Looking for some encouragement/advice. Women bodybuilding

swalberg0625
swalberg0625 Posts: 98 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
So I'm looking for any advice, opinions, encouragement. Anything you got for a beginner to the program. I enjoy strength training over cardio and have done some lifting so I am excited to start this program but feeling a bit overwhelmed. I just calculated my caloric intake for the first phase. At 5'3" 134lbs I'm @ 27% BF which puts me at 3291cals for the build/bulk phase. That just seems insane! Have any women started with a cut phase first? Or used a different formula for caloric intake? TIA!

Replies

  • swalberg0625
    swalberg0625 Posts: 98 Member
    Program is Body Beast btw.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    edited December 2014
    What formula or site did you use? That seems really high, honestly. We have similar stats (I'm 5'4", 125lbs), and when I was bulking I was gaining at around 2300.
  • swalberg0625
    swalberg0625 Posts: 98 Member
    STEP 1. [100 - Body Fat %] / 100 x weight = Lean Body Mass (LBM)

    STEP 2. LBM x 10 = Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)

    STEP 3. RMR x .3 = Caloric Modification for Recovery (CMR)

    STEP 4. RMR + CMR = Resting Metabolic Rate Modified for Recovery (RMR2)

    STEP 5. RMR2 + 600* Calorie Intake to Maintain Weight (CIM)

    STEP 6. If Body Fat (BF) is more than 20% you would take your CIM and add 10% more during the fist 2 of 3 Body Beast Phases.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    The formula in Step 1 looks odd. Is the formula using pounds or kg?

    Based on your stats, you have 97.82 pounds of LBM. According to your formula,

    RMR = 978.2
    CMR = 293.4
    RMR2 = 1271.6
    CIM = 1871.6
    CIM+10% = 2058.7

    Try this site; it seems to be fairly accurate: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
    I think your math is wrong. Is there an online calculator?. Unless I misunderstood, I got between 2059 and 2246 for you.
  • swalberg0625
    swalberg0625 Posts: 98 Member
    I must've done my math wrong. That definatley sounds more reasonable! Thank you!
  • sarahstrezo
    sarahstrezo Posts: 568 Member
    Personally, I would not bulk if I was 27% body fat. You do know that a bulk will add fat as well and muscle, right? And that there is no way around that. You can expect about 1/2 of your total gains to be lean mass (if you are lucky and train right).

    I'm 5'5"...I started my first bulk at 126lbs and about 19% body fat. Over 20 weeks, I gained a total of 11 lbs (about 5-6 lbs being lean mass) and, toward the end....had to increase my total cals to 2900 to continue to gain.

    This time around...I'm 10 weeks into my second bulk (after a cut over the summer) and started at 130lbs and about 17.5% body fat. I've put on about 5-6 lbs so far and just upped my cals to 2750 because the scale stopped moving.

    I lift heavy 4 days a week for about an hour and that's it for exercise.
  • sarahstrezo
    sarahstrezo Posts: 568 Member
    And...to add:
    You can totally strength train (meaning actually getting stronger) and change the shape and appearance of your muscles while on a deficit to cut body fat.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
    sarahstrezo wrote: »
    Personally, I would not bulk if I was 27% body fat. You do know that a bulk will add fat as well and muscle, right? And that there is no way around that. You can expect about 1/2 of your total gains to be lean mass (if you are lucky and train right).

    I'm 5'5"...I started my first bulk at 126lbs and about 19% body fat. Over 20 weeks, I gained a total of 11 lbs (about 5-6 lbs being lean mass) and, toward the end....had to increase my total cals to 2900 to continue to gain.

    This time around...I'm 10 weeks into my second bulk (after a cut over the summer) and started at 130lbs and about 17.5% body fat. I've put on about 5-6 lbs so far and just upped my cals to 2750 because the scale stopped moving.

    I lift heavy 4 days a week for about an hour and that's it for exercise.

    I have to agree with this. 27% should be the absolute end allowable body fat for a bulk. Usually bulks start at under 20% and end at 25% for a female. It's important to start at a lower body fat due to nutrient partitioning.

    I suggest continuing to strength train and lose weight until you are below 20%. You will probably still make some small gains while losing.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    ^^ I'd support these comments.

    I bulked a bit on the high side- but I wasn't looking for muscle mass specifically- I was looking for specific strength gains on my lifts- so I took the hit- and one of the reasons I'm not bulking this winter is because getting back down to pre-bulk weight is harder when you start higher.

    I don't know what I was back then- but Id' say mid/high ish twenties- and I'm back to prebulk weight- took several months to drop it- and thanks to my bulk- I'm the same weight- and I don't look nearly as lean as I did a year ago- prebulk.

    So YAY muscle mass- boo- I still don't look as cut as I want. LOL


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