I have no clue how to bulk

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  • MyiahRose
    MyiahRose Posts: 183 Member
    AKDonF wrote: »
    You need to measure progress. It will take a little time for things to settle into 'normal'. That means you may see a large increase in weight in like a week or two but don't worry, it is largely water weight.

    If you are relatively new to lifting, a decent goal is to gain about a pound a week if you have a good weight lifting program. You should have a goal in mind and use the frame work of 1lb/week to set your goal.

    Most people have a partitioning effect (conversion) of about 1:1 fat to muscle. What this means is that you will gain .5 lbs muscle every week and .5 lbs. of fat. Cutting fat is relatively easy but gaining muscle is harder. Little or no muscle can be gained without some fat gain so prepare for it. The end result is more than worth the work.

    Lastly, as has been stated, it really is best if you stick to just one goal at a time (running or lifting/bulking). It is just very difficult to manage both at the same time and everything will be a compromise (and remember that gaining muscle is hard as it is).

    There are several people on this forum who are very knowledgeable. Learn who these people are and stick to the solid and proven advice. Please ask (as you have) when you have questions. Most are friendly and a great source of information.

    Thanks for the information!

  • MyiahRose
    MyiahRose Posts: 183 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP - do you lift heavy right now or just run..? If you do not have a set lifting program, I would suggest that you find a program. If you are a beginner then something like strong lifts or 5x5 might be a good place to start.
    -
    Once you have a program picked out you will want to eat at about 250 calories over maintenance, which will equal .5 pound per week gain. I would also suggest taking measurements before you start and then re-take them say every four weeks or so.

    You will probably have to play around with the calorie intake at first to get it right...

    I would also back the cardio down to say one hour a week at the most....

    Yes i lift heavy right now i have a program i found on bodybuilding.com
    Now when you say take measurements, Am i looking for a gain or a loss in inches?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    MyiahRose wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP - do you lift heavy right now or just run..? If you do not have a set lifting program, I would suggest that you find a program. If you are a beginner then something like strong lifts or 5x5 might be a good place to start.
    -
    Once you have a program picked out you will want to eat at about 250 calories over maintenance, which will equal .5 pound per week gain. I would also suggest taking measurements before you start and then re-take them say every four weeks or so.

    You will probably have to play around with the calorie intake at first to get it right...

    I would also back the cardio down to say one hour a week at the most....

    Yes i lift heavy right now i have a program i found on bodybuilding.com
    Now when you say take measurements, Am i looking for a gain or a loss in inches?

    if you are bulking then you are looking for a gain in inches on arms, chest, shoulders, and thighs...

    You should also keep track of waist measurement to gauge how quickly you are putting on fat...

  • AKDonF
    AKDonF Posts: 235 Member
    edited December 2014
    MyiahRose wrote: »
    Now when you say take measurements, Am i looking for a gain or a loss in inches?

    That is a tricky question. I believe you should use all sources for feedback, ie, weight, tape measurements, calipers, the mirror, etc. However, the easiest, measurable way to track is using the scale (weight). Weigh yourself at the same time (preferably when you first wake) and log changes. Then just average the weekly numbers to see how you compare to the previous week. I also think using something like an Accuscale caliper to measure the suprailiac is a good way to quantify fat gain/loss. It doesn't matter if you know your exact body fat or if you know exactly how to measure accurately because you just need to compare results week to week. The goal is to measure the same way every time and the results will indicate whether you are gaining body fat or not. If you are not gaining much body fat and the scale goes up, that is ideal.

    I am not certain of your lifting experience, but inexperienced lifters will gain muscle much faster than experienced ones, hence the recommendation to shoot for 1 lb. per week as a target. If you gain less increase calories and if you gain too much more, reduce slightly and reassess.
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