If that is a diet you can commit to every single day for months on end, then yeah it looks perfectly fine. Just adjust calories upward as needed (if you don’t gain any weight for 2 weeks, add more carbs or fats)
Diet really matters in bodybuilding, not specifically what is eaten, but just that the same quotas are met every day for a looooong time. So don’t make it any more difficult or complicated for yourself than you have to. If you find yourself not meeting your quotas and holes start popping up in your diet plan because of time, money, appetite, whatever… that is a serious problem that you need to fix (probably by simplifying things). Nothing will halt your progress faster than gaps in consistency (I cannot possibly stress this point enough to beginners).
On a sidenote, now that you are going to be gaining, you need to keep in mind that if your major gym lifts aren’t going up by at least 5lbs each month (somewhere in a medium 6-12 rep range), then your training isn’t going to yield results, and you need to be working harder. Don’t worry about powering some heavier weight up at all cost to form and feel, because that is going to have the opposite affect you want when the target muscles aren’t getting the full brunt of the work (a lot of guys seem to do this crap). Just focus on training as hard as you can, every time, and the strength will come naturally. If it doesn’t, you either aren’t training hard enough, or you aren’t training correctly.
Nothing wrong with the diet; it’s whatever suits you long term. If you can do it day in and day out without getting impatient/fed up, all is good.
Another note about measurements (since I know you are a stickler for these lol): try not to be too concerned with weekly results (especially with the callipers/measuring tape). Things tend to iron out/average out over time. There will be peaks and troughs especially on a weekly basis, which is why sometimes it’s better to be less concerned about those details (tape/callipers) and more about long term strength gains and bodyweight going up gradually. Otherwise it can drive you crazy analysing your weekly “feedback” (which can be inaccurate much of the time - e.g. bloatedness/simply an inconsistent week etc).
Example:
You may measure the calipers/measuring tape around waist going up on one week (i.e. a peak), then suddenly be afraid that you’re gaining too much fat - then without you realising it, you subconsciously hold back with the diet (or at least start to lose faith in your gaining phase…which is not good)
Or
After a busy/stressful week where you didn’t manage to finish meals/skipped some (inconsistent week), you may take your measurements and they are all the same: therefore you “panick” and increase calories trying to boost gains (when in reality, this may make you fatter than needed, and consistency over time with an adequate intake is better).
Thanks guys. With the diet, I easily fall into routines, so once I eat that way for a couple weeks, it’ll simply a standard part of my day. As a matter of fact, I’m so routine with my nutrition that my wife already knows what to cook on a given night of the week without having to ask me! I usually use Saturdays and Sundays to break the routine slightly and eat something different, but Monday thru Friday, that will be the type of meals I’ll be eating (with the exception that I’ll change protein sources for lunch/dinner, I typically enjoy home made burgers, turkey burgers, steaks, grilled chicken, fish, sausage… the list can go on.)
Sometimes I sweat the small stuff, and I know that could be counterproductive, so I’ll try hard not to get lost in the details. But for example, the diet I posted for this Monday, I was worrying myself that my carb intake was over 100g, so I tried to somehow take it down, but regardless of what fatty substitute I used (Whole Milk, Avocado, Natty PB) everything had a component of carbs. But I was able to calm myself down and look at the big picture… as long as I train hard and train right, an extra 20g or so of carbs will not destroy my progress. The only reason I’ve been fretting over the carb discussion is I’m almost positive that my body doesn’t handle them that well.
This will be my 3rd attempt at bulking … and for me, there are 2 distinct areas where I’ve failed at in the past.
I didn’t listen to my body. I just kept eating carbs, and never really took measurements. This led to that “bloated” feeling that made me switch gears both times and end the bulk prematurely, before I can realize any significant muscle gains. This time around, through measurements and progress pics, I’ll be very attentive to these details. Instead of prematurely stopping the bulk, my plan would be to make minor alterations (i.e. nutrition or added cardio) to prolong the bulk… I’d really like to hit AT LEAST 180 lbs, if not more.
This is probably the most important, and the one that Mr P. nailed … I still don’t think I’ve trained with the proper intensity. I don’t think I’ve LEARNED what that intensity level is. I was thinking of going out and getting the PUMPIN IRON dvd. I’ve heard that could be very motivating, and a big eye opener as to what intensity really means. Are there any other videos out there that I should watch every once in awhile simply to act as a catalyst before hitting the gym? I WANT the intensity… I just need to be able to find it. I want those ball-busting reps, the ones that really count. I guarantee that I’ve lacked this in the past, and that’s why my prior bulks were sub optimal in terms of muscle gain.
/rant … sorry for the long post, I know I get wordy at times, just trying to express what goes thru my mind!
15 minutes of HIIT sprinting (outdoors) … 15 seconds on, 45 seconds off
Last cardio session before the bulk begins. I plan on stopping cardio altogether at the beginning of the bulk, see how my body responds. If eventually I have to add it back in, I’d probably start with steady-state.
Tomorrow will be measurements and progress pics. These will serve as my basis of comparison when I start taking progress pics during the bulk phase.
Try not to develop a complex over carbs lol. When I said 100g, that was just a safe starting point, you can have more and will increase them later anyway.
If your next bulk is further away from 50%+ carbs, and timing them mostly around workouts/in the morning, then that’s 2 major steps in the right direction. No need to get fanatical about them (carbs)
BW - 150.4 lbs (-2.2 from last week, -15.6 in total)
Waist - 31.50" (-0.25" from last week, -2.50" in total)
Bicep (right/relaxed) - 12.25" (-0.25", +0.25" in total)
Bicep (right/flexed) - 13.25" (-0.25", -0.50" in total)
3 site BF - 8.94% (-0.67% from last week, -7.30% in total)
7 site BF - 10.63% (-0.33% from last week, -3.43% from start of calculation)
Comments
Well, this was my last week on this phase. Not it’s onto the bulk. From this point forward, I think I’ll only use the 7-site test results, as it must be more accurate.
I took progress pics, will try and post some later in the day.
Your level of bodyfat is perfectly acceptable to bulk up. It will take at least a couple years to fill out that frame, so it’s good that you’re getting going now.
Cable Lateral Raises
20/10
30/10
40/3, then 30/5 immediately after
BB Shrugs
135/10
155/10
175/8
Lying Behind the Head Extensions
warmup
Bar/20
work sets
40/10
50/10
60/10
1 arm OH Extensions
15/10
20/10
Comments:
Started the new routine today. Will be doing 5 day split, hitting all bodyparts 2x a week, except Legs (only 1x a week on wednesdays).
Today’s session felt real good. I probably went lighter than I could have on some exercises, but I did it more so to get used to the new routine, new exercises, new sequence of lifts, etc. My goal is going to be to add AT LEAST 5 lbs to each major lift EVERY MONTH.
From a diet perspective, I’m compliant. I’ll be eating around 3,000 calories daily. We’ll see what effect that has on bodyweight on Sunday.
Seated Straight Bar Rows (for now, had to use straps instead of straight bar)
70/10
115/10
150/10
165/10 (first 3 sets were fairly easy, so I went another)
Pinwheel Curls
15/8
20/8
25/8
30/8 (form started breaking down on last few reps)
Incline DB Curls
15/8
20/8
25/8 (I failed on the very last rep, but my spotter helped me finish off the set)
Weighted Crunches (on Nautilus Ab Crunch Machine)
150/15
160/15
170/12
Comments-
Another good session. I wonder if the weighted crunches feel better with free weights, as opposed to using the seated Ab Crunch machine. I may experiment with that alone. The weighted pullups felt good too. I simply kept a DB between my thighs/knees. It worked out fine.
Just a quick note to say I’m still checking in on your log. Don’t worry if I don’t post much; from this point onwards you have all you need and just need to hammer away (will only comment if need be).
You have plenty room for “error”, so don’t be too paranoid about fat gain (which as has been covered much already, will not negatively effect your physique when mostly muscle has been gained). You also have a great plan to follow, which puts you way ahead again.
As a rough guess, I’d say most on here (who actually get somewhere…have gained a decent amount of muscle) hover around the 15% mark. That’s the percentage I hover around too (have been as high as 21%…if I had some photos I’d show you for proof lol). In my avatar, I believe I’m somewhere around 12% (I may look leaner, but I’m not). So once again, to put your mind at ease, don’t expect to build yourself up without fat gain…which won’t actually look bad with extra muscle.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Just a quick note to say I’m still checking in on your log. Don’t worry if I don’t post much; from this point onwards you have all you need and just need to hammer away (will only comment if need be).
You have plenty room for “error”, so don’t be too paranoid about fat gain (which as has been covered much already, will not negatively effect your physique when mostly muscle has been gained). You also have a great plan to follow, which puts you way ahead again.
As a rough guess, I’d say most on here (who actually get somewhere…have gained a decent amount of muscle) hover around the 15% mark. That’s the percentage I hover around too (have been as high as 21%…if I had some photos I’d show you for proof lol). In my avatar, I believe I’m somewhere around 12% (I may look leaner, but I’m not). So once again, to put your mind at ease, don’t expect to build yourself up without fat gain…which won’t actually look bad with extra muscle.[/quote]
As always, thanks for stopping by. I’m excited about this phase. I have my diet down, I started the new routine, I’m ready for some gains! I’ll continue posting my progress to this log. Thanks again!
I will check in on things here from time to time as well, but if you have a specific question for me you can still send me a PM.
I do recommend more than 2 exercises for the back. It’s a really large collection of muscle groups, and it’s one of those that seems to respond best from high weight and high volume training.
Also I would echo what its_just_me is saying about bodyfat… I typically hover around 15% when gaining as well, and most of the drug-free lifters on this website do the same. But yeah, as long as you are building more muscle than fat, people will not be noticing a few inches on the waist.
[quote]mr popular wrote:
I will check in on things here from time to time as well, but if you have a specific question for me you can still send me a PM.
I do recommend more than 2 exercises for the back. It’s a really large collection of muscle groups, and it’s one of those that seems to respond best from high weight and high volume training.
Also I would echo what its_just_me is saying about bodyfat… I typically hover around 15% when gaining as well, and most of the drug-free lifters on this website do the same. But yeah, as long as you are building more muscle than fat, people will not be noticing a few inches on the waist.[/quote]
Thanks Brian. I’ll definitely PM you if anything comes up … and I definitely felt as if my back could’ve endured more that day… maybe I’ll throw in DB Rows as well… I’ll experiment and see what feels good. As always, thanks for the help.
Seated Leg Curls
60/10
80/10
100/10 (this last set was still easy, but I stopped here to save energy for the RDLs)
RDL
135/10
155/10
165/10 (I had to switch my grip on the very last rep, otherwise the weight was manageable)
Leg Press
185/10
225/10
265/10
Squats
115/8
135/8
165/5
Standing Calf Raises
185/8
225/8
235/8
Leg Press Calf Raises
275/15
350/15 (this was still faily easy. I’ve maxed the machine out before, so I may have to switch to seated calf raises on the smith machine for variation and added resistance)
Comments-
Today’s session was brutal. Felt good afterwards, my legs definitely took a beating. I like doing the Leg Curls before RDL, and same with Leg Presses before Squats. Next week I’ll definitely go heavier on many of these lifts.
