Bulking for a Beginner

dpr73
dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I have decided to add lean muscle (I want to get up from my current weight of 138 to 148) to my frame. I am a 19 year old male who is estimating a 2200 calories intake. I am just not sure what to do with bulking? Do I really had to count calories? I really don't want to stress too much over that. Is there a general weight gain plan I could follow? I already lift and try to go heavy. What kind of gains can I reach within a month if I stick to a specific diet plan and lifting regiment?

Replies

  • TiberiusClaudis
    TiberiusClaudis Posts: 423 Member
    Recommend you go here: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    Plug in your details.

    Plug in how agressive you want to be in meeting those goals.

    If you keep working down, eventually it will spit out the recommend MACROs (protien, carbs, fats)

    You load those into myfitnesspal, then log in your meals and work towards meeting those MACROs.

    As far as what kind of gains. If you are a newbie, less than a year of lifting under your belt. You have the potential of gaining 20lbs of muscle. I did my first year. After that, the law of diminishing returns sets in but for the first 5 years of lifting you can makes some pretty good gains. After that, according to my research, the gains slow way down and then you are left on getting lean.

    One of the leading experts in the field, Lyle McDonald webiste can be found here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

    Enjoy the journey!

    Good Luck,
    TC
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    No you don't "need" to log calories.

    As a noob, I'd aim for up to 2kg per month weight gain.

    And no bulking for one month is fairly pointless as there will be minimal changes (even as a noob). Muscle growth takes a LOT longer than fat loss.

    Adequate protein intake is a necessity. At your stats, around 130-150g should be plenty. Log this, work out how much meat that is per day and eat that if you don't want to log cals.
  • Keepcalmanddontblink
    Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
    bumping for my DH to read and thank you. :)
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    If you don't want to count calories, eat at least a pound of meat a day, dark leafy greens, some eggs, a handful of nuts, and a sweet potato/oatmeal/bread/carbs.

    Like Chris said, aim for 4 lbs a month. At least for the first 4 months. You may want to slow down a little after that.
  • trisha986
    trisha986 Posts: 139
    Recommend you go here: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    Plug in your details.

    Plug in how agressive you want to be in meeting those goals.

    If you keep working down, eventually it will spit out the recommend MACROs (protien, carbs, fats)

    You load those into myfitnesspal, then log in your meals and work towards meeting those MACROs.

    As far as what kind of gains. If you are a newbie, less than a year of lifting under your belt. You have the potential of gaining 20lbs of muscle. I did my first year. After that, the law of diminishing returns sets in but for the first 5 years of lifting you can makes some pretty good gains. After that, according to my research, the gains slow way down and then you are left on getting lean.

    One of the leading experts in the field, Lyle McDonald webiste can be found here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

    Enjoy the journey!

    Good Luck,
    TC
    \





    Is there a way to plug in the grams when in Custom on MFP? Only lets me change the % and that doesn't reflect the correct grams of Carbs/ Proteins/ Fats that were made for me.

    Thanks :)
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    Recommend you go here: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    Plug in your details.

    Plug in how agressive you want to be in meeting those goals.

    If you keep working down, eventually it will spit out the recommend MACROs (protien, carbs, fats)

    You load those into myfitnesspal, then log in your meals and work towards meeting those MACROs.

    As far as what kind of gains. If you are a newbie, less than a year of lifting under your belt. You have the potential of gaining 20lbs of muscle. I did my first year. After that, the law of diminishing returns sets in but for the first 5 years of lifting you can makes some pretty good gains. After that, according to my research, the gains slow way down and then you are left on getting lean.

    One of the leading experts in the field, Lyle McDonald webiste can be found here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

    Enjoy the journey!

    Good Luck,
    TC
    \





    Is there a way to plug in the grams when in Custom on MFP? Only lets me change the % and that doesn't reflect the correct grams of Carbs/ Proteins/ Fats that were made for me.

    Thanks :)

    Enter the calories first then the actual % so 40% 40% and 20% will pop up, the amount will be based on the # you entered for net calories
  • trisha986
    trisha986 Posts: 139
    Recommend you go here: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    Plug in your details.

    Plug in how agressive you want to be in meeting those goals.

    If you keep working down, eventually it will spit out the recommend MACROs (protien, carbs, fats)

    You load those into myfitnesspal, then log in your meals and work towards meeting those MACROs.

    As far as what kind of gains. If you are a newbie, less than a year of lifting under your belt. You have the potential of gaining 20lbs of muscle. I did my first year. After that, the law of diminishing returns sets in but for the first 5 years of lifting you can makes some pretty good gains. After that, according to my research, the gains slow way down and then you are left on getting lean.

    One of the leading experts in the field, Lyle McDonald webiste can be found here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

    Enjoy the journey!

    Good Luck,
    TC
    \





    Is there a way to plug in the grams when in Custom on MFP? Only lets me change the % and that doesn't reflect the correct grams of Carbs/ Proteins/ Fats that were made for me.

    Thanks :)

    Enter the calories first then the actual % so 40% 40% and 20% will pop up, the amount will be based on the # you entered for net calories

    I don't want to enter a percent. I want to enter Calories and how many grams and let the percent adjust itself. But it doesn't let me adjust grams. The percent gets auto calculated and it doesn't add up to the grams that were made for me.
  • RINat612
    RINat612 Posts: 251 Member
    Bump to check out links later.
  • dpr73
    dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
    One more big thing that's been running through my head recently. I can't seem to find a legitimate answer... If I bulk up correctly, will I normally grow out of my clothing or will I still fit well (if not better) into my current clothing? Will I know I bulked correctly by the fact that I weigh more and can lift more but still fit into all my clothing (for the most part)?
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    Your shirt will get tighter in the chest / shoulders area. Your waistline will get smaller, while your thighs and butt will grow. I'm a 31-32 waist, and have to buy 36's to fit my butt and thighs in.
  • dpr73
    dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
    Your shirt will get tighter in the chest / shoulders area. Your waistline will get smaller, while your thighs and butt will grow. I'm a 31-32 waist, and have to buy 36's to fit my butt and thighs in.

    So should I expect needing to buy new clothing after a bulk? I just bought a brand new wardrobe over the spring after my weight loss. Or will I largely be the same size in everything?

    Also, will I definitely need to cut? Or if I lift heavy over the course of a few months and make gains will the muscle in some ways show itself "naturally"? Sorry for the questions, after weight loss this process seems so foreign to me.
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    Your shirt will get tighter in the chest / shoulders area. Your waistline will get smaller, while your thighs and butt will grow. I'm a 31-32 waist, and have to buy 36's to fit my butt and thighs in.

    So should I expect needing to buy new clothing after a bulk? I just bought a brand new wardrobe over the spring after my weight loss. Or will I largely be the same size in everything?

    No, you should be fine for about a year.
  • dpr73
    dpr73 Posts: 495 Member
    Your shirt will get tighter in the chest / shoulders area. Your waistline will get smaller, while your thighs and butt will grow. I'm a 31-32 waist, and have to buy 36's to fit my butt and thighs in.

    So should I expect needing to buy new clothing after a bulk? I just bought a brand new wardrobe over the spring after my weight loss. Or will I largely be the same size in everything?

    No, you should be fine for about a year.

    Okay. Also, I've heard that you should stop bulking once you are pleased with how you look in the mirror. Is this right? Also, I kept my intake for my bulk the same as what I was eating the past few weeks for maintenance, I'm just adding in two protein shakes a day (1 scoop whey, 1 cup milk, 1 cup almond milk). If I am correct, this puts me into a surplus of 680 calories a day. Is this right? It seems like such an easy solution considering everyone says it's hard to get the surplus and hit macros...
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    Okay. Also, I've heard that you should stop bulking once you are pleased with how you look in the mirror. Is this right? Also, I kept my intake for my bulk the same as what I was eating the past few weeks for maintenance, I'm just adding in two protein shakes a day (1 scoop whey, 1 cup milk, 1 cup almond milk). If I am correct, this puts me into a surplus of 680 calories a day. Is this right? It seems like such an easy solution considering everyone says it's hard to get the surplus and hit macros...

    Once you get to a body fat level that you think is too much then stop bulking. You'll also find that it's easiar to put on muscle when you're at a lower BF level. I usually try to start a bulk at 10% BF and stop when I hit 15%.

    A surplus of 680 will definitely add on the weight. If you start putting on fat too quickly, cut a couple hundred calories off the surplus.
  • TonyStark30
    TonyStark30 Posts: 497 Member
    Your shirt will get tighter in the chest / shoulders area. Your waistline will get smaller, while your thighs and butt will grow. I'm a 31-32 waist, and have to buy 36's to fit my butt and thighs in.

    So should I expect needing to buy new clothing after a bulk? I just bought a brand new wardrobe over the spring after my weight loss. Or will I largely be the same size in everything?

    No, you should be fine for about a year.

    Okay. Also, I've heard that you should stop bulking once you are pleased with how you look in the mirror. Is this right? Also, I kept my intake for my bulk the same as what I was eating the past few weeks for maintenance, I'm just adding in two protein shakes a day (1 scoop whey, 1 cup milk, 1 cup almond milk). If I am correct, this puts me into a surplus of 680 calories a day. Is this right? It seems like such an easy solution considering everyone says it's hard to get the surplus and hit macros...


    You should stop when you gain enough Muscle, but obviously if your fat/ muscle partitioning isn't great or you have issues with looking fat again just stop when you DONT like how you look.

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