Hello all,
Just a little intro. I am a current newb looking for some advice on bulking. Currently I’m 19, 152lbs and about 5’7. I’ve only started seriously training for a couple of months now, and have been educating myself on this website. I’ve been following KB’s 4 day split with cardio 2 days a week. My question is, what is an ideal weight to shoot for while bulking given my current stats? I obviously want to be bigger, but I don’t want to be a fat slob. I figure an ideal weight will give me an appropriate goal to achieve. I also have absolutely no problem eating copious amounts of food, which I assume will help me in my bulk provided I am making the right nutritional choices. I figure I should be eating approximately 2800-3000cals/day (correct me if I am wrong). Anyways, sorry to rant but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I consume 7000 calories/day. You might want to shoot for 3500-4000 at your height/weight. Did you read the newbie articles/stickies in the beginner forum? There’s one of them that talks about calculating your total calories needed on rest days and workout days. Might want to check it out, because 2800 cals/day is like 600 above a cutting diet for a lot of lifters.
Don’t worry about putting on weight. If you find yourself putting on “too much” mass then you can tone down your eating but not to the extent that it interferes with muscle growth and recovery.
Just keep eating big and lifting heavy.
Ideal weight (imo) would be like 170-190 before cutting.
Seriously, just pick a target and aim for it. Can ever just go through 10 lb increments just so you have intermediate goals to achieve. Start out shooting for 160. See how that feels. Shoot for 170. So on and so forth.
[quote]Zooguido wrote:
I consume 7000 calories/day. [/quote]
!
That’s like 35 cal/lb.
Post a pic, or post your bodyfat stats.
The leaner you are, the faster and bigger the weight gains can be.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
[quote]Zooguido wrote:
I consume 7000 calories/day. [/quote]
!
That’s like 35 cal/lb.[/quote]
And I still struggle gaining weight, lol.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Post a pic, or post your bodyfat stats.
The leaner you are, the faster and bigger the weight gains can be.[/quote]
Not in my case (at 7000 cals a day). I may just be the exception to the rule. Interesting bit of information, though.
[quote]Zooguido wrote:
Not in my case (at 7000 cals a day). I may just be the exception to the rule. Interesting bit of information, though.[/quote]
What I meant was that larger/quicker gains in bodyweight are allowed to be made, not that they are made (sorry, should have worded that better).
It’s common sense really, if you were close to say 15% bodyfat, it’s time to slow things down and think about trimming a little. Whereas someone closer to 8% bodyfat can go full steam ahead into a bulk.
I’m exactly the same as yourself - had to ram down 7000 cals towards the end of my last bulk. A little tip for you (worked for me really well); cut your training down to around 4 days/week, and cut the exercise volume down a little (a 2 way slit is ideal for this).
Wow, just looked at your stats - 6 foot 8?!
Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when it comes to bulking 
Sucks, yo.
eat a truckload of quality nutrition
Well I’m around 12% bf right now, currently on vacation so food choices aren’t exactly where I want them to be. I plan on fixing this when school starts in 2 weeks. However, I had another question/concern. I was diagnosed with Graves disease (hyperthyroidism) a couple of years back which basically allowed me to eat disgusting amounts of all types of food with literally no weight gain and minimal exercise. I was prescribed meds and eventually my thyroid hormone levels went back to normal.
However, I understand that having a large appetite is one of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, and it seems to be one that never went away. Even with my levels in check, I still seem to have this insatiable appetite (to the point of binging) and I’m not sure whether this is due to the hyperthyroidism or perhaps something behavioural I may have picked up from eating too much back when I my levels were up. Any ideas on what that may be?
[quote]ja1991 wrote:
Well I’m around 12% bf right now, currently on vacation so food choices aren’t exactly where I want them to be. I plan on fixing this when school starts in 2 weeks. However, I had another question/concern. I was diagnosed with Graves disease (hyperthyroidism) a couple of years back which basically allowed me to eat disgusting amounts of all types of food with literally no weight gain and minimal exercise. I was prescribed meds and eventually my thyroid hormone levels went back to normal.
However, I understand that having a large appetite is one of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, and it seems to be one that never went away. Even with my levels in check, I still seem to have this insatiable appetite (to the point of binging) and I’m not sure whether this is due to the hyperthyroidism or perhaps something behavioural I may have picked up from eating too much back when I my levels were up. Any ideas on what that may be?[/quote]
As for what weight to bulk to, shoot for 170lbs and see how your body responds. As long as at least half of the weight gain is muscle (pretty easy) you shouldn’t go past 15% bodyfat.
If you do reach around the 15% mark, no worries, just do a little trim down to around the 11-12% mark again by gently reducing calories (most can do this easily without losing muscle, or drastic calorie restriction, and sometimes without any cardio).
If you still remain lean (not far past 12%), congratulations! Pass go and collect 200 (in other words, carry on bulking)
I don’t normally pull numbers out my ass like that ^ but it’s good to have clear attainable goals.
Food doesn’t matter as much as you probably think, muscles don’t recognise “clean” diets; they understand total calories and protein Shoot for at least 155g of protein a day. Calorie wise you’re probably looking to eat AT LEAST 3000 cals per day…you likely will have to increase upwards from there. Everyone’s metabolism is different, but one thing’s for sure, if you’re not gaining weight (e.g. 2-4lbs/month), you’re not eating enough.
If you haven’t gained 15lbs in 6 months, give yourself a kick! lol
Can’t comment on the Thyroid issue, sorry (be careful about internet diagnoses)