First time bulk

asflatasapancake
asflatasapancake Posts: 4,329 Member
edited 5:23AM in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I am starting a bulk to gain strength and size. Doing a 5x5 program, eating 1/2 pound surplus per week, with some cardio thrown in for good measure. I am basing my workouts off of this http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw56.htm, Madcow's intermediate workout. I'm not looking to gain too much. Maybe 5 pounds or so. I realize I may get a few different answers here, but how long did it take for you to get your desired results from your bulk? Any tips would be helpful since this is my first bulk attempt. Thanks for the non-sarcastic responses. I prefer facetious responses instead. ;)
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  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
    Your first post, plus now having read Waldo's guide indicates that you're pretty much on your way!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    How long did it take me to get my desired results from my bulk? I'll let you know, I've only been at it for a couple years.

    My only real advice is...bulking seems to be very trial-and-error. You'll be scared of the initial gain (which will be more than you want) but then before you know it you'll suddenly be gaining less than you want. You'll probably have to keep adjusting your calories up as time goes on. Take it slow and make adjustments.
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  • gettinbigboy
    gettinbigboy Posts: 2 Member
    just started the same style of exercise and diet about a week ago. I am doing Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 with accessories (started a about 1.5 month ago gained a lot of strength but wasn't getting the calories to gain the mass i wanted , went from 80-180lbs squat for example but have only put on 1 pound in a month which is a little slow i am aiming for 3 to 4)
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  • gettinbigboy
    gettinbigboy Posts: 2 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    gettinbigboy wrote: »
    just started the same style of exercise and diet about a week ago. I am doing Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 with accessories (started a about 1.5 month ago gained a lot of strength but wasn't getting the calories to gain the mass i wanted , went from 80-180lbs squat for example but have only put on 1 pound in a month which is a little slow i am aiming for 3 to 4)

    Thanks for the response. I understand this could be a slow and grueling process. I like the idea of eating more, cause I like food. Also, getting stronger. I think, from what I've read, like many, I am a little reluctant to add on fat. However, if I accept that and know that I can always cut and I know how to do that pretty well, I'll be ok.

    From what i have heard and what i am going to try ( ill keep you updated) is if you dont go crazy like less then 500cal daily surplus and you aim to gain say 10 pounds (my goal) is if you don't adjust upward as you get heavier the lean mass you gain will need more calories and taper of the fat you gain farther along the cut. you will still gain some fat at first. Also side note i don't imagine this would be an effective way to put on large amounts of lean mass as the amount of surplus calories you eat will go down over time (even though your eating the same) as you get bigger.
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  • LiftCore
    LiftCore Posts: 23 Member
    Absolutely lost my *kitten* at the first 4 replies LMAO
    that is all
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I have never had the confidence to bulk. At least not yet. I am interested and seeing where it takes you. I have had enough gains and "happiness with results" on maintenance calories so I haven't seen the need, but I know that will wear out soon.
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  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
    Deadlift is by far the biggest mass builder out there. Whoops squat completely for muscle groups engaged.

    My personal preference when bulking isn't to go for strength programs for long durations (which will give you your desired effect, but won't be as fast) - instead going for a split of strength, hypertrophy, and power cycle.

    So if you were setting out...

    8 weeks madcow (to build up base strength)
    8 weeks GVT (don't kill yourself on the first go at this!).

    I look to develop power after that, I go to my countdown drills at about 65% 1RM, where I do 10 reps of a round of 5 different exercises (example is bench, deadlift, bent over row, standing military press, upright row), 10 seconds rest... 9 reps of that circuit, 9 seconds rest, 8, 8 seconds, and so on till i'm at 1 rep. I find if I go at that as fast as possible I build up endurance and can eventually up the weight to 70-75% 1RM after about 4 weeks... Then it's start all over again after recalculating what my new 1RM is.

    I find after a while I can compress most of this into a 12-week cycle - 4 weeks madcow, 4 weeks GVT, 3 weeks power, 1 week rest.

    Don't underestimate that power cycle. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are large. Which is exactly what you're looking for if you want to bulk up and gain definition.

    Let me know how it goes if you decide to give it a whirl :wink:
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  • Shadowsan
    Shadowsan Posts: 365 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    Shadowsan wrote: »
    Deadlift is by far the biggest mass builder out there. Whoops squat completely for muscle groups engaged.

    My personal preference when bulking isn't to go for strength programs for long durations (which will give you your desired effect, but won't be as fast) - instead going for a split of strength, hypertrophy, and power cycle.

    So if you were setting out...

    8 weeks madcow (to build up base strength)
    8 weeks GVT (don't kill yourself on the first go at this!).

    I look to develop power after that, I go to my countdown drills at about 65% 1RM, where I do 10 reps of a round of 5 different exercises (example is bench, deadlift, bent over row, standing military press, upright row), 10 seconds rest... 9 reps of that circuit, 9 seconds rest, 8, 8 seconds, and so on till i'm at 1 rep. I find if I go at that as fast as possible I build up endurance and can eventually up the weight to 70-75% 1RM after about 4 weeks... Then it's start all over again after recalculating what my new 1RM is.

    I find after a while I can compress most of this into a 12-week cycle - 4 weeks madcow, 4 weeks GVT, 3 weeks power, 1 week rest.

    Don't underestimate that power cycle. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are large. Which is exactly what you're looking for if you want to bulk up and gain definition.

    Let me know how it goes if you decide to give it a whirl :wink:

    Great information! Thanks! Yeah, holy craphole those countdown drills must get you gassed pretty damn fast!

    Yep. Just after you get to 5 reps hahaha! But once you can develop that endurance and power... Not only will you look bigger but you'll actually feel much stronger than if you just did a basic bulk which will predominantly make you heavier and less powerful.
  • keithcw_the_first
    keithcw_the_first Posts: 382 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    I have never had the confidence to bulk. At least not yet. I am interested and seeing where it takes you. I have had enough gains and "happiness with results" on maintenance calories so I haven't seen the need, but I know that will wear out soon.

    I'm taking it slowly. I started at a surplus of 250 calories last week and upped it to 500 this week. I'm lifting hard and will be monitoring the results based upon measurements and lifting gains. I read that the scale can do all sorts of nasty tricks. I'll weigh myself weekly as normal. But ultimately, I'll see where I am after about 9 or 10 weeks with that SOB. I'm really interested in strength gains cause when I lost all that weight, I became a bit of a wuss. We shall see Zur.

    If you want to see what the scale does you should click through my update thread. It will wreck your brain. It usually shoots up about five pounds higher than where I thought it would be and then kind of tails off, except for when it straight up plateaus and except for when it goes down for four days in a row.

    I record all of my weigh-ins (daily) in Excel and have a 21-day rolling average going. That's what I'm using to track my progress. That's what's I'm using to gauge if I'm gaining too fast. I figure 21 days of weigh-ins should be plenty to get an accurate picture and smooth out the day-to-day gains and losses of food, water weight, and etc.
  • keithcw_the_first
    keithcw_the_first Posts: 382 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    I have never had the confidence to bulk. At least not yet. I am interested and seeing where it takes you. I have had enough gains and "happiness with results" on maintenance calories so I haven't seen the need, but I know that will wear out soon.

    So the elusive "recomp"? What's your general strategy? Just heavy weights + maintenance calories?
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    keithcw_the_first wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    I have never had the confidence to bulk. At least not yet. I am interested and seeing where it takes you. I have had enough gains and "happiness with results" on maintenance calories so I haven't seen the need, but I know that will wear out soon.

    So the elusive "recomp"? What's your general strategy? Just heavy weights + maintenance calories?

    Yea, pretty much. Eat around maintenance, go over some days. Go under some days. Weight stays the same. Measurements go up in the good places, down in the bad places. Good enough for me now, but I will ride out newb gains as long as possible. It's been a bit over a year since I started lifting.
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  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,382 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    I'll update my measurements tonight. I checked my weight. Definitely did some screwy stuff, as expected. At one point this week I was at 198lbs, which was 4 pounds heavier than last week. I knew that was wrong so I ignored it. I weighed myself today and was 195.4lbs. On April 24th, exactly 3 weeks ago, when I first started, I was at 192.6. I am eating a surplus of 500 calories a day. It is a gain of almost 1 pound and week and I do feel as if I am getting stronger. I've also jacked my protein and carbs up. They are set at 45%carbs, 25%fat, 30%protein. I've also seen recommendations of a gain of .5lbs per week given. Should I ease up on the calories or does this seem about right? Any other thoughts? Thank you for your time.

    What is your actual calorie goal right now? I looked at your diary for the last 10 days and your calories swing up and down quite a bit.

    **Culver's cheese curds & concrete mixers are a MUST when bulking!!!!**

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  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,382 Member
    So if you just average your exercise out and then round up I've got you at 3000/day no matter if you work out or not. I would do 100 (Fat) , 150 (Protein), 375 (Carbs). The increased fat will help to keep your natural testosterone levels peaked. I'm 160lbs and it's recommend my fat level be around 95 grams/day. If you don't want the fat that hight then allocate those calories to your carbs.

    As for your progress it looks good so far. You can add 100 daily calories to 3100 and measure your progress for a couple of weeks.
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