Where all the bulkers at?

ZainAlam0789

Howdy folks. My name is Zain and im 22. I grew up in Chicago but live in California now.I just recently got done with Ramadan(30day fast) and now it is time to BULK! I'm so pumped and excited for this bulking season. Currently I am at 161-163ish and would eventually like to be in the 190-200lb range. My 3 month goal would be to hit the 175-180 range... I know its going to be tough but I'm motivated more than ever right now. Currently I keep my cardio very low because i want to put on size. It's all lifting for me and the occasional pickup volleyball games. Hopefully I can stay on track and achieve this goal over the next few years.

SoCalSwimmerDude

Hey man... glad to see a few folks getting on here for something other than losing weight. Although, you probably won't find many people that are bulking since this is primarily a weight loss site.

How tall are you? Whats your BF % at? How many cals will you be eating??

I'm currently 6ft, 171, and 11-12ish BF%. I lost 27 lbs here and now looking to add muscle. I don't think I'm ready to do any hardcore 'bulking' until I figure out what my exact calorie intake should be through a little trial and error. Right now, I'm eating enough to potentially build some muscle, but I'm more focused on attempting to get to 8% BF prior to serious bulking. But I'm still killin' it w/ the weights. Ha, I guess I'm trying to prove to myself (even though I know the answer) that I can still add muscle without much of a calorie surplus.

Good luck and keep me/us posted on progress!

ZainAlam0789

I'm 6ft as well and was 175 before Ramadan...lost alot of weight. I have never measured my BF% but my abs are always visible anytime of the day haha. So I'm guessing it isn't too high. Currently I am eating 3500 Calories a day...I'm going to see how it works out for week one and then probably start increasing by a couple hundred.

I see you mentioned that you weren't ready for any hardcore bulking until you figured out your needs through trial and error but when I was 173lbs not too long ago I calculated my calories...I think you could use these calculations I made a couple of months ago as a good estimate for yourself...

173lbs X 11 = 1903 Resting Cals

1903 X .50 = 951.5 Active Calories
(.50 was used because of my age and metabolic rate...this number will be diff for everyone.)

Resting+Active= Maintaining

1903 resting cals + 951.5 = 2854.5 Maintenance Calories
Then from the 2854.5 you can add/subtract however many calories you need to in order to gain/lose weight. I started by adding 500 cals.

Hope that helps!

SoCalSwimmerDude

Thanks for that. That's basically where I'm at. My typical workout day will include a base of approx 2600-3000. But thats the trial right now. I'm figuring out how much on top of that I will need. I don't mind putting on a little fat if the muscle/strength increase benefits alot from it, but I don't want to overdo it either. After my BF gets down a little more, I'll start by doing 3000 and go from there as needed each week.

Are you planning on sticking to MFP to track cals? I'll add ya... would like to see what you're eating...

ZainAlam0789

Yea mostly to track calories....wait I didn't know you can see what others are eating...where can I find that info?


Edit: nvm got it!

ninerbuff

1.5to 2.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight will help. Try to stay in positive nitrogen balance to encourage anabolism.