Nicely done sir!

Wow. Look at the results of all your hard work. Good job!

I like the after picture of you spinning around. too. Looks like ballet. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Keep up the good work.

Axis are small - 8lb in 3 1/2 - 4 months? Is that correct?

...8lb in 4 months...

That's right.
Next month I'll revise the graph in an attempt for it to be more legible.

Nice going. After 4 weeks I kind of end up at 'crap' looks like I need to cut again as I have gained at least that.

I definitely feel like my strength gains are slower due to fear of gaining too fast. Once beach season is over I'll push the weight gain to ~4lbs/month and plan to cut next March/April, hopefully at ~15% BF.

Dude, I wouldn't change a damn thing if I were you honestly.

Dude, I wouldn't change a damn thing if I were you honestly.

Thanks. I've debated how to approach bulking this winter.
I dream of doing a PL meet but with my shoulder bothering me that may remain a dream so I'm not stressing about getting my bench up. I'm comfortable with slow gains.

I also messaged you on Skype to elaborate a bit but I'll just type it here too. I'm not convinced that adding more food on top of your current calorie surplus is going to significantly impact your lifts, and if it does I'm further not convinced that in the long term this is the right path if you intend to stay lean. Consider that, if you double your rate of gain, you're going to have to turn around and get back into a caloric deficit earlier.

Spending more time in a moderate surplus where you're probably nearing maximal rate of gain anyways (note -- probably no way to know for certain but 2lbs/month is certainly reasonable) is probably going to better impact long term strength vs absolutely maxing intake/gain rate then going into a deficit and having to cut earlier.

Can't say all the above with certainty but this is my current belief based on what's going on. Could simply be time for program modification.

Dude, I wouldn't change a damn thing if I were you honestly.

Thanks. I've debated how to approach bulking this winter.
I dream of doing a PL meet but with my shoulder bothering me that may remain a dream so I'm not stressing about getting my bench up. I'm comfortable with slow gains.

I also messaged you on Skype to elaborate a bit but I'll just type it here too. I'm not convinced that adding more food on top of your current calorie surplus is going to significantly impact your lifts, and if it does I'm further not convinced that in the long term this is the right path if you intend to stay lean. Consider that, if you double your rate of gain, you're going to have to turn around and get back into a caloric deficit earlier.

Spending more time in a moderate surplus where you're probably nearing maximal rate of gain anyways (note -- probably no way to know for certain but 2lbs/month is certainly reasonable) is probably going to better impact long term strength vs absolutely maxing intake/gain rate then going into a deficit and having to cut earlier.

Can't say all the above with certainty but this is my current belief based on what's going on. Could simply be time for program modification.

I know its a bit moot based on your recent post, but just adding that I agree, both based on my experience and what I have discerned from others/read etc.

At some point, the increases in lifts from more food (as opposed to a mild surplus) are basically coming from getting fatter, and not from the food itself. Generally, size gains will outpace strength gains (looking from a BW multiple perspective) at some point. As soon as you lean out, these will go - plus gaining affects your leverages and as such your form gets messed up and you need to tweak more.

Thanks Sara. "This" is all new to me. I really appreciate your input too. I never thought about how your/my form would change with weight gain and then loss, makes sense though.
I'd love to gain another 10+ "lean" pounds by next spring and have a minimal cut before summer.

You'll probably get shredded fast your next time around. I have some thoughts on that, so lets chat over the winter sometime.