Bulking help!

Huddles10

Hey fitness junkies! I currently weigh 107 and i'm 5 3.5! My husband and I work out 5-6 days a week and we do everything; cardio, boxing, strength training, cross fit and I also do yoga. We also eat very healthy but of course have our cheat days! I was born skinny with a small frame and after my last baby I started working out pretty hard core and I can definitely notice muscle but I want to bulk more and be at about 120 as my solid weight ! When I gain weight though, it seems to ONLY go right to my midsection and no where else! I have chicken legs and I want to bulk them up more as well as my glutes but not sure how to start and what are the right steps to take! ANY help would be fantastic!

TriLifter

Check out this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/16930-women-who-bulk

It's filled with amazing women who are packing on muscle!

Huddles10

Wonderful! Thanks

Springfield1970

Just to add just in case people are reading here, women can only build .25lb muscle per week. You should aim for a half pound gain so 250 cals extra per day. Drop cardio and lift heavy 3 times per week. Cardio will muddy the water number wise, and unless placed really strategically it will interfere with your muscle repair and growth. I had to keep my fitness over winter because I do triathlons but kept it to an absolute minimum and made sure I 100% fuelled it. Otherwise the bulk would have been compromised and a waste of time.

Now's the time to figure out your true maintenance figure, and your exercise burns. The goal is to add muscle with as little extra fat as possible so your cut isn't too long and difficult at the end. The fat gain is unavoidable by the way.

stroutman81

Just to add just in case people are reading here, women can only build .25lb muscle per week.

I wouldn't say that so absolutely. Generally I agree with you, but absolutes do not exist in this game. I've had clients gain at faster rates.

And to the OP, I'll simply say this. You can't fast forward muscle growth by eating more and more calories. There's a physiological limit to how fast we can pack on muscle (and as noted above, that rate will vary from person to person). The 'secret' is to ease your way into a calorie surplus until you find that point where you're eating enough to support an appreciable rate of weight gain, yet not so much to a point where a lot of excess calories are spilling over into fat.

i don't know what calorie intake maintains your 107 lbs. You sound very active. Maybe it's something along the lines of 1600-1700. I'd add 100 calories or so every couple of weeks until you start seeing the progress you're shooting for.

Again, ease your way into it.

I've had female clients eating as high as 22-25 cals/lb during their bulks... but we never jumped directly to such a high point. In my mind, success is born out of systematic, logical processes.

Springfield1970

Just to add just in case people are reading here, women can only build .25lb muscle per week.

I wouldn't say that so absolutely. Generally I agree with you, but absolutes do not exist in this game. I've had clients gain at faster rates.

And to the OP, I'll simply say this. You can't fast forward muscle growth by eating more and more calories. There's a physiological limit to how fast we can pack on muscle (and as noted above, that rate will vary from person to person). The 'secret' is to ease your way into a calorie surplus until you find that point where you're eating enough to support an appreciable rate of weight gain, yet not so much to a point where a lot of excess calories are spilling over into fat.

i don't know what calorie intake maintains your 107 lbs. You sound very active. Maybe it's something along the lines of 1600-1700. I'd add 100 calories or so every couple of weeks until you start seeing the progress you're shooting for.

Again, ease your way into it.

I've had female clients eating as high as 22-25 cals/lb during their bulks... but we never jumped directly to such a high point. In my mind, success is born out of systematic, logical processes.

Funny you should say that about the .25 number which I've read countless times. I could have sworn I was putting on more muscle than that, and ended up not having to cut as much as I thought I would. I suspected I was gaining .33lb a week but could never prove it.

Fujiberry

Women can't put on that muscle that quickly. Just focus on eating at a surplus and training hard. If you'd like to build up your legs, work them twice a week and focus on exercises that build strength and muscle, not endurance. You should be hitting 1-6 reps for strength, and 8-12 for strength and muscle gain. : )

How much are you eating? I'm currently on a bulk at a minimum of 2,200 cals.

Fujiberry

Bulking will definitely make you feel full and bloated 99% of the time. I have a permanent food baby, I swear. :P

stroutman81

Just to add just in case people are reading here, women can only build .25lb muscle per week.

I wouldn't say that so absolutely. Generally I agree with you, but absolutes do not exist in this game. I've had clients gain at faster rates.

And to the OP, I'll simply say this. You can't fast forward muscle growth by eating more and more calories. There's a physiological limit to how fast we can pack on muscle (and as noted above, that rate will vary from person to person). The 'secret' is to ease your way into a calorie surplus until you find that point where you're eating enough to support an appreciable rate of weight gain, yet not so much to a point where a lot of excess calories are spilling over into fat.

i don't know what calorie intake maintains your 107 lbs. You sound very active. Maybe it's something along the lines of 1600-1700. I'd add 100 calories or so every couple of weeks until you start seeing the progress you're shooting for.

Again, ease your way into it.

I've had female clients eating as high as 22-25 cals/lb during their bulks... but we never jumped directly to such a high point. In my mind, success is born out of systematic, logical processes.

Funny you should say that about the .25 number which I've read countless times. I could have sworn I was putting on more muscle than that, and ended up not having to cut as much as I thought I would. I suspected I was gaining .33lb a week but could never prove it.

I mean let's face it... none of us have the technology to precisely measure how much muscle is being gained from week to week. In practice, I think the fastest rate I'm seeing is around 2 lbs per month and that's in young, untrained males. Of course we could see faster hypertrophy with the assistance of drugs... but that's not what we're talking about here.

A female, on the high end, is likely going to be lower than 2 lbs per month... novice or not.

But why I spoke up was simply due to the fact that there are no absolutes. "Women can only build .25 lbs muscle per week" implies that it's a matter of fact that can't be deviated from.

You get my point, though.

It's worth noting that the more experienced one is, the lower the rate of gain will be. To a point, I might add, where for an advanced natural female, she might be lucky if she gains .25 lbs PER MONTH!

So as with most things in the fitness realm... it all depends.

peejaygee1

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