Bulking/cutting ....help me out !

dnkibble

Hi!! I'm new to the bulking cutting world! I've read a lot of different stories and have gotten some advice on bulking as far as how to calculate calories , what to eat, and recommended time frames and with that information I've put together a plan that I'd like to get some feed back/criticism on so that I can reconstruct if need be.

A little background: I'm 23 5'7 about 133 lbs. I've had 3 children and somewhere between the pregnancies and extreem diets I've lost a good amount of muscle. My weight during pregnancy would be around 200lbs and I'd shoot back down to 120 lbs within 8 months time with little to no exercise, just cutting a crazy amount of calories most days only 800 cals. The first time I dieted this way it didn't look so bad but the second and third time around it started to look more flabby and I just became the definition of skinny fat!

My 'goal physique': is comparable to Chantel Jeffries (whilhelmina model) she's around about 5'8 123 lbs slender not muscular but not skinny fat either. All that I'm really looking to gain is muscle in replace of flab .... A little more visible muscle than what she has , defined abs but nothing too crazy. So 120 lbs and about 13 % bf is the goal ( I'll fluctuate with the bf%)

My plan : I know that in order to gain the muscle back I'd have to gain weight so I started my bulk about 2 weeks ago and plan on doing a short bulk for 3 months and then cutting. My bulk will end in December, the cut will begin January and end at the end of march or until I've reached 120lbs . Are my goals too far of a reach? Will I achieve desired results with short term bulking? If my plan needs to be adjusted please give your suggestions ! Thanks in advance! :happy:

cdahl383

I think you've got a decent plan there. My only suggestion would be to buy some bodyfat calipers and take measurements every week or every other week to measure your progress. You could also get a tape measure to measure your waist, chest, arms, thighs, etc as you progress. I think with your goals of gaining LBM and then shedding fat, you will be more focused on where your bodyfat % is rather than overall weight. But obviously you still need to weigh yourself to ensure you're adding or losing weight with your bulk/cut.

dnkibble

I have tape measure so I'll get on top of measuring, right now I'm assuming I only need to gain about 4-5 lbs each month since the bulk is short, but I honestly don't care if I put on 15-20 lbs during the 3 months because I'm pretty good at losing , I just hope I put on enough muscle so that the cut comes out nicely !

Thanks for the advice (:

cdahl383

There is more info on bulking/cutting on the bodybuilding.com forum out there, though that forum is plagued with a lot of "bro-science" and people that waste entire threads putting each other down. If you can sift through that crap, there is some useful info out there though. I never joined for those reasons, but I do browse the forum now and then.

I think ideally you really only need to be gaining .5-1 lb per week during a bulk, since you can't add muscle all that fast naturally. If you ate 250 calories above your maintenance, upped your protein to around .8-1g per lb of bodyweight, and lifted heavy for 3 months I'm pretty sure you'd see some nice results. Then when you're happy with the results, you shouldn't have very much weight to lose afterwards.

Just make sure that when you are cutting down that you still keep your protein intake and lifts up. You'll be in a deficit so your body will be consuming reserves and you dont want it to start consuming the muscle you just put on. Keeping your protein intake higher and continuing to lift heavy will send a signal to your body to retain the muscle and just burn the fat instead. You'll probably still lose a small amount of muscle in the process, but if you do it right it won't be noticeable.

I think I've been on a "bulk" for the past 5 years now haha! So I need to cut down the fat and so far its working good. I've kept my lifts up, gone up on several of them, and my clothes all fit much nicer now (smaller belly, bigger chest/shoulders/arms, etc). The last thing you want to do after all that work is just cut your calories and stop lifting because then you'll end up losing a good portion of the muscle you just added.

dnkibble

Thank you so much! I actually have a membership at BB.com and although I've learned a lot from reading, I regret asking anyone anything on that damn forum! That's exactly what they did was tear me down. I was getting picked at for asking questions. How can you learn if you don't ask?! Ugh I'm staying far away!

I don't know why I didn't think of that, once I start to see results Then I can start to cut. I already have some 'newbie' gains in my arms when flexing which is really cool but I can tell it'll be another 3 months or so before I start to see more improvement. I'm looking for a good program to follow now.... Even though to me, they all seem the same.

Congrats on your 5 yr bulk! Lol you look huge in your avi (the good huge) (; and I don't think I've seen a cuter avi! So adorable! Any recommendations on a program? And , THANKS again I think this is the most help I've gotten during my research! I def appreciate it!

dnkibble

There is more info on bulking/cutting on the bodybuilding.com forum out there, though that forum is plagued with a lot of "bro-science" and people that waste entire threads putting each other down. If you can sift through that crap, there is some useful info out there though. I never joined for those reasons, but I do browse the forum now and then.

I think ideally you really only need to be gaining .5-1 lb per week during a bulk, since you can't add muscle all that fast naturally. If you ate 250 calories above your maintenance, upped your protein to around .8-1g per lb of bodyweight, and lifted heavy for 3 months I'm pretty sure you'd see some nice results. Then when you're happy with the results, you shouldn't have very much weight to lose afterwards.

Just make sure that when you are cutting down that you still keep your protein intake and lifts up. You'll be in a deficit so your body will be consuming reserves and you dont want it to start consuming the muscle you just put on. Keeping your protein intake higher and continuing to lift heavy will send a signal to your body to retain the muscle and just burn the fat instead. You'll probably still lose a small amount of muscle in the process, but if you do it right it won't be noticeable.

I think I've been on a "bulk" for the past 5 years now haha! So I need to cut down the fat and so far its working good. I've kept my lifts up, gone up on several of them, and my clothes all fit much nicer now (smaller belly, bigger chest/shoulders/arms, etc). The last thing you want to do after all that work is just cut your calories and stop lifting because then you'll end up losing a good portion of the muscle you just added.

Oh and Good luck with the cut ^^ men can usually diet for two days and look amazing ! Lol

cdahl383

Yes, that forum has a lot of BS plaguing it. "Use the search button" is not a helpful response. Sure the same questions come up over and over, but a lot of the time new information will come up as well which is helpful rather than reading a 1 or 2 year old thread on the same subject. That's why I just read on that one. I dont blame you for avoiding questions on that one, and thats really sad because thats what the forum is for to begin with. Oh well their loss.

There is a plethora of programs out there for weight training. But honestly all you need to do is lift weights 2-3 times a week. A set of dumbbells and a bench at home can get you very far as a beginner. Figure out what weights you can do for each exercise where you can do 8-12 reps with good form and progress from there. Here's an example:

Monday: Chest (dumbbell press, dumbbell fly, pushups)
Shoulders (shoulder press, lateral raise, front raise)
Triceps (overhead extension)

Wednesday: Back (dumbbell row, pullups)
Biceps (hammer curls, preacher curls)

Friday: Legs (squats, lunges, farmers walk)

I try to do 3 sets for each exercise and stick around 8-12 or 6-12 reps. Once you can do over 12 reps with good form its time to move up your weight and go from there. If you go on Youtube there are lots of good videos for various exercises you can do with dumbbells or just your own bodyweight.

Haha thanks! It was basically me just pigging out for a while haha! When we had kids it was hard to keep the weight off with the changing schedule and demands, but I think I've finally got it back under control. Now I just want to keep the muscle I have and shed the fat I've accumulated. I think by spring time I should get there.

Thanks, that's one of my two little girls. They keep us busy!

I hope the cut goes good. I probably have another 25-30 lbs to go to get where I want to be and then I'll adjust from there. I'm giving myself a realistic timeframe so we'll see how it goes.