Bulking Question

hottamolly00

Hey everyone,
I'm not new to the fitness scene, but I'm new to bulking. I'm 8 months pregnant with twins, so I'm already planning out my goals for getting back into my pre-pregnancy shape. Since I've had to be relatively sedentary for the last 3 months, I've lost a bit of my endurance and some muscle mass. I was a size 6 pre-pregnancy with a good amount of muscle (did Insanity, P90x3, and T25 in the months leading up to becoming pregnant.)

I'm thinking I might want to take advantage of my weight gain by doing a bulk/gain before I try to do a cut and lose weight. How do I get started with this? I've never bulked before and since I'll be homebound, I don't have access to all the gym equipment. I like doing videos because they're convenient.

Would y'all suggest P90X again along with some kind of calorie surplus? What about macros? I want to gain muscle before I try to lose weight and cut. Thoughts?

Necrossady

A caloric surplus is definitely vital.

Definitely put protein as a top priority. To figure out how much you should get as a minimum, you can calculate how much you want to weigh and what body fat % you want to be at. Then use that to calculate how much lean mass you'll have, and make sure every day you eat about 1g protein per pound of lbm Basically, as the saying goes, "eat for the body you want". Doing it this way also has the advantage of making you define a goal early on, which helps you focus your efforts toward progressing.

Make sure you do plenty of resistance training. Try to hit each muscle group at least once every 5 days (more than that isn't bad). Feel free to continue with cardio if you'd like to keep/get back your conditioning (I know you said you've lost some of your endurance), but keep in mind you'll need to eat more to compensate for the spent calories. If you decide to do your cardio and weights together, do weights before cardio.

A final recommendation is that if you're not already, you should start using creatine. It's great for muscle growth.

rogerOb1

A final recommendation is that if you're not already, you should start using creatine. It's great for muscle growth.

My creatine bottle says "consult with a qualified healthcare professional before using this product if pregnant or nursing a baby".


OP, post pregnancy sounds like a strange time to bulk, assuming some baby weight will stay on you.

hottamolly00

I do plan to breastfeed, so I will definitely make sure my doctor approves any supplements before I start them. It's actually pretty hard to keep the body fat on while breastfeeding as long as I'm eating low enough calories. The reason I decided this is because I'd hate to lose it, then gain some back to bulk, just so I can lose some body fat again. I figured I'd just start with the body fat/muscle gains and then focus on body fat loss/recomposition once I feel I've gained enough muscle.

hottamolly00

Thank you! That's very helpful info on how to set my macros.

Sam_I_Am77

You want to use P90X as your training method for a bulk? If so, then that's not going to help much. P90x is a cardio program first and foremost. If you want to really focus on increasing muscle hypertrophy then you need a program that will support that as well.

hottamolly00

You want to use P90X as your training method for a bulk? If so, then that's not going to help much. P90x is a cardio program first and foremost. If you want to really focus on increasing muscle hypertrophy then you need a program that will support that as well.

So far it's the closest thing I've got. There's a bulk option that uses only certain DVDs so that was my plan. Any other DVDs you can suggest?

MagnumBurrito

Do a progressive BW program like Convict Conditioning.

Sam_I_Am77

You want to use P90X as your training method for a bulk? If so, then that's not going to help much. P90x is a cardio program first and foremost. If you want to really focus on increasing muscle hypertrophy then you need a program that will support that as well.

So far it's the closest thing I've got. There's a bulk option that uses only certain DVDs so that was my plan. Any other DVDs you can suggest?

Usually heavy aerobic training is counter-productive to doing any real "bulking". If you're talking about gaining more definition then that's a different subject. But bulking via a conditioning program would be quite the challenge I think.

acampbe2umd

I do plan to breastfeed, so I will definitely make sure my doctor approves any supplements before I start them. It's actually pretty hard to keep the body fat on while breastfeeding as long as I'm eating low enough calories.

I'm assuming based on this statement that you've previously had children and breastfed them. Having 3 kids and breastfeeding, I was one of those where it didn't just melt fat away, so hopefully you're aware of how it will impact your body based on experience versus what people say is "normal" with regards to breastfeeding.

With that, I've never done a bulk right after. I heavy lifted with all 3 kids up until the day I delivered. I'm a C-section mom, so I was very careful about actually resting post partum until I was cleared at 6 weeks. I did start walking every day as soon as I was released from the hospital, but that was it. I have done p90x, but I'm not sure you'll get the results you want on that program.

In terms of macros, I'm currently in a fat loss mode right now, not weight loss and I'm eating 40/30/30 for carb/protein/fat.