Ain’t slowing down yet

Just curious, have you ever done this before? It seems like 21 pounds in three weeks is pretty fast, maybe too fast. Interested in other's thoughts.

NovusDies wrote: »

21 pounds would require you to eat at least 3500 extra calories per day for the 3 weeks you have been doing it. That is not impossible but seems unlikely. It is entirely possible for a big chunk of that to be water weight.

Agreed. There could be a water weight jump (beginning creatine, working out, etc.). However, even if OP gained 5lbs of water weight, 15lbs over 3 weeks is still a lot...

If I remember correctly, a beginning lifter at optimum load can gain ~20lbs of lean muscle a year, which is usually accompanied by an equal amount of fat. The ratio of muscle:fat can be lowered, you just wouldn't hit 20lbs of muscle/year.

So under optimal conditions one may be able to gain 2-3lbs lean muscle per month, along with 2-3lbs fat. If OP has gained 5lbs water weight, he's gained 15lbs over 3 weeks. Even at 4 weeks, under optimal conditions that'd be 12-13lbs fat. Not usually what people consider a "bulk" in the traditional sense.

NovusDies wrote: »

Justin_7272 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

21 pounds would require you to eat at least 3500 extra calories per day for the 3 weeks you have been doing it. That is not impossible but seems unlikely. It is entirely possible for a big chunk of that to be water weight.

Agreed. There could be a water weight jump (beginning creatine, working out, etc.). However, even if OP gained 5lbs of water weight, 15lbs over 3 weeks is still a lot...

If I remember correctly, a beginning lifter at optimum load can gain ~20lbs of lean muscle a year, which is usually accompanied by an equal amount of fat. The ratio of muscle:fat can be lowered, you just wouldn't hit 20lbs of muscle/year.

So under optimal conditions one may be able to gain 2-3lbs lean muscle per month, along with 2-3lbs fat. If OP has gained 5lbs water weight, he's gained 15lbs over 3 weeks. Even at 4 weeks, under optimal conditions that'd be 12-13lbs fat. Not usually what people consider a "bulk" in the traditional sense.

This is a good point.

I didn't consider this might be a new workout program that was paired with immediate bulking or that it could be in the neighborhood of optimal.

Even if conditions were optimal to achieve maximum lean muscle gain, OP would still cap at 2-3lbs/month. And if OP achieved optimal lean muscle gain, considering the remaining 12-13lbs would be fat I'd consider the overall bulk sub-optimal (i.e. 1:1 lean muscle-to-fat). Understandably 1:1 may be hard to hit, but OP would be at roughly 1:6, which is not even close. Hope that makes sense.

gabrielcurran2243 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

Are you seeing any signs of swelling/edema?

21 pounds would require you to eat at least 3500 extra calories per day for the 3 weeks you have been doing it. That is not impossible but seems unlikely. It is entirely possible for a big chunk of that to be water weight.

Keep an eye on it but if you think it could be water do not let it go much longer before seeing a doctor.

No swelling or bloat. I’m eating 5k + calories a day. About 2000/2200 surplus. Fat gain is minimal at best. I’m working with an IFBB pro , he says everything is good to go. I was told to expect a rapid increase in the first couple weeks. It just drug out a bit longer than expected. I don’t put much faith in scales. The mirror and tape tells all. Arms show a gain of 2 inches, chest is nearly 4 inches, quads 1 1/2 inches, and waist shows a decrease of 1/2 inch.

If I could ask what type of lifting routing are you on?