Smaller guy wanting to bulk up
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connoru95
Posts: 4
Ive been working out off and on for a while, but have a lot of determination and will power. This is for other people trying to bulk up. Feel free to post any tips, insights or questions!
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Replies
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Don't make the mistake I made the first time I bulked. Everyone told me to just eat as much as I could... So I did. About 4-5,000 calories a day! Needless to say my weight shot up from 145 pounds to 180 pounds in about three months. I did put on a ton of muscle, but I also put on a ton of fat as well! Luckily, with my metabolism I have no issue cutting, and was able to drop the fat and go from 180 to a lean 168. But I have been on a bulk for the last two weeks and have went from 168 to 172 with very minimal fat gain. The difference is I found the sweet spot where now my bulk is mostly muscle and very minimal fat. For me it was about 3,500 calories a day.
So long story short, just find the right amount of daily calories you need to build muscle instead of fat.0 -
what are your stats - height/weight/age/gender?
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If you wanna be big, you gotta eat big.0
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Barbell
Program
Eat
Sleep0 -
@tbfincher
I understand where you're coming from! I'm taking a few nutrition courses right now and there's a ton of detail that goes into it. I started recording my daily caloric intake over the past few days and, on average, I eat about 1400 cal. I supplement with whey protein (30/60 g. depending on how hard I work out that day) on top of the protein I naturally get throughout the day. I also run about around a mile or two before I lift weights. I just don't want to put on too much fat so my abs can show through!0 -
@tbfincher
I understand where you're coming from! I'm taking a few nutrition courses right now and there's a ton of detail that goes into it. I started recording my daily caloric intake over the past few days and, on average, I eat about 1400 cal. I supplement with whey protein (30/60 g. depending on how hard I work out that day) on top of the protein I naturally get throughout the day. I also run about around a mile or two before I lift weights. I just don't want to put on too much fat so my abs can show through!
Well, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that with that diet you will always have visible abs. The bad news is, you will not gain any muscle mass.
At your current caloric intake of 1,400, you're about 200 calories below your BMR, and about 700 calories below your TDEE. A good bulking amount for you would be 2,300 a day.
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Hi Connoru95:
Ideally I would start going to the gym, get a trainer, get on a structured resistance and aerobic program and then see what your body is doing after a year of dedicated training. If you can't afford a trainer then check out your county or city fitness centers and see if they offer resistance classes, and then design your own program. Here in Boulder, Co. you can take resistance classes for very little coin at the Boulder Rec Centers. You may be blessed or cursed with a fast metabolism and you'll just have to deal with it.
Or if you are not into resistance training then start swimming laps - do a mile free or breast or back or combo 3-4 times a week for 6 months and see if you like the results. Believe me your body will change and you'll get that nice swimmer physique. I used to swim in my high school years and it was always cool( and surprising) to come back to school after a summer of intense competition and have a cute girl stop you and say, "Boy you've changed." Can't swim a mile, then do what I did after 6 years of battling a fungal lung infection, finally getting better and 1st time I got in the pool (post infection) I could barely swim a lap. I looked pathetic but the next time it was two laps then three, etc. It took months but I finally got back to a mile. And my body changed in the process.
You can do this just get some motivation and then go do something! Have fun with it, explore, experiment a bit and stay engaged!
Best of Luck!
Rick0 -
Honestly, you aren't mentally ready to bulk. When you stop worrying about seeing your abs then you can get down to business. I'm not saying you need to lose them but just that you will never be able to until you are ready to let them disappear if you understand what I mean.
You want to bulk but are afraid to get fat so you so not be able to commit mentally and will fail. I know this both personally and from reading other's posts here. It's always the same: they can't bulk but afraid to get fat so they never eat enough.
So understand you are trying to bulk but not bulk at the same time. Once you are ready to really bulk it will be pretty easy.0 -
Would have to agree with all the above and especially with what Wheelhouse15 has to say. You have to mentally be in the game to do it. I wanted to increase muscle for a long time but wasn't eating enough as I kept on thinking if I did, I would go back to how overweight I used to be. My PT knocked that out of me. I see the muscle increasing as well a wee bit of an increase in fat but I don't let it bother me anymore. Like tbfincer, I would have the same metabolism as he does so whenever I decide to reduce the amount I eat, the fat should come off fairly easily. Like another poster said if you can afford it, go to a PT and get a programme done up for you. If you cannot afford it, go for his other suggestion.0
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If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out0 -
If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out
Oh man, I am sorry, that is just awful. I know how hard I have worked both physically and mentally to gain the past 4 months, and to lose that would be devastating. Are you going to bulk again?0 -
If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out
that sucks brother...
I got the stomach virus about three weeks into my bulk which knocked me out for a week but thankfully it was early enough in to where I could recover from it...0 -
If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out
That sucks.
This time will be better! 0 -
@tbfincher
I understand where you're coming from! I'm taking a few nutrition courses right now and there's a ton of detail that goes into it. I started recording my daily caloric intake over the past few days and, on average, I eat about 1400 cal. I supplement with whey protein (30/60 g. depending on how hard I work out that day) on top of the protein I naturally get throughout the day. I also run about around a mile or two before I lift weights. I just don't want to put on too much fat so my abs can show through!
Well, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that with that diet you will always have visible abs. The bad news is, you will not gain any muscle mass.
At your current caloric intake of 1,400, you're about 200 calories below your BMR, and about 700 calories below your TDEE. A good bulking amount for you would be 2,300 a day.
OP - I would suggest this...
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increase to 2300and see how it goes. I think that .5 pound per week gain would be good..
also, at your age you can really take advantage of natural testosterone and pack on some serious muscle..
you also need to get on a heavy lifting program with progressive overload built into it..
do you currently lift? If yes, what is your regimen like..?0 -
If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out
Oh man, I am sorry, that is just awful. I know how hard I have worked both physically and mentally to gain the past 4 months, and to lose that would be devastating. Are you going to bulk again?
Started my cut early.
So I will wait till end of summer again and try again...
Gonna shoot for 4000 calories this time around....
0 -
If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out
Oh man, I am sorry, that is just awful. I know how hard I have worked both physically and mentally to gain the past 4 months, and to lose that would be devastating. Are you going to bulk again?
Started my cut early.
So I will wait till end of summer again and try again...
Gonna shoot for 4000 calories this time around....
Have fun on your cut!0 -
Gonna try.
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is cutting ever fun??Wheelhouse15 wrote: »If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out
Oh man, I am sorry, that is just awful. I know how hard I have worked both physically and mentally to gain the past 4 months, and to lose that would be devastating. Are you going to bulk again?
Started my cut early.
So I will wait till end of summer again and try again...
Gonna shoot for 4000 calories this time around....
Have fun on your cut!0 -
is cutting ever fun??Wheelhouse15 wrote: »If you are gonna bulk, then bulk.
Eat enough calories to really add on some weight....
I tried doing a bulk from Aug (last year) til February this year....
I was making decent weight gain....started at 172 got to 183
Then I got sick at the end of December....turned into bronchitis and pneumonia...
In less than 3 weeks I went from 183 back to 172....where I started.
5 months wiped out
Oh man, I am sorry, that is just awful. I know how hard I have worked both physically and mentally to gain the past 4 months, and to lose that would be devastating. Are you going to bulk again?
Started my cut early.
So I will wait till end of summer again and try again...
Gonna shoot for 4000 calories this time around....
Have fun on your cut!
Only the results...0
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