I’m bulking up after my hockey season ends in 2-3 weeks.
I am 6 foot 2 and weigh 165 lbs and around 10-12% bf.
I need to know what the most common problems/any problems people have when bulking, to make my bulking as successful as possible.
Any tips/advice is also welcome.
Eat as clean as possible.
[quote]JerryRicePwns wrote:
Eat as clean as possible. [/quote]
that is a bulking mistake yes
agree with the above. some people need to eat junk more often than others to gain.
the biggest problem is not eating enough and/or skipping meals. get used to eating even if you aren’t hungry. get used to a timed, regimented diet. you’ll have to plan your meals out for the day, and make sure you have enough with you or that you have access to food and time to eat it. if you have to buy and prepare your own food, you’ll have to plan that out for the week at the least.
the people who make real progress are the ones who never miss a training session AND never miss a meal.
if you start to get too soft for your liking, don’t freak out as long as you’re making gains in the gym. however, look at your diet (especially sugars) and at your workout intensity. trying to keep a six pack while bulking at this stage is a recipe for disaster.
[quote]fr0IVIan wrote:
agree with the above. some people need to eat junk more often than others to gain.
the biggest problem is not eating enough and/or skipping meals. get used to eating even if you aren’t hungry. get used to a timed, regimented diet. you’ll have to plan your meals out for the day, and make sure you have enough with you or that you have access to food and time to eat it. if you have to buy and prepare your own food, you’ll have to plan that out for the week at the least.
the people who make real progress are the ones who never miss a training session AND never miss a meal.
if you start to get too soft for your liking, don’t freak out as long as you’re making gains in the gym. however, look at your diet (especially sugars) and at your workout intensity. trying to keep a six pack while bulking at this stage is a recipe for disaster.[/quote]
Agreed. Not much reason to post more.
Biggest mistake : not eating enough
2nd mistake : looking too much at your mirror
[quote]Vince_fr wrote:
Biggest mistake : not eating enough
2nd mistake : looking too much at your mirror
[/quote]
Or even pictures taken too often. Your body goes through changes over the process of gaining muscle and your body comp is not static. If you panic one week because your abs are a little more smooth and make drastic changes off of such little time frame, you could be missing out on your body making much more progress in the long run.
[quote]Anus Bleach wrote:
[quote]JerryRicePwns wrote:
Eat as clean as possible. [/quote]
that is a bulking mistake yes[/quote]
Why?
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
[quote]Anus Bleach wrote:
[quote]JerryRicePwns wrote:
Eat as clean as possible. [/quote]
that is a bulking mistake yes[/quote]
Why?[/quote]
Because your goal is to make sure your calories are where they need to be and that you are gaining mostly muscle…not on simply making sure you “eat clean” as possible.
In other words, this does not mean eat pure crap just to meet a caloric demand…but I will damn sure eat that double meat hamburger over skipping a meal because chicken and rice wasn’t available.
Most of the people worried about “eating clean” instead of “eating enough” won’t grow much.
Also, guys with really fast metabolisms may find it difficult to eat enough from what many regard as “clean”.
These labels don’t mean shit out of context. A “hamburger” is not “dirty”.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
[quote]Anus Bleach wrote:
[quote]JerryRicePwns wrote:
Eat as clean as possible. [/quote]
that is a bulking mistake yes[/quote]
Why?[/quote]
Because your goal is to make sure your calories are where they need to be and that you are gaining mostly muscle…not on simply making sure you “eat clean” as possible.
In other words, this does not mean eat pure crap just to meet a caloric demand…but I will damn sure eat that double meat hamburger over skipping a meal because chicken and rice wasn’t available.
Most of the people worried about “eating clean” instead of “eating enough” won’t grow much.
Also, guys with really fast metabolisms may find it difficult to eat enough from what many regard as “clean”.
These labels don’t mean shit out of context. A “hamburger” is not “dirty”.[/quote]
I don’t dispute that, hence my rhetorical “why”. But, there’s nothing wrong in eating as clean AS POSSIBLE.
But a guy on 165 pounds doesn’t need to start eating “dirty” whatever that means. There is no reason to do that. Resorting to eating crap - like some people (not saying that is what you suggest) see as bulking is imo. retarded.
Besides that I personally don’t eat hamburgers, but that is because of gluten/wheat and is another discussion.
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
[quote]Anus Bleach wrote:
[quote]JerryRicePwns wrote:
Eat as clean as possible. [/quote]
that is a bulking mistake yes[/quote]
Why?[/quote]
Because your goal is to make sure your calories are where they need to be and that you are gaining mostly muscle…not on simply making sure you “eat clean” as possible.
In other words, this does not mean eat pure crap just to meet a caloric demand…but I will damn sure eat that double meat hamburger over skipping a meal because chicken and rice wasn’t available.
Most of the people worried about “eating clean” instead of “eating enough” won’t grow much.
Also, guys with really fast metabolisms may find it difficult to eat enough from what many regard as “clean”.
These labels don’t mean shit out of context. A “hamburger” is not “dirty”.[/quote]
I don’t dispute that, hence my rhetorical “why”. But, there’s nothing wrong in eating as clean AS POSSIBLE.
But a guy on 165 pounds doesn’t need to start eating “dirty” whatever that means. There is no reason to do that. Resorting to eating crap - like some people (not saying that is what you suggest) see as bulking is imo. retarded.
[/quote]
Maybe the “eat as clean as possible” meant “low carb no fats”. And that is, from my skinny guy pov, a mistake, no ?
I was 130 pounds some years ago (for 5’9" 5’10") and eating rice, chicken, tuna, even in huge quantity, just made me gain few pounds. The only way to break through was to eat, eat, and eat, lots of rich meals, and especially, beef. I don’t why but beef was a huge key. I m talking about 400g steaks here, with the fats. Not 100g lean ground beef.
dont do what I did a couple of years ago, drinking 8 pints of 1% fat milk mixed with sugary protein powder every day.
[quote]Vince_fr wrote:
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
[quote]Anus Bleach wrote:
[quote]JerryRicePwns wrote:
Eat as clean as possible. [/quote]
that is a bulking mistake yes[/quote]
Why?[/quote]
Because your goal is to make sure your calories are where they need to be and that you are gaining mostly muscle…not on simply making sure you “eat clean” as possible.
In other words, this does not mean eat pure crap just to meet a caloric demand…but I will damn sure eat that double meat hamburger over skipping a meal because chicken and rice wasn’t available.
Most of the people worried about “eating clean” instead of “eating enough” won’t grow much.
Also, guys with really fast metabolisms may find it difficult to eat enough from what many regard as “clean”.
These labels don’t mean shit out of context. A “hamburger” is not “dirty”.[/quote]
I don’t dispute that, hence my rhetorical “why”. But, there’s nothing wrong in eating as clean AS POSSIBLE.
But a guy on 165 pounds doesn’t need to start eating “dirty” whatever that means. There is no reason to do that. Resorting to eating crap - like some people (not saying that is what you suggest) see as bulking is imo. retarded.
[/quote]
Maybe the “eat as clean as possible” meant “low carb no fats”. And that is, from my skinny guy pov, a mistake, no ?
I was 130 pounds some years ago (for 5’9" 5’10") and eating rice, chicken, tuna, even in huge quantity, just made me gain few pounds. The only way to break through was to eat, eat, and eat, lots of rich meals, and especially, beef. I don’t why but beef was a huge key. I m talking about 400g steaks here, with the fats. Not 100g lean ground beef.[/quote]
Maybe? Maybe it just meant what it said. Eat as clean as possible - while still reaching your goal of putting on the maximum of muscle mass in a period of time.
If you think eating clean only means rice/chicken/tuna then there’s a long way to go.
It’s sometimes easier to say what it is not. It is not eating 2xpizza every day. It is not eating candybars in between every meal.
Most people can meet their caloric requirements for optimal muscle building with “clean” foods, and I see absolutely no reason to discourage a 165lbs guy to eat as clean as possible.
There are some good threads around suggesting food sources.
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
Most people can meet their caloric requirements for optimal muscle building with “clean” foods, and I see absolutely no reason to discourage a 165lbs guy to eat as clean as possible.
There are some good threads around suggesting food sources.
[/quote]
The only thing being “discouraged” is the idea that how “clean” you eat needs to take top priority. It doesn’t. In fact, most of the people who act like how clean you eat is the most important aren’t very big at all. That much is fact.
I do not eat candy bars. I don’t drink sodas except rarely. I can’t remember the last time I ate a donut, but I have had pizza this week. Am I eating pizza everyday? Of course not. There is middle ground here without acting like some diet Nazi.
Most people who act like that ARE STILL SMALL.
Your main focus is to make sure the muscle is coming from what you are doing. If some kid has a fast metabolism, they can get away with eating more calorically dense foods more throughout the day.
The take home message is to let YOUR RESULTS guide your actions…instead of acting like you get an award because you eat “cleaner” than everyone else.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Hoejer wrote:
Most people can meet their caloric requirements for optimal muscle building with “clean” foods, and I see absolutely no reason to discourage a 165lbs guy to eat as clean as possible.
There are some good threads around suggesting food sources.
[/quote]
The only thing being “discouraged” is the idea that how “clean” you eat needs to take top priority. It doesn’t. In fact, most of the people who act like how clean you eat is the most important aren’t very big at all. That much is fact.
I do not eat candy bars. I don’t drink sodas except rarely. I can’t remember the last time I ate a donut, but I have had pizza this week. Am I eating pizza everyday? Of course not. There is middle ground here without acting like some diet Nazi.
Most people who act like that ARE STILL SMALL.
Your main focus is to make sure the muscle is coming from what you are doing. If some kid has a fast metabolism, they can get away with eating more calorically dense foods more throughout the day.
The take home message is to let YOUR RESULTS guide your actions…instead of acting like you get an award because you eat “cleaner” than everyone else. [/quote]
I agree. There are just people pushing from both camps. The “eat everything you see” camp is not going to get you close to your goal either. I have seen plenty of kids going overboard also, having to take too much time out of the calendar to peel of the extra added layers. At a point the end result is diminished.
good responses, keep them coming!
triple cheeseburgers and bigmacks, trust me, i know
←
I have been taking in between 3000 and 3300 cals a day and have not seen any real size gains, an increase in definition and even lost 8 pounds this year. I train hard every workout, maybe over train as I am sore for sometimes up to a week on hams and quads. A trainer at the gym suggested taking a carb supplement (CarboMax) pwo. Its pure maltodextrin. Would a carb powder be considered a dirty bulk tool the same as a fast dbl cheeseburger or a handful of jelly beans?
I tried eating clean. Ya’know the typical 4-6 meals a day with chicken, rice, and some broccoli. I didn’t like it, probably because I needed a huge surplus in calories for recovery while on SS.
There’s nothing wrong with eating “clean” to bulk, but it will be slower, and at your height you will have to eat MUCH MORE. I don’t know about you but I’m not one to sit down and gobble down 2 big chicken breasts with 2+ cups of rice 4-6 times a day. If you can, more power to you.
You want to get as big as possible before season starts again, so chow down those burgers, juicy steaks, or fatty chicken thighs.
As a side note, a year ago I was 5’7 at 125 pounds. Now I’m 5’8 at 175 pounds, probably a bit less since I weigh myself at night. I drank a gallon of milk everyday for 2 months, nowadays I drink .5 gallon to 1 gallon depending on what I eat throughout the day. I double scoop some protein into my milk before I go to bed.
IIRC, hockey is about smashing your opponent’s face to the wall. Being skinny makes you an easier target.
Besides life’s too good to miss out on the greasy foods, you’ve only got one to live.