The Right Way to Bulk

Training Bodybuilding
81

Look. The “add weight to the bar” mindset is STILL the most important factor here UNLESS you have terrible genetics. For those who focus on “rubbing the dumbbells on their nipples before they raise it up carefully” and never raise weight because they are sticking to some textbook definition for “perfect form” and “perfect ROM” they will NEVER make any worthwhile gains.

This is the last time I;m posting this - “Select and perform movements using a form that stresses your prime movers and allows you to progress, balance strength and form to raise poundage over time in said movements and gain bodyweight with a caloric surplus with sufficient protein intake”.

Thats all.

[quote]forlife wrote:
Professor X wrote:
That means the best advice to truly get big is still to “just shut up and eat and lift heavy”. For those who have it in them. that is enough.

I agree that is the best advice for young people with good genetics. It’s not always the best advice for people in their 30s-50s with crappy genetics.

You’ve seen great results personally, but you started young and have unusually good genetics. Following the same path as you is not going to lead to the same result, for most people on these boards.[/quote]

82

[quote]Professor X wrote:
I think it is you who underestimates people like me. I deal with people all day long and am generally very good at reading people from limited info.[/quote]

How old am I, what do I weigh, and what do I want to be when I grow up?!

83

So is there a conclusion yet as to the right way to bulk?

It seems most “experts” nowadays suggest very very slow weight gain (like +300-500 kcals) while others suggest eating a TON and training hard and not really setting a limit on how much you can gain.

It seems to me if you are on the lighter side; like myself, then you should shoot for 2+lbs/week and only make adjustments if you notice too much fat gain. And if you tend to gain fat easily then maybe the clean/slow bulk is a good starting point, and adjust if you aren’t making progress.

Ive tried a lot of things in the past few years, and have made a lot of observations. For ME, slow bulks and slow cuts have led to very little change. I recently did the “dirtiest” bulk ive ever considered, and gained weight very rapidly. I know that a good amount of the weight I gained was water/glycogen, but I was able to maintain that new weight for a while, while eating a lot but not anything absurd. Back when I’d try the slow steady “clean” method, i would notice a point where i just was always full and didn’t think i could maintain weight. But after my dirty bulk, i just decided to try and hold onto that weight while cleaning things up. When things got balanced, I went into a pretty extreme, yet short cut. I then reverse the process. I cant say this method will work for everyone, but for me it seems to be what has worked best so far. Also, my training has changed and im lifting more then ever before so that could be part of it.

So this is basically what i’ll be doing for the next year or so to see how it goes.

  1. BULKING PHASE (emphasis is on calories, when in doubt eat more)
  2. Repeat until you have gained a significant amount of weight (for me at my level this is 10-15lbs)
  3. Maintain that weight, while cleaning up the diet.
  4. After maintenance has been achieved, do a pretty quick cut that focuses on rapid fat loss and minimal muscle loss.
  5. Maintain the new BF levels while gradually going back to maintenance level calories and “normal” eating.
  6. Repeat.

It seems to work, and depending on the length of the different phases, it can really work well in conjunction with whatever periodization you are using. (ie: high work loads and hardest training during the BULK, and minimal work; yet heavy, during the rapid cut).

I dont think i meet all the criteria Tribunal listed, but I definately have a harder time gaining fat, than losing fat, or muscle, so more is always more with me.

Another thing ive noticed recently is that focusing on arms and shoulders can make a HUGE difference in appearance. Sure, every training plan should have squat, deadlift, push, pull, but in training to look good for whatever reason, focusing on shoulders and arms will make a big difference.

Now I just gotta keep doing it and progress, and hopefully in 6-12 months from now, i’ll be 20-30 lbs heavier, and leaner.

84

[quote]Professor X wrote:
When I speak, it is for those with the goal of gaining some serious fucking size. It is NOT for 40 year olds who just started lifting but think they will still gain 100lbs of lean body mass.

[/quote]

Maybe you need to start every relevant post with this as a disclaimer (sarcasm)

[quote]Professor X wrote:

Some of this shit is common sense.[/quote]

Apparently not.

85

[quote]forlife wrote:
Are you the only person that tells people to “just shut up and eat?”. I see it all the time here, and while you may be more careful to target it to guys in their 20s with good genetic potential, a lot of posters don’t.[/quote]

A lot of posters tell every single person they need TBT without knowing jack shit about that person’s worth ethic or current progress as well yet I don’t see you saying anything about this.

86

[quote]tribunaldude wrote:
Look. The “add weight to the bar” mindset is STILL the most important factor here UNLESS you have terrible genetics. [/quote]

Adding weight to the bar should be the most important factor, regardless of age or genetics. Obviously a 70 year-old isn’t going to have the same lifting capacity that he had at 30, but the mentality and action of constantly pushing and progressing is what makes a true bodybuilder.

87

[quote]Professor X wrote:
A lot of posters tell every single person they need TBT without knowing jack shit about that person’s worth ethic or current progress as well yet I don’t see you saying anything about this.[/quote]

Telling every single person they need TBT is as stupid as telling every person to “Just shut up and eat!”, which is just as stupid as telling every person that unless they gain significant size (100+ pounds), regardless of age or genetics, they aren’t a true bodybuilder and should find some other forum to post in.

88

[quote]forlife wrote:
Professor X wrote:
A lot of posters tell every single person they need TBT without knowing jack shit about that person’s worth ethic or current progress as well yet I don’t see you saying anything about this.

Telling every single person they need TBT is as stupid as telling every person to “Just shut up and eat!”, which is just as stupid as telling every person that unless they gain significant size (100+ pounds), regardless of age or genetics, they aren’t a true bodybuilder and should find some other forum to post in.[/quote]

Butthurt much? Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, that’s that. If you train for ten years but don’t eat to grow, you need to find another word for it. Strength training, fitness, whatever. Aren’t you the guy who was lecturing waylander about how bodybuilding is about how much iron you can move, and not how much you can move the scale?

Bodybuilding is about growing muscle, I don’t see how you can dispute this. I mean the word bodybuilder doesn’t conjure up an image of a 160 lb underwear model in anyone that I know.

General fitness forum. I’ll keep saying it until maybe TC reads it, lol.

89

[quote]Mr.Purple wrote:
Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, that’s that.[/quote]

Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, to the best of your ability given your age and genetic potential. Telling all newbies to “Just shut up and eat!” while ignoring those factors isn’t doing them any favors. Neither is telling people who are over 30 or have sucky genetics to fuck off and post in some other forum, because they’ll never be a “true bodybuilder”.

90

[quote]forlife wrote:
Mr.Purple wrote:
Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, that’s that.

Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, to the best of your ability given your age and genetic potential. Telling all newbies to “Just shut up and eat!” while ignoring those factors isn’t doing them any favors. Neither is telling people who are over 30 or have sucky genetics to fuck off and post in some other forum, because they’ll never be a “true bodybuilder”.[/quote]

Provide some links where a newbie has been told to just shut up and eat. Mostly what I see is people going out of their way to give detailed advice. Sure, there are some one-liners and less than serious posts, but if the newbies can’t tell the difference between that shit and one of, say Cephalic_Carnage or Tribunaldude’s posts… well then they are newbies when it comes to reading comprehension and basic judgement of character as well.

In short, I don’t believe that there is a lot of this blanket advice being given, except by some of the “authors.” I know that if I had visited the forums instead of reading articles when I first came here, I wouldn’t have wasted my entire first year of lifting spinning my head and doing stupid shit.

91

[quote]forlife wrote:
Mr.Purple wrote:
Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, that’s that.

Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, to the best of your ability given your age and genetic potential. Telling all newbies to “Just shut up and eat!” while ignoring those factors isn’t doing them any favors. Neither is telling people who are over 30 or have sucky genetics to fuck off and post in some other forum, because they’ll never be a “true bodybuilder”.[/quote]

You are not only getting irritating at this point, but I dare you to find one of my posts where the advice was simply “just shut up and eat” with no inference at all of what this entails. Since you claim this happens so often, you should be able to easily find one.

Get on it.

92

[quote]Mr.Purple wrote:
forlife wrote:
Mr.Purple wrote:
Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, that’s that.

Bodybuilding is about gaining muscle size, to the best of your ability given your age and genetic potential. Telling all newbies to “Just shut up and eat!” while ignoring those factors isn’t doing them any favors. Neither is telling people who are over 30 or have sucky genetics to fuck off and post in some other forum, because they’ll never be a “true bodybuilder”.

Provide some links where a newbie has been told to just shut up and eat. Mostly what I see is people going out of their way to give detailed advice. Sure, there are some one-liners and less than serious posts, but if the newbies can’t tell the difference between that shit and one of, say Cephalic_Carnage or Tribunaldude’s posts… well then they are newbies when it comes to reading comprehension and basic judgement of character as well.

In short, I don’t believe that there is a lot of this blanket advice being given, except by some of the “authors.” I know that if I had visited the forums instead of reading articles when I first came here, I wouldn’t have wasted my entire first year of lifting spinning my head and doing stupid shit.[/quote]

Agreed. This is a bodybuilding forum. If the poster has no genetic inclination to build significant muscle at all, then they need to find a new hobby. Trying to force the rest of us who do have the goal of building muscle to accept people who make no progress makes no sense.

This is not a general fitness forum where we cheer on the simple act of going to a gym as if that is enough. If that is what Forlife wants he should pm TC and ask for a new forum added on.

93

Not to mention… “genetics” is not why some people can’t break 15 inch arms.

94

[quote]Professor X wrote:
You are not only getting irritating at this point, but I dare you to find one of my posts where the advice was simply “just shut up and eat” with no inference at all of what this entails. Since you claim this happens so often, you should be able to easily find one.
[/quote]

Why do you keep assuming every post is about you, when I said otherwise earlier in the thread?

95

[quote]forlife wrote:
Professor X wrote:
You are not only getting irritating at this point, but I dare you to find one of my posts where the advice was simply “just shut up and eat” with no inference at all of what this entails. Since you claim this happens so often, you should be able to easily find one.

Why do you keep assuming every post is about you, when I said otherwise earlier in the thread?[/quote]

Because then your only point would be “random people write stuff that I do not agree with even though most of them don’t stick around long enough for me to even recall them by name”…which makes no sense.

If you can’t point out who these people are or find their posts, that sure as hell does water down your point of this advice being thrown out all over the place.

96

Nobody is so genetically doomed that they can’t make progress in the gym. They may not add 100 pounds, but it’s not about that. It’s about busting your ass and putting on as much muscle as you can given your age and genetics. People with less than perfect genetics, or 30+ years old still have a place here, even if they never get to your size.

97

[quote]Professor X wrote:
hawaiilifterMike wrote:
To properly bulk, visit and eat at fast food restaurants daily, it helped me get to 247lbs very quickly.

I’ve seen your pictures from February. You don’t look like you lift weights. Why are you giving advice?[/quote]

LOL.

Good to see you’re still pushing this boulder uphill, Prof.

Tribunaldude,

Your common sense has no place on this forum.

98

[quote]forlife wrote:
Nobody is so genetically doomed that they can’t make progress in the gym. They may not add 100 pounds, but it’s not about that. It’s about busting your ass and putting on as much muscle as you can given your age and genetics. People with less than perfect genetics, or 30+ years old still have a place here, even if they never get to your size.[/quote]

Where have you seen people turned away simply because they aren’t huge yet? Are you fucking serious? How many people on this forum are anywhere near the size of even someone like waylander?

I don’t have “perfect genetics” so why are you making up strawman arguments when the truth is, you haven’t shown any proof whatsoever of someone who is even half way well known on this forum giving the advice you spoke of earlier as the ONLY advice?

There is a huge difference between making decent progress…and actually still having 15" arms after SEVERAL YEARS of “training” like we see on this board.

No one is turned away for trying hard. They get jumped on for being pussies and then acting like we should respect them for it.

99

[quote]hawaiilifterMike wrote:
No, I am not kidding, how else can you gain / bulk quickly? And yes I do not look like I lift weights, like most of the people on this board (with a few exceptions).[/quote]

Dude according to your numbers you have 148 lbs of LBM and 99 lbs of fat.

100

People are ridiculed and told to fuck off because they haven’t met someone’s standard of having “enough size”. You started young, and it’s unrealistic to judge people by what you achieved, when they are starting at a later age. Obviously some people show no progress at all, but not everyone has to start in their 20s or achieve your size in order to be a “real bodybuilder”.