Can I accidentally bulk?

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Replies

  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Caporegiem wrote: »
    I never knew that creatine has been my problem all this time! Thank you.
    I still don't know what it is!

    Let it stay that way, ignorance is bliss when it comes to creatine. The more you learn about it the more tempting it becomes. I'm a lost soul but you still have a chance.

    I am assuming for muscle building. I don't even wanna do a google.

    It potentially increases the hydration level of your muscles, which improves both recovery and work volume. It shows the greatest benefit to strength training AKA progressive overload, but studies have shown a statistically significant but relatively minor improvement to steady state aerobic work as well.

    For many people it also has undesirable GI effects to include bloating, gas, and loose stool. If you're using creatine, it's best to increase your water consumption.

    For me, I have found that the GI effects are minimalized when I'm working at a higher training level.
  • llaurenmarie
    llaurenmarie Posts: 1,260 Member
    Caporegiem wrote: »
    I never knew that creatine has been my problem all this time! Thank you.
    I still don't know what it is!

    Let it stay that way, ignorance is bliss when it comes to creatine. The more you learn about it the more tempting it becomes. I'm a lost soul but you still have a chance.

    I am assuming for muscle building. I don't even wanna do a google.

    It potentially increases the hydration level of your muscles, which improves both recovery and work volume. It shows the greatest benefit to strength training AKA progressive overload, but studies have shown a statistically significant but relatively minor improvement to steady state aerobic work as well.

    For many people it also has undesirable GI effects to include bloating, gas, and loose stool. If you're using creatine, it's best to increase your water consumption.

    For me, I have found that the GI effects are minimalized when I'm working at a higher training level.
    Thanks for the breakdown. Due to already sensitive GI, I will skip it.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    If you're eating a surplus of calories and lifting you will put on both muscle and fat...the bigger the surplus, the more fat you'll put on.
    Makes sense.
    Was kind of hoping for a butt with these added squats.

    you also need to factor in your current body fat % as that will determine your muscle to fat gain ratio..

    if
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    If you're eating a surplus of calories and lifting you will put on both muscle and fat...the bigger the surplus, the more fat you'll put on.
    Makes sense.
    Was kind of hoping for a butt with these added squats.

    IF you want to work towards a butt... do exercises that strengthen your glutes... Flutter kicks are great for that....
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    i would suggest getting your logging under control so that you know how many calories per day you are consuming. I would also suggesting tracking your macros and make sure that you are getting adequate nutrition. If you want to run a proper bulk you need consistent training + consistent calorie surplus + macro/micro adherence.
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
    edited June 2017
    Caporegiem wrote: »
    I never knew that creatine has been my problem all this time! Thank you.
    I still don't know what it is!

    Let it stay that way, ignorance is bliss when it comes to creatine. The more you learn about it the more tempting it becomes. I'm a lost soul but you still have a chance.

    I am assuming for muscle building. I don't even wanna do a google.

    It's actually not a big deal, not illegal, not unsafe etc also not magic.
  • llaurenmarie
    llaurenmarie Posts: 1,260 Member
    Rusty740 wrote: »
    Caporegiem wrote: »
    I never knew that creatine has been my problem all this time! Thank you.
    I still don't know what it is!

    Let it stay that way, ignorance is bliss when it comes to creatine. The more you learn about it the more tempting it becomes. I'm a lost soul but you still have a chance.

    I am assuming for muscle building. I don't even wanna do a google.

    It's actually not a big deal, not illegal, not unsafe etc also not magic.
    Everyone's looking for magic these days
  • joelartygreenwood
    joelartygreenwood Posts: 11 Member
    edited June 2017
    Creatine is performance enhancing, but allowed by the Olympics, sports associations etc because it's naturally found in steak, chicken etc. It's pretty inexpensive (two types, the cheaper monohydrate is proven/better studied). It's great when you're cutting (gives you more energy when you lift) and it's great when you're bulking (gives you more energy when you lift).

    It's one of the few supplements that is unarguably effective.

    It also tastes and has the texture of white sand.
  • jseams1234
    jseams1234 Posts: 1,219 Member
    It also tastes and has the texture of white sand.

    Yup, I just pour a heaping teaspoon right into my mouth and then wash it down with water. It doesn't dissolve very well in cold or room temp water and I've never liked adding it to my coffee. I used to hate seeing the grit at the bottom of a protein shake - seemed like a waste.

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Dumb question- why don't you just get your s**t together and monitor your food so you aren't just hoping?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    Dumb question- why don't you just get your s**t together and monitor your food so you aren't just hoping?

    cosign
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    Dumb question- why don't you just get your s**t together and monitor your food so you aren't just hoping?

    I would've been really pissed to hear this when I was struggling (heck I did hear it- people I respected in the gym told me it wasn't a good idea to go home and eat a pan of brownies after the gym, but that didn't stop me.)
    But honestly it's true.

    Assuming "out of control" means a large caloric surplus, it's going to lead to a large amount of fat gain. Maybe a small fraction of weight gained will be muscle, but it's LARGELY going to be fat. And it does you no good. You won't "recomp", you'll just get fat. (And this is assuming with optimal/progressive training. If your training is crap too you probably aren't going to gain much muscle at all.) Not to mention, gaining weight and looking worse isn't great motivation to keep lifting.

    I feel like I've spent the past year missing out on potential gains because I've had to spend time cutting, and I'm only half way to my goal. One year in a surplus, several years trying to fix it.
    Rein it in and save yourself the unnecessary cutting.
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    Dumb question- why don't you just get your s**t together and monitor your food so you aren't just hoping?

    yeah, this.

    thing is (for me anyway) getting started was the hardest part.

    once I got my diet, meal plan and meal prep dialed in, I started to see results.

    Seeing results is the best motivation to continue......... amiright?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    Dumb question- why don't you just get your s**t together and monitor your food so you aren't just hoping?

    I would've been really pissed to hear this when I was struggling (heck I did hear it- people I respected in the gym told me it wasn't a good idea to go home and eat a pan of brownies after the gym, but that didn't stop me.)
    But honestly it's true.

    Assuming "out of control" means a large caloric surplus, it's going to lead to a large amount of fat gain. Maybe a small fraction of weight gained will be muscle, but it's LARGELY going to be fat. And it does you no good. You won't "recomp", you'll just get fat. (And this is assuming with optimal/progressive training. If your training is crap too you probably aren't going to gain much muscle at all.) Not to mention, gaining weight and looking worse isn't great motivation to keep lifting.

    I feel like I've spent the past year missing out on potential gains because I've had to spend time cutting, and I'm only half way to my goal. One year in a surplus, several years trying to fix it.
    Rein it in and save yourself the unnecessary cutting.
    lol yeppers. not exactly "great" news- and not always well received- but tis the truth.
    And- really- even if you aren't trying to cut or bulk- at least getting a handle via tracking- so you have an IDEA of what you're shoving in your pie hole it shifts from "hoping" to "knowing" and then you can control it.

    If you just free for all- then you are hoping and you're shooting in the dark guessing.


  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
    jseams1234 wrote: »
    It also tastes and has the texture of white sand.

    Yup, I just pour a heaping teaspoon right into my mouth and then wash it down with water. It doesn't dissolve very well in cold or room temp water and I've never liked adding it to my coffee. I used to hate seeing the grit at the bottom of a protein shake - seemed like a waste.

    Maybe try a different brand? I get it from MyProtein and it dissolves really well. I mix it in my shake or sometimes just water, but I never had this issue.
  • llaurenmarie
    llaurenmarie Posts: 1,260 Member
    To those with the "tough love"---
    I tracked today. I am not "hoping". I have a lot of crap against me but it doesn't mean I am not trying. Just because I didn't lay it all out in my original message doesn't mean there's not reasons that it's harder with obstacles than it has been before.

    But I am trying.
  • Rusty740
    Rusty740 Posts: 749 Member
    To those with the "tough love"---
    I tracked today. I am not "hoping". I have a lot of crap against me but it doesn't mean I am not trying. Just because I didn't lay it all out in my original message doesn't mean there's not reasons that it's harder with obstacles than it has been before.

    But I am trying.

    Good stuff, this is a game of consistency even in the hard times. You got this.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I wasn't really trying to be tough love or rude... that's just sort of the reality- if you don't put in any effort- then you're just hoping.
    If you apply yourself- even poorly to the task at hand- it's no longer hope- you will know how and why you are or are not achieving your results.
    My eating is still pretty out of control so as long as I'm eating at a surplus.. can I expect recomp? sumo wrestler bod?

    Yes my goal is to get it under control but what if I don't?
    this was your exact questions... if you're at a surplus- and you know- you'll gain.

    if you aren't- you won't.

    calorie counting is nothing but a tool to give you knowledge on how to control the situation. Don't let it own you.
  • llaurenmarie
    llaurenmarie Posts: 1,260 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I wasn't really trying to be tough love or rude... that's just sort of the reality- if you don't put in any effort- then you're just hoping.
    If you apply yourself- even poorly to the task at hand- it's no longer hope- you will know how and why you are or are not achieving your results.
    My eating is still pretty out of control so as long as I'm eating at a surplus.. can I expect recomp? sumo wrestler bod?

    Yes my goal is to get it under control but what if I don't?
    this was your exact questions... if you're at a surplus- and you know- you'll gain.

    if you aren't- you won't.

    calorie counting is nothing but a tool to give you knowledge on how to control the situation. Don't let it own you.
    I thank you. I will do my best always.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    What did you expect people to say? - It's ok, you can eat 4k calories a day, no worries! Squat booty incoming! Fitness goals getting smashed! *Head pats*


    We get that it's not easy. Trust me, we do. A lot of people struggle. Everyone has their own things that are "working against them."
    It takes discipline.
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
    OP, one thing that helps me when I feel off the rails is just to commit to the tracking and logging without making any effort to change how much or what I'm eating. Just commit to brutal honesty so you actually know how far off your targets you are. You can make old-school notes about energy level, sleep, mood, whatever will help you see patterns. Maybe right now you feel really committed to lifting and not to controlling your diet, and you'll get the results of that combo, like "when I eat 3500 k/day I gain a pound per week." That's helpful info even if it makes you feel bad.
  • llaurenmarie
    llaurenmarie Posts: 1,260 Member
    CJ_Holmes wrote: »
    OP, one thing that helps me when I feel off the rails is just to commit to the tracking and logging without making any effort to change how much or what I'm eating. Just commit to brutal honesty so you actually know how far off your targets you are. You can make old-school notes about energy level, sleep, mood, whatever will help you see patterns. Maybe right now you feel really committed to lifting and not to controlling your diet, and you'll get the results of that combo, like "when I eat 3500 k/day I gain a pound per week." That's helpful info even if it makes you feel bad.
    This makes sense. I am going to do this. Today I did and made better decisions !
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