Let the Gains Begin!

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  • 43mmmgoody21
    43mmmgoody21 Posts: 146 Member
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    From my experience it is way more difficult to gain weight both in terms of training and diet. Losing weight is fairly quick as all you have to do is expend more calories than you take in. It may take me 6 months to a year to put on 20 lbs but only 6-12 weeks to lose that much.

    Losing weight is simple (though not necessarily easy). Gaining weight (at a rate of 2-4 pounds a month), month after month is not easy either. Gaining muscle is much harder. I can easily lose 1-2 pounds in a week but would be lucky to build 1/2 a pound of muscle in a week).
  • 43mmmgoody21
    43mmmgoody21 Posts: 146 Member
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    I am definitely doing a clean bulk. Peanut butter and jelly may not seem clean, but I am not wolfing down poptart ice cream sandwiches on my bulk.

    My carbs are all coming from wheat bread, sweet potatoes, quinoa, oatmeal etc. I am trying to maintain a fairly low sugar count in my bulk (~60 grams a day).

    Once you get in your protein (about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, assuming you are not overweight), all you need to do is fill your calories so that you are over your maintenance level. Try to gain 2-4 pounds a month. Your body composition won't care if those carbs come from ice-cream (my fav), cookies, or poptarts. Clean bulking means slow weight gain (regardless of the food source).

    EDIT:
    Looking at your picture-- you already know what you are doing. You look great.
  • winonavampire
    winonavampire Posts: 68 Member
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    770! First day on bulk after cut, so I kinda let loose a bit. This won't be an every day thing, but I did a "cheat" day on day one of bulk.

    Seemed fair.

    Why would that be a "cheat"? Looks pretty healthy to me. How many calories a day are you starting your bulk at?

    I was at ~2500 on my cut. Now I am doing about 3,500.
  • P90XBowler
    P90XBowler Posts: 152 Member
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    You'll be making all kindz of Gains.. all KinDdddddddzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzssssQ
  • 43mmmgoody21
    43mmmgoody21 Posts: 146 Member
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    770! First day on bulk after cut, so I kinda let loose a bit. This won't be an every day thing, but I did a "cheat" day on day one of bulk.

    Seemed fair.

    Why would that be a "cheat"? Looks pretty healthy to me. How many calories a day are you starting your bulk at?

    I was at ~2500 on my cut. Now I am doing about 3,500.


    I am smaller than you but eat around the same level. I am currently maintaining at about 3000 cals. Will bump up to 3400 in July when i start my bulk (and adjust from there)
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Gaining fat =/= gaining muscle.

    Gaining muscle is way harder than losing weight. Cutting fat is simple after you've been bulking a while.

    I bulk for 8 weeks, cut for 2 weeks, rinse-repeat. Never lose my abs, not even close.
    I am kinda trying this, at least that was the plan but I don't know if that phase is long enough. How many times have you done this and what kind of gains are you making? I would be beyond thrilled with 10 pounds of muscle in a year, so I don't really mind going slow if it means I don't have to get too fat. I don't want to be blobby again and I like not being ashamed of taking my shirt off.

    I've done it twice now (bulked 5 times in total, first 3 were longer). I'm still hitting 2 lb/mo muscle gain with 14 months total time bulking under my belt.

    I switched to this 8/2/1 schedule in 2014, but started mid-January due to a vacation. Just starting the cut after the 2nd one, but I've already gained 8 lbs of muscle thus far this year.
  • winonavampire
    winonavampire Posts: 68 Member
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    I don't know if I can easily calculate the pound of muscle gained/fat lost. All I can say is I have muscles in places I have never seen muscles before. I am even able to see ribs right now (I didn't even know I had ribs).

    Although Waldo, you have a very good looking build for the super lean look (that I am sure you are working for), that is definitely not what I want to look like.
  • Edmond_Dantes
    Edmond_Dantes Posts: 185 Member
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    I like the modified jock strap on the face
  • winonavampire
    winonavampire Posts: 68 Member
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    I like the modified jock strap on the face

    Nobody cared who I was until I put the jock strap on.
  • 1saturn
    1saturn Posts: 95 Member
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    Ugh, I wish my goal was weight gain and not weight loss!
  • Edmond_Dantes
    Edmond_Dantes Posts: 185 Member
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    I like the modified jock strap on the face

    Nobody cared who I was until I put the jock strap on.

    That's awesome!
  • winonavampire
    winonavampire Posts: 68 Member
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    Ugh, I wish my goal was weight gain and not weight loss!

    I was on weight loss goals for a couple years to get to this point! Lift dem weights to get whooge!
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
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    In fairness i was talking about the general concept of gaining or losing weight, it is much harder to lose weight than put it on, not a guess or a stab in the dark just a fact, the world is full of dieters or overweight people, those who struggle to gain weight in comparison is small, some bro science gym boys maybe the exception but they are hardly representative

    You have the wrong audience here me thinks...

    Word.
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
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    Ugh, I wish my goal was weight gain and not weight loss!

    It will be. Just keep at it. Then you can build all the sexy muscle. :tongue:
  • winonavampire
    winonavampire Posts: 68 Member
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    Ugh, I wish my goal was weight gain and not weight loss!

    It will be. Just keep at it. Then you can build all the sexy muscle. :tongue:

    Dat kitten is gonna be huuge too! Lmao! Love the avatar!
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
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    Ugh, I wish my goal was weight gain and not weight loss!

    It will be. Just keep at it. Then you can build all the sexy muscle. :tongue:

    Dat kitten is gonna be huuge too! Lmao! Love the avatar!

    :wink:
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
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    3000 calories a day aint bulking.
  • winonavampire
    winonavampire Posts: 68 Member
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    3000 calories a day aint bulking.

    I'm trying to do a slow clean bulk. I'm not gonna shove Oreos in just for the sake of out

    Plus I'm on 3500 ish.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    3000 calories a day aint bulking.

    I'm trying to do a slow clean bulk. I'm not gonna shove Oreos in just for the sake of out

    Plus I'm on 3500 ish.

    hermmmm cutting.

    I must be doing it wrong then- because I'm all about shoving oreos' just for the sake of oreos

    :love:
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    great thread, great progress, great pics :smile:

    I'd say the absolute calorie number is not the determinant of if he is bulking or not. If that amount is enough to gain then that is bulking.

    And LOL at the perpetually overweight lifters comment. Coming from a powerlifters gym, I can tell you they are in the minority if they want to do well. As an example my mate just got dexa's at 7.8%BF at 74kg BW. Currently the strongest 75kg guy in Australia.

    The only ones this really applies to is the SHW class where all mass is good mass basically.

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