How to BULK?
AzaleaNicole38
Posts: 102 Member
I'm asking this question for my bf because he refuses to join mfp, saying he doesn't have enough "time," and blah blah blah, but I do digress.
He is trying to bulk - semi successfully - and I was wondering if anyone had any tips. It could be specific or very general common knowledge. He is I think about 5'7 and about 130 pounds if not a little more. He already has lots of muscle and "cuts" because he's so skinny I guess. He wants to be bigger, but he also has a small frame.
As a sidenote he's been taking creatine and drinking some whey protein shakes. Wondering if such supplements have actual benefits?
He tries to eat a lot, but says it's so hard to eat so many calories in a day. He would have to be constantly eating. His metabolism is just so fast! He's eating a lot of fast foods to get the calories, but I don't really want him doing that because while he would probably gain, I think that's super unhealthy.
Sorry if this was long!
He is trying to bulk - semi successfully - and I was wondering if anyone had any tips. It could be specific or very general common knowledge. He is I think about 5'7 and about 130 pounds if not a little more. He already has lots of muscle and "cuts" because he's so skinny I guess. He wants to be bigger, but he also has a small frame.
As a sidenote he's been taking creatine and drinking some whey protein shakes. Wondering if such supplements have actual benefits?
He tries to eat a lot, but says it's so hard to eat so many calories in a day. He would have to be constantly eating. His metabolism is just so fast! He's eating a lot of fast foods to get the calories, but I don't really want him doing that because while he would probably gain, I think that's super unhealthy.
Sorry if this was long!
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Replies
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Fast foods are an incredibly unhealthy way to gain weight.0
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How old is he?
What is his workout regimen?
How many grams of protein per day?
Simple excess calories will help somewhat but the building blocks and stimulus have to be there to grow.0 -
Fast foods are an incredibly unhealthy way to gain weight.
they are a great way to gain weight- high in calories- exactly what you need.
He just needs to figure out maintenance- then his surplus... and if he has to blend slices of cheese cake into his protein smoothies so be it.
Calories are king in a bulk. There is no such thing as right or wrong. Getting macro's down to averages is good- but if you have a perfect macro split- and come in at maintance- you'll never gain.
So eat the meats and veggies- and then go home make him a pizza- pop a few beers and round the night out wih ice cream.
Also- make sure progressive lifting is happening. Is he on a program?0 -
sounds like he has the opposite problem of me.
i just get fat fast.
i think when i'm ready to try it again i'm going to get the beach body program called body beast so i have someone to hold my hand through the process this time.
people often grossly over estimate how much muscle the can/should gain. although there is a lot of room for growth for your bf if this chart is accurate:
http://www.builtlean.com/2011/03/30/how-much-muscle-can-you-gain-naturally/
its what the average man could expect to weight at the full extent of his genetic potental at a give hieght. but it assumes a 6% body fat percentage, which is damn near 100% fat free contest body builder shape.
so the amount of actual muscle he might put on (without steroids) would be something less then 25 lbs.
which btw is a **** ton of muscle.0 -
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hey thanks for that man. always said you should write a book lol
is that your blog or something?0 -
Fast foods are an incredibly unhealthy way to gain weight.
they are a great way to gain weight- high in calories- exactly what you need.
He just needs to figure out maintenance- then his surplus... and if he has to blend slices of cheese cake into his protein smoothies so be it.
Calories are king in a bulk. There is no such thing as right or wrong. Getting macro's down to averages is good- but if you have a perfect macro split- and come in at maintance- you'll never gain.
So eat the meats and veggies- and then go home make him a pizza- pop a few beers and round the night out wih ice cream.
Also- make sure progressive lifting is happening. Is he on a program?
Bulking- What dreams are made of.
Seriously though the part in bold is spot on. I experienced this first hand. Not that it was wasted time but once I relaxed my attitude towards (lean, clean, controlled) bulking I was much happier and actually started seeing results.0 -
Great article.0 -
Hi the question I would ask is what kind of weight gain does he want, if he just wants to weigh more and does not care what that weight comes from, then just eat anything he likes.
if he wants to gain muscle mass then things just aren't that simple.
firstly he needs to find a good lifting program. something like starting strength or any other good full body program.
he then needs to work out what his calorific need is and eat slightly in excess there is no point in eating massive amounts beyond his calorific needs, he cannot force his body to gain muscle, and the excess will just turn to fat. eating a few hundred calories over his calorific needs is sufficient.
he also needs to understand that muscle growth is sloooow. he is not going to gain 20lbs in a month, if he is really lucky he has good genetics and he is on a good program he may gain 20lbs of muscle in his first year of lifitng and gains will slow considerably after his first year. building a decent amount of muscle is a long term project. think in year not months.
Becouse it is a long term project he needs to think about what he can sustain, eating a load of rubbish isn't a long term healthy way of going about things.0 -
Hi the question I would ask is what kind of weight gain does he want, if he just wants to weigh more and does not care what that weight comes from, then just eat anything he likes.
if he wants to gain muscle mass then things just aren't that simple.
firstly he needs to find a good lifting program. something like starting strength or any other good full body program.
he then needs to work out what his calorific need is and eat slightly in excess there is no point in eating massive amounts beyond his calorific needs, he cannot force his body to gain muscle, and the excess will just turn to fat. eating a few hundred calories over his calorific needs is sufficient.
he also needs to understand that muscle growth is sloooow. he is not going to gain 20lbs in a month, if he is really lucky he has good genetics and he is on a good program he may gain 20lbs of muscle in his first year of lifitng and gains will slow considerably after his first year. building a decent amount of muscle is a long term project. think in year not months.
Becouse it is a long term project he needs to think about what he can sustain, eating a load of rubbish isn't a long term healthy way of going about things.
i think 20 lbs of muscle even in your first year probably seldom if every happens0 -
Thanks for all the replies. He's 22 and I'm guessing he wants to gain muscle mass and weight?
He already has a lot of muscle, but I'm guessing he is thinking that if he weighs more, he will have more muscle. Is that naive thinking, or is he accurate in assuming that?
He is not on any type of program, just lifting dumbells at home and doing exercises that can be done with your own body weight (like squats, push ups.) We could afford to go to the gym, but we would rather put our money elsewhere because we are both students.0 -
your right I was being generous, but if everything is right its possible but its rare that everything is right.Hi the question I would ask is what kind of weight gain does he want, if he just wants to weigh more and does not care what that weight comes from, then just eat anything he likes.
if he wants to gain muscle mass then things just aren't that simple.
firstly he needs to find a good lifting program. something like starting strength or any other good full body program.
he then needs to work out what his calorific need is and eat slightly in excess there is no point in eating massive amounts beyond his calorific needs, he cannot force his body to gain muscle, and the excess will just turn to fat. eating a few hundred calories over his calorific needs is sufficient.
he also needs to understand that muscle growth is sloooow. he is not going to gain 20lbs in a month, if he is really lucky he has good genetics and he is on a good program he may gain 20lbs of muscle in his first year of lifitng and gains will slow considerably after his first year. building a decent amount of muscle is a long term project. think in year not months.
Becouse it is a long term project he needs to think about what he can sustain, eating a load of rubbish isn't a long term healthy way of going about things.
i think 20 lbs of muscle even in your first year probably seldom if every happens0 -
Speaking of beach body, I'm doing Insanity and I told him to join me. Is this too much cardio for him? He feels like P90X would be more strength based.0
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Thanks for all the replies. He's 22 and I'm guessing he wants to gain muscle mass and weight?
He already has a lot of muscle, but I'm guessing he is thinking that if he weighs more, he will have more muscle. Is that naive thinking, or is he accurate in assuming that?
He is not on any type of program, just lifting dumbells at home and doing exercises that can be done with your own body weight (like squats, push ups.) We could afford to go to the gym, but we would rather put our money elsewhere because we are both students.
he can build some muscle with dumbells and body weigh exercises, but the problem is that it is somewhat limited. the key to building muscle is progressive overload (lifting a progressively more weight) if you just have a set of dumbells as he gets stronger he will soon find that they are to light and he will platto0 -
Speaking of beach body, I'm doing Insanity and I told him to join me. Is this too much cardio for him? He feels like P90X would be more strength based.
both are far from ideal for putting on muscle. with p90x being somewhat less so.
the nutrition guide for insanity does discuss how to eat to gain weight, but honestly one would be better off skipping the cardio almost altogether (should do some to keep up your heart health), especially if he's a hard gainer.
Assuming he has enough weight that he'll fail at 8 reps or less, it wouldn't be crazy to do just the lifting days from p90x. although i'd suggest pausing often because so fast its nearly like cardio. and find a different solution for legs. because p90x legs IS cardio0 -
Thanks for all the replies. He's 22 and I'm guessing he wants to gain muscle mass and weight?
He already has a lot of muscle, but I'm guessing he is thinking that if he weighs more, he will have more muscle. Is that naive thinking, or is he accurate in assuming that?
He is not on any type of program, just lifting dumbells at home and doing exercises that can be done with your own body weight (like squats, push ups.) We could afford to go to the gym, but we would rather put our money elsewhere because we are both students.
obviously it would not be naive to assume that one would gain weight by putting on muslce
to think it would happen without a lot of hard work would be0 -
Thanks for all the replies. He's 22 and I'm guessing he wants to gain muscle mass and weight?
He already has a lot of muscle, but I'm guessing he is thinking that if he weighs more, he will have more muscle. Is that naive thinking, or is he accurate in assuming that?
He is not on any type of program, just lifting dumbells at home and doing exercises that can be done with your own body weight (like squats, push ups.) We could afford to go to the gym, but we would rather put our money elsewhere because we are both students.
he can build some muscle with dumbells and body weigh exercises, but the problem is that it is somewhat limited. the key to building muscle is progressive overload (lifting a progressively more weight) if you just have a set of dumbells as he gets stronger he will soon find that they are to light and he will platto
there is so many different variants of BW exercises out there that people of any fitness level will be able to find one for a given muscle group that they can only do 8 reps or less of. once you start doing more then that you look for a more difficult variant.
i didn't realize that myself until a lot of knowledgable people proved it to me on this site.0 -
Not adding much, just bumping to learn more about bulking0
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^^ make sure you check out waldo's link0
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Nice work, that is a nice, comprehensive accumulation of info you got there. Everything you said I found to be true during my bulks. I will bookmark it for reference for my next bulk in the fall so I remember everything 0 -
Thanks for all the replies. He's 22 and I'm guessing he wants to gain muscle mass and weight?
He already has a lot of muscle, but I'm guessing he is thinking that if he weighs more, he will have more muscle. Is that naive thinking, or is he accurate in assuming that?
He is not on any type of program, just lifting dumbells at home and doing exercises that can be done with your own body weight (like squats, push ups.) We could afford to go to the gym, but we would rather put our money elsewhere because we are both students.
he can build some muscle with dumbells and body weigh exercises, but the problem is that it is somewhat limited. the key to building muscle is progressive overload (lifting a progressively more weight) if you just have a set of dumbells as he gets stronger he will soon find that they are to light and he will platto
there is so many different variants of BW exercises out there that people of any fitness level will be able to find one for a given muscle group that they can only do 8 reps or less of. once you start doing more then that you look for a more difficult variant.
I didn't realize that myself until a lot of knowledgeable people proved it to me on this site.
That's a good point, I'm not sure if he's increasing his weight when lifting. I know he alternates between weight, but not at a steady incline. I will let him know about bw exercises as well.
Also he is currently taking six star pro nutrition creatine and whey protein. One in pill form, the latter in powder. I want to buy him a few other things from the line, but is it worth it?
http://www.sixstarpro.ca/products/
I'm sure the whey protein would help, but I don't know if the other products are gimmicky or not.0 -
anything other then protien suppliments is a gimic IMO
creatine is ok but i don't bother with it.
the thing with suppliments is that they are just the same as food, just more convient to consume.
don't expect anything out of them that you wouldn't from eating food0 -
Eat0
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Thanks for the link, great read. I am a few weeks into my first attempt at a bulk and I have to say it is far harder mentally that losing weight.0
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Speaking of beach body, I'm doing Insanity and I told him to join me. Is this too much cardio for him? He feels like P90X would be more strength based.
both are far from ideal for putting on muscle. with p90x being somewhat less so.
the nutrition guide for insanity does discuss how to eat to gain weight, but honestly one would be better off skipping the cardio almost altogether (should do some to keep up your heart health), especially if he's a hard gainer.
Assuming he has enough weight that he'll fail at 8 reps or less, it wouldn't be crazy to do just the lifting days from p90x. although i'd suggest pausing often because so fast its nearly like cardio. and find a different solution for legs. because p90x legs IS cardio
are you sure that's right??? the bolded part- Insanity is like pure HIIT cardio.
he's not putting on any muscle with that program.
As noted- he needs to be on a PROGRESSIVE lifting program- using dumbbells and stuff isn't going to cut it.
If he doesn't want to do a gym barbell program- please please please read waldo's site.
It's probably the most comprehensive site on body weight building. not just body-weight workouts- it's geared and written by some one bulking and aiming to get bigger.0 -
Speaking of beach body, I'm doing Insanity and I told him to join me. Is this too much cardio for him? He feels like P90X would be more strength based.
both are far from ideal for putting on muscle. with p90x being somewhat less so.
the nutrition guide for insanity does discuss how to eat to gain weight, but honestly one would be better off skipping the cardio almost altogether (should do some to keep up your heart health), especially if he's a hard gainer.
Assuming he has enough weight that he'll fail at 8 reps or less, it wouldn't be crazy to do just the lifting days from p90x. although i'd suggest pausing often because so fast its nearly like cardio. and find a different solution for legs. because p90x legs IS cardio
are you sure that's right??? the bolded part- Insanity is like pure HIIT cardio.
he's not putting on any muscle with that program.
As noted- he needs to be on a PROGRESSIVE lifting program- using dumbbells and stuff isn't going to cut it.
If he doesn't want to do a gym barbell program- please please please read waldo's site.
It's probably the most comprehensive site on body weight building. not just body-weight workouts- it's geared and written by some one bulking and aiming to get bigger.
With P90X, I would say it is possible...only if you go into it with the mindset of forcing yourself to go up in weight.....
Which I don't think the workouts really allow for this just due to the quickness you are going through it.
But I think good old basic gym sessions are the better way to go.0 -
Agreed I wouldn't say EITHER are ideal-
I guess if I HAD to throw a dart and pick one- because those were the only two options- i'd pick p90 over insanity for muscle growth- I mean hell the yoga DVD on that pack is nothing to scoff at!!!
no question.But I think good old basic gym sessions are the better way to go.0 -
Tell him to checkout the HodgeTwins on Youtube0
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Speaking of beach body, I'm doing Insanity and I told him to join me. Is this too much cardio for him? He feels like P90X would be more strength based.
both are far from ideal for putting on muscle. with p90x being somewhat less so.
the nutrition guide for insanity does discuss how to eat to gain weight, but honestly one would be better off skipping the cardio almost altogether (should do some to keep up your heart health), especially if he's a hard gainer.
Assuming he has enough weight that he'll fail at 8 reps or less, it wouldn't be crazy to do just the lifting days from p90x. although i'd suggest pausing often because so fast its nearly like cardio. and find a different solution for legs. because p90x legs IS cardio
are you sure that's right??? the bolded part- Insanity is like pure HIIT cardio.
he's not putting on any muscle with that program.
As noted- he needs to be on a PROGRESSIVE lifting program- using dumbbells and stuff isn't going to cut it.
If he doesn't want to do a gym barbell program- please please please read waldo's site.
It's probably the most comprehensive site on body weight building. not just body-weight workouts- it's geared and written by some one bulking and aiming to get bigger.
while i'd agree that HIIT is probably the most muscle friendly cardio... its technically not HIIT by the strictest definitions. close enough if you ask me.
I thought she meant do just insanity and no weight routine.
but even if he was doing a weight routine, if the goal was to gain mass it would be counter productive, you would have to eat all those calories back.
plus she seems to suggest he's a hard gainer.
you know i'm not a beach body hater lol0
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