Noob: Do I really need to bulk to get goal body? PICS

OverDoIt

Here are the facts as I know them. Some people have something called "genetics" and some do not. In this case "genetics" refer to the ability to build, and maintain muscle mass. Some people are really genetically gifted, and most are not. Most of us have to eat more and train harder than the "gifted" individual. That is why most people recommend eating high calorie diets, and training "hard or heavy' to achieve the most muscular physique that is possible naturally. Steroids, HGH, and research chemicals, serms,sarms insulin, etc.. are very misundertood. Different steroids and drugs have different effects. Some are bulking agents, cutting agents, receptor modulators etc... Steroids do not work the same way for everyone. Do they work? yes ! Are they for 19 year old kids who have no clue and would permanently damage their future testosterone production ? NO!!!!! You are not a professional athlete who's livelyhood depends on performance. You are not a professional bodybuilder. You are a kid who wants to gain muscle mass, and that is all. So, take a number and get in line cause you are gonna be waiting for some time. If you ask the same question and get generally the same answer, then listen. If you want fast results then you are in the wrong department here. Size and strength are measured over time. If you do not really want it bad enough to put in the time, then keep moving. Even if you tske steroids I have really bad news for all of you. You still have to eat, train just as hard, watch you kidney and liver function, eat some more. If you are not meticulous enough to put on mass naturally, then you will not have even close to what is takes to safely and effectively run a steroid cyle. Ther is no magic pill, needle, supplement that is a ****ing pipe dream. The real magic is having the smarts and the testicular fortitude to put in the work that needs to be done. You do not need steroids, or fancy supplements. I take lots of supplements, because I do all of the other things I am supposed to do in order for the "supplements" to my diet to work. Do one thing at a time. Trying to win a car race before you know how to drive is what you are doing here. BTW to everyone, professional sports are rampant with performance enhancing drugs. Many of the agents they take are undetectable, or unknown by the general population. That is the only "proof" you need. There are those who get caught, and then there is the rest. We ask for heroes, and they deliver. When we find out that the hero we created is on performance enhancers we make then villains. We build them up and then break them down. We ask for homeruns and touchdowns and wins and they deliver. We created this problem, can't any of you see that ?

OverDoIt

If those guys in those pics are "ON" then they need to go "off". Cause looks to me like that **** ain't never gonna kick in. Looking like scarecrows.

usmcmp

If those guys in those pics are "ON" then they need to go "off". Cause looks to me like that **** ain't never gonna kick in. Looking like scarecrows.

:laugh: Those were my thoughts too, I just didn't feel like going there.

waldo56

(PS - they're all on test/steroids/etc too, keep that in mind)

Wat?

None of them are obviously. Arms/shoulders are pretty proportional to the rest of the body, none of them are all that big.

Clearly they have spent some time putting on mass, but none are anywhere near the that ain't happening without gear zone.

BaliDream

To everyone who took the time out of their day to open those links and respond to my thread, thank you so incredibly much. It's amazing how helpful complete strangers can be.

I'd just like to point out that steroids have never even come across my mind. I don't know how the steroid topic came into this thread, but I have never even thought about taking that stuff. Always natural.

I am now prepared to fully focus on gaining mass/bulking, I am prepared for the hard work. Have been eating at a 500cal surplus for a couple of days now.

I am currently with a personal trainer (who is an AFL player himself) for another two months, 3 times a week, half an hour per session. Although we have done dead lifts/squats/chest press, I am going to ask him if we can do these three every session. I feel like I'm not going hard enough during the workouts, my muscles are never very sore or drained afterwards. Hopefully he won't mind.

Hopefully if I do this right I won't put on too much fat either over the next few years.

Rayman79

It's great that you have yourself a PT. Most of these AFL guys have had access to top shelf coaches so should be able to steer you in the right direction.

If you only have half an hour sessions with him, the value will be getting him to coach you through good form (and pushing you) with the major compound lifts as these are the most important and most technical. You could always ask him to give you some accessory exercises to do by yourself at the end of the session if you want to increase the volume a little.

I'm sure he has a plan he's working through though, and most likely not trying to overload you in the beginning, which is a very good thing. The natural tendency for most guys is to go 'balls to the wall' and wear themselves out. The fact is that consistency and progressive overload are enough to make progress for a long time and working on form while you are not too fatigued is a great place to start.

Oh and never mine the gear talk, threads on these forums have a habit of de-railing rather quickly with incoherent rabble :laugh: . Bottom line is you are looking to get bigger and stronger, you are going about it the right way so keep at it and there is absolutely no doubt you will see some results!

joan23_us

Hi everyone, hope all is well. Pre-apologies for my noobiness on bodybuilding.

I have been told to do a 'clean bulk' (eat clean, and add 500 calories to my maintenance calories per day) but I'm feeling quite resistant towards it.

I have a particular goal body in mind and I will do whatever it takes, but the idea of eating lots and gaining fat seems contradictory to the lean, toned, moderately muscular body I am aiming for. I was told to always 'lose fat, eat less' for such a long time, so this just feels very odd! (currently in my second day of bulking).

Did all these AFL (australian football league) players and other athletes who have awesome bodies have to eat a lot to gain muscle? Or did they do it another way?

What do you guys think? Do I really need to bulk to get to goal body, or is there another way that won't mean I'm always bloated/gaining fat and covering the little ab definition I had to start off with?

My current shots: http://tinypic.com/r/2vj4so1/8
My goal body: http://tinypic.com/r/2qnbmeb/8

SORRY for all the questions! Any help would be appreciated so much.

start adding 200 calories to your current intake... lift heavy stuff, when you hit a sticking point, repeat step 1.

SideSteel

If you only have half an hour sessions with him, the value will be getting him to coach you through good form (and pushing you) with the major compound lifts as these are the most important and most technical.

^^ That, seriously. Invest as much time as you can with the PT to learn how to squat/deadlift/press correctly.

steve0820

Here are the facts as I know them. Some people have something called "genetics" and some do not. In this case "genetics" refer to the ability to build, and maintain muscle mass. Some people are really genetically gifted, and most are not. Most of us have to eat more and train harder than the "gifted" individual. That is why most people recommend eating high calorie diets, and training "hard or heavy' to achieve the most muscular physique that is possible naturally. Steroids, HGH, and research chemicals, serms,sarms insulin, etc.. are very misundertood. Different steroids and drugs have different effects. Some are bulking agents, cutting agents, receptor modulators etc... Steroids do not work the same way for everyone. Do they work? yes ! Are they for 19 year old kids who have no clue and would permanently damage their future testosterone production ? NO!!!!! You are not a professional athlete who's livelyhood depends on performance. You are not a professional bodybuilder. You are a kid who wants to gain muscle mass, and that is all. So, take a number and get in line cause you are gonna be waiting for some time. If you ask the same question and get generally the same answer, then listen. If you want fast results then you are in the wrong department here. Size and strength are measured over time. If you do not really want it bad enough to put in the time, then keep moving. Even if you tske steroids I have really bad news for all of you. You still have to eat, train just as hard, watch you kidney and liver function, eat some more. If you are not meticulous enough to put on mass naturally, then you will not have even close to what is takes to safely and effectively run a steroid cyle. Ther is no magic pill, needle, supplement that is a ****ing pipe dream. The real magic is having the smarts and the testicular fortitude to put in the work that needs to be done. You do not need steroids, or fancy supplements. I take lots of supplements, because I do all of the other things I am supposed to do in order for the "supplements" to my diet to work. Do one thing at a time. Trying to win a car race before you know how to drive is what you are doing here. BTW to everyone, professional sports are rampant with performance enhancing drugs. Many of the agents they take are undetectable, or unknown by the general population. That is the only "proof" you need. There are those who get caught, and then there is the rest. We ask for heroes, and they deliver. When we find out that the hero we created is on performance enhancers we make then villains. We build them up and then break them down. We ask for homeruns and touchdowns and wins and they deliver. We created this problem, can't any of you see that ?

^^^^
This guy knows what he's talking about. How many times have I had this discussion with people, and quoted the exact same things you mentioned. Well done sir.

Eat big, get big, leave a giant coffin.

ahamm002

It is possible to gain some muscle (especially at age 19) without bulking. Just do compound lifts and eat plenty of protein. However, eventually you'll plateau and need to start bulking in order to continue building muscle. That said, bulking and then cutting is the most efficient way to reach your goals. However, it will probably take a number of years of serious weight lifting and strict eating to reach your goals.

Goals are important. But I'd recommend starting with more attainable goals. First set some goals for strength (eg., like bench press, squat, and pull up numbers). Once you attain them, you can either continue bulking or set some cutting goals, then rinse / repeat.

gbasurto10

One big peace of advice that I wish someone with experience would have told me when I first started bodybuilding. Try your hardest not to do a dirty bulk. This doesn't mean stay away from "bad" foods. it just means keep track of what you eat on a day to day basis. Tracking food has helped me learn what my body response to the most. By tracking how many calories you're eating on a bulk it'll be much easier for you to know how many calories you'll need when you start to cut. But, in order to gain muscle you have to sacrifice adding some body fat for some time. The best approach I've found that's worked for me (I do bodybuilding competitions) is doing 3 month bulk cycles with a 90 day cut. I repeat this until I've reached my desired look or weight. I cut a bulk cycle if I ever go over 15% body fat. Just some food for thought.

waldo56

The best approach I've found that's worked for me (I do bodybuilding competitions) is doing 3 month bulk cycles with a 90 day cut.

Is there a typo here?

1:1 seems a bit extreme on the cutting side of things.

I'm experimenting with 8 weeks bulking followed by 2 weeks cutting with a 1 week ramp back up (11 week cycles)

brdnw

i havn't bulked yet.

CrusaderSam

I think the problem here is a lack of understanding. The basic fact, muscle is built very, very, slowly over a very, long amount of time. It doesn't matter if you if you bulk or re-comp or what ever, it will be slow. Now this is where things get messed up, I know a lot of guys will use a bulk cycle to hide the fact they did a cycle of a different kind. So there it is, do what ever it is you want, don't worry it will be slow. Bulking cutting will only be a tiny bit faster then re-comping.

trojan_bb

Those guys probably have at least 20-25lbs of muscle on you. It will take years to get to that size. What better time to start now?

(PS - they're all on test/steroids/etc too, keep that in mind)

What?

The goal pictures are all guys at like 170lbs 12% bodyfat. That's a totally average male that workouts. The OP could reach that body in 1-2 years easily with little thought or advanced techniques.

OP, you also stated you wanted to look like an Aussie rugbie player. Most of them are considerably larger than the guys in your pics. To hit that level, yes you will need many bulks for many years.

Rayman79

What?

The goal pictures are all guys at like 170lbs 12% bodyfat. That's a totally average male that workouts. The OP could reach that body in 1-2 years easily with little thought or advanced techniques.

OP, you also stated you wanted to look like an Aussie rugbie player. Most of them are considerably larger than the guys in your pics. To hit that level, yes you will need many bulks for many years.

Actually he said he wanted to look like an AFL player, not a rugbie (sic) player. These are very different sports and the average physique is very different. AFL has more of an emphasis on aerobic conditioning and requires players to be leaner to be competitive. As an all round sport it is one of the most demanding in the world.

With that said it is definitely an attainable physique goal and most guys will actually be able to do it more efficiently because they don't have such a huge focus on maintaining elite explosive power and endurance and can concentrate more specifically on the strength and hypertrophy components of training.

trojan_bb

Oh, misread it.

That's an easy physique to attain . Minor bulking needed for 1-2 years from where you're at

waldo56

Bulking cutting will only be a tiny bit faster then re-comping.

Wat?

Bulking-cutting is WAY faster than recomping.

Recomping really only works for noobs anyway. As you build more muscle, the signal needed to build more gets increasingly stronger.