Slow or fast bulk?

alyfrancis582
alyfrancis582 Posts: 38 Member
edited November 22 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hey! I'm going to start lifting again when I get back to school/have access to a weight room. I want to really focus on gaining muscle so a high protein bulk has been the plan. I was wondering if anyone can help me between deciding to do a fast 15-20lb bulk over the course of 4ish months or if I should try to stretch that out over the school year, only eating maybe 100-200 extra calories per day. Any advice is welcome! Feel free to add me too

Replies

  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I would do a clean bulk, which is 250 over maintenance.

    Read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10049766/bulking-a-complete-guide-for-beginners/p1
  • alyfrancis582
    alyfrancis582 Posts: 38 Member
    Serah87 wrote: »
    I would do a clean bulk, which is 250 over maintenance.

    Read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10049766/bulking-a-complete-guide-for-beginners/p1

    Great link! I'm definitely ready for a bulk. I'm no stranger to working out, but this will be my first time doing it alone. Thanks for your input :)
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    alyfrancis582 wrote: »
    Serah87 wrote: »
    I would do a clean bulk, which is 250 over maintenance.

    Read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10049766/bulking-a-complete-guide-for-beginners/p1

    Great link! I'm definitely ready for a bulk. I'm no stranger to working out, but this will be my first time doing it alone. Thanks for your input :)
    :)
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Slow. Adding 15 lbs in that time frame, especially as a female.... is going to be mostly fat
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    LolBroScience wrote: »
    Slow. Adding 15 lbs in that time frame, especially as a female.... is going to be mostly fat

    agree..

    OP eat 250 calories over maintenance, lift heavy, and do this to you reach desired goal weight.

  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    I would suggest you take your time. As a female, if you gain 20 pounds in 4 months about 16 or 17 of that is going to be pure fat. Take your time and do it the right way or your going to be spending too much time at the end of your bulk cutting all that fat back off.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    jeffpettis wrote: »
    I would suggest you take your time. As a female, if you gain 20 pounds in 4 months about 16 or 17 of that is going to be pure fat. Take your time and do it the right way or your going to be spending too much time at the end of your bulk cutting all that fat back off.

    i agree she will put on more fat, but I am not sure where you are coming up with a 85:25 fat to muscle ratio...
  • slideaway1
    slideaway1 Posts: 1,006 Member
    I would recommend a slow bulk. It's easier to adjust along the way and easier to handle Psychologically over gaining weight fast.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited July 2015
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    jeffpettis wrote: »
    I would suggest you take your time. As a female, if you gain 20 pounds in 4 months about 16 or 17 of that is going to be pure fat. Take your time and do it the right way or your going to be spending too much time at the end of your bulk cutting all that fat back off.

    i agree she will put on more fat, but I am not sure where you are coming up with a 85:25 fat to muscle ratio...

    It may be based on that a woman would be hard pressed to gain more and 1-2 lbs of muscle per month. May be more like 12-16 lbs of fat out of the 20.

    OP, keep in mind that carbs or more important in a bulk than protein, as long as you are getting adequate protein (1gram per lb of lean body mass is enough). Protein intake is actually more important during a cut than a bulk as it helps preserve muscle mass in a net energy deficit.
  • jeffpettis
    jeffpettis Posts: 865 Member
    edited July 2015
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    jeffpettis wrote: »
    I would suggest you take your time. As a female, if you gain 20 pounds in 4 months about 16 or 17 of that is going to be pure fat. Take your time and do it the right way or your going to be spending too much time at the end of your bulk cutting all that fat back off.

    i agree she will put on more fat, but I am not sure where you are coming up with a 85:25 fat to muscle ratio...

    Because a female is only going to be able to gain around half the muscle that a male can gain in the same period of time. So in a four month period she is only going to be able to gain, at most, 4 pounds of muscle. And that's if everything is absolutely spot on, diet, training, rest, etc. But let's face it, very few people actually get these factors 100%. Yes a noob lifter can gain a little easier, but we're not talking a lot more, just that they can get away with not having all of these factors perfect to be able to gain a little muscle to begin with.

    No matter the exact numbers, my point is, if someone is hoping to gain 20 pounds in four months they need to realize that a very large portion of that is going to be fat.
  • alyfrancis582
    alyfrancis582 Posts: 38 Member
    Thanks for all the help guys. I'm not new to fitness or lifting in general, but it was always under trainers and coaches. The "20lbs in 4 months" thing was kind of just some random numbers thrown out haha looks like I'll do a long clean bulk with some heavy lifts.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    the faster you go, the higher the ratio of fat you are going to put on.
  • ThomasWright1997
    ThomasWright1997 Posts: 155 Member
    Dirty bulk it. I mean, why not?
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