Bulking. ADVICE WANTED

waxon81

Ok, so I weighed myself today. Have been trying my first ever 'intentional' bulk, and have been aiming to gain 1lb a week as that is what I have heard is the 'perfect' amount to gain whilst maximising muscle growth and minimising fat gain. Stupidly I only weighed myself for the first couple of weeks and as I had gained 1lb I didnt weigh again till 6weeks later (today). Well, in 8 weeks I have put on just shy of 3.5lbs, which is 0.425lbs a week average.

Now..... My question is this. Should I up my intake so I AM gaining 1lb a week.

Am I missing out on some muscle here which I could be gaining with an extra 1/2 lb a week, or am I gaining regardless, and just minimising fat further. I AM only currently focusing on maximum muscle gain, the fat will go on my cut so I dont see it as too much of an issue.

Im on a 40-40-20 macro split

My daily calories are currently 3450 per day

My protein intake is 1.5g per lb bodyweight
Fats are in the 90's (which I understand is good for testosterone production)
Carbs are at the high end of 300

So, what to do? Up my intake, or stay where im at......

chrisdavey

Check this out & see where you fit.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html

I personally like the slow bulk so I'd continue as is. But it's up to you depending on how long you've been training for.

waxon81

Many thanks, I will check it out later today

HeidiMightyRawr

The amount your gaining sounds fine, I don't think you'd be missing out on much muscle if any as there's only a certain amount you can build in a week/month anyway. If you don't mind the extra fat gain though, you could always up the calories.

I've just recently started cutting but when I wasn't gaining as much as I'd like on a bulk, I'd just up them by around 200 and I'd start gaining again I gained 16lbs total in 6 months, and was aiming for around 1lb a week or just under, but no more than that.
My macro split was 40c/25p/35f I think (I worked this out more based on minimum targets rather than %) It was 180g protein, 280g carbs, and 100g fat on 2800 net calories and 140-150lbs body weight.

rovernio

man bulking sux you wil gain fat just eat your maintenance and train hard with enough protein intake

KyleGA

man bulking sux you wil gain fat just eat your maintenance and train hard with enough protein intake

^^^ - this!

waxon81

Really?!?

koosdel

man bulking sux you wil gain fat just eat your maintenance and train hard with enough protein intake

I see you've eaten 390 cals this week, is that your 'maintenance'?

hirensthenameliftinsthegame

Check this out & see where you fit.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html

I personally like the slow bulk so I'd continue as is. But it's up to you depending on how long you've been training for.

Chris has some pretty good advice, should definitely take that into consideration.

HeidiMightyRawr

You will gain fat but that's what cutting is for - it also depends on how well you can cope with a deficit.
Many people don't like bulking as they lose definition, or get a bit of a belly. They also don't like the even harder work that is getting the extra fat off afterwards. You don't have to bulk until you get fat, just until you feel uncomfortable in how you look. I bulked until I was 150lbs as my best is around 135. By 150 I was barely fitting into a lot of my clothes so it was a good time to cut.

There have been studies on bulking/cutting cycles and how you tend to gain more muscle that way than you do by just sticking to maintenance. I can't remember sources but it might be something worth looking into and researching further. From my own experience, my lifts had stalled quite a bit when I was maintaining, started bulking and they went up really fast, especially lower body. Even if I lose a little through cutting, I'll still probably be stronger than if I carried on at maintenance judging by how I was doing at the time.

Nirlbou

I think your gains are good, keep in mind tendons and cartilage take time to catch up to newly acquired strength.

FoxyMcDeadlift

Question. Are you making strength gains? If yes, you're bulking right and adding muscle, if no, you're not bulking right

ninerbuff

Ok, so I weighed myself today. Have been trying my first ever 'intentional' bulk, and have been aiming to gain 1lb a week as that is what I have heard is the 'perfect' amount to gain whilst maximising muscle growth and minimising fat gain. Stupidly I only weighed myself for the first couple of weeks and as I had gained 1lb I didnt weigh again till 6weeks later (today). Well, in 8 weeks I have put on just shy of 3.5lbs, which is 0.425lbs a week average.

Now..... My question is this. Should I up my intake so I AM gaining 1lb a week.

Am I missing out on some muscle here which I could be gaining with an extra 1/2 lb a week, or am I gaining regardless, and just minimising fat further. I AM only currently focusing on maximum muscle gain, the fat will go on my cut so I dont see it as too much of an issue.

Im on a 40-40-20 macro split

My daily calories are currently 3450 per day

My protein intake is 1.5g per lb bodyweight
Fats are in the 90's (which I understand is good for testosterone production)
Carbs are at the high end of 300

So, what to do? Up my intake, or stay where im at......

Your eating sounds fine. What are you doing for exercise to encourage muscle hypertrophy?


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

myth4ever

lift heavy

jsnearly

Eat midnight snacks/ meals to get extra pounds. keep track of your body fat percentage. If it starts going up, you are eating too much. If you are gaining weight but your body fat percentage stays the same, it's muscle. Take amino acid supplement also.

waxon81

Ninerbuff, im doing all pro's beginner's routine, it's easily found on bodybuilding.com, or within the bodybuilding group on mfp.

ninerbuff

Ninerbuff, im doing all pro's beginner's routine, it's easily found on bodybuilding.com, or within the bodybuilding group on mfp.

Great site (I'm on there as well). Muscle takes time to put on. Even gaining a pound or two in one month is considered very very good success. Good luck.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

waxon81

Nyphetamine - yup, have made some great gains, especially with squats

waxon81

Just read an interesting article regarding running a cycle of 2 week alternations. It stated that as the body takes up to two weeks before it starts converting the 'majority' of excess calories into fat as opposed to muscle, it is beneficial to bulk at 1000 cal excess and cut at a 500 cal deficit. Sounds better than bulking up for 3 months but need to read up on what is genuinely more beneficial. It's hard to find studies about the benefits (if any) of cut/bulks without it being about roids

ninerbuff

Just read an interesting article regarding running a cycle of 2 week alternations. It stated that as the body takes up to two weeks before it starts converting the 'majority' of excess calories into fat as opposed to muscle, it is beneficial to bulk at 1000 cal excess and cut at a 500 cal deficit. Sounds better than bulking up for 3 months but need to read up on what is genuinely more beneficial. It's hard to find studies about the benefits (if any) of cut/bulks without it being about roids

I can state the gaining muscle as a natural is tough. Being natural my whole life, it seems that I had to work much much harder to retain any weight while bulking compared to my juiced peers. And it flat out made it discouraging sometimes watching them lift tremendous amounts of weight while I did half of what did. However, I've kept most of my muscle without drugs while they still are juicing for fear of muscle loss.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

rovernio

no its not my maintenance im at boxing camp so i cant log evry thing i eat bad internet connection

waxon81

Check this out & see where you fit.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/whats-my-genetic-muscular-potential.html

I personally like the slow bulk so I'd continue as is. But it's up to you depending on how long you've been training for.

Wow. Extremely interesting!
After 4-5years training my results are estimated as the following
Apparently at 10% bf at my most muscular, my maximum potential is 193.3lbs
Bicep = 17 inches (maximum estimated natural potential)
Thighs = 24.6 inches ( as above)

Im glad you directed me to that article, it really put things into perspective for me. Now I know I have some targets to aim for im really going to push for the limits

waxon81

Ninerbuff, im doing all pro's beginner's routine, it's easily found on bodybuilding.com, or within the bodybuilding group on mfp.

Great site (I'm on there as well). Muscle takes time to put on. Even gaining a pound or two in one month is considered very very good success. Good luck.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

And this to me is why bulking makes sense, how else are you going to gain 1lb of muscle if you dont gain weight. Although each to their own, maintenance, to me, logically seems to indicate just that, maintaining a certain level of physique, once your bf is Down to a certain level, surely eating at maintenance would be minimally productive in comparison.
What are your thoughts on how to cycle a bulk/cut?
How have you retained your muscle naturally?