"Bulking" for the first time

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bennyb83fl
bennyb83fl Posts: 5 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm 6' 5" weighing in at 205lbs and I'm looking to put on about 10 or 15lbs of muscle. I'm fairly athletic and work out 4 days a week at about two and a half hours per session. I'm consuming 4000 "healthy" calories per day lots of protein and good carbs. Any pointers out there on gaining some solid muscle?

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  • cassandrarodriguez89
    cassandrarodriguez89 Posts: 239 Member
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    Holy crap. 4000 calories. Most I was on was 2,400... Your living the dream. Just remember keep the food healthy and dont gain to much weight, it should be slow steady weight.
  • bennyb83fl
    bennyb83fl Posts: 5 Member
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    Lol yeah I know 4000 calories is definitely a lot.
    I've been eating six meals a day three big meals and 3 small meals ( healthy snacks)
    And I figured I would give a weight gainer a try....
    I've been using Optimum Nutrition mass gainer.
    It's 1250 calories per serving, but I've been splitting the serving up. Half in the morning and the other half about an hour before I go to bed.

    This is the first time I've tried to "bulk" as they say, so I'm trying to keep it pretty clean minimal fat gains of hope
  • SylverWolfPDX
    SylverWolfPDX Posts: 27 Member
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    Hey there
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    bennyb83fl wrote: »
    Lol yeah I know 4000 calories is definitely a lot.
    I've been eating six meals a day three big meals and 3 small meals ( healthy snacks)
    And I figured I would give a weight gainer a try....
    I've been using Optimum Nutrition mass gainer.
    It's 1250 calories per serving, but I've been splitting the serving up. Half in the morning and the other half about an hour before I go to bed.

    This is the first time I've tried to "bulk" as they say, so I'm trying to keep it pretty clean minimal fat gains of hope

    Remember its the size of your calorie surplus that will determine how much fat gain happens, not the type of food you eat. Sure, eat lots of nutrients dense foods, but don't feel like you have to eat all your calories in "clean" foods. You also don't need to eat that many times a day... But it might be necessary when you're trying to fit in that many calories.

    You mentioned protein and carbs - don't forget your fats too!
  • skinnycow1234567
    skinnycow1234567 Posts: 167 Member
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    Get your BMI checked.So you have a baseline..Keep with your diet and if your fat starts climbing adjust your calories.. Watch out with those weight gainer drinks..There usually full of garbage that messe with vital organs...liver,kidneys,,
    Good luck with your gains,
  • lizalmp1234
    lizalmp1234 Posts: 311 Member
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    omg i wish i could each that much
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    skinnycow1234567 wrote: »
    Get your BMI checked.So you have a baseline..Keep with your diet and if your fat starts climbing adjust your calories.. Watch out with those weight gainer drinks..There usually full of garbage that messe with vital organs...liver,kidneys,,
    Good luck with your gains,

    Do you mean BMR? Bmi for someone with muscle, and trying to put on more is fairly pointless.... My husband has visible abs, and splits in his legs, yet is overweight according to the Bmi chart.
  • Niples_
    Niples_ Posts: 53 Member
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    My suggestion is ditch the weight gainer powder. Do your own research on it. Most of those are just whey protein shakes with lots of sugar. And cost you a ton per serving. You could be having pasta, rice, potatoes, [insert any carb here] that is probably more nutritious and cheaper.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited April 2017
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    Niples_ wrote: »
    My suggestion is ditch the weight gainer powder. Do your own research on it. Most of those are just whey protein shakes with lots of sugar. And cost you a ton per serving. You could be having pasta, rice, potatoes, sweets that is probably more nutritious and cheaper (or more enjoyable)
    .

  • jdscrubs32
    jdscrubs32 Posts: 515 Member
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    bennyb83fl wrote: »
    I'm 6' 5" weighing in at 205lbs and I'm looking to put on about 10 or 15lbs of muscle. I'm fairly athletic and work out 4 days a week at about two and a half hours per session. I'm consuming 4000 "healthy" calories per day lots of protein and good carbs. Any pointers out there on gaining some solid muscle?

    Hey @bennyb83fl go into the Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building section of the message boards which is where people who are bulking get loads of useful information on bulking and you will find loads of helpful people there. Good luck. Was on 4,000 myself when I did my first bulk. Was hard at the start but got used to it.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    Forget the weight gainer stuff and add in pizza, ice cream, Peanut butter, chocolate cake etc.

    Oh and by the way, w.t.f. takes you 2 1/2 hours in the gym? My longest sessions are about 1 1/2 hours and I can be in and out in less than an hour when needs be (including getting changed and a shower)!
  • subcounter
    subcounter Posts: 2,382 Member
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    bennyb83fl wrote: »
    I'm 6' 5" weighing in at 205lbs and I'm looking to put on about 10 or 15lbs of muscle. I'm fairly athletic and work out 4 days a week at about two and a half hours per session. I'm consuming 4000 "healthy" calories per day lots of protein and good carbs. Any pointers out there on gaining some solid muscle?

    The caloric value heavily depends on your daily activities and your daily job. So hard to really say anything regarding that number. However I would shoot for a 1 lb/week kind of gain. Check with your scale, and adjust calories depending on what you see at the end of the week. You don't wanna bulk too fast, and gain too much fat on the way.

    As for healthy calories, I mean as long as your health is intact, and you don't have a pre-existing condition, you don't need to eat all those calories in cabbage and chicken breast :smile: .

    For workouts, are you following a certain program? I would certainly recommend you to follow one that incorporates heavy lifts for building muscle.
  • BeefyUk
    BeefyUk Posts: 2,602 Member
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    I'm just finishing a winter bulk 6'2" @ 240 lbs ...consuming roughly 5000 cals a day ...eat big to get big my friend , forget about clean calories otherwise your aim of 15 lbs of muscle is going to take you years .....train hard & heavy ! & EAT !!
  • bennyb83fl
    bennyb83fl Posts: 5 Member
    edited April 2017
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    Thanks for the tips everybody, much appreciated!
    I spend two and a half hours in the gym basically just because I am enjoying myself mentally and physically I seem to have solid energy the whole time I'm there, and believe me I'm no talker I'm lifting the whole time with minimal breaks in between sets.

    Monday shoulders
    Tuesday back

    Thursday chest and legs
    Friday biceps and triceps

    I've been bulking for about a week now at 4000+ calories a day. It doesn't seem too hard as of now (consuming that many calories) but I have not yet gained any weight but I'm going to keep it Movin and groovin
    Thanks everyone for the motivation and the pointers

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