GaryRuns Member

It's all relative. If someone is bulking with 4k calories I would hope they're 250lbs at about 12-15% body fat and very active. Otherwise that many calories will lead to a lot of fat gain if sustained over a significant period of time Anyway, the amount of calories is relative to your current body composition, size,…

Uh, eat more? Seriously, eat calorie dense foods, which generally means foods with high fat content, or high sugar content that is easily digestible. There's a whole thread with ideas on things to eat if you have trouble gaining weight:…

Uh, eat more? Seriously, if you're hitting your 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day then add some additional fats or carbs in to up your calories. If you're instead talking about just gaining lean mass then optimally you'll want to be in a slight calorie surplus, hit the aforementioned protein intake…

Plenty of foods and condiments you can use to help, most of which are listed and discussed here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1

It'll be interesting to hear what you think about PHAT after your meso. That's exciting that you feel like you have gained a lot of muscle mass! I'm about ready to start my cut as well. I have had various ailments for the last month and half or so, namely bronchitis and covid, and I don't want to end my bulk with that so…

I have the @chieflrg thread bookmarked. Here it is: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10756076/barbell-form-check-e-g-squats-deadlift-benching-presses/p1 Whether or not he is still active is another question. If not I'd suggest you start with your own thread containing the video. I'm sure you'll get more…

I use Cobra Grips, mostly because I didn't want to go along with the pack with Versa Grips. :lol: I doubt you'll be disappointed with either. Both are easier to use than straps but are a bit pricey. I've had mine for a couple of years now though and they are just starting to show some wear.

I'm just about done with my "bulk". I'm not sure if I'll be able to quantitatively determine if it was successful or not. I just didn't do enough objective measurements. I may have to wait until I get back down to 10ish percent and do a visual assessment. I'd urge anyone doing this to measure, measure, measure, especially…

Lost the weight from 2012 to 2018 by taking up running and monitoring what I ate, of course. Ran four full marathons and then at the time of the 2018 pic quit running and took up hypertrophy (body building) training. Not super happy with the amount of muscle I put on but I'll be 56, tomorrow, so I suppose building muscle…

I'm in the US and have never heard that term, but, it looks like it's nothing more than oatmeal with something added for protein, thus protein+oats=proats.

Little bit of an odd way to word that, "lose volume". You can lose volume by losing muscle mass, and believe it or not I've known guys who were trying to do just that, lose muscle mass, so that they could be more competitive in an endurance sport. But, I'm assuming you specifically mean lose fat. If you haven't heard it…

And your lifts haven't increased? Honestly, the only reason I can think of for you not having made any progress, as a new lifter and at a high body fat percentage, is either a really insufficient protein intake or a poor program. Make sure you're using a well structured, progressive, program. There are a ton of them listed…

There are lots of calculators for this across the internet (just search for "TDEE calculator") but all of them, including what MFP gives you, are just estimates. Your metabolism, the amount of activity you perform during the day, etc., are all going to impact your daily caloric needs and no calculator can do more than give…

The body needs some fat for proper hormonal function. As long as you're getting that, say 15-20% of your total calories from fat, you can eat whatever else you want to meet your calorie goal. And 300g of protein is an awful lot of protein. If that's because you enjoy it, or you're carrying around 300lbs of lean mass, then…

So many options available, and take it from someone that has spent a lot of time attempting to create his own plan, it ain't easy. Just winging it usually isn't a great idea if you have solid goals that you want to achieve. Take a look at this thread for some great programs:…

There's nothing wrong with coming up with your own program, and as others have pointed out, as a novice resistance trainee you can almost just look at the weights and make progress ;) , but why not figure out what your goal is and pick a program based on that? There are so many free programs out there put together by…

Easy. I eat the same boring food! :smiley: I understand that's not for everyone though. Oils and nut butters are pretty cheap here in the US, especially peanut, and very calorie dense, so that's one option.

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I don't see much difference at all between the two pics. There is the fact that the lighting is significantly different between the two so maybe that's an issue, but, given what I perceive as a lack of any difference, I would estimate about 21, 22% BF for both.

You're not providing enough information for anyone to be able to help you. How lean, in terms of body-fat percentage, is "shredded" to you? I included a pic below to help you answer that. How experienced are you at resistance training? What are your current stats, age, height, weight? Given the picture below what body-fat…

Are you following a well designed program with progression built in? It's more complicated than most people think to formulate an effective program. I'd recommend you follow a program put together by a pro, especially this early in your resistance training. Here's a thread that will give you a lot of options:…

I can't say I'm thrilled with my results so far but I think they're good if I'm honest with myself. I'm 55 and probably not an ideal genetic specimen for muscle growth having been "scrawny" most of my life. That said I have been rock solid consistent in my gym time, I think I have a pretty good handle at this point on…

I did exactly what you did, went on maintenance for a month or so just to get my body used to not being in a deficit. There is a phenomena that can happen where your energy expenditure, I assume NEAT, increases significantly after a prolonged period of being in a deficit. That means it may actually take you a while to find…

^^THIS! You are already lean. If you want to look more "toned", which means adding muscle, then look at a progressive lifting program developed by someone that knows what they're doing. Here's a great thread that has some great programs:…

Just a thought, but maybe try cupcakes and protein shakes? :p Seriously, I'm sorry to hear about the health issues. I've been doing the opposite with an unintentional "dirty" bulk the last three weeks or so because of emotional eating and WAY too much alcohol and not enough cardio. Ugh. Life sucks sometimes. I think I'm…

So I was curious what conclusions you came to on this @steveko89 after this much time has passed. I've been happy with my average of about 2lbs/month. I find it maddening trying to control it at a level finer than that. My cardio is inconsistent so at a rate of gain less than about 2lbs/month I can easily find myself back…

Unless you're a competitor it's totally up to you whether to continue bulking. Your bf% is well within a healthy range and you're happy with your gains so I say keep doing what you're doing. Also, the holiday season is fast approaching and cutting with all that delicious holiday food around isn't fun! ;) You could…

That stinks @alexmose2. Are you vaccinated? I suppose it doesn't matter, either way you're young, fit and healthy and that makes it pretty unlikely you'll experience anything more than a flu-like level of symptoms. Best wishes for a speedy, full, recovery.

It's not completely without controversy, but most of the literature I've seen on the topic says that the results you see staying at a RPE of 7-9 are the same as you see when going to failure (RPE 10), at least as far as hypertrophy is concerned. And any slight advantage you might get going to failure is negated by the fact…

I would seek the advice of a doctor first. There are certainly some knowledgeable people here but people with knowledge about a bowel removal on the scale of yours and how it affects your digestion and caloric needs is going to be pretty limited. In general, to gain weight, you eat more calories than you burn. If you have…

There's a pretty wide range in the literature. It really comes down to what you are comfortable with. That's why I put quotes around "lean". I really like this kinda simplistic but easy to understand article on the topic: https://bonytobeastly.com/how-fast-to-gain-weight-bulking/ Also, for me, it's almost impossible to…