40+.. club bulking and concerned..

monicalifestylefitness

As of January I’ve been trying a bulk for the first time & as of yesterday I’m up 5lbs. I’ve been 125lbs. for literally 10 years. My goal in this was/is to add more muscle mass. I feel I look skinny fat. And I actually want visible muscle, when I’m not working out.
My question/concern is since I’m 43yr old female am I going to be able to drop back down again? I’ve literally worked out my entire life & have had a clean diet. So what I’m doing now is completely different. And a bit scary.
I don’t have a specific amount of weight I’m trying to gain.. I was just going to do it for 3 months then diet down and cardio via sleds, battle ropes & Kettel bells. March 25th will be 3 months.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated! Tia

P.s my lifts are heavier than ever in my life. I’ve been using progressive overload on them all
I don’t have a set program.. but I start every training session with the big compound movements. I pick two then do auxiliary work
Unfortunately I don’t know my body fat percentage but will be doing hydrostatic testing next week

Sorry this is so long and if you made it to the end of this , thank you

mom23mangos

I'm not an expert on bulking, but you might want to go longer than 3 months. And if you succeed in putting on muscle and continue to do resistance training enough to keep it up then you should not go back to your former weight. Unless you want to drop back down to that weight and be a lot leaner.

billkansas

Sounds like we're both on the same program. I've decided to give my bulk at least another month. My post is up the stack.

I'd say keep going!! You can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results. If you're as stuck as I've been- you've got to try something new. Good luck!

Rose18l

Over what time did you gain those 5ibs? Best is to go for a clean bulk with a low surplus of calories.

monicalifestylefitness

I gained the 5lbs in 2 1/2 months. It pretty much has been a clean bulk. Only on the weekends do I slightly go off. But I always stay within my macros. Which is
C:220
P:125
F:65
Calories 2005

monicalifestylefitness

Sounds like we're both on the same program. I've decided to give my bulk at least another month. My post is up the stack.

I'd say keep going!! You can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results. If you're as stuck as I've been- you've got to try something new. Good luck!

Thank you.. I’m still new to this whole thing.. even on how to reply to a post. But I also wanted to say I’m still trying to do things differently by progressive overload but now am struggling with minor aches. Deep heavy squats have given me high hamstring pain. Heavy bench has given me shoulder pain. Ugh.

fb47

monicalifestylefitness wrote: »

As of January I’ve been trying a bulk for the first time & as of yesterday I’m up 5lbs. I’ve been 125lbs. for literally 10 years. My goal in this was/is to add more muscle mass. I feel I look skinny fat. And I actually want visible muscle, when I’m not working out.
My question/concern is since I’m 43yr old female am I going to be able to drop back down again? I’ve literally worked out my entire life & have had a clean diet. So what I’m doing now is completely different. And a bit scary.
I don’t have a specific amount of weight I’m trying to gain.. I was just going to do it for 3 months then diet down and cardio via sleds, battle ropes & Kettel bells. March 25th will be 3 months.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated! Tia

P.s my lifts are heavier than ever in my life. I’ve been using progressive overload on them all
I don’t have a set program.. but I start every training session with the big compound movements. I pick two then do auxiliary work
Unfortunately I don’t know my body fat percentage but will be doing hydrostatic testing next week

Sorry this is so long and if you made it to the end of this , thank you

Yes, you can drop your weight down again, just because you are getting older, doesn't mean you can't be in a caloric deficit again.

billkansas

Yeah, minor aches are par for the course. My legs and knees continually are stiff and sore. Be very careful about good exercise form (Youtube Starting Strength and the book are the best). I need to follow my own advice! I had a shoulder injury (not even sure what happened) that cost me a year of progress but finally is getting better. "Deloads" are not bad from time to time and I also like slow and pause reps. Progressive overload doesn't mean every workout when you are intermediate. Lose a battle ...win the war. If I feel unusual pain during a rep... I stop and drop the weight for the next set. Maybe wimpy, but injuries can be so, so costly in time.

stealthaway

So I am 40, and was underweight , all the weight lifting did no much of a benefit. The key was 70% of weight training is controlled by your diet -something I was foolish about all the while. Since using this app for 30 days regular, progressive training , pushing to the fail limit and low reps; a daily tracking with 2gm*body_weight for proteins; alternate day off and 2 days off intermittently ; had had me touch the scale up by 16 pounds. Goal is 24 pounds.

Davidsdottir

stealthaway wrote: »

So I am 40, and was underweight , all the weight lifting did no much of a benefit. The key was 70% of weight training is controlled by your diet -something I was foolish about all the while. Since using this app for 30 days regular, progressive training , pushing to the fail limit and low reps; a daily tracking with 2gm*body_weight for proteins; alternate day off and 2 days off intermittently ; had had me touch the scale up by 16 pounds. Goal is 24 pounds.

16 lbs in 30 days?

stealthaway

Yes .. actually 35 days, started with 2800-2900 calorie ,, then progressed to 3000-3100 , was 68.9kg now at 76.5+kg, took a mix of protein from plant based and whey/cassein & C/F. It's been quite a life change thing for me.. never managed it in the last 8-9 years of weight train .. as never really tracked what i was eating. It started with a copy of "Power Eating" by Dr Susan klieners, tried getting a nutrioinist to plan a diet for me, couldn't get one easily, but then with this myfit app.. I could track each day. Keeping fingers crossed and aiming for a 43" inch chest and 16" biceps..and 80+kg target.

Davidsdottir

stealthaway wrote: »

Yes .. actually 35 days, started with 2800-2900 calorie ,, then progressed to 3000-3100 , was 68.9kg now at 76.5+kg, took a mix of protein from plant based and whey/cassein & C/F. It's been quite a life change thing for me.. never managed it in the last 8-9 years of weight train .. as never really tracked what i was eating. It started with a copy of "Power Eating" by Dr Susan klieners, tried getting a nutrioinist to plan a diet for me, couldn't get one easily, but then with this myfit app.. I could track each day. Keeping fingers crossed and aiming for a 43" inch chest and 16" biceps..and 80+kg target.

I'm sorry to say, my friend, that in 35 days, the best you can hope for is 2 lbs of muscle and 14 lbs of fat, unless you're on steroids. Gaining more slowly will prevent excess fat gains.

billkansas

I wonder if there is some phenomenon to explain faster than normal muscle addition. Perhaps as an intermediate lifter if you are basically not eating enough for years but training and finally you give yourself some surplus calories- sort of your body quickly ramping up in muscle. I feel a little bit like I have experienced this (not in the extreme as mentioned above).

fb47

billkansas wrote: »

I wonder if there is some phenomenon to explain faster than normal muscle addition. Perhaps as an intermediate lifter if you are basically not eating enough for years but training and finally you give yourself some surplus calories- sort of your body quickly ramping up in muscle. I feel a little bit like I have experienced this (not in the extreme as mentioned above).

Yes there is, muscle memory. When you end your cutting phase and go back to bulking mode, you will regain some of the muscles you lost quickly. Samething if you stop training and then get back to training years later, you regain the muscles you had previously quickly.

stealthaway

Davidsdottir wrote: »

stealthaway wrote: »

Yes .. actually 35 days, started with 2800-2900 calorie ,, then progressed to 3000-3100 , was 68.9kg now at 76.5+kg, took a mix of protein from plant based and whey/cassein & C/F. It's been quite a life change thing for me.. never managed it in the last 8-9 years of weight train .. as never really tracked what i was eating. It started with a copy of "Power Eating" by Dr Susan klieners, tried getting a nutrioinist to plan a diet for me, couldn't get one easily, but then with this myfit app.. I could track each day. Keeping fingers crossed and aiming for a 43" inch chest and 16" biceps..and 80+kg target.

I'm sorry to say, my friend, that in 35 days, the best you can hope for is 2 lbs of muscle and 14 lbs of fat, unless you're on steroids. Gaining more slowly will prevent excess fat gains.

Part to quick increase could be because I was really underweight and not meeting basic calorie needs.
my strength levels have increased quite a lot though the waist line has increased from 31-33 and it’s not muscle for sure. At 6”1 , 33 doesn’t quite bulge out
Next I should really focus more on muscle building more than just weight gain..
Thanks for the feedback..and checkpoint

Wheelhouse15

stealthaway wrote: »

Davidsdottir wrote: »

stealthaway wrote: »

Yes .. actually 35 days, started with 2800-2900 calorie ,, then progressed to 3000-3100 , was 68.9kg now at 76.5+kg, took a mix of protein from plant based and whey/cassein & C/F. It's been quite a life change thing for me.. never managed it in the last 8-9 years of weight train .. as never really tracked what i was eating. It started with a copy of "Power Eating" by Dr Susan klieners, tried getting a nutrioinist to plan a diet for me, couldn't get one easily, but then with this myfit app.. I could track each day. Keeping fingers crossed and aiming for a 43" inch chest and 16" biceps..and 80+kg target.

I'm sorry to say, my friend, that in 35 days, the best you can hope for is 2 lbs of muscle and 14 lbs of fat, unless you're on steroids. Gaining more slowly will prevent excess fat gains.

Part to quick increase could be because I was really underweight and not meeting basic calorie needs.
my strength levels have increased quite a lot though the waist line has increased from 31-33 and it’s not muscle for sure. At 6”1 , 33 doesn’t quite bulge out
Next I should really focus more on muscle building more than just weight gain..
Thanks for the feedback..and checkpoint

Strength gains for a newbie are rather irreverent to muscle gains, you will gain a lot just through neural adaptation in the first few months. The p-ratio is in your favour but as stated above you are still pretty much capped at 1/2lb per week gain of muscle for a newbie lifter if you are a young man who is working hard and hitting your diet perfectly. You will be gaining a lot of fat in areas other than your stomach so that's not the best gauge either.

You should really slow down unless you don't mind gaining excess fat, and if that's your preference then you are on the right track. In either case it looks like you are earning respectable gains. Keep up the good work.

monicalifestylefitness

Updating my current stats.
Weight 132lbs 19.47% body fat
I got dunked in a hydrostatic testing machine today
I’m going to continue w everything I’m doing and possibly starting a little cardio at the end of then month.

billkansas

Sounds like you're already pretty ripped. Are you going to keep bulking and see how much stronger you get? That'd make sense to me.

monicalifestylefitness

billkansas wrote: »

Sounds like you're already pretty ripped. Are you going to keep bulking and see how much stronger you get? That'd make sense to me.

I actually don’t even looked ripped.. it’s totally weird.. my goal is going to be 15%body fat
And strength wise I think I’m ok..
squat & deadlift 140
Bench 100
Hip thrust 185

I was maxing out with 5-6 reps but now trying to hit 10-12 reps with the same weight.
It’s still trial & error for me