My experience with bulks has been the opposite - to begin with I had to go 0-100 in 0 seconds flat just to gain weight, along with cutting out virtually all cardio. I’ve done two “micro*” bulks like that and gained 20lbs each time with visible abs the whole time. Lately I’ve seemed to hit a stage where pretty much for each additional kilo in weight I add I need to increase my calories. Sucks. 
*meaning less than 6 months.
Figured that this would be a good read for most people on here as I don’t think many people on here even know that this article was written. Not everything that is now, is as it once was. Even Mr. Thibaudeau had his time with being in double digit bodyfat.
-Zep
[quote]Jab1 wrote:
My experience with bulks has been the opposite - to begin with I had to go 0-100 in 0 seconds flat just to gain weight, along with cutting out virtually all cardio. I’ve done two “micro*” bulks like that and gained 20lbs each time with visible abs the whole time. Lately I’ve seemed to hit a stage where pretty much for each additional kilo in weight I add I need to increase my calories. Sucks.
*meaning less than 6 months. [/quote]
Interesting.
Well you know how your body responds because you’ve done it before… The OP obviously hasn’t. He might be the same way you are but if not that approach could lead to a sudden and drastic increase in BF.
Trial an error… I just tend to error on the side of caution.
[quote]americaninsweden wrote:
I had been trying to put on some muscle while maintaining fat for the last couple months. I don’t know what my weight difference was but I was looking bigger and not fatter. Got chicken pox, lost my appetite and couldn’t do shit for almost 3 weeks. Definitely lost some weight (muscle and fat), in the last 2 days multiple people have said I looked skinny, as a compliment but still, that is not the damn look I am going for. I am heading back to the USA in just over 3 weeks where the real bulk will begin.[/quote]
Excellent plan, there is no better place to be than the USA if your goal is to gain weight.
Hate the terms bulk and cut.
[quote]gregron wrote:
Interesting.
Well you know how your body responds because you’ve done it before… The OP obviously hasn’t. He might be the same way you are but if not that approach could lead to a sudden and drastic increase in BF.
Trial an error… I just tend to error on the side of caution.[/quote]
That’s true it could, and I am fairly in tune with my body. But I didn’t know how my body would respond the first time I did it… I just knew that I wasn’t gaining weight when I wasn’t force feeding myself and keeping cardio in. I’m not recommending this or saying everyone should do it.
IME though it is fairly easy to recalibrate your dietary approach to keep your bodyfat at a level you’re comfortable with “on the fly” as you go along when gaining weight.
I think you mean err btw (on the side of caution)?
^^i did… Stupid iPhone autocorrect lol
[quote]sufiandy wrote:
[quote]americaninsweden wrote:
I had been trying to put on some muscle while maintaining fat for the last couple months. I don’t know what my weight difference was but I was looking bigger and not fatter. Got chicken pox, lost my appetite and couldn’t do shit for almost 3 weeks. Definitely lost some weight (muscle and fat), in the last 2 days multiple people have said I looked skinny, as a compliment but still, that is not the damn look I am going for. I am heading back to the USA in just over 3 weeks where the real bulk will begin.[/quote]
Excellent plan, there is no better place to be than the USA if your goal is to gain weight.[/quote]
I have lived outside of the country for at least 2 months 3 times. I lost weight everytime. In 8 weeks in Costa Rica, did construction, lost about 10 pounds. China 5 months, 15 pounds. Sweden 10 months, 20ish lbs. Hopefully I don’t just fat bulk this time, when I come back.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
I however am not worried about fat gains. If I have to gain 10 lbs of fat to gain 30 lbs of muscle, I will do it. I haven’t had a damn six pack since I’ve been in 3rd grade anyway. Better to be big and smooth than small and smooth in my book. I can take a few weeks to lose bodyfat when I am at a size that I feel uncomfortable being. If you can do it while being lean, that’s great. It just doesn’t seem to work like that for me. Also I am pretty fucking impatient.
[/quote]
YOU SHUT YOUR FAT WHORE MOUTH!!!
[/quote]
Bit harsh??
[quote]John Mclane wrote:
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
I however am not worried about fat gains. If I have to gain 10 lbs of fat to gain 30 lbs of muscle, I will do it. I haven’t had a damn six pack since I’ve been in 3rd grade anyway. Better to be big and smooth than small and smooth in my book. I can take a few weeks to lose bodyfat when I am at a size that I feel uncomfortable being. If you can do it while being lean, that’s great. It just doesn’t seem to work like that for me. Also I am pretty fucking impatient.
[/quote]
YOU SHUT YOUR FAT WHORE MOUTH!!!
[/quote]
Bit harsh??[/quote]
Nah. I didn’t say ‘bitch’.
I was being ironical… but, you knew that. 
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]John Mclane wrote:
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
I however am not worried about fat gains. If I have to gain 10 lbs of fat to gain 30 lbs of muscle, I will do it. I haven’t had a damn six pack since I’ve been in 3rd grade anyway. Better to be big and smooth than small and smooth in my book. I can take a few weeks to lose bodyfat when I am at a size that I feel uncomfortable being. If you can do it while being lean, that’s great. It just doesn’t seem to work like that for me. Also I am pretty fucking impatient.
[/quote]
YOU SHUT YOUR FAT WHORE MOUTH!!!
[/quote]
Bit harsh??[/quote]
Nah. I didn’t say ‘bitch’.
I was being ironical… but, you knew that.
[/quote]
[quote]bnkNando wrote:
Is there a certain amount of weight you should gain when Bulking ?
For example, like a pound a week, or two pounds a month ?[/quote]
Here is what you do. Forget about what anyone suggest because they’re opinion is based off of their perception of how they want there bodies to look.
If you are not gaining size or strength you are not eating enough.
Beyond that, look in the mirror and if you don’t like what you see eat more, eat less, do more cardio, stop doing cardio, train harder.
It’s really simple.
When I was worried about a pound a week or whatever…2x BW in protein…squats and milk…etc
I was fat as fuck. I didn’t like it.
I don’t know what to think of this thread…
[quote]facko wrote:
I don’t know what to think of this thread…[/quote]
its like you have a GPS in front of you with 2 different routes to pick from to get you to your same destination. One route is a highway, but eventually it ends and you have to get off and reduce speed. The other is back roads where its nice and slow and steady.
The point is is that either one can get you to the same place
as others have said it is individual. I shot for 2 lbs a week the first time I tried to gain weight. It was a monumentally dumb idea, I got very fat because I kept trying to justify it by saying “well im gaining the most muscle possible”. could’ve got damn near the same results without gaining so much fat.
I will likely shoot for about a 1 lb per week goal, though that is not strict. If I start getting fatter then I like I’ll adjust. I also use mirror, pictures, and measuring my waist/arms to see how well its going. These are better indicators. If I gain 10 lbs in 6 weeks but my waist is the same, im very happy and obviously my 1 lb per week goal wasn’t met but it doesn’t matter. If I gain 6 lbs in 6 weeks and my waist is 2 inches bigger I messed up bad, and likely should/would have noticed it sooner.
Thanks for the advice, I have just been eating a lot more. Drinking a lot of milk, 3-4 servings of oats a day, adding peanut butter to my protein shakes, whole eggs, more steak & meats, good fats from olive oil, peanuts, etc …
Currently at 184 probably around 15% bodyfat, hoping to get to 190 in about 6-8 weeks.
[quote]bnkNando wrote:
Thanks for the advice, I have just been eating a lot more. Drinking a lot of milk, 3-4 servings of oats a day, adding peanut butter to my protein shakes, whole eggs, more steak & meats, good fats from olive oil, peanuts, etc …
Currently at 184 probably around 15% bodyfat, hoping to get to 190 in about 6-8 weeks.[/quote]
The rest is just about monitoring your progress and making adjustments when necessary…and no, that should NOT be that often. Give your body time to adjust to added weight even as it relates to conditioning.
Should i be worried about bulking but eating “clean” or should my main concern be just getting a surplus of cals ?
[quote]bnkNando wrote:
Should i be worried about bulking but eating “clean” or should my main concern be just getting a surplus of cals ?[/quote]
That’s where genetics and your personal metabolism come in. Someone with a very fast metabolism can get away with being more loose with their diet. Even knowing where you stand on this will take time. Your goal is to eat well to support your goals. I don’t even like the label “clean” because it doesn’t mean anything. Stay away from junk food that won’t help you reach a goal (like cupcakes and zingers) and try to get a general feel for the amount you need to eat to see progress.
Too much fat gain means clean up the diet more and drop the carbs in most cases. The rest is really trial and error.