming to drive the adaptations.

See more info about 5x5 here.

psuLemon

bioklutz wrote: »

I am 41 years old. Female. 5 feet tall. Around 100 pounds. I am eating 2,000 calories/day to maintain my current weight. I know that I am at a disadvantage for gaining muscle because of my age and sex.

I have no idea what my max lift would be. I prefer to train at a medium for me weight - but more sets. I am a worried about higher weights and reps/sets because I do not want to hurt myself. Sometimes my form suffers if I add weights to the bar too quickly. I like to be active outside of lifting weights so do not want to have an injury that would make that not possible. I have been doing this for a little over a year at maintenance and think that my body fat is getting low enough to bulk.

Is more information needed for how quickly/slowly I should try to gain weight? Does the 0.5 lbs/week recommendation come from this: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html/?

It has nothing to do with over analyzing - I am also very curious about how programs are created. I have looked at a few and really do want to understand more about how they are designed. Just one example: 5x5 does not have a push and pull in both the A and B workout. They also have squats and deadlifts in the B workout. The big 6 includes a push and pull in both workouts but separates deadlifts & squats into different days. Both are effective workouts but the differences between the two make the 5 year old inside me ask why!?

5x5 are generally for beginners who don't have a foundation of lifting. So full body and low reps will maximize muscular efficiency and provide the best bang for the buck. For a large in part, their are different theories which creates different protocols. Some separate DL from squats based on peoples ability to perform. Some would struggle with doing both at 60-80% 1RM with good form for both moves while others do not.

Regarding muscular potential, that is one of the articles that many of us reference.

se015

bioklutz wrote: »

I am in research mode for my first bulk. I plan to start around July and go till January (26 weeks). I am around 100ish pounds. My plan is to put on 10 pounds. That works out to be 0.38 pounds a week. I was just going to round down to 0.35 pounds/week or an extra 175 calories to start.

A lot of the reading I have done suggests 0.5 lbs/week on the low side. Does anyone know where this number comes from? I assume there is no harm in taking it a tiny bit slower. I know there is a possibility that I may feel a little too fat before I gain 10 pounds and might stop a little earlier than planned.

Does anyone have a reputable resource they can share with me. I am really interested in learning the reasoning behind reps/sets and lifts that a lot of programs choose. It is very difficult for me to weed through the good and bad information on-line without more knowledge.

From what I know there is no actual "research" to support the idea of 0.5 lb per week, but I mean you can't make everything purely scientific, right? It's certainly best to approach things with as much scientific research as possible, but it all comes down to what works FOR YOU and what is going to work well for you not only physically but Mentally! I know for me that if I plan on gaining under 0.5 lb per week that's barely anything, how would you keep track of a such an odd number? For me 0.5 is an even and easier number to keep track of. Anything can give you 0.2-0.3 lb of a difference even if you weigh yourself the same time each week, typically in the AM when you first wake up. Does what I'm saying make sense? I also found with my experience that doing everything so scientifically became frustrating. Don't make yourself a lab rat, you're a human being that must go through regular daily life activities which are not always completely predictable so you have lots of variables that may interfere with your approach. Have a goal in mind, but keep it fairly simple and flexible. That's my advice. 0.5 lb per week is a slower rate than 1 lb per week so I give you that and that will be a nice slow bulk for you. If you have any additional questions please PM me. Good luck! Start a good lifting routine too!

bioklutz

Thank you all! I think that it makes much more sense to eat over my TDEE as a %. 10% vs 0.5 lbs/week is a small difference but over the 6 months it is an extra 2.6 lbs. It doesn't seem like a lot but being older and female... I do plan on being flexible. If I look too fat at 108 I am going to stop. But if I still look OK at 110 I might go for another month.

HamsterManV2 & psulemon - thank you for taking the time to answer my questions about those training programs. I am thinking of purchasing this book, it looks like it might be a good reference for some of the things I am interested in knowing, without being as expensive as a text book: http://www.amazon.com/Periodization-Training-Sports-3rd-Tudor-Bompa/dp/1450469434/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

_benjammin

Sounds like you would like these books:
https://strengtheory.com/art-and-science/

http://muscleandstrengthpyramids.com

Probably would get a lot more applicable knowledge than periodization for athletes.

bioklutz

The Muscle and Strength Pyramid book looks really interesting! I found a 6 part overview on youtube and started watching it. Thanks for the links!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWmchPCyDvw

Eddie__Jones

The Ultimate Guide to Bulking Up (Without Just Getting Fat)