Clean Bulk for women (very thin!)
Options
Bellchick91
Posts: 148 Member
Hey Everyone
So there is a lot of info out there for tips and advice on weight loss for everybody and bulking for men. I find it difficult to find a good "bulking for women" resource. I know women have different muscle building capabilities due to hormone differences etc so the "lean bulk" for men doesn't really fit well for women.
Can anyone help me with this? I am aiming to gain just 5kg for the meantime. I am thin, at 50kg at 5'5" but I have gotten much stronger. I lift weights only - don't do cardio as muscle gain (with minimal fat) is my goal.
I haven't been doing my best with the weight gain part of things basically because I haven't been eating enough! However, I don't want to gain so much so fast that I gain mostly fat. I want to do it properly. I get to the gym about 4 times a week, each workout is about 1 hour long at least. I am fatigued after each workout.
I would really appreciate any advice regarding this (experience etc) and macros maybe? What has everyone here had success with? I also do not get my biggest meal of the day in after my workout - I work out in the morning and my largest meal is at night time. That's when I get most of my carbs to be honest. I still eat them throughout the day but my biggest meal is dinner!
Any advice - please! And tips? Thank you!
So there is a lot of info out there for tips and advice on weight loss for everybody and bulking for men. I find it difficult to find a good "bulking for women" resource. I know women have different muscle building capabilities due to hormone differences etc so the "lean bulk" for men doesn't really fit well for women.
Can anyone help me with this? I am aiming to gain just 5kg for the meantime. I am thin, at 50kg at 5'5" but I have gotten much stronger. I lift weights only - don't do cardio as muscle gain (with minimal fat) is my goal.
I haven't been doing my best with the weight gain part of things basically because I haven't been eating enough! However, I don't want to gain so much so fast that I gain mostly fat. I want to do it properly. I get to the gym about 4 times a week, each workout is about 1 hour long at least. I am fatigued after each workout.
I would really appreciate any advice regarding this (experience etc) and macros maybe? What has everyone here had success with? I also do not get my biggest meal of the day in after my workout - I work out in the morning and my largest meal is at night time. That's when I get most of my carbs to be honest. I still eat them throughout the day but my biggest meal is dinner!
Any advice - please! And tips? Thank you!
0
Replies
-
Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.0
-
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
0 -
OP - what do you mean by "clean" bulk"?
here is my advice:
1. eat in a 250 calorie surplus.
2. get in on a structured lifting program. I would suggest strong lifts, new rules of lifting for woman, or all pro beginner routine
3. set your macros to .65 to .85 grams of protein per pound of body weight; .45 grams of fat per pound of body weight and fill in the rest with carbs.
4. make sure you hit micros, but don't be afraid of calorie dense foods like ice cream, pasta, bagels, etc.
5. repeat until you get desired results0 -
EmmaRichards91 wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
ignore that ..
if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????0 -
EmmaRichards91 wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
ignore that ..
if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program
Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.
When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.
If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.
Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html
An actual schedule (under #10):
http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training
Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.
There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented.
If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.
I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. Each to their own!
Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/
I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. (The hype in the title is nothing more than that--hype!!!) I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.
Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I did it. *sighs*0 -
Increase your calories until you are consistently gaining about a half pound a week. Don't worry about being "clean", it won't make a difference in what type of weight you gain as long as you get enough protein. If you hit all your nutritional needs you don't get "bonus" points for more veggies. There's nothing wrong with adding in some ice cream in order to hit your calorie goals.0
-
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
ignore that ..
if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program
Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.
When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.
If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.
Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html
An actual schedule (under #10):
http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training
Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.
There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.
I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. Each to their own!
Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/
I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.
Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I tried. *sighs*
this whole post is based on you not the OP. Why don't you focus on the OP and not yourself? I am guessing that OP is new to lifting and does not have your, or my, experience. She probably has zero familiarity with compound movements, pyramid schemes, etc.
So I think she would do better with a good beginner program, learn proper form, run said program for three to four months and go from there.
0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
ignore that ..
if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program
Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.
When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.
If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.
Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html
An actual schedule (under #10):
http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training
Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.
There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.
I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. Each to their own!
Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/
I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. (The hype in the title is nothing more than that--hype!!!) I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.
Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I did it. *sighs*
What does most of this have to do with the OP?0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
ignore that ..
if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program
Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.
When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.
If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.
Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html
An actual schedule (under #10):
http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training
Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.
There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.
I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. Each to their own!
Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/
I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. (The hype in the title is nothing more than that--hype!!!) I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.
Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I did it. *sighs*
You do know early high school was about 20 years ago now? And that all the OP asked, basically, for food advice, right?0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »EmmaRichards91 wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
Hypertrophy pyramid? What do you mean by this? Thanks! (I know what hypertrophy is just not the pyramid thing?)
ignore that ..
if you are beginner to lifting you don't need a complex scheme. .go with a beginner program
Lean Gains isn't complicated. LOL. Heck, in EARLY HIGH SCHOOL, we were doing pyramids.
When you're lifting to gain strength or bulk quickly, you do fewer total reps near the limits of your strength. When you're looking for "toning" (please don't kill me--that's the phrase my coaches used!) you do more reps of slightly lighter weight.
If you haven't been lifting, something with more total reps might give you a base of strength. It's up to you.
Anyway, and explaination of "reverse pyramid training", which is what I was taught to do:
http://www.leangains.com/2008/12/reverse-pyramid-revisited.html
An actual schedule (under #10):
http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Training
Someone else said that ideal rest times for strength is 2 min between set but for hypertrophy is 30 seconds...I forgot where I read that, sorry, but their researched seemed decently convincing to me.
There's nothing wrong with Strong Lifts. Because you SPECIFICALLY asked for "bulk," I gave you something bulk-oriented. If Strong Lifts is more appealing, go for that.
I tossed New Rules of Lifting for Women because it was too complicated for my objectives. Each to their own!
Personally, I recently started this because I'm starting at GROUND ZERO again:
http://www.howtobeast.com/gain-mass-with-dumbbell-bulking-routine/
I'm not pushing for bulk or for lifting heavier faster--I've got some bad joints I want/need to stabilize, so I'm looking for strength but not necessarily maxing out higher faster, if that makes sense. I DO NOT want to lift something so heavy that it'll mess with my joints instead of strengthen them.
Also, I have dumbbells at home. LOL. I am officially the weakest person on the planet. Years ago, I was told (wrongly) to do shallow squats for the sake of my knees, so I DID have a higher max than I would have otherwise, but it's pretty embarrassing that doing 50lb goblet squats x 10x3 is kinda hard right last time I tried. *sighs*
this whole post is based on you not the OP. Why don't you focus on the OP and not yourself? I am guessing that OP is new to lifting and does not have your, or my, experience. She probably has zero familiarity with compound movements, pyramid schemes, etc.
So I think she would do better with a good beginner program, learn proper form, run said program for three to four months and go from there.
QFT0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????
Because they had us doing pyramids in 9th grade? That's pretty beginner.
She also says she already lifts and is looking for "bulk."
I'm coming to the conclusion that other people's athletics programs were really light on the weight room compared to ours. LOL. We lifted 2x per week from 7th grade onward and had progressive lifting programs by 9th grade. You could choose either a "bulk" schedule or a "toning" schedule, and you had a card and went through it, station by station. This is what our volleyball players did, even0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????
Because they had us doing pyramids in 9th grade? That's pretty beginner.
She also says she already lifts and is looking for "bulk."
I'm coming to the conclusion that other people's athletics programs were really light on the weight room compared to ours. LOL. We lifted 2x per week from 7th grade onward and had progressive lifting programs by 9th grade. You could choose either a "bulk" schedule or a "toning" schedule, and you had a card and went through it, station by station. This is what our volleyball players did, even
You know new concepts have been discovered since you were in high school, right?0 -
MamaBirdBoss wrote: »MamaBirdBoss wrote: »Eat enough to gain a quarter pound a week. Do some kind of hypertrophy-oriented pyramid. Guy workouts work for us, too. If you have newbie gains, you could put on prolly 2lbs a month for a short while. After a few months, cut if you gained too much fat.
why would you recommend a pyramid scheme to a beginner????
Because they had us doing pyramids in 9th grade? That's pretty beginner.
She also says she already lifts and is looking for "bulk."
I'm coming to the conclusion that other people's athletics programs were really light on the weight room compared to ours. LOL. We lifted 2x per week from 7th grade onward and had progressive lifting programs by 9th grade. You could choose either a "bulk" schedule or a "toning" schedule, and you had a card and went through it, station by station. This is what our volleyball players did, even
you have no idea what OP means by "lifting"…she could consider lifting using 10# dumbbells or machines….
why is your reference point 9th grade and high school????
Maybe you should let OP clarify these things so we can all give her knowledgeable information. If a pyramid scheme is so basic then why had OP never heard of it? All you did was confuse her.
We like to keep the pseudo science/bro science/lack of overall misinformation to a minimum in this forum. I would ask that you do the same.0 -
OP - I would suggest you read the below stickies. One is on bulking and one is on recomp (which you may or may not be interested in)
Recomposition:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/33125652#Comment_33125652
Bulking:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10049766/bulking-a-complete-guide-for-beginners0 -
I agree with NDJ and love the Stronglifts program. Good luck.0
-
TheVirgoddess wrote: »I agree with NDJ and love the Stronglifts program. Good luck.
Also agree string lifts is a great program op !! I also like nrofl too !0 -
OP, it would behoove you to listen to @ndj1979, he knows what he speaks of and he's someone I trust implicitly when it comes to lifting.0
-
> small surplus
> lift on a progressive loading program (strong lifts- starting strength- new rules of lifting- strong curves)
> rest
> sleep
lather
rinse
repeat
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 388 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 918 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions