I have been bulking for about 5 weeks now.
When I started bulking I weighed 140 lbs at 5’ 11". Currently, I weigh 155 lbs. Although I have gained muscle, I have started to put on some fat. My goal is to weigh 170lbs with 10% bf. Is their a limit to how long you should bulk? Or do you just bulk long enough to reach a weight goal?
Thanks,
Josh
Well your goal is 170 lbs at 10%, meaning 153 lbs lean body mass pretty much. After bulking, during cutting, along with losing fat, you’re probably gonna lose a bit of muscle as well. So lets say you plan on getting to 155 or a bit above for lbm during bulking, now, this depends on where your bodyfat is now, and how clean of a bulk you’re doing, but lets say ya have 15% bodyfat and around 155 lbs LBM. This would give you a total weight of around 182 lbs.
So to figure out how long you’re gonna have to gain, figure out how high your body fat is at the moment, and how high you’re willing to let it get.
15 lbs in 5 weeks though, not too shabby as long as it’s fairly clean! keep it up!
At 5’11" you should bulk till 190lbs and reconcider your goal of 170 @ 10%.
185 @ 10% would look a heck of a lot better.
I’m 195 @ ± 15% @ 6’1" and I think it sucks.
I’m gonna go EAT SOMETHING.
Billy
I agree with billyboy. I figure that’s about where I am in the pic I posted in the off-topic section. It’s in the thread called ‘hot t-men battle.’ I don’t know about the b/f, but I’m 184 and with decent definition. I’m not really flexing, just kinda sucking in a little.
You can use it as a guide, but it won’t matter if your body type is different. I get away with having some decent pecs at 185 just cause I have really skinny shoulders.
I noticed in a past thread you said you were following Massive Eating guidelines. Are you still? In my opinion, it’s the only way to bulk.
Also, if you are really conscious of putting on fat, you can use Hot-Rox while you bulk. This has been discussed before; do a search for it.
Good luck,
Ryan
Keep bulking.
I also agree with billboy. I just hit 185, and still feel small. Shoot for 190 before you even think about cutting.
I myself am shooting for 210-20.
Bulk till you hit 200 and then go hit the AAS.
eat some bloody food. train hard. dont worry about the fat. unless it is getting over say 18% (ball park figure evryone has there own “limit”. 18% would be the highest i would ever go)
AAS… pfff…why???
What Whetu and Ko said.
If you want to gain mass - eat and train with that goal in mind. Just remember to bulk does not mean to become a fat ass. It just means to eat MORE of good, old fashion food. Not crap, but food.
I’m going to be in a similar situation soon and have been reading a lot about bulking and cutting. I’d really suggest you read John Berardi’s Massive Eating articles as they address a lot of your issues:
To summarize part of what he says, or how I interpret it at least:
The more fat you carry the higher the fat to muscle gain ratio
The leaner you are the higher the muscle to fat ratio
This seems to suggest to me that adding cutting phases in to your bulking plan may be a good idea ie. the extra fat you are carrying from bulking is encouraging your body to gain even more fat which isn’t the ideal scenario. By leaning out a bit first, in theory, you will gain more muscle and less fat.
Also, by eating meals with only protein/carbs/limited fat OR only protein/fat/limited carbs throughout the day you can also push the muscle to fat gain ratio in your favor too.
Just my read on matters, plus I wouldn’t be too happy laying down new fat cells from continued bulking.
Chris
Go for the bulk untill you reach uncomfortable levels of BF%.
I have been cycling between a slow bulk and maintenence phases for around 5 months now, with a few short sessions of some serious bulking thrown in every now and then.
Hit it hard for a few weeks, then go for a more reasonable bulk to solidify gains, followed by a week or two of maint and eveluate where you are and what you need to do next. You are better off in the long run to go on a longer slower bulk and skip the yoyo of cutting / bulking. Unless you enjoy busting your ass for a few weeks to gain a few lbs of muscle only to lose 90% of it while trying to cut off the unwanted fat you gained. You simply cant expect to pack on large amounts of LBM permanently in a few weeks. We all wish you could but this simply takes time and Hard work.
Slowly up your cals (250 kcals or so) until you stop gaining , then add on again. This method will allow for LBM gains and little BF raise.
Every now and then over the months of bulking throw in a week or two where you hit the fork and iron hard. Load up your plate and do some two a days in the gym, and try and pack it on in this time. Limit this though to prevent burnout and overtraining. Then go back to a more moderate bulk and solidify what you were able to gain. Just dont go from Bulking straight to cutting.
If you began your bulk @ low BF% then many ppl wont make good LBM gains until your body has reached a more natural amount of BF, for me around 12% befor I can expect good gains to begin.
Just a few options for you to ponder,
Phill
[quote]
Bulk till you hit 200 and then go hit the AAS. [/quote]
Ignore this idiotic advice.
i don’t know how many calories you are eating for your current lean mass or the calorie breakdown. I also don’t know how good your workouts are in terms of inducing muscle adaptation for growth. Are you doing any HIIT cardio after your workouts or during your off days? You are either not eating properly and or not training properly. I personally would not want to go above 10% bf. laters pk
Another simple little peice of advice to pass on,
Bulk because you want too, cut because you need/have to.
Phill
“i don’t know how many calories you are eating for your current lean mass or the calorie breakdown. I also don’t know how good your workouts are in terms of inducing muscle adaptation for growth. Are you doing any HIIT cardio after your workouts or during your off days? You are either not eating properly and or not training properly. I personally would not want to go above 10% bf. laters pk”
I am following massive eating, doing the HST routine as my workout. No cardio workouts, and am getting about 8 hours of sleep each night.
First goal: the mass that for you is 200 lbs. Train 3 times per week using only the big compound exercises.
Train (for bulk) for 3 months then take a week off. Then start a new bulk cycle with weights approximately 15% lower then you best in the previous cycle. At every workout try to add some more weight (5%) especially to the Squats,Deadlifts and Bench Presses. Only when you reach a weight of 200 lbs
you can consider a definition plan.