SERIOUS BULKERS NEEDED.

GODfidence

I'm about to start my first bulking phase.
I don't know my body fat but on 6ft and 183.
I'm going to bulk for 3 months before cutting,hopefully
Gaining around 10-12 pounds with a good diet and I'll be cutting
Down on my cardioid. I'll be doing the strong lifts 5x5 simply
Because I just like it. Any other programs that would be better?
Let me know! As I do lift weights already but not for weight gain,up to
This point,just for maintaining lbm.
Question is, it's impossible to gain muscle a with out gaining fat.
What's a good ratio of Muscle:fat gain I should expect?
75:25 is what I read somewhere else but I need input.
Thanks.

GODfidence

Bump

BackTatJIM

I would add some hypertrophy workouts in there for building muscle mass. I currently do 2 strength days and 2 hypertrophy days. I also feel that a 3 month bulk is almost pointless. I would suggest a longer bulk. 8 months to a year or so. Remember that you normally won't gain more then 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month so gaining to much weight fast will lead to more fat gains.

2 good routines -
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

and

http://directlyfitness.com/store/layne-norton-hypertrophy-routine/

Cese27

Hi I'm in the same place as you ATM,I get the whole bulking think and I'm no expert at all but one thing I would suggest would be to have a look on the leangains website,lots of good info on their.i have several friends into the whole bodybuilding thing who in the past did the whole bulk/cut cycle and now that seems to be old news,from what I rem the muscle you can put on whilst doing the old school bulk will have a fair amount of fat and when you cut you will be losing some of that muscle so kinda chasing you're tail,not to mention looking like a lard *kitten* for a few months which lets be honest ain't a great look,so my plan of attack is to get lean which I have and to shoot for a 1lb or 2 increase each month in lean muscle which seems to be the range you are aiming for any more and it's going to be fat unless you're on the juice,so looking lean year round whilst doing a slow bulk is what's working for me and my diet is on a IF program o never feel like I'm on a diet either which is nice,I'm also doing stronglifts which is a great program for getting the major compound lifts nailed

grantdumas7

I would add some hypertrophy workouts in there for building muscle mass. I currently do 2 strength days and 2 hypertrophy days. I also feel that a 3 month bulk is almost pointless. I would suggest a longer bulk. 8 months to a year or so. Remember that you normally won't gain more then 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month so gaining to much weight fast will lead to more fat gains.

2 good routines -
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

and

http://directlyfitness.com/store/layne-norton-hypertrophy-routine/

Unless the OP has been training over a year PHAT might be too much. I think the upper/lower split would be better. I did PHAT for about 3 mths and now I am on a upper/lower split similar to the one posted.

GODfidence

I would add some hypertrophy workouts in there for building muscle mass. I currently do 2 strength days and 2 hypertrophy days. I also feel that a 3 month bulk is almost pointless. I would suggest a longer bulk. 8 months to a year or so. Remember that you normally won't gain more then 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month so gaining to much weight fast will lead to more fat gains.

2 good routines -
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

and

http://directlyfitness.com/store/layne-norton-hypertrophy-routine/

Unless the OP has been training over a year PHAT might be too much. I think the upper/lower split would be better. I did PHAT for about 3 mths and now I am on a upper/lower split similar to the one posted.

Could you give me some examples of a typical week long
Upper/lower split routine?
I've been doing squats, overhead press, bench press, and curls.
I was about to start rows and deadlifts next week. I thought compound lifts
Were basically working every muscle group?

BackTatJIM

I would add some hypertrophy workouts in there for building muscle mass. I currently do 2 strength days and 2 hypertrophy days. I also feel that a 3 month bulk is almost pointless. I would suggest a longer bulk. 8 months to a year or so. Remember that you normally won't gain more then 1-2 lbs of muscle in a month so gaining to much weight fast will lead to more fat gains.

2 good routines -
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

and

http://directlyfitness.com/store/layne-norton-hypertrophy-routine/

Unless the OP has been training over a year PHAT might be too much. I think the upper/lower split would be better. I did PHAT for about 3 mths and now I am on a upper/lower split similar to the one posted.

Could you give me some examples of a typical week long
Upper/lower split routine?
I've been doing squats, overhead press, bench press, and curls.
I was about to start rows and deadlifts next week. I thought compound lifts
Were basically working every muscle group?

Curent upper/lower split , check this site it shows the entire routine

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/phul-workout

Jersey_Devil

honestly, in a bulk i look in the mirror more than anything else to see if there is too much fat in my diet. If i dont like what im seeing ill cut the cals a bit. just gotta play around with it and see what works for you.

kms1320

You will gain weight on a bulk. Some muscle, some fat, and some water weight. If you are eating t a surplus enough for your muscles to grow, you are going to have extra to store. That's the fat. You'll lose a lot of definition from the water retention. It's unavoidable and you'll start to look softer. You'll get most of it off in the first month of your cut though.

charlieibeling

i would avoid doing a "bulk". unless you have a raging metabolism or are very disciplined it will end up in lots of extra fat. It did for me when i was younger.

I would eat about 2500 calories for a while. you should shoot for about a .5lb-1lb gain a week.

a good split without getting too detailed is
legs/chest and shoulders/back/arms

go 3 days on and one off. it will get results

MavenMassage505

Are you planning on taking any supplements to speed up your muscle gain?

grantdumas7

Supplements will not speed up muscle gains if diet and routine is not in check.

waldo56

Supplements will not speed up muscle gains if diet and routine is not in check.

Even then, the effect from supplements is minimal at best.

Just take it slow, 0.5-1.0 lb/wk gain and try hard strength training (trying hard is the important part), you'll gain muscle fairly clean if its your first time bulking, male, and relatively strong.

Don't know why everyone is suggesting splits, if you can handle 5x5 that is plenty of volume, usually you'd got to splits when 5x5 is too much volume. Volume is what makes the muscles grow.

3 mo is a good length to bulk (bulk as in gain weight, irrespective to the size of the surplus, some seem to think bulking means lol calories) if you want to stay relatively lean throughout. The cuts are short and you shouldn't change but a few % bodyfat, if you've got abs, you should be able to keep them just fine.

triggsta

I would ditch these forums and go to bodybuilding.com and ask there. The site revolves around people looking to bulk up and they have a ton of information available.

mustgetmuscles1

5x5 is a great program and would probably be just fine for your first bulk but I think most people can handle a little more volume and some isolation work included afterwards.

For a hybrid strength building/body building program for beginners I really like this guys variation on the 5x5.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=148036063

Also here are some very helpful links with great information.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/reps-per-set-for-optimal-growth.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLhtjYoU9aQ
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html

grantdumas7

I would love to train with this guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5xXsdWRaFw