Bulking for the First Time
HawkTheKnight
Posts: 4
This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
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Replies
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Dude its better to set a time phrame with your goal like that its exact. My first seriius bulk i gained 50 pounds in about a year. That was focusing on getting as many meals as possible in, about 5-7 meals, thats what it takes when you kill your workouts. If you havent watched Rich Piana on youtube, i encourage u to look him up, he knows how to get HUGE.0
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You'll put on more in the first month especially due to water weight (just like you lose a lot your first month of weight loss). I think I put on 15lbs my first month which was startling, but within a few months at the same calories I wasn't even gaining at all even more. Gotta play it by ear and settle in for the long haul.0
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HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
During your first month, you will have no accurate idea of weight gain balance due to drastic variances in water retention during metabolic adjustment to higher caloric intake.
After around the 3-4 week range you should have a better balance with your new intake and can begin determining accurate weight fluctuations.
Target weight development should fall around the .5lb/week range, with very lean, or "skinny" guys usually having room to push upwards of the 1lb/week range and still maintain leanness throughout the process.
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I'm not worrying about keeping it really lean, always been the skinny guy so a little fat wouldn't be unwanted. And yeah I'm not in a hurry to bulk and be done with it in a month or two. I'm in it for the long haul, hoping to add about 30 - 40 lbs of muscle in the end. I'll see how fast I gain bulking and go from there. I plan on sticking with it for years.0
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Your age is very important. Those 25 and under can put on 20 lbs of muscle in less than three months. It's part of that whole still growing phase of your life.
For those like me, over 45, it's more like 1-2 lbs per month, unless you lift every day, and even then, it can be hard to put on anything but fat.
Remember to eat enough calories and lots of protein while you train.0 -
Your age is very important. Those 25 and under can put on 20 lbs of muscle in less than three months. It's part of that whole still growing phase of your life.
For those like me, over 45, it's more like 1-2 lbs per month, unless you lift every day, and even then, it can be hard to put on anything but fat.
Remember to eat enough calories and lots of protein while you train.
20 lbs of muscle in three months? You can't even do that on gear.0 -
Apparently in magical pony land you can.0
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^lol0
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Maybe he's talking about during the teenage growth spurt.0
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Your age is very important. Those 25 and under can put on 20 lbs of muscle in less than three months. It's part of that whole still growing phase of your life.
For those like me, over 45, it's more like 1-2 lbs per month, unless you lift every day, and even then, it can be hard to put on anything but fat.
Remember to eat enough calories and lots of protein while you train.
What if I'm 25 and my birthday is tomorrow? Does it get cut in half?0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
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It's hard to day what you will gain and what your gains will be in terms of muscle, fat and water until you go through a bulk cycle and see how you respond. 5 to 10 pounds in n the fist month is possible but how you will look depends on your workouts, rest, eating and genetics.0
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I put on about 5 Lbs right away and it's been slow going ever since. The past couple of months I've put on about 3 Lbs or so...but that's about the pace I intended to go.0
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I reversed out of a cut to maintenance over 2 months and then a gradual bulk with increasing calories. I hit my lowest weight about 1 month into my reverse. 7 months later I was up right at 14 pounds.0
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HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
Yep.... ^^^ This is my experience too. I know I'm not a dude, so my experience will likely be half of what a guy should expect. But, I'm in the middle of my second bulk. The first time, I bulked for 20 weeks and put on about 11 lbs total. I just finished week 10 of my second bulk and I'm up about 5.5-6 lbs. I know I'm set to stall out here soon, I'll have to up my calories again and then I should hit a pretty steady increase.0 -
sarahstrezo wrote: »HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
Yep.... ^^^ This is my experience too. I know I'm not a dude, so my experience will likely be half of what a guy should expect. But, I'm in the middle of my second bulk. The first time, I bulked for 20 weeks and put on about 11 lbs total. I just finished week 10 of my second bulk and I'm up about 5.5-6 lbs. I know I'm set to stall out here soon, I'll have to up my calories again and then I should hit a pretty steady increase.
Over the last 3 weeks since I started to bulk, I've now gained a full 14 pounds (at least, didn't weigh myself till the 4th day or so into my bulk) which by my best guess would be half muscle and half fat. Biceps have increased 3/4" and chest over a full 1". I assume now will be when it starts to 'stall out' as you have put it.0 -
14 pounds in 3 weeks
TO MUCH TO MUCH TOO MUCH!0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »sarahstrezo wrote: »HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
Yep.... ^^^ This is my experience too. I know I'm not a dude, so my experience will likely be half of what a guy should expect. But, I'm in the middle of my second bulk. The first time, I bulked for 20 weeks and put on about 11 lbs total. I just finished week 10 of my second bulk and I'm up about 5.5-6 lbs. I know I'm set to stall out here soon, I'll have to up my calories again and then I should hit a pretty steady increase.
Over the last 3 weeks since I started to bulk, I've now gained a full 14 pounds (at least, didn't weigh myself till the 4th day or so into my bulk) which by my best guess would be half muscle and half fat. Biceps have increased 3/4" and chest over a full 1". I assume now will be when it starts to 'stall out' as you have put it.
That's far too much.0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »sarahstrezo wrote: »HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
Yep.... ^^^ This is my experience too. I know I'm not a dude, so my experience will likely be half of what a guy should expect. But, I'm in the middle of my second bulk. The first time, I bulked for 20 weeks and put on about 11 lbs total. I just finished week 10 of my second bulk and I'm up about 5.5-6 lbs. I know I'm set to stall out here soon, I'll have to up my calories again and then I should hit a pretty steady increase.
Over the last 3 weeks since I started to bulk, I've now gained a full 14 pounds (at least, didn't weigh myself till the 4th day or so into my bulk) which by my best guess would be half muscle and half fat. Biceps have increased 3/4" and chest over a full 1". I assume now will be when it starts to 'stall out' as you have put it.
Bro, if you "stall out" now, you'll be lucky. You're headed toward blimp ville if you keep up that pace!0 -
holy *kitten* 14lbs in 3 weeks, you are bulking WRONG0
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HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
*facepalm* Your body can make about 1lbs of muscle per month. MAX. That is assuming you lift heavy-*kitten* weights, eat enough protein, are in calorie surplus, and sleep enough. And also, I shouldn't have to state why making your goal based on weight gain is a bad idea. You should be shooting for STRENGTH gains. Weight is such a terribly useless metric.
Anything else you gain over a 1lb/month is fat. Sorry to debunk the broscience you have heard. Shoot for 500 calories over your BMR. That is it. Make sure you eat back your exercise cals so you hit exactly 500 calories over your BMR. Once you plateau for a week or two, bump the calories up 250 and see if it changes. Stay there until you plateau again. This should take several months before you plateau again.
Don't become another hamplanet "bulker". You are going to gain a bit of fat on a bulk, to the tune of maybe 2-3 lbs a month if you are really maximizing muscle gain. That is all that is necessary though.0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »sarahstrezo wrote: »HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
Yep.... ^^^ This is my experience too. I know I'm not a dude, so my experience will likely be half of what a guy should expect. But, I'm in the middle of my second bulk. The first time, I bulked for 20 weeks and put on about 11 lbs total. I just finished week 10 of my second bulk and I'm up about 5.5-6 lbs. I know I'm set to stall out here soon, I'll have to up my calories again and then I should hit a pretty steady increase.
Over the last 3 weeks since I started to bulk, I've now gained a full 14 pounds (at least, didn't weigh myself till the 4th day or so into my bulk) which by my best guess would be half muscle and half fat. Biceps have increased 3/4" and chest over a full 1". I assume now will be when it starts to 'stall out' as you have put it.
Bro, if you "stall out" now, you'll be lucky. You're headed toward blimp ville if you keep up that pace!
I love how he thinks he gained 7lbs of muslce in 3 weeks. If it were only that easy BRAH0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
*facepalm* Your body can make about 1lbs of muscle per month. MAX. That is assuming you lift heavy-*kitten* weights, eat enough protein, are in calorie surplus, and sleep enough. And also, I shouldn't have to state why making your goal based on weight gain is a bad idea. You should be shooting for STRENGTH gains. Weight is such a terribly useless metric.
Anything else you gain over a 1lb/month is fat. Sorry to debunk the broscience you have heard. Shoot for 500 calories over your TDEE. That is it. Make sure you eat back your exercise cals so you hit exactly 500 calories over your TDEE. Once you plateau for a week or two, bump the calories up 250 and see if it changes. Stay there until you plateau again. This should take several months before you plateau again.
Don't become another hamplanet "bulker". You are going to gain a bit of fat on a bulk, to the tune of maybe 2-3 lbs a month if you are really maximizing muscle gain. That is all that is necessary though.
FIFY0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
*facepalm* Your body can make about 1lbs of muscle per month. MAX. That is assuming you lift heavy-*kitten* weights, eat enough protein, are in calorie surplus, and sleep enough. And also, I shouldn't have to state why making your goal based on weight gain is a bad idea. You should be shooting for STRENGTH gains. Weight is such a terribly useless metric.
Anything else you gain over a 1lb/month is fat. Sorry to debunk the broscience you have heard. Shoot for 500 calories over your TDEE. That is it. Make sure you eat back your exercise cals so you hit exactly 500 calories over your TDEE. Once you plateau for a week or two, bump the calories up 250 and see if it changes. Stay there until you plateau again. This should take several months before you plateau again.
Don't become another hamplanet "bulker". You are going to gain a bit of fat on a bulk, to the tune of maybe 2-3 lbs a month if you are really maximizing muscle gain. That is all that is necessary though.
FIFY
Gah yes I meant TDEE, thanks lol0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
*facepalm* Your body can make about 1lbs of muscle per month. MAX. That is assuming you lift heavy-*kitten* weights, eat enough protein, are in calorie surplus, and sleep enough. And also, I shouldn't have to state why making your goal based on weight gain is a bad idea. You should be shooting for STRENGTH gains. Weight is such a terribly useless metric.
Anything else you gain over a 1lb/month is fat. Sorry to debunk the broscience you have heard. Shoot for 500 calories over your TDEE. That is it. Make sure you eat back your exercise cals so you hit exactly 500 calories over your TDEE. Once you plateau for a week or two, bump the calories up 250 and see if it changes. Stay there until you plateau again. This should take several months before you plateau again.
Don't become another hamplanet "bulker". You are going to gain a bit of fat on a bulk, to the tune of maybe 2-3 lbs a month if you are really maximizing muscle gain. That is all that is necessary though.
FIFY
Gah yes I meant TDEE, thanks lol
I figured
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HawkTheKnight wrote: »sarahstrezo wrote: »HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
Yep.... ^^^ This is my experience too. I know I'm not a dude, so my experience will likely be half of what a guy should expect. But, I'm in the middle of my second bulk. The first time, I bulked for 20 weeks and put on about 11 lbs total. I just finished week 10 of my second bulk and I'm up about 5.5-6 lbs. I know I'm set to stall out here soon, I'll have to up my calories again and then I should hit a pretty steady increase.
Over the last 3 weeks since I started to bulk, I've now gained a full 14 pounds (at least, didn't weigh myself till the 4th day or so into my bulk) which by my best guess would be half muscle and half fat. Biceps have increased 3/4" and chest over a full 1". I assume now will be when it starts to 'stall out' as you have put it.
Normal male is about a half pound of muscle a week. In 3 weeks you've maybe put on 1.5 pounds of muscle (if your diet and training is perfect) and the rest water and fat.0 -
I can't say I totally agree with that. I'm 5'8" 120 pounds. I definitely want strength increases as well, but obviously I'm at a very low weight for height.
And also, I shouldn't have to state why making your goal based on weight gain is a bad idea. You should be shooting for STRENGTH gains. Weight is such a terribly useless metric.HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
Also, in regards to overall lean body mass gain, isn't it more like 2 pounds a month (including water weight) that can be gained for beginners? Meaning, 2 pounds a month not including fat gain should be realistic if training and other factors are optimal?
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ForecasterJason wrote: »
I can't say I totally agree with that. I'm 5'8" 120 pounds. I definitely want strength increases as well, but obviously I'm at a very low weight for height.
And also, I shouldn't have to state why making your goal based on weight gain is a bad idea. You should be shooting for STRENGTH gains. Weight is such a terribly useless metric.HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
Also, in regards to overall lean body mass gain, isn't it more like 2 pounds a month (including water weight) that can be gained for beginners? Meaning, 2 pounds a month not including fat gain should be realistic if training and other factors are optimal?
0.5lbs/week is typcial for newbies, yes, but this period lasts maybe 6 weeks tops. Your body catches on pretty quick and starts to adapt to conserve calories to help you "survive". It is a pretty dangerous idea to base your bulk on 0.5lbs/week gains, which a lot of new lifters seem to do. Even 0.25lbs per week is pretty dangerous (for everybody else), it assumes near-perfect diet and providing correct stimulus for muscle growth.
Yeah 120lbs for a 5'4" person might be low. But packing lots of extra fat on is not going to help your aestethics either (I'm assuming you want to put this weight on because you feel thin currently). Just bulk right from the beginning and never worry about needing to take time off to cut in the future. All good things take time man. Nobody woke up looking like Zyzz after a month of lifting. Omar Isuf has some great videos about correctly bulking, and how he screwed up getting super fat the first time he "bulked". Lots of good info on his YouTube channel if you are interested.0 -
HawkTheKnight wrote: »sarahstrezo wrote: »HawkTheKnight wrote: »This is my first attempt at bulking. Just curious what others have done in their first months of bulking? 5 lbs? 10 lbs? or more? Wondering what people have had that has worked for them.
You're going to put on a chunk right away, especially if you're coming off a cut with a relatively short maintenance period. And then be pissed that despite eating all the food, you're not really adding a lot. Then get to a point (and this is probably 12 weeks out) where your gain looks like perhaps what you'd expected it would be on a weekly average basis (assuming you have pretty good sense of your TDEE before you started the bulk). Shorter version for most (and certainly for me) of the three stages: Gain a crapton; stall out; get to a point where the gains are slower and steady.
Yep.... ^^^ This is my experience too. I know I'm not a dude, so my experience will likely be half of what a guy should expect. But, I'm in the middle of my second bulk. The first time, I bulked for 20 weeks and put on about 11 lbs total. I just finished week 10 of my second bulk and I'm up about 5.5-6 lbs. I know I'm set to stall out here soon, I'll have to up my calories again and then I should hit a pretty steady increase.
Over the last 3 weeks since I started to bulk, I've now gained a full 14 pounds (at least, didn't weigh myself till the 4th day or so into my bulk) which by my best guess would be half muscle and half fat. Biceps have increased 3/4" and chest over a full 1". I assume now will be when it starts to 'stall out' as you have put it.
Bro, if you "stall out" now, you'll be lucky. You're headed toward blimp ville if you keep up that pace!
I love how he thinks he gained 7lbs of muslce in 3 weeks. If it were only that easy BRAH
not as good as the guy who put on 14 in 3 weeks... I mean- that's impressive.
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