Body Building advice wanted

MikeDailyIntake
MikeDailyIntake Posts: 133
edited October 4 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey, i've currently been body building for 2 months and making some decent but slow gains. At this moment im 140 lbs but im expecting to gain 10 lbs by next month sometime, i just want to know if i should keep gaining once i hit 150lbs, or should i reach 150 then maintain for lets say a month and go back to bulking? Any advice would be helpful thanks.

Replies

  • brandenocs
    brandenocs Posts: 146 Member
    From what I've seen/read on bodybuilding.com, everyone seems to bulk until they're happy over the winter, then cut during the summer to get their newly gained muscles super lean. So I'd say just go until you're happy where you're at.
  • KokomoJoe
    KokomoJoe Posts: 435
    It's been a few years since I actually trained to gain..... but always let your body be your guide, how do you feel, sore, good, tired, loads of energy. Do you feel a break will be helpful? recovery? or will you not really get back into the swing. Many moons ago I went from 160 to 190 in about 3 months then to 215-220 in another 4 or 5. Do what you think you can do based on how your body reacts.
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    I say go until you're happy. Gains will probably be slow but make sure you're getting enough protein.

    I'd say to make big gains do high weight with low reps and about 90 second rests in between sets. This will allow the muscles to recover a little before going to the next heavy set. Also, I would get a person to spot you and go to failure on your last set every time. This should allow you to see some pretty big gains. But watch what you're eating and make sure you're taking in enough so that you're not losing weight.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    It's basically impossible to say with only your weight as a measure. I would generally say for both bulking and cutting, keep it slow and constantly reassess your target. 10 pounds from now is just fine as a goal, but once you get there reassess and decide what to do from there.

    One thing though, you're planning to gain 7% of your body weight in a month...that sounds like quite a bit to me. Keep an eye on your weight gain and adjust to slow it if needed.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    10lbs? Even for a newbie a pound a week would be great, so 10lbs would be a high expectation. If you did hit it, then I would estimate that 50% of it would be fat. Not trying to be cruel, but being in the industry for so long, unless you're juiced, that's a big goal in a month's time.
    See how you look at 150 and then reassess what you want to do.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    Do you know your current bodyfat% right now?

    What are your short and long term goals?

    Also bodybuilders can expect to gain 25-30lbs of lean mass in their first year of training. Those with great genetics can get even more. Every year after your first, your gains will still happen but not at the same rate, much slower.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    10lbs? Even for a newbie a pound a week would be great, so 10lbs would be a high expectation. If you did hit it, then I would estimate that 50% of it would be fat. Not trying to be cruel, but being in the industry for so long, unless you're juiced, that's a big goal in a month's time.
    See how you look at 150 and then reassess what you want to do.

    10lbs a month "naturally" is impossible for me. Most I've gained on a clean bulk was 6 lbs a month and even that was probably 30% fat. I'm sure on the juice one can gain 10+ lbs./month
  • TAWoody
    TAWoody Posts: 261 Member
    No reason to stop if you want to gain more muscle, that's up to you. But you might want to take a month break if you've seemed to hit a plateau.
  • MikeDailyIntake
    MikeDailyIntake Posts: 133
    10lbs? Even for a newbie a pound a week would be great, so 10lbs would be a high expectation. If you did hit it, then I would estimate that 50% of it would be fat. Not trying to be cruel, but being in the industry for so long, unless you're juiced, that's a big goal in a month's time.
    See how you look at 150 and then reassess what you want to do.

    Yeah i wanted to gain the extra 10 pounds and i know there will be fat, but should i get to 150 then maintain untill most the fat is gone then go bulking again?
  • MikeDailyIntake
    MikeDailyIntake Posts: 133
    Do you know your current bodyfat% right now?

    What are your short and long term goals?

    Also bodybuilders can expect to gain 25-30lbs of lean mass in their first year of training. Those with great genetics can get even more. Every year after your first, your gains will still happen but not at the same rate, much slower.
    I'm at 9% bodyfat

    Short term goals 150 lbs
    Long term 180ish maybe more if my body will let it happen
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member


    Yeah i wanted to gain the extra 10 pounds and i know there will be fat, but should i get to 150 then maintain untill most the fat is gone then go bulking again?
    The fat won't go away unless you stop eating in calorie surplus. So if you hit 150 then calorie deficit, your weight will go back down. If you want to be at 150 and lean, you'll probably have to shoot for 165lbs to do it.
  • MikeDailyIntake
    MikeDailyIntake Posts: 133


    Yeah i wanted to gain the extra 10 pounds and i know there will be fat, but should i get to 150 then maintain untill most the fat is gone then go bulking again?
    The fat won't go away unless you stop eating in calorie surplus. So if you hit 150 then calorie deficit, your weight will go back down. If you want to be at 150 and lean, you'll probably have to shoot for 165lbs to do it.

    Alright thanks man, in this for the long haul anyway
  • stig_newton
    stig_newton Posts: 4
    some great advice here - ive just turned one of our bedrooms into a gym and started on creatine! so been reading this thread with interest! im aiming to consume around 4000 calories a day
  • nitfit
    nitfit Posts: 3
    What should my daily protein intake be to gain muscle?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    What should my daily protein intake be to gain muscle?
    Consensus is at least 1gram per pound of lean body weight.
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    and started on creatine!

    look out we've got a bad *kitten* over here. Creatine does so much less than people think. Its dirt cheap though so don't feel so bad.
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    OP unless you are 5'5" 150 pounds you will still look small.

    Body builders who are that short weigh in the 200 pound range, with less than 10% body fat.

    You didn't say how tall you are, but if you want to body build and you are in it for the "long run" then bulk. bulk all year, If you are afraid to get a little fat then you aren't really in it for the long run, you are just another 3 month goal setter.
  • ablykins
    ablykins Posts: 200 Member
    It really depends on how tall you are and what kind of look you are going for. Also- keep an eye on your body fat and ensure that your bulk is coming from lean muscle mass and not body fat. As you build lean muscle mass, as long as you are eating clean your body fat % should naturally go down as you make substantial gains in lean muscle mass.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Hey, i've currently been body building for 2 months and making some decent but slow gains. At this moment im 140 lbs but im expecting to gain 10 lbs by next month sometime, i just want to know if i should keep gaining once i hit 150lbs, or should i reach 150 then maintain for lets say a month and go back to bulking? Any advice would be helpful thanks.

    It should take more than a month to gain 10lbs, it you want most of it to be muscle. I would suggest setting your goal to gain 0.5lbs/week and make sure you eat exercise calories. The slower your bulk the less fat you will gain. If you don't mind gaining the fat then aim for 1 lb/week gain, then you may want to cut once you are done your bulk as you would have put on some fat as well.
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    as long as you are eating clean your body fat % should naturally go down as you make substantial gains in lean muscle mass.

    lol i feel like you don't know how a bulk works. A calorie surplus no matter how "clean" WILL result in fat gain. You may also want to research what a clean bulk vs dirty bulk is.
  • MinnesotaManimal
    MinnesotaManimal Posts: 642 Member
    anybody else amused by the fact that we are discussing a thread started by OP in October of 2011?
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    OH WTF? ^ why did this even get brought back up?
  • addisondisease
    addisondisease Posts: 664 Member
    It like died for a month then that notfit girl asked about protein...
  • suavequeen
    suavequeen Posts: 273 Member
    It has some good info on here for those of us who want to gain muscle and healthy muscle mass... Thanks for bringing it back up!
  • MikeDailyIntake
    MikeDailyIntake Posts: 133
    I've been bodybuilding for 7 months now, and i decided to drop by this thread, and i gotta say... i litterly knew nothing about building mass and bulking back then haha. It's weird looking back on how little i really knew. Now a days i try to gain about a half a pound to a pound a week. I can't even believe i use to think that 10lbs in a month was a good thing.
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