Time to Gain! Anyone running a bulk?

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  • alexmose
    alexmose Posts: 792 Member
    KHMcG wrote: »
    alexmose wrote: »
    And here the bulk will end. I am out on a severe back injury for 4-6 weeks. Will focus on high protein and just eating when I am hungry, intuitive maintenance i guess.

    I am just coming out of recovery from a back injury. I chose not to record my food as I did not want the helpless feeling of no control with exercise. I chose to eat healthy at a surplus for aiding recovery and only step on the scale to know what is happening.

    Oh interesting approach!! I just don’t want to gain fat and am sticking w healthy choices but I didn’t consider just stopping tracking!
  • MidlifeCrisisFitness
    MidlifeCrisisFitness Posts: 1,106 Member
    In the end I gained 5 lbs over 3 months but I was very lean when I stopped tracking.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    Heal up @alexmose
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    Just hit day 90 and my 10pt trailing average weight is up 4.3 lbs, so 1.43 lbs/month. That's a higher rate than I was originally planning (+1lb/month) but it's been harder than I anticipated to strike the intake balance between a small surplus and eat-all-the-things. As the graph shows I had a few low days on the scale mid-October and may have over-corrected to get back on the plus side but the r^2 value for linear fit is improving, which I'm taking as a good sign. Overall, I'm feeling pretty good, though this weekend was a little more active than usual with some fall yard work and I'm feeling that lack of recovery in my workouts this week.

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  • tiacaviel
    tiacaviel Posts: 1 Member
    I'm trying to bulk at the moment and hit all my macros but it's my first time and not sure I'm doing that well, doesn't help that gyms are closed so resistance bands is the best I've got right now any advice would be fantastic. Currently trying to hit 2,100 calories with roughly 120g of protein, I drink 2 protein shakes a day as I don't have much time to eat whist at work, have an active job with lots of walking involved and not doing any other cardio. Any tips or advice I'd be really grateful for.
  • billkansas
    billkansas Posts: 267 Member
    My poorly run, amateur, not-so-sure-I-gained-much-muscle bulk is about to come to an end after months and gaining 40 lbs. I'm fatter than I've ever been and perhaps slightly stronger. Well, it's been fun but I'm back to monitoring my macros more closely and after testing some 1 rep maxes should be back to cutting in the near future. The good news is my wife says I look better than ever so at least I retain my fat in good places. The next cut is going to be brutal though because I've become so spoiled.... sorry honey, Daddy's got to get skinny again lol.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    tiacaviel wrote: »
    I'm trying to bulk at the moment and hit all my macros but it's my first time and not sure I'm doing that well, doesn't help that gyms are closed so resistance bands is the best I've got right now any advice would be fantastic. Currently trying to hit 2,100 calories with roughly 120g of protein, I drink 2 protein shakes a day as I don't have much time to eat whist at work, have an active job with lots of walking involved and not doing any other cardio. Any tips or advice I'd be really grateful for.

    @tiacaviel, regarding bands vs. weights; you can still get plenty of stimuli, provided you're able to incorporate some progressive overload, so that shouldn't be a big problem.

    As far as your calories are concerned, it's hard to provide any definitive insight without knowing your starting stats, though on the face of it 2100 cal/day seems a little low for someone with an active job and thus may be insufficient to get you into a surplus. Same with the protein, if 120g is at least 0.8 g/lb of body weight you're probably in good shape there; ideally that'd be spread throughout the day but the total number is more important than the timing.
  • IJP2019
    IJP2019 Posts: 34 Member
    tiacaviel wrote: »
    I'm trying to bulk at the moment and hit all my macros but it's my first time and not sure I'm doing that well, doesn't help that gyms are closed so resistance bands is the best I've got right now any advice would be fantastic. Currently trying to hit 2,100 calories with roughly 120g of protein, I drink 2 protein shakes a day as I don't have much time to eat whist at work, have an active job with lots of walking involved and not doing any other cardio. Any tips or advice I'd be really grateful for.

    I have used resistance bands exclusively for the past 2 years. In combination with a door anchor, a bar bell, and an adjustable bench, I can mimic near anything that I want. I am not talking thin tube style bands, these are very thick and offer significant resistance, especially if you get a couple of sets and double, triple up the large bands for things like squats, deadlifts, bench press, lat pulldowns, overhead press, barbell row, etc..the options are endless.....I have built more muscle than I have ever had using bands...I am not saying that I couldn’t do this with weights, just saying that its pretty clear to me that muscles don’t know the difference between bands and weights....they only know resistance. If you provide enough resistance, muscle will build.

  • IJP2019
    IJP2019 Posts: 34 Member
    edited November 2020
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    tiacaviel wrote: »
    I'm trying to bulk at the moment and hit all my macros but it's my first time and not sure I'm doing that well, doesn't help that gyms are closed so resistance bands is the best I've got right now any advice would be fantastic. Currently trying to hit 2,100 calories with roughly 120g of protein, I drink 2 protein shakes a day as I don't have much time to eat whist at work, have an active job with lots of walking involved and not doing any other cardio. Any tips or advice I'd be really grateful for.

    @tiacaviel do you meal prep? I would start to prep easy calorie dense snacks if you can and have things on hand when you are in the car or when you do eat. Or even when you get home. Granola, trail mix, roasted nuts, crackers and cheese, bagels with salmon, prep chicken then just boil some pasta to go with it, you can use the chicken in tacos or sandwiches. Prep curries/sauces portion them then freeze and you can add it to any protein/carb/vegetable dish. Of course there are also smoothies so adding more calories to your protein shakes can help .
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    billkansas wrote: »
    My poorly run, amateur, not-so-sure-I-gained-much-muscle bulk is about to come to an end after months and gaining 40 lbs. I'm fatter than I've ever been and perhaps slightly stronger. Well, it's been fun but I'm back to monitoring my macros more closely and after testing some 1 rep maxes should be back to cutting in the near future. The good news is my wife says I look better than ever so at least I retain my fat in good places. The next cut is going to be brutal though because I've become so spoiled.... sorry honey, Daddy's got to get skinny again lol.

    @billkansas
    Good luck!
    And you don't have to get skinny again, muscular and shredded this time ;)
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    My bulk is going alright. A bit of a jump lately due to ploughing some food over the weekend.

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    I look the same since it's still early and I'm going so slow. I think the glutes are popping a bit more probably since I'm retaining more water from all the carbos. Nothing to get too excited about

    Trying to tone down the growth of the quads and hammies this time so we'll see how well that goes. I'm taking some risks and cutting out a lot of exercises but it's fun to experiment and see where things go.
    That's what it's all about :)
  • lukejoycePT
    lukejoycePT Posts: 182 Member
    i'm trying to do more of a recomp this time round. i gained way too much fat last time, i did however add quite a lot of strength, but low and behold the moment i cut i lost all that strength again. I'm just increasing calories if and when my strength gains stall. Right now i'm actually eating just under MFP calorie Maintenance goal. Still getting stronger each week.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    14 Weeks in the books and I'm up 5 lbs by trend weight. Interestingly, my total intake has been requisite to a slightly higher gain and for the last month I've averaged ~300/day over TDEE. I'm going to make an effort to dial that back as it seems high given my training age.

    I hope all are doing well. Both Ohio and Kentucky reinstated some COVID restrictions but stopped short of lockdown 2.0. It's looking like it'll just be the three of us for Thanksgiving next week too.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    I can't wait to get out of this temp home gym and into our new (much larger) gym. I even have a hip thruster which hadn't been put together yet so very exciting!! I'll post pics when it's all set up.

    I'll probably bulk until March and see where I stand. I am getting there. Progress. :)

    f7rtfpcai16i.jpg

    I'm very curious about the hip thruster. I finally got the Mrs. to start lifting again as cross-training for her running habit. Used StrongCurves as a loose template and adjusted for our equipment and her skill/preferences but it does have her doing hip thrusts; which right now is just with a dumbbell.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    steveko89 wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    I can't wait to get out of this temp home gym and into our new (much larger) gym. I even have a hip thruster which hadn't been put together yet so very exciting!! I'll post pics when it's all set up.

    I'll probably bulk until March and see where I stand. I am getting there. Progress. :)

    f7rtfpcai16i.jpg

    I'm very curious about the hip thruster. I finally got the Mrs. to start lifting again as cross-training for her running habit. Used StrongCurves as a loose template and adjusted for our equipment and her skill/preferences but it does have her doing hip thrusts; which right now is just with a dumbbell.

    I've always used a bench. I have a regular and shorter one (which is easier for sure) but my bench always slides back plus I wanted to attach bands so the Hip Thruster was a great solution. I'll let you know how it is! There is a small more compact option Bret sells too, Hip Thruster Lite
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    steveko89 wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    I can't wait to get out of this temp home gym and into our new (much larger) gym. I even have a hip thruster which hadn't been put together yet so very exciting!! I'll post pics when it's all set up.

    I'll probably bulk until March and see where I stand. I am getting there. Progress. :)

    f7rtfpcai16i.jpg

    I'm very curious about the hip thruster. I finally got the Mrs. to start lifting again as cross-training for her running habit. Used StrongCurves as a loose template and adjusted for our equipment and her skill/preferences but it does have her doing hip thrusts; which right now is just with a dumbbell.

    I've always used a bench. I have a regular and shorter one (which is easier for sure) but my bench always slides back plus I wanted to attach bands so the Hip Thruster was a great solution. I'll let you know how it is! There is a small more compact option Bret sells too, Hip Thruster Lite

    I didn't realize Bret had gotten into equipment until I googled out of curiosity; both models look intriguing.

    Our flat bench is the preferred one for hip thrusts as it's a little shorter, has a thicker pad, and weighs like 85 lbs. The adjustable bench doesn't have any grip covering on the feet so will have the same sliding issue if not on the rubber flooring, which is mostly occupied the majority of the time. If the lite had wheels to move it around I'd probably have already gone ahead and ordered one.
  • GaryRuns
    GaryRuns Posts: 508 Member
    I do hip thrusts during pretty much every meso. Started with barbell and now it's all machine. I think they're equally effective but the machine is just so much more convenient.

    And for any guy that doesn't think hip thrusts are important... 😂

    https://youtu.be/ViBdy1y-Gkk?t=3m20s