Going too fast?
Beastshaw
Posts: 12 Member
I'm 6 weeks into my first bulk and am already up nearly 10 pounds. Should I slow down a bit or just keep going? The extra food and energy are nice but getting fluffy irritates me even though I know it is a necessary evil.
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Replies
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Are you coming off a cut or maintenance? Do you have a good handle on your energy needs and know that your surplus is not responsible for the gain alone? When I bulk, I routinely pile on a fair bit of scale weight right away, and then it tapers or even seems to stall. Not uncommon for me to gain 4 - 5 pounds in the first few weeks (principally upped glycogen stores and corresponding water weight).0
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Bulking is a battle of self confidence. Drop your cals a bit. You may have gone a bit too high. Adjust your macros.0
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If I were in your shoes I'd dial it back a notch as far as rate of gain goes. Better off bulking for longer and gaining a bit slower, in my opinion anyway.
See here:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html/
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Are you coming off a cut or maintenance? Do you have a good handle on your energy needs and know that your surplus is not responsible for the gain alone? When I bulk, I routinely pile on a fair bit of scale weight right away, and then it tapers or even seems to stall. Not uncommon for me to gain 4 - 5 pounds in the first few weeks (principally upped glycogen stores and corresponding water weight).
Coming off of a small cut. As far as energy goes, I lift 6 days a week and rock climb 2-3. As early as a week into bulking I could lift much harder and climb longer.
You kind of answered another question I had on my mind. Does weight gain typically slow down as you go even if you were to match the new weight with increased calories?0 -
What typically happens is that you remain at a given caloric intake until weight gain slows down or stops, then you increase calories, repeat.0
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If I were in your shoes I'd dial it back a notch as far as rate of gain goes. Better off bulking for longer and gaining a bit slower, in my opinion anyway.
See here:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html/
Does it matter if I cut back calories immediately or just not increase my calories as my weight increases?0 -
If I were in your shoes I'd dial it back a notch as far as rate of gain goes. Better off bulking for longer and gaining a bit slower, in my opinion anyway.
See here:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html/
Does it matter if I cut back calories immediately or just not increase my calories as my weight increases?
Up to you, just consider that you have a theoretical maximum amount of muscle gain in any given timeframe. The more you exceed this the more potential there is for fat gain.
So for example if you can only gain .75lb/week given your training experience/genetics/etc, and you gain 2lbs/week, you're probably putting on excess fat.0 -
Are you coming off a cut or maintenance? Do you have a good handle on your energy needs and know that your surplus is not responsible for the gain alone? When I bulk, I routinely pile on a fair bit of scale weight right away, and then it tapers or even seems to stall. Not uncommon for me to gain 4 - 5 pounds in the first few weeks (principally upped glycogen stores and corresponding water weight).
Coming off of a small cut. As far as energy goes, I lift 6 days a week and rock climb 2-3. As early as a week into bulking I could lift much harder and climb longer.
I meant more along the lines of - do you know with reasonable certainty your calorie needs to maintain your weight as is, including the physical activity energy needs from your activities? If yes, then is your weekly surplus calculated to gain that 10 pounds (I'd slow up a bit, myself), or is the 10 pounds excessive given that you're reasonably certain that your calorie (energy) surplus should really only have resulted in a lesser amount of gain? If the later than I'd be more comfortable that some of your gain is scale weight includes some additional water weight often associated with increased carb uptake from going to a cut to a bulk, as opposed to mass (lean and fat) entirely.You kind of answered another question I had on my mind. Does weight gain typically slow down as you go even if you were to match the new weight with increased calories?
In my experience (shared by others, but certainly not all), I tend to get a quick jump in scale weight during the first 1 - 3 weeks, then it slows / stalls, and then looking back at week 6 - 8 I am gaining during that time about what I'd expect (based on knowing with reasonable certainty my calorie (energy) needs are).
Also, I agree with SideSteel (not exactly a shocker - listen to him!). If you're not really confident in your daily calorie needs, based on long-term tracking and data, then I too would dial it back a bit. As SS said, better to go a little slower and bulk for longer.
(That said, when I did my first bulk, I deliberately ate at a larger surplus than typically recommended, in an effort to gauge my capability to add lean mass even at the expense of excess fat. I was 44 and had never done a bulk, and just didn't have a good sense what my capabilities were for adding lean mass. Subsequent bulk(s) I'll be much more slow and steady).
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Are you coming off a cut or maintenance? Do you have a good handle on your energy needs and know that your surplus is not responsible for the gain alone? When I bulk, I routinely pile on a fair bit of scale weight right away, and then it tapers or even seems to stall. Not uncommon for me to gain 4 - 5 pounds in the first few weeks (principally upped glycogen stores and corresponding water weight).
Coming off of a small cut. As far as energy goes, I lift 6 days a week and rock climb 2-3. As early as a week into bulking I could lift much harder and climb longer.
I meant more along the lines of - do you know with reasonable certainty your calorie needs to maintain your weight as is, including the physical activity energy needs from your activities? If yes, then is your weekly surplus calculated to gain that 10 pounds (I'd slow up a bit, myself), or is the 10 pounds excessive given that you're reasonably certain that your calorie (energy) surplus should really only have resulted in a lesser amount of gain? If the later than I'd be more comfortable that some of your gain is scale weight includes some additional water weight often associated with increased carb uptake from going to a cut to a bulk, as opposed to mass (lean and fat) entirely.You kind of answered another question I had on my mind. Does weight gain typically slow down as you go even if you were to match the new weight with increased calories?
In my experience (shared by others, but certainly not all), I tend to get a quick jump in scale weight during the first 1 - 3 weeks, then it slows / stalls, and then looking back at week 6 - 8 I am gaining during that time about what I'd expect (based on knowing with reasonable certainty my calorie (energy) needs are).
Also, I agree with SideSteel (not exactly a shocker - listen to him!). If you're not really confident in your daily calorie needs, based on long-term tracking and data, then I too would dial it back a bit. As SS said, better to go a little slower and bulk for longer.
(That said, when I did my first bulk, I deliberately ate at a larger surplus than typically recommended, in an effort to gauge my capability to add lean mass even at the expense of excess fat. I was 44 and had never done a bulk, and just didn't have a good sense what my capabilities were for adding lean mass. Subsequent bulk(s) I'll be much more slow and steady).
That is another challenge that I have been facing: there is no way for me to calculated with any degree of certainty the amount of calories I burn in a given day. Some days I lift for 30 minutes, others for an hour and a half. Some days I climb for an hour, some days for three. I find myself eating a ton on days where activity levels are through the roof to be certain that I am getting enough calories. I am more afraid of being under calories and wasting my lifting than I am of putting on fat. What are some ways you guys use to track calories burned during workouts?0 -
Are you coming off a cut or maintenance? Do you have a good handle on your energy needs and know that your surplus is not responsible for the gain alone? When I bulk, I routinely pile on a fair bit of scale weight right away, and then it tapers or even seems to stall. Not uncommon for me to gain 4 - 5 pounds in the first few weeks (principally upped glycogen stores and corresponding water weight).
Coming off of a small cut. As far as energy goes, I lift 6 days a week and rock climb 2-3. As early as a week into bulking I could lift much harder and climb longer.
I meant more along the lines of - do you know with reasonable certainty your calorie needs to maintain your weight as is, including the physical activity energy needs from your activities? If yes, then is your weekly surplus calculated to gain that 10 pounds (I'd slow up a bit, myself), or is the 10 pounds excessive given that you're reasonably certain that your calorie (energy) surplus should really only have resulted in a lesser amount of gain? If the later than I'd be more comfortable that some of your gain is scale weight includes some additional water weight often associated with increased carb uptake from going to a cut to a bulk, as opposed to mass (lean and fat) entirely.You kind of answered another question I had on my mind. Does weight gain typically slow down as you go even if you were to match the new weight with increased calories?
In my experience (shared by others, but certainly not all), I tend to get a quick jump in scale weight during the first 1 - 3 weeks, then it slows / stalls, and then looking back at week 6 - 8 I am gaining during that time about what I'd expect (based on knowing with reasonable certainty my calorie (energy) needs are).
Also, I agree with SideSteel (not exactly a shocker - listen to him!). If you're not really confident in your daily calorie needs, based on long-term tracking and data, then I too would dial it back a bit. As SS said, better to go a little slower and bulk for longer.
(That said, when I did my first bulk, I deliberately ate at a larger surplus than typically recommended, in an effort to gauge my capability to add lean mass even at the expense of excess fat. I was 44 and had never done a bulk, and just didn't have a good sense what my capabilities were for adding lean mass. Subsequent bulk(s) I'll be much more slow and steady).
That is another challenge that I have been facing: there is no way for me to calculated with any degree of certainty the amount of calories I burn in a given day. Some days I lift for 30 minutes, others for an hour and a half. Some days I climb for an hour, some days for three. I find myself eating a ton on days where activity levels are through the roof to be certain that I am getting enough calories. I am more afraid of being under calories and wasting my lifting than I am of putting on fat. What are some ways you guys use to track calories burned during workouts?
Can't really help you. I figured out my individual needs by running a regular program over an extended period of time, and tracking my calorie intake scrupulously. I could probably go and back out my intake calories, my exercise burns, and the results on the scale - but in the grand scheme of things I felt I had more than enough of a solid handle on my calorie needs. All I really did was follow a steady program, adjust as best I could for unusual activities (like a hike, or a day swimming or something) and track calories and weight carefully. Turns out my calorie needs are similar to some online calculator suggestions, and different from others - but at least I have my *own* baseline on TDEE pretty well dialed in so I know what to expect at different calorie intake levels.
If you're currently guessing (even a reasonably educated guess) on your daily calorie needs, then I would agree with SS even more that I'd probably back off the calorie intake after 10 lbs over 6 weeks - I would suspect you may be consuming too much, and adding more fat during your bulk than you really need to. The worst that happens is that you stall for a little while, have to up calories a bit, and increase the length of your overall bulk, and the positive outcome is you don't add unwanted an unnecessary fat. I personally would make that trade.
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You'll need to spend a bit of time with a HRM to work out your burns.
The alternative is to cut the extra cardio workouts down and concentrate on your bulking for a while. You need to rest and grow inbetween the lifting, the extra workouts may be getting in the way.
I have my Tdee without exercise then add my burns on and eat them back. My days vary between 1750 and 2500 plus and I like to fuel as I go.0 -
Springfield1970 wrote: »You'll need to spend a bit of time with a HRM to work out your burns.
The alternative is to cut the extra cardio workouts down and concentrate on your bulking for a while. You need to rest and grow inbetween the lifting, the extra workouts may be getting in the way.
I have my Tdee without exercise then add my burns on and eat them back. My days vary between 1750 and 2500 plus and I like to fuel as I go.
Climbing isn't exactly cardio if you are taking rests properly. I've tried to incorporate it into my arms and back routine and there is no better forearm workout. How accurate are HRMs at calculating calories burned?0 -
Springfield1970 wrote: »You'll need to spend a bit of time with a HRM to work out your burns.
The alternative is to cut the extra cardio workouts down and concentrate on your bulking for a while. You need to rest and grow inbetween the lifting, the extra workouts may be getting in the way.
I have my Tdee without exercise then add my burns on and eat them back. My days vary between 1750 and 2500 plus and I like to fuel as I go.
Climbing isn't exactly cardio if you are taking rests properly. I've tried to incorporate it into my arms and back routine and there is no better forearm workout. How accurate are HRMs at calculating calories burned?
HRM are not good at stuff that isn't steady state.
Maybe you could keep your workouts a consistent length and find your maintenance for a few weeks. Then start your bulk.
I would worry that I was undoing my muscle gains by not resting them properly.
You will be getting stronger but not bigger, and maybe spinning your wheels.
If you're overeating too much, you'll lay down fat.
It's annoying. Keep it simple while bulking. I have to give up my beloved triathlon training when I bulk, but the results pay off mightily.
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lookin joocy dem lats0
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