Bulking progress should i change anything?
99JT
Posts: 59 Member
i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
0
Replies
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You say little progress, but what kind of progress have you made in terms of weight/reps?1
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I'm open to correction here but you might need to up the calories again by 250 as you seem to have stalled. Give it another week and if you are still recording 168, increase.
Have you a goal weight in mind? How long have you been bulking for? Do you know what your body fat was before and what it is now?0 -
jdscrubs32 wrote: »I'm open to correction here but you might need to up the calories again by 250 as you seem to have stalled. Give it another week and if you are still recording 168, increase.
Have you a goal weight in mind? How long have you been bulking for? Do you know what your body fat was before and what it is now?
im not sure for a goal weight when i first started working out a little over a year ago i was 150@6' and my goal was 175 but now im thinking more. im guessing my BF is ~15%. here are some pics the first is when i started and the other is from december.
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How long have you actually been strength training, and at what frequency/program?0
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Looks like progress!! You are more muscular, for sure!
I'd agree looks like a stall to me as well. A few pounds up and down is most likely water weight.
If it's not already I'd say Bench, Deadlift, Back Squat, Front Squat, Cleans (full and power), Press and Push Press should be a heavy staple in your routine.
Your body type looks like mine. Eat, eat, eat!!! Don't worry about the little bit of fat you will get, once you get your cals back down your body type will take care of the fat with minimal cardio.
Good luck!0 -
jdscrubs32 wrote: »I'm open to correction here but you might need to up the calories again by 250 as you seem to have stalled. Give it another week and if you are still recording 168, increase.
Have you a goal weight in mind? How long have you been bulking for? Do you know what your body fat was before and what it is now?
im not sure for a goal weight when i first started working out a little over a year ago i was 150@6' and my goal was 175 but now im thinking more. im guessing my BF is ~15%. here are some pics the first is when i started and the other is from december.
As @JB035 said, you have made progress. Well done so far. However seems like you have definitely stalled. So up the calories by another 250, give it a month, if the weight has gone up, carry on, if not, increase again.
I'll second the question that @Gallowmere1984 asked - how long have you been lifting? Are you on a structured program?0 -
I have been lifting for roughy 1.5 years at first i had no idea what i was doing and just used machines, then moved to free weights. i never tracked calories but was gaining weight. then i stalled so i started teacking cals roughly a year ago but did not keep track of my weight until last month when i realized that it had been 9 months and i only gained 6lbs. i am currently on a 4 day split legs,chest/sholders, back, arms.0
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Also any working sets should be in the 6-8 rep range... HEAVY! It's not a working set until you're in the 75% of your 1RM (one rep max).
An initial surge in weight gain is the newbie easy weight gain, from here on out you will have to work for it more strategically.
What's your rep ranges once you get to your working sets and your load %?1 -
Also any working sets should be in the 6-8 rep range... HEAVY! It's not a working set until you're in the 75% of your 1RM (one rep max).
An initial surge in weight gain is the newbie easy weight gain, from here on out you will have to work for it more strategically.
What's your rep ranges once you get to your working sets and your load %?
I usually start out at 12-15 for the first set and end at 6-8 for my 4th set. First set is a little lite but after that it's up to roughly 75-80℅ 1RM.2 -
What I'm suggesting is that sets - 2,3,4,5 all be in the 75%-80%, 4 working sets total for each big compound lift. Set 1 will be a warm up set, but you should already be overall warmed up before you start anyways, this is just a specific warm up to this movement.0
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Definite progress, so congrats.
I would shoot for at least a couple of lbs per month gain and I would consider getting on a different program. Something like Lyle McDonald's GBR routine might be a solid choice.2 -
Definite progress, so congrats.
I would shoot for at least a couple of lbs per month gain and I would consider getting on a different program. Something like Lyle McDonald's GBR routine might be a solid choice.
I would agree with this. Especially taking into consideration the OP has only been lifting for 1.5 years and a portion of that was with machines. Getting on a program that hits the primary muscles at least 2x a week will be more ideal.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
ps - I would also recommend finishing that bathroom.
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i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.0 -
ThrForkOfJustice2016 wrote: »i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.
Did you even read what was written?2 -
ThrForkOfJustice2016 wrote: »i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.
Fasted cardio does not burn any significant amount of additional bodyfat, it only increases acute fat oxidation during the training bout. Fat oxidation during training is not the same thing as body fat loss over time:
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-014-0054-7
3500 calories could be fine for him and the data so far don't seem to indicate that 3500 is too many.3 -
You gained two pounds.. up the calories!0
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ThrForkOfJustice2016 wrote: »i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.
this post hurts my soul.8 -
I upped my calories to 4000 a little over a week ago now and am still stuck at 170. How am i not gaining weight?0
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I was gaining very slowly and upped my calories with no results. And 4000 calories for someone who is 6' 170lbs should be more than enough.0
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I was gaining very slowly and upped my calories with no results. And 4000 calories for someone who is 6' 170lbs should be more than enough.
Should is the operative word. Keep in mind, you may suffer from the same dilemma I often do when bulking. The more food I shovel in, the less I am able to sit still. This past winter, I had to use 3600-4200 per day, to gain 0.5-0.8 per week. However, I can maintain at 2100, because I am able to just sit on my butt outside of the gym.0 -
ThrForkOfJustice2016 wrote: »i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.
idk if I agree with "starved cardio" does that mean fasted cardio? That can risk him losing muscle mass. I've read that it's good to do a morning light jog while fasted, but not intense cardio. He should do HIIT for cardio if any, he probably doesn't even need to do cardio at this point. He has no fat at least it doesn't look he does.0 -
OP, don't guess your bf %, get yourself some type of tool and measure it. Monitor the change in bf% and your weight, those two together will help you get a better idea of where you're at. Hit the free weights, as much of that as you can you need to train your body to stabilize weight which will in a way trigger your muscles to grow all around. One guy said earlier 6-8 reps for 4 sets, that's a good idea and I agree with him. First make sure your form is solid, don't want to do free weight exercises with poor form otherwise you don't get much out of it. Once you get used to the lifts, see how much weight you can lift in those sets.0
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ThrForkOfJustice2016 wrote: »i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.
idk if I agree with "starved cardio" does that mean fasted cardio? That can risk him losing muscle mass. I've read that it's good to do a morning light jog while fasted, but not intense cardio. He should do HIIT for cardio if any, he probably doesn't even need to do cardio at this point. He has no fat at least it doesn't look he does.
A person should have enough glycogen stored that fasted cardio, even intense, wouldn't do anything.1 -
ThrForkOfJustice2016 wrote: »i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.
idk if I agree with "starved cardio" does that mean fasted cardio? That can risk him losing muscle mass. I've read that it's good to do a morning light jog while fasted, but not intense cardio. He should do HIIT for cardio if any, he probably doesn't even need to do cardio at this point. He has no fat at least it doesn't look he does.
A person should have enough glycogen stored that fasted cardio, even intense, wouldn't do anything.
Oh okay thanks for the info!0 -
ThrForkOfJustice2016 wrote: »i have been trying to bulk up for a while now with little progress until i upped my calories to 3500 last month. below is my weight i recorded over the month. do i need to change anything?
1/14 166
1/27 168.5
1/30 168
1/31 168
2/3 169
2/6 168
2/10 170
2/12 168
3500 calories is far too many. You only need 3000 max. And don't expect fast progress either way.
Eating 3500 calories means you are in a huge Caloric surplus unnecessarily. If you desperately want to gain weight try sleeping more and doing less exercise. Working out for mass even burns fat. Oh, and do starved cardio. Burns some of the fat off. You don't want to end up too fat.
If you need to count calories try MyFitnessPal it's great.
idk if I agree with "starved cardio" does that mean fasted cardio? That can risk him losing muscle mass. I've read that it's good to do a morning light jog while fasted, but not intense cardio. He should do HIIT for cardio if any, he probably doesn't even need to do cardio at this point. He has no fat at least it doesn't look he does.
A person should have enough glycogen stored that fasted cardio, even intense, wouldn't do anything.
Pretty much. Even on the harshest cuts that most people do, unless your cardio sessions are intense and last for hours and hours (endurance athletes), you've not got much of anything to worry about.1 -
But do you guys think OP should even be doing cardio at this point? I'm not against cardio I just know for me, and I was always one of those skinnier guys who could never gain weight. Cardio was not ever necessary and only made it harder for me to gain size.0
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But do you guys think OP should even be doing cardio at this point? I'm not against cardio I just know for me, and I was always one of those skinnier guys who could never gain weight. Cardio was not ever necessary and only made it harder for me to gain size.
If the OP can sustain the amount of calories, then there isn't anything wrong with cardio. I know when I will bulk, I will be doing cardio.1 -
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