I need your critique. I'm trying to bulk. I think.

stelloian

I am trying to set goals. I have been doing my own programming for about two and a half months. I am considering myself in a bulking phase.
Stats:
Female
27
5'8"
160lbs (fluctuating up and down three pounds depending on the day)
Eating around 1800 calories.
I am pretty strong and have some goals to get yoked. Do people still say yoked? I would like to have some bicep veins and the like. I don't care if I end up looking like a dude. I am an ex athlete and have a solid muscular base below.

3 kids in, and the flab has creeped up. I lost weight and hit 148 last year but the caloric deficit was just too low to maintain that and I was so fatigued. I rested around 153 for awhile. Mostly doing cardio and some lifting.

Currently I am about 160 and am "bulking" and can deadlift 200lbs, squat 175 lbs.

Anyways. I want to gain significant strength and size and have been reading a lot, but making decisions is not my forte.
I am not running or doing anything of the like.

Currently my program is: working out 4-5 days a week

5x5 heavy lifting (80% max) (squat, deadlift, clean, snatch, or weighted lunges)
Supersetted with pushpress, curls or rows.

Then I move on to an AMRAP for about 10-12 minutes (burpees, flutterkicks, push-ups, sled pushes, stuff like that)

I finish with a short cardiovascular thing. Lately jump rope a minute and then do flutterkicks x 5


Can you all help me out? Is this a good trajectory? I was thinking about "bulking" using this programming for about 2 more months, then trying to cut down significantly to about 145. Maybe lower if I can.

psuLemon

Do you know what your body fat % is? Can you provide more details on your programming (total program actually); is it linear progression? Do you incorporate deloads? How long have you been lifting? Is all your work at 80% besides that last set?

Also, viens are largely genetic. Some people just have deepers veins than others. So you might need to cut to a low body fat to get them.

Rusty740

Without getting too detailed, your program seems alright. Now with 5x5 @ 80% your going to get really strong if you up the weights with regular progression. Everyone benefits from a range of reps and corresponding weights, so you might want to add some 8-12 reps some time too, and maybe some 12-20 occasionally. I'm s proponent of training to within 3 reps of form failure regardless of the weight, but no more than 20 reps because it's hard to tell how close to failure you are. You can do them now on different days or off-weeks or whatever, or next month, just add some variety over time as well as regulars weight increases.

In only 2 months you won't gain much muscle, maybe 2 lbs and 2 lbs fat. As long as you are in a decent surplus. Many bulks are much longer, but that's ok if that's your plan and it works for you.

When you do cut, you won't be looking to increase your weights, just maintain strength, so you can lower your intensity to match your calories.