Tips

Chaffdog
Chaffdog Posts: 86 Member
Hey im looking for tips for fast gain. Im trying to get to 180. And at home workouts(more important)or food ideas are welcome.
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Replies

  • mjudd1990
    mjudd1990 Posts: 219 Member
    Favorite bulking post workout snack = protein shake and two warm chocolate poptarts with chunky peanut butter slathered all over em
  • November_Fire
    November_Fire Posts: 165 Member
    What kind of 'at home' workout are you looking for? Are you a beginner? Are you hoping to lift weights - do you have any? Bodyweight exercise? Do you have a pullup bar?

    You can weight by eating a lot. Are you hoping to gain muscle? That's not as easy.
  • Chaffdog
    Chaffdog Posts: 86 Member
    Yea im in a bit of a money squeeze for now. Not beginner. I was benching 215lbs when i deployed before i blew out my shoulder. I wanna do what i can to gain weight back and put my muscle back on. No pull up bar yet. My roommate has 30lb d-bells that ive been using just for weight.

    That bulk post sounds delicious. Ill have to try that
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    I will caution you right away: The only thing your body can gain quickly is fat.

    There used to be an excellent bulking for beginners sticky, but I have heard that the original poster got banned. That must have knocked his post off the forums.

    There are a ton of great info sources out there. My personal favorite, no-nonsense guide to lifting: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

    There are links in that guide to the nutrition aspect of what you need to be doing as well.

    idk what weight you are now, but recognize that you can ideally only build about 1lb/month of muscle per month (about 1.5-2lbs the first month or two if you have been out of the gym for awhile). Anything else you put on is going to be fat. Which you probably don't want. So make sure to get a plan down on paper so you know how long it will ideally take. It also allows you to track if you are gaining weight too fast. If you were in a rush to get huge for summer or something like that, sorry to say, you started way too late. Building muscle takes A LOT of time. Building strength, not nearly as long. Your muscles can neurally adapt to lifting more and more weight without having to grow very much.

    I would caution you to take a moderate net calorie surplus as well for your bulk. Figure out what your TDEE is with the best accuracy possible, then tack on 500 calories. Note I said net surplus, which means that you should be eating back any exercise cals for the day and then tacking on an extra 500. Ex: Somebody's TDEE is 2500. They also exercised and burned 500 calories. So for that day, they need to eat 3500 calories.

    As you begin to put on muscle, you may want to adjust your calories by 100 every 2-3 months to prevent stalling/plateaus, but no more than that. Don't confuse plateaus with just having a flat lifting week. It's always better to try mixing up the lifting routine, adding accessory lifts to a stubborn muscle group, or just taking an extra rest day and trying to add weight/reps again. Use calorie bumps as a last resort ONLY, you don't need them very often. The initial 500+ should last you at least your first 4 months of bulking.

    I see some serious bro-science people bulking at 1000+ net calories and I can assure you it will not help you. Getting fat just makes it take that much longer when it comes time to cut, and cutting is NOT a fun process at all. In fact, if you climb past 20% body fat (for males), your body starts to put less of these calories into muscle production and stores more of them as fat. This phenomenon is called the p-ratio. So it is in your best interest to stay in a lean BF range as long as possible. The leaner you are, the more lean mass your body puts on from lifting.

    As far as routines go, plenty of good ones out there. I would try the lifting strategy outlined in the guide I provided, has worked great for me so far. You will want to make compound movements (bench press, overhead press, deadlifts, squats, dips, pull-ups, etc.) the main focus of each workout, and use accessory lifts (dumbell curls, extensions, etc.) to fill in gaps or add variety. Heavy compound lifts increase stress on the body and encourage testosterone and HGH production, and are also just good time-savers in general. You should be able to complete a bulking phase workout in an hour if you focus on mostly compound movements.

    Hope this helps. Add me if you want any more help or have more questions.
  • This content has been removed.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    Hey im looking for tips for fast gain. Im trying to get to 180. And at home workouts(more important)or food ideas are welcome.

    So you want to gain fat if you want to gain fast?
  • Chaffdog
    Chaffdog Posts: 86 Member
    No, if u eat right and work out on a regular basis you can make all muscle gain. Its just been awhile since ive been in the bulking side of things. Lile i said i was benching 215lbs when i deployed and couldnt break 175lbs. So I'm trying to get back to weight plus
  • This content has been removed.
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    edited March 2015
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    I will caution you right away: The only thing your body can gain quickly is fat.

    There used to be an excellent bulking for beginners sticky, but I have heard that the original poster got banned. That must have knocked his post off the forums.

    There are a ton of great info sources out there. My personal favorite, no-nonsense guide to lifting: aworkoutroutine.com/the-ultimate-weight-training-workout-routine/

    There are links in that guide to the nutrition aspect of what you need to be doing as well.

    idk what weight you are now, but recognize that you can ideally only build about 1lb/month of muscle per month (about 1.5-2lbs the first month or two if you have been out of the gym for awhile). Anything else you put on is going to be fat. Which you probably don't want. So make sure to get a plan down on paper so you know how long it will ideally take. It also allows you to track if you are gaining weight too fast. If you were in a rush to get huge for summer or something like that, sorry to say, you started way too late. Building muscle takes A LOT of time. Building strength, not nearly as long. Your muscles can neurally adapt to lifting more and more weight without having to grow very much.

    I would caution you to take a moderate net calorie surplus as well for your bulk. Figure out what your TDEE is with the best accuracy possible, then tack on 500 calories. Note I said net surplus, which means that you should be eating back any exercise cals for the day and then tacking on an extra 500. Ex: Somebody's TDEE is 2500. They also exercised and burned 500 calories. So for that day, they need to eat 3500 calories.

    As you begin to put on muscle, you may want to adjust your calories by 100 every 2-3 months to prevent stalling/plateaus, but no more than that. Don't confuse plateaus with just having a flat lifting week. It's always better to try mixing up the lifting routine, adding accessory lifts to a stubborn muscle group, or just taking an extra rest day and trying to add weight/reps again. Use calorie bumps as a last resort ONLY, you don't need them very often. The initial 500+ should last you at least your first 4 months of bulking.

    I see some serious bro-science people bulking at 1000+ net calories and I can assure you it will not help you. Getting fat just makes it take that much longer when it comes time to cut, and cutting is NOT a fun process at all. In fact, if you climb past 20% body fat (for males), your body starts to put less of these calories into muscle production and stores more of them as fat. This phenomenon is called the p-ratio. So it is in your best interest to stay in a lean BF range as long as possible. The leaner you are, the more lean mass your body puts on from lifting.

    As far as routines go, plenty of good ones out there. I would try the lifting strategy outlined in the guide I provided, has worked great for me so far. You will want to make compound movements (bench press, overhead press, deadlifts, squats, dips, pull-ups, etc.) the main focus of each workout, and use accessory lifts (dumbell curls, extensions, etc.) to fill in gaps or add variety. Heavy compound lifts increase stress on the body and encourage testosterone and HGH production, and are also just good time-savers in general. You should be able to complete a bulking phase workout in an hour if you focus on mostly compound movements.

    Hope this helps. Add me if you want any more help or have more questions.

    The logic is so faulty it's not even funny.

    Somehow now we can only add 1 lbs of muscle per month but then you go ahead and tell him to bulk at a 500 calorie surplus which will have him gaining 1 lb per week.

    So essentially you are telling the OP to add 4 lbs a month but only 1 lb will be muscle. Adding 3 lbs a month of fat. Well done 25% muscle/75% fat. Lol. Makes no sense at all. And yet you still tell people we can only add 1 lb of muscle per month. Just nonsense.

    So somehow your body magically creates muscle fiber using zero energy? lol ok.

    Your body needs about an extra 300 net calories surplus to create tissue. It can't magically create it using zero energy. Hence a calorie surplus. So no, he isn't going to gain 3lbs of fat per month. Those calories are being used. Also, being in a slight surplus can hinder your body's ability to create as much muscle tissue as possible, plus you need to account for errors in calculating exercise calories and intake calories. If you are in a bulk, you will always want to add safety margin that puts you on the side of surplus.
  • This content has been removed.
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    No, there is a max amount of muscle tissue your body can synthesize per day. The amount of calories it takes to do that is roughly 250-300 calories today. It really can't put any more than that to use. Do you think you can achieve that painstaking amount of calorie accuracy everyday to achieve that exact calorie surplus? Are you going to count every step you take, every stair you climb, every bit of extra effort beyond what would be considered BMR? Because if you think you can, you are deluded.

    Have a source: acaloriecounter.com/diet/how-many-calories-to-build-muscle-or-gain-weight/
  • This content has been removed.
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    edited March 2015
    Yes, I did mistype there. Its 1lb/month for women. 2lb/month for men. My bad, OP. Calorie goal is still the same though.

    Also, pretty sure we established the rationale basis for not having a 250 cal surplus to start. That is a great way to stagnate real quick from bad calculations/ measurements of calories in vs out. 250 isn't exactly a lot of wiggle room for error.
  • This content has been removed.
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    I disagree. Especially considering I told him to use calorie bumps after his initial 500 surplus as a last resort if the 2 month mark hasn't passed. He might gain an extra pound or two more than necessary the first few months, true, but that surplus gap will quickly diminish as metabolism creeps up from more regular exercise and increasing lean body mass.

    Think about this from a time management standpoint. It takes far longer to build muscle than burn fat. I think you can at least agree to that.

    Considering how long it takes to build it, would you not want to ensure that you are building at the max rate possible? If the OP is just starting out, he doesn't have a good concept of what his actual TDEE is. That requires a couple months of calibration to truly figure out.

    We are going to play out WOW (worst-of-worst) scenarios here for each case. Pretend you have these magical calorie counting powers you speak of where you know exactly, to 1 calorie, what you put in your mouth and what your body burned up.

    Scenario #1: Suppose he lowballs his TDEE because he is nervous about fat gain, and what he sets his surplus to is actually about maintenance based on the +250 rule. Water weight gains from starting to lift again give the illusion of muscle gains, until a few weeks in when water weight drops off a bit. He might gain strength from neural adaption, but all the while, he isn't putting on any actual new muscle. He is going to stall out hard, make some minimal muscle gains (if any), and then finally realize he needs to bump his calories more, while also coming out of his first month or two frustrated at his lack of progress and wasted time. Depending on how scared he is of fat gains, he might make his increase still too low, and spend another month or two spinning his wheels before he finally bumps his calories into an actual (very modest) surplus. This is the "clean bulking" trap.

    Scenario #2: Suppose he gets his correct TDEE, but follows my advice and still adds +500. He gains 4lbs the first month instead of 2lbs (assuming he even goes on that long realizing he is gaining weight too quick). Did he still gain his max amount of muscle? Yes. Can he decrease his calories now realizing they were too high? Yes. Can he drop the 2lbs of fat later? Yes. And fairly quick, compared the painstakingly slow process that is building muscle. But he can't get back the wasted time & zero progress from scenario #1.

    Scenario #3: Suppose he highballs his TDEE. His net surplus is 750+. He packs on on +5lbs in two weeks, muscle and fat. I would hope he would have the common sense to pump the brakes and say "WHOA. TOO FAST", does the math, and get his calories to the correct level based on the extra gain he saw. Still built all the muscle he could in that timeframe.

    In #2 and #3, the surplus fat gains can be detected and minimized in just a couple weeks. They still have muscle gains to show for it regardless In #1, it can be a couple months before the person realizes they set their goal too low. They end up with basically nothing in the gains department.

    Setting the initial surplus with a safety margin allows him to find his actual TDEE faster, and prevents lack of maximal progress in building muscle (scenario #1).
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    beginners benching 215 now? I am lost how is that a beginner. So people maxing 135 on bench what are they called?
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    No, if u eat right and work out on a regular basis you can make all muscle gain. Its just been awhile since ive been in the bulking side of things. Lile i said i was benching 215lbs when i deployed and couldnt break 175lbs. So I'm trying to get back to weight plus

    Nope. Sorry. Eating at a surplus is a surplus. Eating the "right foods" doesn't mean less fat. If your doing a true bulk you will gain some fat.

    Would you call a true bulk a legal bulk?
  • This content has been removed.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    I disagree. Especially considering I told him to use calorie bumps after his initial 500 surplus as a last resort if the 2 month mark hasn't passed. He might gain an extra pound or two more than necessary the first few months, true, but that surplus gap will quickly diminish as metabolism creeps up from more regular exercise and increasing lean body mass.

    Think about this from a time management standpoint. It takes far longer to build muscle than burn fat. I think you can at least agree to that.

    Considering how long it takes to build it, would you not want to ensure that you are building at the max rate possible? If the OP is just starting out, he doesn't have a good concept of what his actual TDEE is. That requires a couple months of calibration to truly figure out.

    We are going to play out WOW (worst-of-worst) scenarios here for each case. Pretend you have these magical calorie counting powers you speak of where you know exactly, to 1 calorie, what you put in your mouth and what your body burned up.

    Scenario #1: Suppose he lowballs his TDEE because he is nervous about fat gain, and what he sets his surplus to is actually about maintenance based on the +250 rule. Water weight gains from starting to lift again give the illusion of muscle gains, until a few weeks in when water weight drops off a bit. He might gain strength from neural adaption, but all the while, he isn't putting on any actual new muscle. He is going to stall out hard, make some minimal muscle gains (if any), and then finally realize he needs to bump his calories more, while also coming out of his first month or two frustrated at his lack of progress and wasted time. Depending on how scared he is of fat gains, he might make his increase still too low, and spend another month or two spinning his wheels before he finally bumps his calories into an actual (very modest) surplus. This is the "clean bulking" trap.

    Scenario #2: Suppose he gets his correct TDEE, but follows my advice and still adds +500. He gains 4lbs the first month instead of 2lbs (assuming he even goes on that long realizing he is gaining weight too quick). Did he still gain his max amount of muscle? Yes. Can he decrease his calories now realizing they were too high? Yes. Can he drop the 2lbs of fat later? Yes. And fairly quick, compared the painstakingly slow process that is building muscle. But he can't get back the wasted time & zero progress from scenario #1.

    Scenario #3: Suppose he highballs his TDEE. His net surplus is 750+. He packs on on +5lbs in two weeks, muscle and fat. I would hope he would have the common sense to pump the brakes and say "WHOA. TOO FAST", does the math, and get his calories to the correct level based on the extra gain he saw. Still built all the muscle he could in that timeframe.

    In #2 and #3, the surplus fat gains can be detected and minimized in just a couple weeks. They still have muscle gains to show for it regardless In #1, it can be a couple months before the person realizes they set their goal too low. They end up with basically nothing in the gains department.

    Setting the initial surplus with a safety margin allows him to find his actual TDEE faster, and prevents lack of maximal progress in building muscle (scenario #1).

    You're back tracking hard. First you said he would add 1 pound a month, then you corrected yourself and said with a 500 calorie surplus he would see a 4 lb gain per month and he can scale it back. When you said nothing of that the first go around until I called you out. I don't have time to debate this an an elementary level with you and chase you around as you run in circles.

    It's also pretty humorous that you think you're going to school me in bulking. Lol. If you're going to give new people advice don't wait until someone calls you out on it and then change your story to try and make more sense. And to think, you called me a troll but you didn't even read your own article properly. That's cute.

    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    No, if u eat right and work out on a regular basis you can make all muscle gain. Its just been awhile since ive been in the bulking side of things. Lile i said i was benching 215lbs when i deployed and couldnt break 175lbs. So I'm trying to get back to weight plus

    Nope. Sorry. Eating at a surplus is a surplus. Eating the "right foods" doesn't mean less fat. If your doing a true bulk you will gain some fat.

    Would you call a true bulk a legal bulk?

    Huh?

    What do you mean by true bulk?
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    I disagree. Especially considering I told him to use calorie bumps after his initial 500 surplus as a last resort if the 2 month mark hasn't passed. He might gain an extra pound or two more than necessary the first few months, true, but that surplus gap will quickly diminish as metabolism creeps up from more regular exercise and increasing lean body mass.

    Think about this from a time management standpoint. It takes far longer to build muscle than burn fat. I think you can at least agree to that.

    Considering how long it takes to build it, would you not want to ensure that you are building at the max rate possible? If the OP is just starting out, he doesn't have a good concept of what his actual TDEE is. That requires a couple months of calibration to truly figure out.

    We are going to play out WOW (worst-of-worst) scenarios here for each case. Pretend you have these magical calorie counting powers you speak of where you know exactly, to 1 calorie, what you put in your mouth and what your body burned up.

    Scenario #1: Suppose he lowballs his TDEE because he is nervous about fat gain, and what he sets his surplus to is actually about maintenance based on the +250 rule. Water weight gains from starting to lift again give the illusion of muscle gains, until a few weeks in when water weight drops off a bit. He might gain strength from neural adaption, but all the while, he isn't putting on any actual new muscle. He is going to stall out hard, make some minimal muscle gains (if any), and then finally realize he needs to bump his calories more, while also coming out of his first month or two frustrated at his lack of progress and wasted time. Depending on how scared he is of fat gains, he might make his increase still too low, and spend another month or two spinning his wheels before he finally bumps his calories into an actual (very modest) surplus. This is the "clean bulking" trap.

    Scenario #2: Suppose he gets his correct TDEE, but follows my advice and still adds +500. He gains 4lbs the first month instead of 2lbs (assuming he even goes on that long realizing he is gaining weight too quick). Did he still gain his max amount of muscle? Yes. Can he decrease his calories now realizing they were too high? Yes. Can he drop the 2lbs of fat later? Yes. And fairly quick, compared the painstakingly slow process that is building muscle. But he can't get back the wasted time & zero progress from scenario #1.

    Scenario #3: Suppose he highballs his TDEE. His net surplus is 750+. He packs on on +5lbs in two weeks, muscle and fat. I would hope he would have the common sense to pump the brakes and say "WHOA. TOO FAST", does the math, and get his calories to the correct level based on the extra gain he saw. Still built all the muscle he could in that timeframe.

    In #2 and #3, the surplus fat gains can be detected and minimized in just a couple weeks. They still have muscle gains to show for it regardless In #1, it can be a couple months before the person realizes they set their goal too low. They end up with basically nothing in the gains department.

    Setting the initial surplus with a safety margin allows him to find his actual TDEE faster, and prevents lack of maximal progress in building muscle (scenario #1).

    You're back tracking hard. First you said he would add 1 pound a month, then you corrected yourself and said with a 500 calorie surplus he would see a 4 lb gain per month and he can scale it back. When you said nothing of that the first go around until I called you out. I don't have time to debate this an an elementary level with you and chase you around as you run in circles.

    It's also pretty humorous that you think you're going to school me in bulking. Lol. If you're going to give new people advice don't wait until someone calls you out on it and then change your story to try and make more sense. And to think, you called me a troll but you didn't even read your own article properly. That's cute.

    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    No, if u eat right and work out on a regular basis you can make all muscle gain. Its just been awhile since ive been in the bulking side of things. Lile i said i was benching 215lbs when i deployed and couldnt break 175lbs. So I'm trying to get back to weight plus

    Nope. Sorry. Eating at a surplus is a surplus. Eating the "right foods" doesn't mean less fat. If your doing a true bulk you will gain some fat.

    Would you call a true bulk a legal bulk?

    Huh?

    Scenario #2: Maintenance + 500 -250 used for muscle tissue production = +250 unused calories per day becoming fat. That is 2lbs of fat in a month. Plus 2 more for the muscle gained. 4lbs/month, breh.

    Yes, I am definitely glad you caught the typo. If I was trying to lie, why the hell would I put a source in? I really, really don't appreciate the condescending attitude in exactly every single one of your posts. Speaking of.......14k posts? Do you spend all your free time trolling MFP? I'm not trying to "school" anybody. Not a contest. Except for you, apparently.
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    beginners benching 215 now? I am lost how is that a beginner. So people maxing 135 on bench what are they called?

    Except he isn't benching 215. Or anything close to that from the looks of it.
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    Yea im in a bit of a money squeeze for now. Not beginner. I was benching 215lbs when i deployed before i blew out my shoulder. I wanna do what i can to gain weight back and put my muscle back on. No pull up bar yet. My roommate has 30lb d-bells that ive been using just for weight.

    That bulk post sounds delicious. Ill have to try that

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    edited March 2015
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    beginners benching 215 now? I am lost how is that a beginner. So people maxing 135 on bench what are they called?

    Except he isn't benching 215. Or anything close to that from the looks of it.
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    Yea im in a bit of a money squeeze for now. Not beginner. I was benching 215lbs when i deployed before i blew out my shoulder. I wanna do what i can to gain weight back and put my muscle back on. No pull up bar yet. My roommate has 30lb d-bells that ive been using just for weight.

    That bulk post sounds delicious. Ill have to try that

    So looks dictates how much someone can bench? What? You do really know much do you?
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    edited March 2015
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    beginners benching 215 now? I am lost how is that a beginner. So people maxing 135 on bench what are they called?

    Except he isn't benching 215. Or anything close to that from the looks of it.
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    Yea im in a bit of a money squeeze for now. Not beginner. I was benching 215lbs when i deployed before i blew out my shoulder. I wanna do what i can to gain weight back and put my muscle back on. No pull up bar yet. My roommate has 30lb d-bells that ive been using just for weight.

    That bulk post sounds delicious. Ill have to try that

    So looks dictates how much someone can bench? What? You do really know much do you?

    I was referring to his shoulder injury
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    edited March 2015
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    beginners benching 215 now? I am lost how is that a beginner. So people maxing 135 on bench what are they called?

    Except he isn't benching 215. Or anything close to that from the looks of it.
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    Yea im in a bit of a money squeeze for now. Not beginner. I was benching 215lbs when i deployed before i blew out my shoulder. I wanna do what i can to gain weight back and put my muscle back on. No pull up bar yet. My roommate has 30lb d-bells that ive been using just for weight.

    That bulk post sounds delicious. Ill have to try that

    So looks dictates how much someone can bench? What? You do really know much do you?

    I was referring to his shoulder injury

    :smiley: There is also something called muscle memory. So even if he has to start at ground zero with weight he first started using ever he is still not a beginner.

    YouMad.jpg

  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    edited March 2015
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    beginners benching 215 now? I am lost how is that a beginner. So people maxing 135 on bench what are they called?

    Except he isn't benching 215. Or anything close to that from the looks of it.
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    Yea im in a bit of a money squeeze for now. Not beginner. I was benching 215lbs when i deployed before i blew out my shoulder. I wanna do what i can to gain weight back and put my muscle back on. No pull up bar yet. My roommate has 30lb d-bells that ive been using just for weight.

    That bulk post sounds delicious. Ill have to try that

    So looks dictates how much someone can bench? What? You do really know much do you?

    I was referring to his shoulder injury

    :smiley: There is also something called muscle memory. So even if he has to start at ground zero with weight he first started using ever he is still not a beginner.

    YouMad.jpg

    His body processes calories just like everybody else. He is still going to have to take the time to find his TDEE now that he has lost a lot of his lean mass. That is the main struggle beginning a bulk, finding a surplus that is just enough to keep your growth peaked without packing on too much weight.
  • Unknown
    edited March 2015
    This content has been removed.
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  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    I disagree. Especially considering I told him to use calorie bumps after his initial 500 surplus as a last resort if the 2 month mark hasn't passed. He might gain an extra pound or two more than necessary the first few months, true, but that surplus gap will quickly diminish as metabolism creeps up from more regular exercise and increasing lean body mass.

    Think about this from a time management standpoint. It takes far longer to build muscle than burn fat. I think you can at least agree to that.

    Considering how long it takes to build it, would you not want to ensure that you are building at the max rate possible? If the OP is just starting out, he doesn't have a good concept of what his actual TDEE is. That requires a couple months of calibration to truly figure out.

    We are going to play out WOW (worst-of-worst) scenarios here for each case. Pretend you have these magical calorie counting powers you speak of where you know exactly, to 1 calorie, what you put in your mouth and what your body burned up.

    Scenario #1: Suppose he lowballs his TDEE because he is nervous about fat gain, and what he sets his surplus to is actually about maintenance based on the +250 rule. Water weight gains from starting to lift again give the illusion of muscle gains, until a few weeks in when water weight drops off a bit. He might gain strength from neural adaption, but all the while, he isn't putting on any actual new muscle. He is going to stall out hard, make some minimal muscle gains (if any), and then finally realize he needs to bump his calories more, while also coming out of his first month or two frustrated at his lack of progress and wasted time. Depending on how scared he is of fat gains, he might make his increase still too low, and spend another month or two spinning his wheels before he finally bumps his calories into an actual (very modest) surplus. This is the "clean bulking" trap.

    Scenario #2: Suppose he gets his correct TDEE, but follows my advice and still adds +500. He gains 4lbs the first month instead of 2lbs (assuming he even goes on that long realizing he is gaining weight too quick). Did he still gain his max amount of muscle? Yes. Can he decrease his calories now realizing they were too high? Yes. Can he drop the 2lbs of fat later? Yes. And fairly quick, compared the painstakingly slow process that is building muscle. But he can't get back the wasted time & zero progress from scenario #1.

    Scenario #3: Suppose he highballs his TDEE. His net surplus is 750+. He packs on on +5lbs in two weeks, muscle and fat. I would hope he would have the common sense to pump the brakes and say "WHOA. TOO FAST", does the math, and get his calories to the correct level based on the extra gain he saw. Still built all the muscle he could in that timeframe.

    In #2 and #3, the surplus fat gains can be detected and minimized in just a couple weeks. They still have muscle gains to show for it regardless In #1, it can be a couple months before the person realizes they set their goal too low. They end up with basically nothing in the gains department.

    Setting the initial surplus with a safety margin allows him to find his actual TDEE faster, and prevents lack of maximal progress in building muscle (scenario #1).

    You're back tracking hard. First you said he would add 1 pound a month, then you corrected yourself and said with a 500 calorie surplus he would see a 4 lb gain per month and he can scale it back. When you said nothing of that the first go around until I called you out. I don't have time to debate this an an elementary level with you and chase you around as you run in circles.

    It's also pretty humorous that you think you're going to school me in bulking. Lol. If you're going to give new people advice don't wait until someone calls you out on it and then change your story to try and make more sense. And to think, you called me a troll but you didn't even read your own article properly. That's cute.

    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    No, if u eat right and work out on a regular basis you can make all muscle gain. Its just been awhile since ive been in the bulking side of things. Lile i said i was benching 215lbs when i deployed and couldnt break 175lbs. So I'm trying to get back to weight plus

    Nope. Sorry. Eating at a surplus is a surplus. Eating the "right foods" doesn't mean less fat. If your doing a true bulk you will gain some fat.

    Would you call a true bulk a legal bulk?

    Huh?

    What do you mean by true bulk?

    I mean an bulk. I guess you can eliminate the word true if you want. I'm basically saying if you are bulking you will gain some fat. How much will depend on the size of the surplus.

    Got it. You should read some blogs of some people saying how they only went over a certain number of surplus and gained no fat. There always something to laugh at.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    edited March 2015

    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    Brolympus wrote: »
    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    beginners benching 215 now? I am lost how is that a beginner. So people maxing 135 on bench what are they called?

    Except he isn't benching 215. Or anything close to that from the looks of it.
    Chaffdog wrote: »
    Yea im in a bit of a money squeeze for now. Not beginner. I was benching 215lbs when i deployed before i blew out my shoulder. I wanna do what i can to gain weight back and put my muscle back on. No pull up bar yet. My roommate has 30lb d-bells that ive been using just for weight.

    That bulk post sounds delicious. Ill have to try that

    So looks dictates how much someone can bench? What? You do really know much do you?

    I was referring to his shoulder injury *kitten*

    :smiley: There is also something called muscle memory. So even if he has to start at ground zero with weight he first started using ever he is still not a beginner.

    YouMad.jpg

    His body processes calories just like everybody else. He is still going to have to take the time to find his TDEE now that he has lost a lot of his lean mass. That is the main struggle beginning a bulk, finding a surplus that is just enough to keep your growth peaked without packing on too much weight.

    So this has to do with benching? I thought that is what I was talking about.

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