I agree with what PX wrote in an old thread. If you grill really big dudes that now preach slow bulking with minimal fat gain, you’ll see that they too went through a “chubby/soft/smooth” phase in which they ate really big. Look at the people who were and are the most successful, both natural and enhanced, and you’ll see they all ate/eat really big! Look at pros like Dorian Yates (7,000 kcals), Michael Francois (10,000 kcals), King Kamali (10,000 kcals), Gary Strydom (7,000 kcals), Ronnie Coleman (10,000 kcals). Even look at some of the writers we have on here: Lonnie Lowery, John Berardi, David Tate, and CT. All of these guys ate really big at one time.
I think what Scott M said one time was very funny: A lot of big guys get amnesia AFTER THEY GOT BIG; all of the sudden, high-calorie diets and bone-crushing poundages are forgotten and according to them NOW, aren’t necessary. Gary Strydom made a comeback about 2 years ago. I looked at his website; he wrote how he doesn’t eat big anymore and he performs high reps; I laughed. This guy was fucking enormous in his offseasons back in the day and ate a shitload! I remember reading somewhere that he sometimes reached a bodyweight 100 pounds over his contest weight.
When I was into this hardcore, I found a slow bulk to be excruciating, in regards to frustration and BOREDOM. You know how fucking boring and unexciting it is to see poundages and bodyweight go nowhere?
I understand that bodybuilding and powerlifting entail FORCING the body grow. But I also understand that there’s a limit to how much you can force. I’m with CT, Alan Aragon, and Lonnie Lowery on the case being that one can reasonably expect a gain of 1/4 to 1/2 pound of DRY muscle per week; that’s not counting glycogen and water gain. So yeah, you can gain more than that amount in LBM if you count those two things. And I’m sure there are people who have gained more than 1/4 to 1/2 pound of dry muscle in a week, depending on the circumstances.
But even to gain that 1/2 to 1/4 OR MORE of dry of muscle per week is exceedingly difficult with a slow bulk. You have to constantly monitor yourself with anthropometrics and food intake! I tried that shit–adding a little food here and there, keeping a strict food and weight log, recording every two weeks, etc.–and it drove me nuts! After awhile I stopped counting as much, went on instincts, did some “eyeballing” of food portions, weighed myself once every 2 to 4 weeks, and used the mirror and my own comfort levels. That’s when I saw some great gains. If I was getting too chubby, I just scaled back on my food intake.
Added bodyweight lends to lifting more because of increased leverage and stability too. I loved being full and bloated for a chest session in particular. It felt like I had more stability and could grip the dumbbells and bars better.
