Bulking without being lean?

cingle87
cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Not at the bulking stage just yet just want to do my research before I get there. I have read in many places that you shouldn't bulk till you are sub 15% bf or you will gain a higher ratio of fat to lbm, but how much of a difference does it make?

The reason i ask for me to be sub 15% bf I would roughly have to get to 150lb or lower at my height of 5 7" age 27, currently im at 166 looking to get high 150, I don't really want to cut to 150 or below before I start adding lbm. At lets say 158 i would be roughly 18%bf so what could I expect to gain? Am I lookin at 1:1 fat to lbm? 1:0.75, 1:0.5? or is it impossible to guestimate?

Cheers for any help.

Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    I have read in many places that you shouldn't bulk till you are sub 15% bf or you will gain a higher ratio of fat to lbm,

    Where did you read that?
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I'd say, do it if you feel comfortable.

    However, there is some truth in that you won't get optimal results. I'm female and my understanding is that I should wait till I'm sub 24% to bulk. I said f it and went ahead anyway at around 30%. With hindsight, I should have waited but I just wanted to lift more plates :/ and was stalling out on my lifts at deficit. I'm cutting now and won't be trying again till I get under 24% - I'm just going to lift what I can and hold off on the second bulk so I get better results.

    Maybe run your numbers again though. 150 for a guy seems pretty light - maybe you bf % is lower than you think already?
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
    I have read in many places that you shouldn't bulk till you are sub 15% bf or you will gain a higher ratio of fat to lbm,

    Where did you read that?

    Read on a few Bodybuilding site as well as many post on here stating shouldn't bulk untill lean
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    It's honestly not going to make a big difference, if you bulk now, just do it slowly with a small calorie surplus, eat plenty of protein and lift heavy and you'll be fine.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Cut as much as you can before bulking. The whole time you're cutting perfect your lifting form and get everything ready for a good progressive programme, this will stop you losing muscle also. Don't eff around on the bulk, get the numbers right, and don't stay in it longer than necessary, coz you'll have to cut again after, and that's hard after all those extra calories.

    I waiting until I was about 16/17% body fat. Then bulked .25lb muscle .25lb fat per week until I gained a total of 8/9lb. Felt amazing. Been cutting very slowly since Feb. Lost 4/5lb fat a bit of muscle. I think I possibly gained a little more muscle to fat coz I bulked on low body fat, but there's no evidence as such, just anecdotal. The fat gain I'm sure got higher proportioned towards the end of the cut, as I was higher bf%, I also became less fit as I was having to oxygenate more fat tissue.

    Psychologically, I wouldn't want to bulk unless I was feeling über lean first, but I get uncomfortable with tight clothes. Bulking in winter is best too, then cutting ready for summer is rewarding.

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