My lady bulking memoir (pic heavy)

Mutant13

Hi guys.

A little bit of background info first. When I decided to do a 12 week bulk I'd been lifting for around 5 months and eating a small deficit and had successfully dropped body fat and started to see some muscle definition. I was happy but felt like I wasn't satisfied with the pre existing muscle that had been hiding under my skinny fat, I wanted to build up some more, particularly in my glutes and legs as I had always been very straight up and down in that area. So I decided to attempt a bulk.

Part of the reason I decided to write this is I was able to find very little information about bulking for women online, particularly women discussing their personal experiences, I wanted to know how you felt, how my body would change, how much I needed to eat, what sort of muscular gains I could expect. And I really wanted to see a visual representation of that.

So I've decided to share a few photos from my experience and some notes on what the whole thing was like for me. I didn't exactly take regular photos but I have mostly incidental pictures, but hopefully they will be helpful.

I also want to express that I am most definitely a novice in the world of lifting and building and I still have a long, long way to go. However I still feel that I have something to share. I'd also love to see anyone else with bulking experience post here.

This is me pre bulk, after lifting and eating a deficit for 5 months





As you can see, I had pretty drainpipey legs and a flat but. However I also had an (almost) flat stomach for the first time in my life. I knew this was something that was going to be sacrificed in the short term with bulking.



This is about the half way point. I had some very obvious quad and glute growth, and my lifts had improved a lot. I added about 10kg to my deadlift and 8kg to my squat. My isolations had also improved
As a downside there were some obvious fat gains to my stomach and a little in my upper arms



This is from a few days ago. I feel like there is a little more glute and leg development again here. I think this picture also shows the growth in my lats somewhat.
Again you can see there is quite a bit more flab around my stomach and arms, I do feel like there has been significant muscle improvement under the fat though.

Anyway that's a little peek at how I went with my bulk, by the end id added around 15kg to my deadlift and about 12kg to my squat. I don't really want to state an exact figure for my lbm gain or fat percentage as I feel like any inaccuracy might be misleading, but I feel like the pictures give a good indication. Yes I gained fat, I also gained muscle and strength, yes I got bloated and felt "heavy" and slow some days, yes it was hard to eat >2000 cal a day somedays (some days it wasn't)

All in all it was worth it. I am now embarking on a cut at will share those results here too. I plan to repeat the cycle again until I get the gains I want. Again, anyone else with bulking experience- I'd love to see you post here, also any questions and advice are both welcome.

I'm going to stop typing now. Thank god.

sunsnstatheart

You look fantastic!

doggiesnot

Looking great!!

jonnythan

Nice progress. How much body mass did you add over the course of the bulk?

Mutant13

Thanks everyone.

Johnnythan, the official number from my gym was a 4kg lbm gain. However at I guess I'd say that maybe means 1-1.5 kg of muscle at the most. It's a very tricky thing to estimate

jonnythan

Thanks everyone.

Johnnythan, the official number from my gym was a 4kg lbm gain. However at I guess I'd say that maybe means 1-1.5 kg of muscle at the most. It's a very tricky thing to estimate

Nice. I think you're being conservative on how much of that is muscle mass. You'll see the difference big time when you get back to the pre-bulk weight.

valerieschram

Thanks, this is helpful. You look great. Did you also follow a particular diet? Did you just make sure to get adequate protein and eat what you want, or did you cut out processed foods, etc?

jbutterflye

You look wonderful! I'm glad you're sharing your experiences because I'm interested in this as well for my fitness goals. Why do you think there's a fat gain though? That seems odd.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

The improvement in your glute/ham area is fantastic! Are you starting your cut right now?

jimmmer

Wow, a great job! You can really see the difference in your legs/glutes - you must be pleased with the way things are going?

How long are you going to cut for before you bulk again? I just came off a 12 week-ish bulk, but I kinda used it as an excuse to eat whatever, whenever and ended up mostly bulking my love handles! I'm going to cut for 8 weeks (I'm about 4/5 weeks in now) and then try to bulk for 12 weeks again with more discipline (and hopefully I'll see some better results this time).

bostonwolf

Definitely doing things the right way. I'm focusing more on cardio than heavy lifting at the moment just to cut fat, but once I get trimmed down this is exactly the cycle I plan to get on. Lift for mass and add muscle (and fat) by eating more than I burn, then cutting up, then repeating.

Great job so far!

Mutant13

Thanks, this is helpful. You look great. Did you also follow a particular diet? Did you just make sure to get adequate protein and eat what you want, or did you cut out processed foods, etc?

I just ate a moderate surplus and met my macros. Plenty of fat and protein. I generally try not to eat too much processed food anyway, but I am not a strict "clean" eater or anything like that

neandermagnon

You look fantastic!

^^^^ this

where is the obvious stomach fat gains whereof you speak? I don't see it...

I'm planning doing a proper bulk in the future, not sure when exactly. But soon. (Currently doing a slow cut)

Mutant13

You look wonderful! I'm glad you're sharing your experiences because I'm interested in this as well for my fitness goals. Why do you think there's a fat gain though? That seems odd.

Caliper test is showing a moderate fat gain and I can feel a small layer over the muscle. It's too be expected, gaining strictly muscle and no fat just isn't going to happen, particularly for women IMO

Crankstr

wow.


not pic heavy enough for my liking!

Mutant13

The improvement in your glute/ham area is fantastic! Are you starting your cut right now?

Thankyou! And ill probably be eating around maintenance for a week or so as I'm off to Bali, but then I will be cutting

Mutant13

Wow, a great job! You can really see the difference in your legs/glutes - you must be pleased with the way things are going?

How long are you going to cut for before you bulk again? I just came off a 12 week-ish bulk, but I kinda used it as an excuse to eat whatever, whenever and ended up mostly bulking my love handles! I'm going to cut for 8 weeks (I'm about 4/5 weeks in now) and then try to bulk for 12 weeks again with more discipline (and hopefully I'll see some better results this time).

I am pretty happy considering my lack of bulking experience and it's been quite a learning curve! I plan to cut for around 8 weeks or until I'm back to 17-18% bf

Mutant13

Thanks everyone for all your feedback. It's great to see other people who are/considering a bulk. I hope this post is a way to show that it is effective for both men and women! I think bulking can be a bit of a scary concept for some

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Nice job! I'd also like to see more pictures!!

I think this is key and what a lot of women don't understand:

I wasn't satisfied with the pre existing muscle that had been hiding under my skinny fat, I wanted to build up some more, particularly in my glutes and legs as I had always been very straight up and down in that area.

They keep trying to cut body fat to get definition but what they need first is bigger muscles. They want a rounder booty but don't realize you have to make it GROW to make it rounder. I did a bulk last year and also had some great results. Women need to stop being scared of seeing the number on the scale go up.

jbutterflye

What do you do during your cutting phase?

jimmmer

I am pretty happy considering my lack of bulking experience and it's been quite a learning curve! I plan to cut for around 8 weeks or until I'm back to 17-18% bf

Sounds like you've got your head screwed on! Hope the cut goes well (it's a hard transition to start with after bulking)...

Mutant13

Nice job! I'd also like to see more pictures!!

I think this is key and what a lot of women don't understand:

I wasn't satisfied with the pre existing muscle that had been hiding under my skinny fat, I wanted to build up some more, particularly in my glutes and legs as I had always been very straight up and down in that area.

They keep trying to cut body fat to get definition but what they need first is bigger muscles. They want a rounder booty but don't realize you have to make it GROW to make it rounder. I did a bulk last year and also had some great results. Women need to stop being scared of seeing the number on the scale go up.

So true, I ignore the scale completely these days. Outside of those needing to lose a very large amount of mass scale weight is irrelevant

gemmaleigh1989

How much of a calorie surplus did you have??

I'm in a cutting phase atm but then plan to then eat at a surplus and focus on muscle growth but wasn't sure how much to eat over maintenance.... I was thinking 200 calories?

Were you still doing cardio to keep your fitness up? As long as you were eating back those calories to reach your calorie goal? I don't want to stop cardio when I go through my "bulking" phase

Mutant13

What do you do during your cutting phase?

I eat a small deficit (around 200-300 cal under maintenance) and continue to lift heavy. I still don't really do structured cardio. It doesn't hurt but it isn't necessary in my opinion. I do walk quite a bit though, and am generally active.

I keep my fat and protein quite high and being my carb intake down a bit (not really "low carb" however)

Mainebikerchick

I think you look AMAZING!!! Built AND beautiful, can't go wrong there! :flowerforyou:

Mutant13

How much of a calorie surplus did you have??

I'm in a cutting phase atm but then plan to then eat at a surplus and focus on muscle growth but wasn't sure how much to eat over maintenance.... I was thinking 200 calories?

Were you still doing cardio to keep your fitness up? As long as you were eating back those calories to reach your calorie goal? I don't want to stop cardio when I go through my "bulking" phase

I are between 2000-2200 cals a day which 200-400 over maintenance for me.

If you want to continue to do cardio for heart health/enjoyment etc I don't see why it would be a problem provided you're maintaining a surplus. It will probably help keep your appetite up

MireyGal76

You look fantastic, AND still have a flat tummy! Great job!

ShellyBell999

You look exceptional. Nice Job!

geekyjock76

How much of a calorie surplus did you have??

I'm in a cutting phase atm but then plan to then eat at a surplus and focus on muscle growth but wasn't sure how much to eat over maintenance.... I was thinking 200 calories?

Were you still doing cardio to keep your fitness up? As long as you were eating back those calories to reach your calorie goal? I don't want to stop cardio when I go through my "bulking" phase

I are between 2000-2200 cals a day which 200-400 over maintenance for me.

If you want to continue to do cardio for heart health/enjoyment etc I don't see why it would be a problem provided you're maintaining a surplus. It will probably help keep your appetite up

Lyle Mcdonald explains [quite well] the pros and cons of doing cardio during a bulk. It's my opinion, as well as his, that it can be beneficial in terms of recovery, appetite, maintaining conditioning, and keeping fat burning pathways open.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/cardio-and-mass-gains.html

iAMsmiling

Smokin' at the beginning.
Sizzlin' at the end.

Be proud. Great work!

Mutant13

How much of a calorie surplus did you have??

I'm in a cutting phase atm but then plan to then eat at a surplus and focus on muscle growth but wasn't sure how much to eat over maintenance.... I was thinking 200 calories?

Were you still doing cardio to keep your fitness up? As long as you were eating back those calories to reach your calorie goal? I don't want to stop cardio when I go through my "bulking" phase

I are between 2000-2200 cals a day which 200-400 over maintenance for me.

If you want to continue to do cardio for heart health/enjoyment etc I don't see why it would be a problem provided you're maintaining a surplus. It will probably help keep your appetite up

Lyle Mcdonald explains [quite well] the pros and cons of doing cardio during a bulk. It's my opinion, as well as his, that it can be beneficial in terms of recovery, appetite, maintaining conditioning, and keeping fat burning pathways open.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/cardio-and-mass-gains.html

Some great points. I would never discourage anyone from doing cardio, I just didn't do it myself,