Just a quick question, I have never bulked before, ever. I was always on the opposite end, trying to lose weight. Now Im down to 188, and looking to add a some lean muscle.
I am eating at maitenence, or a little above it, by 200 calories or so. As I stated, this is the 1st time ever that Ive eaten this much. In the last week or so, Ive went up to 190-191. My question is, how fast should I be "gaining" weight, with minimum fat gain as my goal?
Im thinking of going to about 195 or so, as I already have some decent muscle, then going on a strict cutting diet, and using 5x5 schemes for my workout. Ive also just started to creatine again. Can someone help me with my questions, as its kind of weird trying to gain weight, after I worked so hard to lose it. Thanks.
PS. If I had to guess, I would say my bodyfat is around 10-11% now, no more than 12%, but Im thinking its lower.
Originally posted by raymond3: Just a quick question, I have never bulked before, ever. I was always on the opposite end, trying to lose weight. Now Im down to 188, and looking to add a some lean muscle.
I am eating at maitenence, or a little above it, by 200 calories or so. As I stated, this is the 1st time ever that Ive eaten this much. In the last week or so, Ive went up to 190-191. My question is, how fast should I be "gaining" weight, with minimum fat gain as my goal?
Im thinking of going to about 195 or so, as I already have some decent muscle, then going on a strict cutting diet, and using 5x5 schemes for my workout. Ive also just started to creatine again. Can someone help me with my questions, as its kind of weird trying to gain weight, after I worked so hard to lose it. Thanks.
PS. If I had to guess, I would say my bodyfat is around 10-11% now, no more than 12%, but Im thinking its lower.
Here is my .23567 rounded off the the fifth decimal point to the third power cents. 2-3lbs in one week is a little on the quick side. Usually a slow progression like one pound per week can be expected as pretty solid muscle gain with very minimal unwanted fat and leaves more room for the possibility of lowered bf%. But everyone is different. It will help a lot to maintain 1-2 sessions of HIIT per week while bulking, I know it's extra work but it really helps fight off the extra fat gain. Just like you know by now that one can't rush fat loss without losing muscle, well one can't rush muscle gain without adding fat either.
So say you're at 190lbs now, give it a full month to get to 195 and maybe even lose a bit of fat along the way. Keep your extra caloric intake about 250kcals over your maintenance needs. That will keep the gains slow yes, but solid. And solid is good! Hope I helped.
Raymond, First off, understand that by using Creatine, you will hold about 5 lbs of extra water weight. I gained 5 in the first 5 days. This is a good thing, and is not BF% increase.
I would try to up your intake to 500+ calories over the normal intake. After the Creatine weight gain, you should see about 2-3 lbs per week gain, and if things go well, 2/3rds of the gain in weight should be lean mass. At 188, plus creatine, I would aim for 200-210lbs and then cut, knowing you will lose some mass during the cut phase. The key is to really up your protein intake and focus on a bulk plan when lifting. 5x5 works pretty well for that as you stated and maybe do HIIT 1-2 times a week, but no more.
You might also try to add a shot of Flax oil in the AM to help increase your healthy fat intake without feeling so full and bloated from eating.
Don't be afraid to add some weight or you might lose your gains when you cut if you didn't bulk enough.
I didn't even see that you were taking creatine, that's definately contributing to the first weight gain splurge this week and will affect your gains. Creatine in general will affect your gains in more of the fashion NL describes (faster increases). NL has great advice, our advice is pretty sililar really. This stuff should get you started. GOOD LUCK!
Well first off you are probably right, my weight fluctuates a couple of pounds here or there anyways, like everyone else. I was sitting at 186-188 for about a month, and since Ive upped my calories, now Im at 190-191 consistenly. I definitely have the patience for this, as Ive already said its hard to try to gain weight after Ive been trying to lose for years.
I workout Mon, Wed, and Fri (splits) and I do 15 min of hiit after my workout on Mon and on Wed. I am also going to do 25-30 of steady on Sat, which gives me a total of 3 cardio days (2 hiit and 1 steady). I was doing 20-25 min of hiit 3 days a week, and 30-40 min of steady on Sat (total of 4 days cardio) but realize I have to decrease it to add muscle. Do you guys think the hiit sessions on Mon and Wed, and the one steady on Sat is good, or should I do 15 min of hiit on Saturday as well in place of the steady?
Im now keeping my reps between 6-10, and will go with 5x5 when I cut. I may take your advice and go to 200 (wow that seems weird after trying to lose weight), but I suppose 200 back then and 200 now would be different.
You might think about trading the 30 min of steady cardio for 1 session of HIIT. Steady state cardio and Bulking is like Drinking and Driving...They don't mix well from my experience.
I think to bulk you really need to aim at least for 400 cals over maintanence. This has been a bare minimuim for me and here is why:
I found when I tried to just barely eat over maintence it didnt work. I think this has to do with the following. You cannot track calories accurately. Food packaging lies, different servings of the same stuff will have different nutritional values, etc. Everything on fitday is just an 'average' and I would say the calories one consumes in a day (even when tracking everything) can be +-300 pretty easy.
Compound this with the fact that we will burn diff amounts of calories each day(see the recent articles about how people who figit more are usually leaner due to these extra calories burned) and it is very easy to slip under or sit at maintanence.
*I* found that my weight would go up half a pound then drop a little bit then go up a little bit. This ended in a net gain of probably 1.5 pds in 2 months which is really not enough IMHO.
raymond, HIIT 3 times a week is what I have been doing following CT's running man template.
I am doing a heavy/med/light Starr esque program and up till this point it hasn't hurt my recovery at all. In fact the HIIT has helped w/ soreness in my legs after heavy squat days.
The last week though I have been feeling a little burnt when doing my intervals so I think the fatigue is slowly starting to get to my CNS and maybe cutting back a few sessions will have to be in order.
One thing I will note is that you should choose your HIIT wisely. I was doing sprints on a track and just found it too draining 3x a week to allow for recovery(even though I am taking in 3000 cals a day). I found bike or eliptical intervals were better suited to the job.
You could also do what berardi suggests. Eat Maintenance calories (after you factor in the expenditure of your exercise), and eat that amount the entire week. That way, on the days that you DON'T do exercise, you'll be at your surplus and since muscles are built when you rest, the added calories will help in building muscle.
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Ok thanks guys, I appreciate all of the good advice. I am going to do the 3 days of hiit and try to get up to around 200. Then cut again, but from my understanding, once I gain some muscle, cutting should be a little easier, or at least easier than its been now.
Just wanted to add that the first week on my bulk(8 weeks ago) I agained 3 lbs as well. But ever since I have been gaining 1-1.5lbs per week. I think the body takes time to adjust to the increased calories somewhat. Plus, in you case you started to take creatine again.
True, like I said, I could probably weigh myself tomorrow and be down to 189-190. But Im going to aim for 1-1.5 pounds a week, so this way fat gain is minimized.
I guess 500+ increment would be good to start with but ultimately you have to find what works best for you. My body allows me to burn fat and increase muscle tissue at the same time, but I keep a strangle hold on my nutrition and document it every day down to the macro's, water, fat ratios, glycemic index, etc. To each there own, expirement and see what works best for you.
I have been bulking now for about 8 wks and have gained 6 lbs. I also am taking creatine and know that some of it is water weight, however I intake about 250-300 grams of protien aday and also know that my bodyfat is dropping. Eating clean and lifting like the freak that I am is starting to pay off. Hang in there, it will come!!!
:p 
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