How are you doing YOUR bulk?
terizius
Posts: 425 Member
I'm a 31 year old male, currently at 145.5lbs. I'm doing the Shortcut to Size program from Jim Stoppani on Bodybuilding.com, so lifting 4 times a week. Cardio is limited to Tennis and Pickleball, 2-3 times a week each. My TDEE is calculated at just over 2500 calories, but I know from previous BMR tests that my metabolism is a bit higher than normal. Therefore, my daily goal is 3500 calories. I'm keeping my protein intake at 1.5g/lb minimum. So far, I'm gaining 1.5-2 lbs a week with a goal of +25lbs (140 to 165). Also, my lift numbers are going up every week. What are you doing? If you have already completed your bulk, what was your program. Any before/after pics??
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I started in November- goal was to do 6 months and put on 10-15 lbs. I'm not sure I'm mentally ready to handle that- so I'll be happy with a solid 10 lbs.
I'm not making any increase in my lifts- it's frustrating me- But I've definitely put on some size- I don't feel like I've gotten exceptionally bigger- maybe 3-4 lbs- but I can tell- ze clothes- they do not fit as well!!!
I have before- but no afters- since- well- it's not "after" yet. I might take some mid bulk pictures this weekend.
I'm not thrilled with it- but I'm pressing onwards and up wards.
Clothing is an issue for me- and that's frustrating for sure.
Lifts are feeling solid- but I don't feel like I'm progressing- i'm not using anyone's program- Thinking about using one at some point. I get frustrated and annoyed with programs- but its' not beneath me!0 -
I'm doing my 4th bulk right now.
Workout program is the same for all, an upper/lower split (4x a week total, 2x each) with a general intensity/volume weekly periodization, and a static/dynamic split in the upper body (virtually all my strength training work (upper and lower) is bodyweight work or loaded calisthenics). I also do some smaller workouts outside of my main workouts, easy workouts on stuff I'm working on.
My first bulk I tried to maintain a 500 cal/day surplus (4 months)
My 2nd bulk I tried to maintain a 500 cal/day surplus (3 months)
My 3rd bulk I tried to maintain a 400 cal/day surplus (3 months)
This one I'm trying to maintain a 400 cal/day surplus (2 months)
I'm moving toward shorter bulks and increasing the intensity of my cuts so that I'm only spending 3 weeks tops each cycle between cutting and tapering out, in order to maximize time spent bulking. With longer bulks the cutting period becomes longer and it becomes infeasible to get rid of all the fat with a short super intense cut.
Progress pics for each bulk cut cycle (progress photo is taken at the end of the cut, immediately before starting the next bulk)
Before:
Following bulk/cut #1:
Following bulk/cut #2:
Following bulk/cut #3:
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I went to buy a suit and found out I'm bigger than I used to be.
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5/3/1 with upper/lower split. I try to gain .5-1lbs per week while bulking. Protein at minimum of 1 gram/lbs of LBM.
3 bulk/cuts over a year between 160lbs and 170lbs. First bulk tried to do a "lean" bulk and basically made no progress. Getting better at it though.
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To be quite honest, I have no freaking idea what I'm doing. I've read a lot of research and I've been lifting for 1.5 years now, but I never followed a specific program. Maybe I should pick up Starting Strength and see where that gets me. I honestly feel like my lifts have not budged in 6+ months, despite a large calorie increase (well, large over my cut calories, at least).0
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i'm certainly no expert in this area, nor can i say i really followed a plan much when i tried it.
1000 extra cals a day seems like way more then you would need
but i mean, its will promote gaining more mass, so if you dont care about putting on excess fat its not an issue.0 -
next time i do it, i'm either going to eat at maintenance and slightly bring my surplus up to achieve the desired effect, or i'm just going to get the Body Beast DVDs and let someone tell me what to do.
Although i like to think i know a lot about lifting, most of my success as far as being proud of the way i look has come out of the beach body dvds like p90x0 -
I'm doing my 4th bulk right now.
Workout program is the same for all, an upper/lower split (4x a week total, 2x each) with a general intensity/volume weekly periodization, and a static/dynamic split in the upper body (virtually all my strength training work (upper and lower) is bodyweight work or loaded calisthenics). I also do some smaller workouts outside of my main workouts, easy workouts on stuff I'm working on.
My first bulk I tried to maintain a 500 cal/day surplus (4 months)
My 2nd bulk I tried to maintain a 500 cal/day surplus (3 months)
My 3rd bulk I tried to maintain a 400 cal/day surplus (3 months)
This one I'm trying to maintain a 400 cal/day surplus (2 months)
I'm moving toward shorter bulks and increasing the intensity of my cuts so that I'm only spending 3 weeks tops each cycle between cutting and tapering out, in order to maximize time spent bulking. With longer bulks the cutting period becomes longer and it becomes infeasible to get rid of all the fat with a short super intense cut.
Progress pics for each bulk cut cycle (progress photo is taken at the end of the cut, immediately before starting the next bulk)
Before:
Following bulk/cut #1:
Following bulk/cut #2:
Following bulk/cut #3:
WOH! That's Amazing!!!0 -
waldo's my hero. he's such a bad *kitten*.0
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I'm currently on Week 19 of a 20 week bulk. This is my second bulk. Started at 172 lbs. and I'm currently at 187. I follow IIFYM with 1g Protein per lb. of bodyweight (180g). I eat between 3,000 and 3,200 cals/day including ice cream almost every day. I'm doing SL5x5 with some supplemental exercises and 1 day per week of cardio/core. Strength and measurements are both up substantially. However, I have put over 2 inches on my waist (I seem add add 1 inch of midsection for every 6-7 pounds gained). That will come off quickly during the cut though.0
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Yep his *kitten* is pretty baaaad. I'm still amazed!
My bulk. Is finished. I didn't cut. Oops. Decided to keep on recomping. Overeating 300 on my lifting days and 100 under on other days. I get bored and like the variety.
I gained 5 lbs give or take over a couple months eating 2/300 over lifting 3 x per week. Gained a small but significant 1.5 to 2lbs muscle probably and a couple inches in calves, butt, back.. Lot of work and eating! But it's shaped me up nicely. Prob slowly cut towards race season in summer. Don't want to get any injuries so will watch the deficit.
You gotta be brave to bulk. Will try harder next winter. I'll probably need to after what my tri training us going to do to me over the next few months....0 -
I'm currently on Week 19 of a 20 week bulk. This is my second bulk. Started at 172 lbs. and I'm currently at 187. I follow IIFYM with 1g Protein per lb. of bodyweight (180g). I eat between 3,000 and 3,200 cals/day including ice cream almost every day. I'm doing SL5x5 with some supplemental exercises and 1 day per week of cardio/core. Strength and measurements are both up substantially. However, I have put over 2 inches on my waist (I seem add add 1 inch of midsection for every 6-7 pounds gained). That will come off quickly during the cut though.
Yep inches are how I measure. So much more useful than the scale.
I know that I can cut 1/2" per week cutting hard and 1/4" per week with a much easier cut. And for my body 1/4" = 1 lb body fat.
Forgot to mention that I also eat IIFYM with 200g protein per day (1g/lb BW generally, I keep the number the same despite fluctuating weight).
And I'm also very much a member of the ice cream every day crew.0 -
5/3/1 with upper/lower split. I try to gain .5-1lbs per week while bulking. Protein at minimum of 1 gram/lbs of LBM.
3 bulk/cuts over a year between 160lbs and 170lbs. First bulk tried to do a "lean" bulk and basically made no progress. Getting better at it though.
Nice results on the shoulders! Wtg!0 -
watching this thread as I never thought about doing a bulk...
But saw a pic of a woman who did one and wow, what a difference so any info I can get from here will be put to good use.0 -
I bulk at about 500 cals over TDEE which is about 4,000 cals per day. I have about one month left on my current bulk. So far I have gained 18 lbs over 4 months. I have focused on a 5/3/1 workout and gained a significant amount of strength in all my lifts.
Here are the results. Lots of fat and hopefully some muscle. I am sure I will have an update once I get done with my cut.
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I'm doing Mike O'hearns power bodybuilding program on BB.com. It's worked pretty well as it combines powerlifting/strength rep ranges with more traditional bodybuilding/hypertrophy rep ranges. I run twice a week (6-8 miles/run) and will usually do light cardio to help with recovery. I started at around 225 and am now at 233lbs. Shoot to get between 4000-4500 calories per day.0
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I'm doing my 4th bulk right now.
Workout program is the same for all, an upper/lower split (4x a week total, 2x each) with a general intensity/volume weekly periodization, and a static/dynamic split in the upper body (virtually all my strength training work (upper and lower) is bodyweight work or loaded calisthenics). I also do some smaller workouts outside of my main workouts, easy workouts on stuff I'm working on.
My first bulk I tried to maintain a 500 cal/day surplus (4 months)
My 2nd bulk I tried to maintain a 500 cal/day surplus (3 months)
My 3rd bulk I tried to maintain a 400 cal/day surplus (3 months)
This one I'm trying to maintain a 400 cal/day surplus (2 months)
I'm moving toward shorter bulks and increasing the intensity of my cuts so that I'm only spending 3 weeks tops each cycle between cutting and tapering out, in order to maximize time spent bulking. With longer bulks the cutting period becomes longer and it becomes infeasible to get rid of all the fat with a short super intense cut.
Progress pics for each bulk cut cycle (progress photo is taken at the end of the cut, immediately before starting the next bulk)
Before:
Following bulk/cut #1:
Following bulk/cut #2:
Following bulk/cut #3:
Awesome work man. I am happy to see people who's weight only changes by a few pounds but gain some good muscle while remaining lean.0 -
Nice results on the shoulders! Wtg!
Thanks. :drinker:0 -
Nice results on the shoulders! Wtg!
Thanks. :drinker:
You did a beard bulk too!0 -
Back when I was powerlifting I would bulk in a random way and then knock the fat off to compete. I generally didn't have very good results in terms of body composition since I was basically just eating like a pig on the bulk side (made for some nice PRs though). I did manage to lean out really well for my last meet though (wow, almost 10 years ago - was around 10% bf @ 185/5'7").
Now that I've found my way onto myfitnesspal (only been here a couple weeks) it seems like using the site can make bulking a lot easier/more controlled without me having to go crazy tracking everything on my own. Once I get through cleaning the body fat I'll do a period of maintenance and then try to get some muscle back (I will be about 20 lbs down @ 10% bf as compared to 10 years ago
). I'd like to get a bit more muscle back before I get truly old. 
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Awesome work man. I am happy to see people who's weight only changes by a few pounds but gain some good muscle while remaining lean.
Well, those numbers are just endpoints of the whole cycle.
In terms of actual bulking weight gain:
#1: 189 -> 203
#2: 197 -> 207
#3: 187 -> 197
#4: 193 -> (current, goal is 199-200)
Since I started at a relatively higher bodyfat % (I thought it was 10% at the time but in hindsight it was more like 18%), I've had the general rule with each bulk/cut cycle that I end the cycle leaner than I began. Now that I'm at a leanness I'm pretty happy with and really only looking to fine tune a bit, my weight will start rising more consistently, though with the shorter bulk cycles I'm using, it will be a lower amount per cycle.
IMHO there is no need to get fat while bulking and that doing so is counterproductive. Short intense cuts are far more efficient than any other means of cutting, there is less in the way of a metabolic drop, you don't get the side effects of cutting, and because of that you can hop right back into bulking with very little taper. In the end greatly compressing non-bulking time. But doing short intense cuts really only works if you have a few pounds to lose.0 -
What are you doing for your short intense cuts, something like PSMF?0
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Waldo - can you clarify what you are doing between phases?
For example, the second picture of phase 2 is dated Jan 2013 and then the first picture of phase 3 is dated August 2013.
Are you bulking between those dates? Just curious because you actually look leaner to me.
Thanks for the clarification and for the awesome info.0 -
What are you doing for your short intense cuts, something like PSMF?
Close, but I prefer to eat more and do more cardio.
I don't achieve huge daily deficits every day (I do continue to live a normal life with normal meals and workout times), but many days I have deficits in the 1500 cal area; it tends to average out to around 900 cal/day, which is enough to drop just under 2 lb/wk.
I try to have as much of a deficit as possible each day, both through increasing meal food efficiency (lower cals and higher protein) and putting on the miles. I average around 5 miles a day of walking/running when cutting. Most of it easy though, too intense and you'll burn out fast.
That's a fairly normal loss rate when obese, but that rate is pretty hardcore when lean and hard to sustain very long without big time side effects.0 -
Waldo - can you clarify what you are doing between phases?
For example, the second picture of phase 2 is dated Jan 2013 and then the first picture of phase 3 is dated August 2013.
Are you bulking between those dates? Just curious because you actually look leaner to me.
Thanks for the clarification and for the awesome info.
A full bulk/cut cycle between each pic.
I am getting both more muscular and leaner between each pic (but not at the same time, recomping is a terribly inefficient waste of time).
After bulk #2 I cut for a very long time (relatively speaking). It is when I figured out that I was a lot fatter than I thought I was; I wanted to get rid of the last bits of gut and kept cutting and cutting and cutting. I cut from April to August after bulking from January to March. Fortunately a cut like that is something you only have to do once unless you bulk out of control.
That is also when I figured out that cutting slow, 1 lb/wk, sucks and is not better in any way shape or form. It doesn't preserve more muscle mass or metabolism, it just increases the length of time spent cutting, and cutting while lean is torture after a while.0 -
Awesome work man. I am happy to see people who's weight only changes by a few pounds but gain some good muscle while remaining lean.
Well, those numbers are just endpoints of the whole cycle.
In terms of actual bulking weight gain:
#1: 189 -> 203
#2: 197 -> 207
#3: 187 -> 197
#4: 193 -> (current, goal is 199-200)
Since I started at a relatively higher bodyfat % (I thought it was 10% at the time but in hindsight it was more like 18%), I've had the general rule with each bulk/cut cycle that I end the cycle leaner than I began. Now that I'm at a leanness I'm pretty happy with and really only looking to fine tune a bit, my weight will start rising more consistently, though with the shorter bulk cycles I'm using, it will be a lower amount per cycle.
IMHO there is no need to get fat while bulking and that doing so is counterproductive. Short intense cuts are far more efficient than any other means of cutting, there is less in the way of a metabolic drop, you don't get the side effects of cutting, and because of that you can hop right back into bulking with very little taper. In the end greatly compressing non-bulking time. But doing short intense cuts really only works if you have a few pounds to lose.
Thats what I was getting at. Figured you had already cut in the pics. Same sort of plan I am following. Shorter bulk cut cycles instead of going to far in either direction.0 -
In...to read later.
I started mine in November last year, quickly ramping up to at least 3000 daily (with TDEE (minus exercise) of ~2500) at starting weight of 170. Gained the expected slightly-more-than-a-pound per week. Protein target was ~175g. Ate plenty of fat and rounded out the rest w/ whatever (ie, ice cream and chocolate milk). Saw really good measurement increases in all the right places without any noticeable waist expansion *until* just last week when things started getting a little puffy. Strength gains are doing well too. Am currently at 185 pounds.
Plan is to go to maintenance for a couple of weeks beginning 2/17 (or at 190 pounds, whichever happens first), then drop to 2000 daily (but no or only partial exercise calories back) (keeping protein around 175g) until I get to 175 pounds at which point I'll either do it all over again for fourish months with a new top target of 195 or maybe a slow bulk over the summer.0 -
Nice results on the shoulders! Wtg!
Thanks. :drinker:
You did a beard bulk too!
Maximizing pogonotrophy. GAINZ!0 -
Seefood diet0
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Cut from 171 to 157 between Oct - Dec 2013. Holiday season plus more cals overall saw me gain back up to 168.
Switched from MFP to TDEE after Christmas (2900 a day according to Scooby for a clean bulk.)
Gone from 168 to 165! WTF!!?? Today, I upped my cals to 3200 to see how that goes. Gainz are difficult!0
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