Ready to bulk?

dblanke01
dblanke01 Posts: 35 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
So this is my journey from October until now with lifting heavy for the past 6 weeks. I feel like I’ve made zero progress. Right now I’m eating at a deficit but thinking I should start eating at maintenance in the hopes of putting on muscle. I know it’s a personal journey but WWYD? Keep trying to lose weight or start trying to put on muscle? I’m
About 134 and no clue what my BF % is. mjbrgie9akf9.jpegn1m2xheyjqcg.jpeg

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    How tall are you? Unless you are underweight I would not run a bulk yet. If you are at a healthy weight I would either cut a bit if you plan on bulking or recomp if you want. It really depends on your goals and what you want to do. Also 6 weeks at a deficit and lifting is not a lot of time, so keep at it and have patience.
  • moogie_fit
    moogie_fit Posts: 280 Member
    If you want strength to increase bulk. Bulking is great for performance goals. I would chill at maintenance if you are tired of food restriction and don't want to continue cutting. I actually have made huge progress recomping.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited April 2019
    You've been lifting heavy for 6 weeks? Did I read that correctly?

    Keep lifting heavy. Six weeks isn't enough time to do anything. Whether you choose calorie deficit or maintenance is up to you. I wouldn't bulk.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Without knowing your goals the danger of asking "WWYD?" is that people assume their goal is your goal.
    Aesthetics? Physique competition? Sport?

    Ignoring that danger...… ;)
    Maintain weight or slow cut I would have thought, not seeing (in your pictures) or reading (in your OP) any reason to bulk. Can you explain why are you considering that course of action?

    (When you say "deficit" - what kind of deficit/rate of weight loss are you currently aiming for?)
  • dblanke01
    dblanke01 Posts: 35 Member
    @sijomial my goal would be recomposition—I don’t care about the number on the scale, but I want to build muscle and decrease body fat. I was thinking “bulking” so that I could add muscle. I don’t necessarily (at all) want to “gain weight” from a scale sense. So my goal would mostly be primarily aesthetics (shallow I know)!
  • dblanke01
    dblanke01 Posts: 35 Member
    @quicksylver0922 yes you read 6 weeks correctly! It’s the longest I’ve stuck with a program so it feels like a long time to me lol! I’ll keep lifting cuz I love it!
  • dblanke01
    dblanke01 Posts: 35 Member
    @moogie_fit I’m gonna actually step up the weight loss and see if I can power through until end of May. Then go to maintenance and try to build some muscle! I’d love to hear more about your recomp success!
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited April 2019
    dblanke01 wrote: »
    @quicksylver0922 yes you read 6 weeks correctly! It’s the longest I’ve stuck with a program so it feels like a long time to me lol! I’ll keep lifting cuz I love it!

    As a woman who has been lifting heavy for 4+ years, and also loves it, I'll just tell you "keep going."
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited April 2019
    dblanke01 wrote: »
    @sijomial my goal would be recomposition—I don’t care about the number on the scale, but I want to build muscle and decrease body fat. I was thinking “bulking” so that I could add muscle. I don’t necessarily (at all) want to “gain weight” from a scale sense. So my goal would mostly be primarily aesthetics (shallow I know)!

    Bulking is gaining weight - i.e. getting bigger, weighing more, eating in a deliberate calorie surplus.

    But bulking isn't required for your goals (there's nothing wrong with self improvement whatever form it takes).
    Just train hard and effectively and eat at approximately maintenance levels.

    You do need to be realistic about the possible rate of muscle gain though, think 6 months rather than 6 weeks.

    Measurements and progress photos help but you should also be seeing your lifts go up if your training is effective.

    Best of luck.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,242 Member
    edited April 2019
    Don't "power through to the end of May" to "get things done" and make changes! This, together with your "it’s the longest I’ve stuck with a program so it feels like a long time to me lol!" comment says, to me, that you need to chill them jets a little bit! :wink:

    You are not going to gain and keep strength (and your new body) by working really hard at it for a short period of time and then enjoying the fruits of your labour for a very long time in maintenance free mode with little ongoing effort!

    So you do need to find activities that you can both enjoy and do for WAY longer than 6 weeks.

    Eat at maintenance or just below it (as in a -250 cut). As long as your weight trend shows the same weight or less and your strength and performance keep going up... you're on a good road worth exploring, right?
  • dblanke01
    dblanke01 Posts: 35 Member
    @PAV8888 I meant that I would “power through” the weight loss portion of this...grit my teeth...lose the weight! I won’t be giving up weight training any time soon! It’s my therapy!
  • dblanke01
    dblanke01 Posts: 35 Member
    @sijomial this is more what I was debating but I used the wrong term. Right now MFP has me eating 1200 calories to lose 2 lbs a week. Since I don’t care about losing weight and am only interested in recomp, I was wondering if I should switch my focus and eat at maintenance.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    dblanke01 wrote: »
    @sijomial this is more what I was debating but I used the wrong term. Right now MFP has me eating 1200 calories to lose 2 lbs a week. Since I don’t care about losing weight and am only interested in recomp, I was wondering if I should switch my focus and eat at maintenance.

    Yes!
    A severe deficit would definitely have impacted your workouts, recovery and results.
    Enjoy maintenance and lifting when fully fuelled.

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