Embarking on a clean bulk... anyone want to join me??

tgh1914

So I notice some of y'all eat more on lift days than on rest days. I'm curious why? I have 1 rest day until another lifting day, but sometimes I even feel my soreness more on the rest day (maybe just cuz I'm a relative beginner to heavy lifting???) so I keep the cals up on both days. Is it just your attempt to keep fat at bay?

sportsforfun

So I notice some of y'all eat more on lift days than on rest days. I'm curious why? I have 1 rest day until another lifting day, but sometimes I even feel my soreness more on the rest day (maybe just cuz I'm a relative beginner to heavy lifting???) so I keep the cals up on both days. Is it just your attempt to keep fat at bay?

The reason for eating more on lifting days is to account for the additional calories that you burn while lifting. Aso you want to make sure that you have plenty of energy so that you can do as many exercises/reps as your body will allow thus you need to make sure that the body is not lacking energy (carbs) to perform the exercise or the protein it needs once the muscle is broken down to repair itself as quickly as possible. It is necessary to take protein both before and after working out so that your muscles can go into recovery mode as soon as they are broken down. It is important to eat carbs after your workout to replenish the body of the energy it has lost.

kensky

I'm not there yet but I'm going to be watching and taking notes for my winter muscle-up plan!

stephanielynn76

How's everyone doing? I'm up to 124lbs. I'm eating at 1800 on off days and 2200-2300 on lift days depending on how much I do at the gym. I'm slowly giving up the cardio. No more stepmill. Zumba 3 days/wk for only 30min... lower impact (no jumping and keeping arms lower). Today I burned only 200 calories in that 30 min. I think I'm going to do 20min incline walking after my leg days as an active recovery so that I'm not so dang sore. I used to do cardio after my brutal leg workout. I would always be somewhat sore but not too bad. Last week was the first time I didn't do any cardio after and I was CRIPPLED I tell you... for several days!!! Same workout!!! I now know the benefits of active recovery!!!

tgh1914

I haven't gained anything in about 2 weeks, and my diet hasn't been very clean either. But I have progressed strength-wise. I guess I'm gonna up the cals a couple hundred more.

stephanielynn76

I haven't gained anything in about 2 weeks, and my diet hasn't been very clean either. But I have progressed strength-wise. I guess I'm gonna up the cals a couple hundred more.

Yep! That's probably what you need to do! I am assuming that as I gain, my maintenance calories will increase for each new number on the scale therefore I will have to keep increasing calories to remain in an anabolic state. I'm trying to do this gradually and only stay 200-250 calories above current maintenance...

stephanielynn76

Ugh. I'm friggen hungry. How on earth did I ever survive on 1200 calories... or even 1600 for that matter? I'm eating 1800 on off days and 2200-2300 calories on training days and I am still hungry all the time. I thought bulking would mean not being as hungry all the time. Not so much. The increase is working though. I went from 122 to 124 so far. If I gain next week I'll stay here. If I don't I'll increase calories. I'm kinda hoping to increase. I must be a pig. LOL

stephanielynn76

Worked lats today... thought I'd snap a picture when I got home... crappy iphone....

tgh1914

Ugh. I'm friggen hungry. How on earth did I ever survive on 1200 calories... or even 1600 for that matter? I'm eating 1800 on off days and 2200-2300 calories on training days and I am still hungry all the time. I thought bulking would mean not being as hungry all the time. Not so much. The increase is working though. I went from 122 to 124 so far. If I gain next week I'll stay here. If I don't I'll increase calories. I'm kinda hoping to increase. I must be a pig. LOL

I know what you mean; I felt the same. I think it goes to show that our metabolisms really do adjust. And you may have been actually eating a little less calories than you could've before, and your metabolism adjusted. So now that you're eating more, it ramps back up. At least, that's my theory.

stephanielynn76

Ugh. I'm friggen hungry. How on earth did I ever survive on 1200 calories... or even 1600 for that matter? I'm eating 1800 on off days and 2200-2300 calories on training days and I am still hungry all the time. I thought bulking would mean not being as hungry all the time. Not so much. The increase is working though. I went from 122 to 124 so far. If I gain next week I'll stay here. If I don't I'll increase calories. I'm kinda hoping to increase. I must be a pig. LOL

I know what you mean; I felt the same. I think it goes to show that our metabolisms really do adjust. And you may have been actually eating a little less calories than you could've before, and your metabolism adjusted. So now that you're eating more, it ramps back up. At least, that's my theory.

Glad I'm not alone... ... counting the minutes until my night time snack... lol

stephanielynn76

Ugh. I'm friggen hungry. How on earth did I ever survive on 1200 calories... or even 1600 for that matter? I'm eating 1800 on off days and 2200-2300 calories on training days and I am still hungry all the time. I thought bulking would mean not being as hungry all the time. Not so much. The increase is working though. I went from 122 to 124 so far. If I gain next week I'll stay here. If I don't I'll increase calories. I'm kinda hoping to increase. I must be a pig. LOL

I know what you mean; I felt the same. I think it goes to show that our metabolisms really do adjust. And you may have been actually eating a little less calories than you could've before, and your metabolism adjusted. So now that you're eating more, it ramps back up. At least, that's my theory.

Glad I'm not alone... ... counting the minutes until my night time snack... lol

stephanielynn76

how's everyone doing? any updates?

Lift_hard_eat_big

I'm attempting to recomp, if I don't start seeing results after another month I'm gonna up my cals and shoot for a clean bulk.

sportsforfun

I am up about 12 lbs in a little over 2 months now so right on track with my 5 lbs/month goal. Looking in the mirror, I can not tell that much difference as those 12 lbs are spread over all 6'4 of me. I have not gained too much weight in the midsection thus I feel that my calorie intake has been sufficient. I feel like I am constanty eating though to get to 3,500-4,000 calories yet I always feel hungry as well. Damn this metabolism sometimes. Hopefully I can put on another 15 lbs in the next 3-4 months before it is time to cut.

stephanielynn76

I am up about 12 lbs in a little over 2 months now so right on track with my 5 lbs/month goal. Looking in the mirror, I can not tell that much difference as those 12 lbs are spread over all 6'4 of me. I have not gained too much weight in the midsection thus I feel that my calorie intake has been sufficient. I feel like I am constanty eating though to get to 3,500-4,000 calories yet I always feel hungry as well. Damn this metabolism sometimes. Hopefully I can put on another 15 lbs in the next 3-4 months before it is time to cut.

Awesome! Sounds like you are right on track! Sound like it's been a good slow gain. Wow... I can't even image eating 3,500-4,000 calories... and still being hungry! That's insane. Of course even on the days I eat a lot for my size... 2400-2500cal... I'm still hungry too.

Unfortunately I am not on track. My goal was 2lbs/month and I'm up 8lbs in 8 weeks... double what I had intended. If I continue at this rate I could very well gain 20lbs by the end of December. I am hoping the gains slow down a bit. I don't want to freak out and quit bulking. I am making progress in the weight room. I am sticking with it diligently and my lifts are getting better. I can tell I've put on weight in the hips/thighs/butt and boobs... my stomach is no longer quite as ripped but it isn't all that bad either. My arms still look fairly lean. If I do end up with a 20lb gain... I'll be back where I started back in January of this year before I started losing in the first place. I keep telling myself... I got the weight off before, I can do it again. Hopefully if I do end up back at 140lbs I will look significantly changed... same weight with a completely different body composition. We shall see!