General Questions About Bulking

_lyndseybrooke_

Hey ladies!

STATS: I'm 5'5" and currently 126.2 lbs. My ultimate goal weight is 125 lbs. Check out my profile picture for the most recent photos of me.

WORKOUT: I'm doing Wendler's 5/3/1 and Periodization Bible assistance work 4 days per week and about one 1-1.5 hours of cardio per week. There's a more detailed workout schedule in my blog if it matters. I've been lifting for about 5 months.

My original goal, when I started at 155 lbs, was to get to 130 lbs and stop. Once I got to 130, I bumped it down to 125 because I still had some excess fat in my belly and arms. Standing up I look fine, but watching me do a squat in nothing but a sports bra and shorts isn't too pretty. Now that I'm almost at 125, which is the lowest weight I've been since I was 17, there's still some extra fat. However, I'm not sure what my next move should be. Should I continue to eat at a deficit until the "softness" is gone? I'm concerned about how skinny I'd have to get to be rid of it. Should I eat at maintenance and continue lifting in an attempt to "lose fat and gain muscle"? Or should I spend the winter months bulking (Maybe December-March) in order to really put on some muscle, and then enter a cutting cycle before swimsuit season comes around again?

My general questions about bulking are as follows:

1. When do YOU think is the right time to bulk? Do you base it on weight, body fat percentage, or just your appearance?
2. How does your body look during a bulk? Is it one of those things you just have to get used to for the sake of gaining muscle mass, or is it not as bad as I'm picturing?
3. Do you do anything different as far as your workouts when bulking versus cutting? Less cardio? More lifting? Or does everything stay the same?
4. What was your experience during/after your first bulk cycle? Any pointers, advice, warnings, etc?

I really want a more firm body with a bit more muscle, but I'm wondering how much weight I'd have to lose in order to get rid of the softness in my midsection. I'm wondering whether bulking might be the answer. Any advice is appreciated - I'm completely clueless about the concept of bulking.

JoRocka

Hey there!!!

Glad that worked out! Wasn't sure if it would or I needed to send an invite

1.) usually it's a performance goal- or a body image goal.

When is totally irrelevant- just realize the higher you are in terms of body fat- the harder it winds up being to cut. I started rather meaty last November- and it's taken me several months to get back down- but not surprised about it- I made progress- goal was to hit 300 pound DL and I did. For me- it had absolutely NOTHING to do with looking like anything- it was purely tipping the 300 pound DL mark.

2.) It's different for every one- but you will not put on weight the same way as if you got fat (usually more isolated) you just get bigger and fluffier over all- I had to drag out almost all my old clothes- and even bought new ones- NOTHING fit- I went up almost 2 full sizes- and even in some cases 2.5. Buy more stretchy pants.
This is why a lot of women bulk in the winter- stretchy pants and big sweaters- no one cares if you put on some extra weight.
Pack away you'r favorite jeans. buy stretchy pants.They won't fit any more for a while.
Buy more stretchy pants.


3.) totally up to you- but the down side to cardio- or doing significant carido is it means you must eat more- and after a while that gets old- so a lot of people do the bare minimum- I did no extra cardio... I danced- and lifted- that was it. Now that I'm cutting I do run occasionally- jump rope or do the stair master- but not for cutting. My personal choice. It's up to you- but typically if you're struggling to eat foods- doing cardio just compounds the problem.

As far as lifting- I changed programs because I wanted to- but my plan was 6 months of bulking- I had time to run 2 different programs- don't change if you don't' want- no reason to.

4.) Buy stretchy pants.
Prepare your Significant other
Be aware you're food bill will go up.
You'll be cranky.
you will have fat days- you WILL be miserable.

I found giving myself a window of 4-6 months was helpful- at least I could hit the minimum and bail- goal was 6 months- I wanted to quit at 3.5- pushed through till 4 and then was running a new program and made it all the way to April- saw my best gains in the last 2 months. Remember long term goal trumps the miserable feeling that day.

LOG YOUR FOOD. I didn't realize till I was done- I was light toward the ends- I could have had better gains had I been more aggressive. You don't realize how you'll cheat yourself and find yourself not gaining if you try to just eat intuitively.

Your numbers will go up- you might start at 2500- and find yourself having to bump to over 3000. If you aren't gaining for 2-3 weeks- you gotta eat up.

When you first start bulking- you'll see easily a 5-7 pound jump the first week... don't' get excited. Stay there for a 2-3 weeks but you might have to bump up again the calories.

Don't over think it- set a surplus- don't go to small (100 is not enough) and don't go too big - 500 is usually to much for women.

usually 250-350 increment is good. You can always move up or down. Use your tape measure and your scale to keep track- it'll give you feed back to tell you if you need to go up or down in food.

Hopefully that gives you something to chew on in terms of process and thoughts!!! Ask away- hopefully some others will chime in and give you their experiences.

_lyndseybrooke_

Hey there!!!

Glad that worked out! Wasn't sure if it would or I needed to send an invite

1.) usually it's a performance goal- or a body image goal.

When is totally irrelevant- just realize the higher you are in terms of body fat- the harder it winds up being to cut. I started rather meaty last November- and it's taken me several months to get back down- but not surprised about it- I made progress- goal was to hit 300 pound DL and I did. For me- it had absolutely NOTHING to do with looking like anything- it was purely tipping the 300 pound DL mark.

2.) It's different for every one- but you will not put on weight the same way as if you got fat (usually more isolated) you just get bigger and fluffier over all- I had to drag out almost all my old clothes- and even bought new ones- NOTHING fit- I went up almost 2 full sizes- and even in some cases 2.5. Buy more stretchy pants.
This is why a lot of women bulk in the winter- stretchy pants and big sweaters- no one cares if you put on some extra weight.
Pack away you'r favorite jeans. buy stretchy pants.They won't fit any more for a while.
Buy more stretchy pants.


3.) totally up to you- but the down side to cardio- or doing significant carido is it means you must eat more- and after a while that gets old- so a lot of people do the bare minimum- I did no extra cardio... I danced- and lifted- that was it. Now that I'm cutting I do run occasionally- jump rope or do the stair master- but not for cutting. My personal choice. It's up to you- but typically if you're struggling to eat foods- doing cardio just compounds the problem.

As far as lifting- I changed programs because I wanted to- but my plan was 6 months of bulking- I had time to run 2 different programs- don't change if you don't' want- no reason to.

4.) Buy stretchy pants.
Prepare your Significant other
Be aware you're food bill will go up.
You'll be cranky.
you will have fat days- you WILL be miserable.

I found giving myself a window of 4-6 months was helpful- at least I could hit the minimum and bail- goal was 6 months- I wanted to quit at 3.5- pushed through till 4 and then was running a new program and made it all the way to April- saw my best gains in the last 2 months. Remember long term goal trumps the miserable feeling that day.

LOG YOUR FOOD. I didn't realize till I was done- I was light toward the ends- I could have had better gains had I been more aggressive. You don't realize how you'll cheat yourself and find yourself not gaining if you try to just eat intuitively.

Your numbers will go up- you might start at 2500- and find yourself having to bump to over 3000. If you aren't gaining for 2-3 weeks- you gotta eat up.

When you first start bulking- you'll see easily a 5-7 pound jump the first week... don't' get excited. Stay there for a 2-3 weeks but you might have to bump up again the calories.

Don't over think it- set a surplus- don't go to small (100 is not enough) and don't go too big - 500 is usually to much for women.

usually 250-350 increment is good. You can always move up or down. Use your tape measure and your scale to keep track- it'll give you feed back to tell you if you need to go up or down in food.

Hopefully that gives you something to chew on in terms of process and thoughts!!! Ask away- hopefully some others will chime in and give you their experiences.

Thanks so much! You know, I think you've convinced me not to bulk after all. I've got to say, going up in lifts is important to me, but my vanity is much more powerful (hey, at least I'm admitting it). I'm not looking to get into bodybuilding or do fitness competitions - I just want to look good and keep lifting because I enjoy it. Eating 3000 calories a day was the only thing you said that sounded good to me, so I don't think I'm cut out for bulking.

I'm just still at a loss as to what comes next for me if bulking isn't it. I keep hearing that you have to eat at a caloric surplus to gain muscle and the only way to lose fat is by eating at a caloric deficit. However, there are people that say eating at maintenance while lifting will allow you to gain muscle while still losing fat, though slowly. I have no idea which is true. I know I don't want to eat a deficit forever, and I'm skeptical about dropping below 125 lbs. I just wonder what will happen to my body just by eating at maintenance and continuing to lift - will it look the same? Will I always have the extra bit of tummy softness or will I firm out? But no one seems to know the answer the that - I've followed a few threads on this and no one ever seems to actually respond.

But again, thanks so much for your help. Even though I probably won't bulk after all, I'm glad to know the answers to my questions about it.

JoRocka

what's wrong with being vain??

there is a such a stigma on looking good- shameful- what's wrong with being fabulous?

um. NOTHING!!!! And that's okay.
Own it!!!

. I'm not looking to get into bodybuilding or do fitness competitions

for now

[quote - I just want to look good and keep lifting because I enjoy it[/quote]
which is perfectly fine

. Eating 3000 calories a day was the only thing you said that sounded good to me,

it kind of gets old fast LOL

so I don't think I'm cut out for bulking.

for now.

Ultimately you never know- but really if you are continuing to get stronger as you are- no reason to start bulking. I would just keep lifting and getting better at lifting- at no point do you NEED to bulk- its' all totally preference and goal driven.

I think you're on the right track- no need to rush into things- just keep lifting and eating.

TriLifter

You can try to do a body recomp. It's an agonizingly slow and painful process...you won't see gains as quickly (either in terms of muscle or strength), but you can get results. I bulked last year and then, rather than cut, did a body recomp. I'm at the same weight, but my body fat % has gone down (slightly) and muscle mass has increased (again, very slightly). The idea here is just to eat at maintenance and continue to lift heavy. If the scale starts moving up or down, readjust calories.

husseycd

What about a super small bulk? Like a total of 5 lbs in 5 months. Is that even worth it?

TriLifter

What about a super small bulk? Like a total of 5 lbs in 5 months. Is that even worth it?

It took me 20 weeks just to put on 6 lbs (4 lbs LBM) and I still went up a size.