[quote]dankid wrote:
[quote]Cgunz wrote:
While I agree with much of the above that one’s experience has limited instructional value, I do think this is an interesting question.
Years ago, I went from 138 to 205 lifting 5 days a week, doing both compound and isolation movements, going to failure on pretty much every set, and eating 5,000 pretty dirty cals a day. Naturally, I gained a lot of fat, and when I finally cut down to ~8% body fat, I was at 185. So that sucked, but still, I gained nearly 50 lbs of lean muscle, and had a lot of fun in the process (nothing like sitting down for Sunday Night Football with two boxes of mac 'n cheese).
The last two months, I have focused on 5/3/1 and eating about 500 cals above what I burn every day. So far, I’ve gained 10 lbs, I’m up 60 lbs in my dead lift, and I have gained very little fat (my waist measurement has stayed the same). I’m not a bodybuilder, but this basic program (increasing strength + moderately increasing intake) works well for packing on lean muscle and improving power. Plus, I would rather be slowly bulking (if I stay lean) forever than to bulk fast and have to cut. I hate cutting, and I especially hate lifting while cutting. But again, I’m not a bodybuilder.[/quote]
This is true, but if you would have used your current methods when you were 138lbs, you’d still probably be small and weak. Some might disagree, but I highly doubt that most people will be able to consistently gain a lot of weight with the slow and steady method. All those dirty calories during that bulk have signaled to your body that its ok to build muscle, and that there will be enough intake to maintain it. Although the “law” of thermodynamics states that +500 kcals a day should lead to +52lbs a year, it never works out this way. Your body isn’t a lab and just doesn’t recognize +500kcals a day as enough to justify laying down more muscle; in most situations.
I wonder where this “slow bulk” +500 kcals thing came from. Im guessing back in the day they just ate a ton and lifted and adjusted as they got too fat.[/quote]
So, we had this conversation a couple of weeks ago. I think it cursed me. After two months of great success with steady, slow gaining, I suddenly started LOSING weight with the same number of calories, +500 kcals. Even that increase over my BMR prior to the bulk (which I confirmed using a couple of different formulas and a breath analyzer) was now not even enough to maintain weight.
I quickly upped my intake to 4,000 kcals/day, and I’m back to a half pound every two days or so. What’s the lesson? Don’t post your success mid-bulk, it jinxes you.