Will I be ready to bulk?
christianteach
Posts: 595 Member
Hi! I'm new to this group. I'm .4 lbs. from my goal weight and plan to lose an additional five after that. However, I still have some area's that need to trim down, especially my tummy, arms, thighs, and knees. I don't know my bfp. (Any suggestions for a reliable at home method?) I don't really want to continue dieting as I'm content where I am for now because this is a weight I have successfully maintained in the past without a problem. I would like to firm up those areas with weights... I've been doing the All Pro SBR for the past few months and have been pleased with my initial results. With that said, once I get 5 lbs. under goal, would it be a good time for me to bulk? That scares me a bit as I've heard I will gain fat along with muscle and I still have too much fat as it is. (One of those where it looks okay in clothes...) Also, we are going on a cruise the end of Feb. and I don't want to lug any extra lbs. around in my bathing suits!! But if I wait, then I would be gaining right before summer. Would you keep dieting until the cruise, just go to maintenance or go ahead and begin a bulk? Of course, this is all after i lose those extra 5 lbs. I heard will come right back. I'm new to this whole maintenance and bulking and not sure what to do next.
I'm also thinking of switching to a different lifting program as well, once I complete this cycle.
I'm also thinking of switching to a different lifting program as well, once I complete this cycle.
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Replies
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thats a whole lot of questions! its all your personal preference. Note that bulking is about building muscle which will add weight to the scale, and while you are bulking you will put on some fat too which you will diet to lose after you are satisfied with the amount of muscle you have built. Are you just wanting to tone and firm up ? or do you wanna actually body build ? There is a difference between toning and bulking. You can tone while you continue to diet. If you wanna bulk you have to accept that you will put on fat . Depending on how much time you invest will determine your results. I personally dont think that the three months between now and the end of feb is enough time for a bulk, and its definately not enough time for a bulk and cut.
Its a personal choice if you wanna wait until after the cruise to start a bulk, Me personally i'm in beast mode and i'd wanna bulk as much as i could before the cruise just to scare the other women at the poolside. But maybe thats not the look you are going for, If you want the petite figure look, you might wanna just think about dieting and toning for the next couple months. Its just whatever you want.0 -
Welcome!
Personally after reading through your post my suggestion would be a recomp meaning eating at maintenance and developing a solid lifting plan with cardio implemented. I do not feel bulking would be a good step for you at the moment based on your mindset, goals and fears over vacation and summer. I'm not sure how long you've been dieting and what your current calorie range is but it's good to give your body a break from the decreased calories and slowly reverse up to maintenance level and build from that. Bulking does come with fat gain on top of muscle gain and it's a realization everyone who enters the process needs to accept. Too many are trying to find shortcuts around something that's inevitable. It's scary, mentally challenging but very rewarding. I think after you maintain for awhile and possibly decrease bodyfat your mindset will change and will be ready to bulk.
There are plenty here doing recomp and/or bulking for the first time. We ALL consider ourselves hardcore and in beast mode to achieve our goals whether they differ from each other or not. You'll find plenty of support and knowledge here to help you on your way.0 -
Welcome!
Personally after reading through your post my suggestion would be a recomp meaning eating at maintenance and developing a solid lifting plan with cardio implemented. I do not feel bulking would be a good step for you at the moment based on your mindset, goals and fears over vacation and summer. I'm not sure how long you've been dieting and what your current calorie range is but it's good to give your body a break from the decreased calories and slowly reverse up to maintenance level and build from that. Bulking does come with fat gain on top of muscle gain and it's a realization everyone who enters the process needs to accept. Too many are trying to find shortcuts around something that's inevitable. It's scary, mentally challenging but very rewarding. I think after you maintain for awhile and possibly decrease bodyfat your mindset will change and will be ready to bulk.
There are plenty here doing recomp and/or bulking for the first time. We ALL consider ourselves hardcore and in beast mode to achieve our goals whether they differ from each other or not. You'll find plenty of support and knowledge here to help you on your way.
I agree with all of this ^^^0 -
Welcome!
Personally after reading through your post my suggestion would be a recomp meaning eating at maintenance and developing a solid lifting plan with cardio implemented. I do not feel bulking would be a good step for you at the moment based on your mindset, goals and fears over vacation and summer. I'm not sure how long you've been dieting and what your current calorie range is but it's good to give your body a break from the decreased calories and slowly reverse up to maintenance level and build from that. Bulking does come with fat gain on top of muscle gain and it's a realization everyone who enters the process needs to accept. Too many are trying to find shortcuts around something that's inevitable. It's scary, mentally challenging but very rewarding. I think after you maintain for awhile and possibly decrease bodyfat your mindset will change and will be ready to bulk.
There are plenty here doing recomp and/or bulking for the first time. We ALL consider ourselves hardcore and in beast mode to achieve our goals whether they differ from each other or not. You'll find plenty of support and knowledge here to help you on your way.
I agree with all of this ^^^
Ditto, and welcome.0 -
thats a whole lot of questions! its all your personal preference. Note that bulking is about building muscle which will add weight to the scale, and while you are bulking you will put on some fat too which you will diet to lose after you are satisfied with the amount of muscle you have built. Are you just wanting to tone and firm up ? or do you wanna actually body build ? There is a difference between toning and bulking. You can tone while you continue to diet. If you wanna bulk you have to accept that you will put on fat . Depending on how much time you invest will determine your results. I personally dont think that the three months between now and the end of feb is enough time for a bulk, and its definately not enough time for a bulk and cut.
Its a personal choice if you wanna wait until after the cruise to start a bulk, Me personally i'm in beast mode and i'd wanna bulk as much as i could before the cruise just to scare the other women at the poolside. But maybe thats not the look you are going for, If you want the petite figure look, you might wanna just think about dieting and toning for the next couple months. Its just whatever you want.
I want to do both! lol I want to tone up my problem areas and build up. I want a bicep bump! My tummy will never be flat enough to see abs. I'm 5'9"...I will never be referred to as "petite" and I'm not going for a waif look, I'm too old to get too skinny it would just age my face. I don't want to scare anyone, but I do want to be confident in a swimsuit. If it were Sept. I would definitely bulk, just unsure this close to our cruise.0 -
Welcome!
Personally after reading through your post my suggestion would be a recomp meaning eating at maintenance and developing a solid lifting plan with cardio implemented. I do not feel bulking would be a good step for you at the moment based on your mindset, goals and fears over vacation and summer. I'm not sure how long you've been dieting and what your current calorie range is but it's good to give your body a break from the decreased calories and slowly reverse up to maintenance level and build from that. Bulking does come with fat gain on top of muscle gain and it's a realization everyone who enters the process needs to accept. Too many are trying to find shortcuts around something that's inevitable. It's scary, mentally challenging but very rewarding. I think after you maintain for awhile and possibly decrease bodyfat your mindset will change and will be ready to bulk.
There are plenty here doing recomp and/or bulking for the first time. We ALL consider ourselves hardcore and in beast mode to achieve our goals whether they differ from each other or not. You'll find plenty of support and knowledge here to help you on your way.
Thanks for the welcome and it appears most are in agreement with you!
I've been dieting since mid Feb. I started out with crazy low calories (1000 or so but under doctor supervision) while doing tons of cardio for the first couple of months and then wised up and starting eating more and lifting. I much prefer this way!! I currently eat around 1650 a day but also have one cheat day a week so my average is much higher. Some weeks my cheat day is just a treat meal others it's a full day blow out like last week, so I may consume anywhere from an extra 300-3000 on that day. It kept me sane during all these months of dieting.
A couple ladies from my FL also suggested slowly eating up to maintenance and build from there. I guess that's where I should start. Of course, I still want to lose the extra 5 lbs. first anyway. Knowing me, I will like myself better with that 5 off and want to lose 5 more from there....but I really do want to bulk up a bit and it's getting increasingly difficult to lift on a deficit.0 -
You can't "tone up" and build at the sane time. You will have to make the decision to drop bodyfat now while lifting and maintaining the muscle you have currently. If you have a solid lifting plan in place and are progressing in weights, scale weight is not an accurate indicator of progress. The scale may not move but your clothes may feel looser and you may look leaner. Stop giving the scale so much worth. Get out of the mindset of dropping another 5 with each goal weight, you will never be happy. Trust me, been there!! Once you slowly raise back up and eat a maintenance for a while you'll feel better with lifting and as a whole.0
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I definitely agree with Holly. I think reversing slowly up to maintenance and finding a good lifting program is a great place for you right now. With the extra calories and new workout you will likely feel great and motivated. Maybe stick with this plan through August or so and then start with a bulk. That way you have all Fall & Winter to work through it slowly. I wish I had started earlier than I did!0
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You can't "tone up" and build at the sane time. You will have to make the decision to drop bodyfat now while lifting and maintaining the muscle you have currently. If you have a solid lifting plan in place and are progressing in weights, scale weight is not an accurate indicator of progress. The scale may not move but your clothes may feel looser and you may look leaner. Stop giving the scale so much worth. Get out of the mindset of dropping another 5 with each goal weight, you will never be happy. Trust me, been there!! Once you slowly raise back up and eat a maintenance for a while you'll feel better with lifting and as a whole.
I want to lose an extra 5 lbs. because of a thread I read (MrsBigMack) Michelle wrote explaining why you gain back 5 lbs. after you hit maintenance. Because of that, I want to lose an extra 5 before upping my calories so I will end up here and not 5 lbs. heavier. I know I have to eat a surplus to build muscle, but I am a woman and I want it all and I want it now. :laugh: Seriously, I want to build up muscle but don't want to deal with gaining back the fat I just lost. I think I answered my own question with that, and I'm not ready to bulk...0 -
I definitely agree with Holly. I think reversing slowly up to maintenance and finding a good lifting program is a great place for you right now. With the extra calories and new workout you will likely feel great and motivated. Maybe stick with this plan through August or so and then start with a bulk. That way you have all Fall & Winter to work through it slowly. I wish I had started earlier than I did!
That sounds like a reasonable plan. I'm sure lifting a maintenance will be much easier than lifting at a deficit...at least I hope. You both look amazing, btw!0 -
I will have to go search that thread and read it. From my personal experience and I know many others, those of us who reversed up slowly never gained weight in maintenance. Those who jumped from a deficit straight to a maintence level calorie range usually do gain. There are many factors that play into whether or not some gain weight back in maintenance or not. I'm finding some want to decrease their activity yet eat more. How do they think that's going to work? Don't assume it's a one size fits all based on a thread.0
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I will have to go search that thread and read it. From my personal experience and I know many others, those of us who reversed up slowly never gained weight in maintenance. Those who jumped from a deficit straight to a maintence level calorie range usually do gain. There are many factors that play into whether or not some gain weight back in maintenance or not. I'm finding some want to decrease their activity yet eat more. How do they think that's going to work? Don't assume it's a one size fits all based on a thread.
Here it is: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993576-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut0 -
There's some very valid points, but I don't necessarily agree with all of it. Perfect example of what I was mentioning; deficit of 1700 then jumps up to 2000 bc that's their "maintence" level. Of course you're going to notice a scale difference. Reverse dieting is slowly adding in cals each week, 50 cals at a time, some do 100, and you don't see those spikes. 0
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I second (or third?) the above. Slowly increase your intake, find out what exactly your current maintenance is and go the recomp route till next fall. It also takes time to get used to the new you, so take that time before going in the total opposite direction :flowerforyou:I definitely agree with Holly. I think reversing slowly up to maintenance and finding a good lifting program is a great place for you right now. With the extra calories and new workout you will likely feel great and motivated. Maybe stick with this plan through August or so and then start with a bulk. That way you have all Fall & Winter to work through it slowly. I wish I had started earlier than I did!
That sounds like a reasonable plan. I'm sure lifting a maintenance will be much easier than lifting at a deficit...at least I hope. You both look amazing, btw!0
