@ LoRez my brother in-law has an half price special this month. You are a lucky dude !
[quote]BHappy wrote:
@ LoRez my brother in-law has an half price special this month. You are a lucky dude ![/quote]
Half off? Which half?
I agree w px in that there is nothing magic about the 16% bf number. Depending on the individual and what stage of development they are in, some can probably get away with this. However, i think its a good idea to have a guideline letting you know when youve gone too far bf wise. You can argue all day whether 16% bf is bad but 14% is ok. But its just a guidwline which i think everyone needs whether thats 16% bf, 12%, waist size, losing sight of your abs when flexed, whatever is best for the individual.
I also think its one thing to bulk up to 16% bf, hold it for 3-4 months, then diet down and another thing to hold 16+ bf for years and years without cutting down at some point. Its a means to an end, not an end itself imo.
@ LoRez you can choose except on wednesdays it is the “chef special”
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]jldume wrote:
You guys all sound like your making sense, and I understand that it’s pretty subjective and depends on ones genetics, plus trial and error but this is exactly why I skip these sort of threads, not sure why I clicked on this one lol. It just gets me more confused on what to do to in order to bulk “successfully”.
Either way, come the 6 month progress check up from Chris’s thread next year I hope I’m up to 190 with a decent body fat. I’ve basically been following X’s advice and just eating A LOT and working out hard in the gym, I’ll never know until I try and I’m happy with the way I look without my shirt on, I’m most likely around 15%-16% now and I’m 182 at a height of 5’7", not too shabby I think. 40lbs+ and counting since I started working out, going to try and make it 50 by next year!
I’ll know for sure my body fat % come Tuesday, I’ll be doing a body composition lab in class.[/quote]
This is what I was getting at. If being 16% really makes you look bad with your shirt off, you may not be carrying enough muscle. I can understand people wanting to be leaner for whatever reason…but acting like a number itself should be avoided is a little too subjective. Everyone doesn’t look the same at the same body fat percentage. [/quote]
Right so what your saying is focusing on a number is wrong you should simply look in the mirror?
well what if you don’t like what you see in the mirror but don’t have enough size and strenght, thats kind of the question i wanted to ask with this thread. what do people do in that situation, stop their bulks prematurely or keep going?
I’m not sure who comes up with these LBM gain limits. I have gained, a conservative estimate, 35lbs LBM in roughly 18 months of training, most of which was inefficient and bad training. I have gone from a very underweight 135lbs to 196lbs at 6’1, probably not much more than 15% BF now but i have calculated my LBM gain based on being 18% BF now. Added like 4" to each arm, 6-7" to each leg, and i still look like total crap. I have no choice but to keep bulking, because im so small and weak still, but getting fat enough to look like shit.
[quote]stinger70 wrote:
I’m not sure who comes up with these LBM gain limits. I have gained, a conservative estimate, 35lbs LBM in roughly 18 months of training, most of which was inefficient and bad training. I have gone from a very underweight 135lbs to 196lbs at 6’1, probably not much more than 15% BF now but i have calculated my LBM gain based on being 18% BF now. Added like 4" to each arm, 6-7" to each leg, and i still look like total crap. I have no choice but to keep bulking, because im so small and weak still, but getting fat enough to look like shit.[/quote]
Have you tried to just maintain your current weight but still progress your lifts?
I started at 135, and I did an unintentional recomp for about a month (illness), holding at just under 160. I was still progressing on my lifts, and noticed that I was still making physique improvements despite not gaining any weight.
Not at all implying this will work for anyone else, just offering it as an option to consider. It’s possible you might lean up with this, without losing bodyweight.
I cant seem to get much stronger unless i gain weight really fast, but i spent several months at about 180lb and added around half an inch to my arms and leaned out. Might try to lean out and stay at maintenance for a while now, hopefully drop a bit of fat and then resume the bulk.
That is what i did the last 7 months, getting leaner(slowly) while getting stronger and maintaining body weight. I am a true ectomorph so like LoRez said it is my experience. In about 2 months i can see adding calories slowly to gain muscle weight slowly not bulking. I am 54 so i have way more time then the younger kids. My plan is for the next 40 years.
All the best!
[quote]BHappy wrote:
@ Jayk Well most readers here are not 18 anymore. It is nice that you enjoyed it. How much did you keep?
Attracting 17 years old girls might get me in trrrrouble.[/quote]
I added the comment about women for the OP because he mentioned something about socializing with women.
I kept about 20 lean pounds.
[quote]buildsomemuscle wrote:
what do you think about this? currently not at my strength or size goal, but the caliper says 16%
I read somewhere that the fatter you get the more efficient the body get at storing fat? i originally wanted to keep bulking till December, but maybe i should quit sooner what do you think?[/quote]
i was struggling the same before 3 weeks,my goal was fat loss[from 16 % to maximujm leanness]…but then i felt after losing fat ,i would look average so i decided to build some muscle in the right places.
what i did was implement calorie cycling and i eat around maintainence while building and go on a deficit for a day or two after that …and it works great …I’ve been training around two years and found it to be most effective and not too mind fatiguing. i have used bulking in past and its all bulls*it even though i have above fair genetics,using a BAD diet[ethanol and good clean foods] i gained mostly fat
only bulk when on gear. only cut when on gear
test tren drol bitches
come at me
Question:
Am I a “beginner” or am I “intermediate” based on this profile?
-Endomorpic 170 after cutting 15 lbs this summer with barbell circuits
-8 years in and out of the gym, mostly with fat loss as a priority but period swhere I “TRIED” to bulk but just got “plump”
-Noticeable muscle with tank top or shirt off but “wet” look
-NEVER applied the principles of compound lifts, specificity, periodization, progressive resistance and adequate recovery
Trying to understand better my caloric needs and what I should look for on the scale. Diet is 98% “clean and measured” at all times. I just don’t want to be gaining 2 Lbs a week when maybe I should be looking for 1 or less based on my “training” experience.
[quote]giograves wrote:
Question:
Am I a “beginner” or am I “intermediate” based on this profile?
-Endomorpic 170 after cutting 15 lbs this summer with barbell circuits
-8 years in and out of the gym, mostly with fat loss as a priority but period swhere I “TRIED” to bulk but just got “plump”
-Noticeable muscle with tank top or shirt off but “wet” look
-NEVER applied the principles of compound lifts, specificity, periodization, progressive resistance and adequate recovery
Trying to understand better my caloric needs and what I should look for on the scale. Diet is 98% “clean and measured” at all times. I just don’t want to be gaining 2 Lbs a week when maybe I should be looking for 1 or less based on my “training” experience. [/quote]
Depends on what you look like. Years in the gym mean nothing if you’ve just been spinning your wheels. Body stats mean just as little if you’re ignoring body composition. Ie. Jim Cordova steps onstage weighing 10-15 lbs LESS than you weigh after your summer cut.
IMO experience levels with regard to gym time/knowledge can be assess by honestly appraising how successful you’ve been at building new muscle as well as dropping fat and improving strength (to a lesser degree though if you’re talking pure bodybuilding).
S
I haven’t found my bodyfat levels related to how much muscle I gain. I eat a lot of carbs and I make gains, when my gut gets too big I drop some of the carbs and cut down for a few days. It’s no wonder that the people making the best lean gains closely track their macros, and simply increase and decrease cals by 250-500 to cut/gain.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Depends on what you look like. [/quote]
Mind taking a look at my avatar?
Went through entire thread as I’ve gained 20+ lbs over last few months
and would imagine above 16% BF.
Going to keep going and take it to extremes; I really don’t
care if I get fat because I know that I know how to lose weight
and it’s October.
[quote]buildsomemuscle wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]jldume wrote:
You guys all sound like your making sense, and I understand that it’s pretty subjective and depends on ones genetics, plus trial and error but this is exactly why I skip these sort of threads, not sure why I clicked on this one lol. It just gets me more confused on what to do to in order to bulk “successfully”.
Either way, come the 6 month progress check up from Chris’s thread next year I hope I’m up to 190 with a decent body fat. I’ve basically been following X’s advice and just eating A LOT and working out hard in the gym, I’ll never know until I try and I’m happy with the way I look without my shirt on, I’m most likely around 15%-16% now and I’m 182 at a height of 5’7", not too shabby I think. 40lbs+ and counting since I started working out, going to try and make it 50 by next year!
I’ll know for sure my body fat % come Tuesday, I’ll be doing a body composition lab in class.[/quote]
This is what I was getting at. If being 16% really makes you look bad with your shirt off, you may not be carrying enough muscle. I can understand people wanting to be leaner for whatever reason…but acting like a number itself should be avoided is a little too subjective. Everyone doesn’t look the same at the same body fat percentage. [/quote]
Right so what your saying is focusing on a number is wrong you should simply look in the mirror?b
well what if you don’t like what you see in the mirror but don’t have enough size and strenght, thats kind of the question i wanted to ask with this thread. what do people do in that situation, stop their bulks prematurely or keep going?
[/quote]
It’s important to note the difference btw competitive bodybuilder and normal person. The normal person may not have to stop his bulk if he can clean up his diet somewhat. A competitive bodybuilder on the other hand should probably try to get to a low bf% if only to know what it takes to get there. If it takes you longer than a few months to get to a low bf, imagine what it’ll take if you’re at an even higher bf?
[quote]giograves wrote:
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Depends on what you look like. [/quote]
Mind taking a look at my avatar?
[/quote]
Beginner
- Not much to do with your avatar
and everything to do with
-NEVER applied the principles of compound lifts, specificity, periodization, progressive resistance and adequate recovery
You’re not alone I put myself in the beginner category too. Although I’d prefer gym rat, since beginner also includes people who don’t know or look like they lift, I think we are more at a stage left of intermediate. Our bodies may be similar to intermediates but we are not on the path to advancing. There’s a reason why those principles exist when you decide to take it seriously understand them.
[quote]buildsomemuscle wrote:
what do you think about this? currently not at my strength or size goal, but the caliper says 16%
I read somewhere that the fatter you get the more efficient the body get at storing fat? i originally wanted to keep bulking till December, but maybe i should quit sooner what do you think?[/quote]
I’d say over 10% you have gone too far. 16% way over.