Bulking Phase

[tanguy21]

Hey guys,
Anyone wanna chat about tips for a first time Bulker?

Sorry if this isnt in the right place.
message mee

 

[poultrygeist]

Very sophisticated issue. I'll try and sum it up quickly.

From your avatar, it appears that you are typically lean. If that is the case, then you must eat a LOT of good quality surplus calories and lower your sets and reps to slightly more on the powerlifting type. Concentrate primarily on the big lifts like bench, squats and power cleans or dead lifts. That's the only way I was able to gain muscle. I ate tons of chicken breasts, brown rice, eggs and oatmeal. Things like that. I also worked out 3-4 days a week so as to get plenty of rest. I also cut back on almost all cardio so as to maximize the gain. You're gonna gain at least a little bit of fat. Hard to avoid. But start out eating slightly over your maintenance calories and see how things go before going too all out.

Most importantly IMO you should make a schedule of how long you'll be bulking, then when you finish, then you need to start eating maintenance, and increasing your cardio/reps in order to try to start losing the fat. Then when you finish the cutting phase take a break and eat maintenance calories, ease up a little on the cardio, go back to moderate sets and reps.

The thing to keep in mind is that it can be a fairly slow process. You bulk, gain several pounds, you cut and lose all but around 2-3 lbs of muscle depending on your weight, genetics and efforts. But after a few cycles it's well worth it.

Don't know if that helps or not but you're welcome to PM me for more specifics on nutrition and/or workouts.

 

[tanguy21]

bump

 

[dude_007]

are you talking about the legal type of bulking or the kind that requires a trip to a Tijuana vet?

 

[drjimmy25]

So what are your goals? Just to get big? I like doing a 3 day a week workout. it's called a 5X5. You can google it and you'll find tons of info. Also ya gotta eat! Lots of lean protein like poultygeist said.
Test/Deca can help too!

 

[tanguy21]

yea im talking about the legal bulking, lol. my goal is to get big yea. im 6'0 and just got to 180lb. my goal is 200lbs.

 

[closetfreak]

20lbs isnt too difficult. The problem is getting a solid 20lbs which means youll have to compensate for the fat that you want to lose. First step is getting into the gym and get a good routine down. Down go all out at the start or youll burn out quickly. Work your way up and focus on form and consistently going to the gym.

 

[D_Pokin Joe Frazier]

If you want to get big you have to eat big. I am 6 feet tall an weigh 235lbs I am a personal trainer an I own my own gym.
You should be eating 4000-5000cals a day plus 400 grams protien an 200 carbs an no more than 50-60g of fat

 

[Pith]

If you want to get big you have to eat big. I am 6 feet tall an weigh 235lbs I am a personal trainer an I own my own gym.
You should be eating 4000-5000cals a day plus 400 grams protien an 200 carbs an no more than 50-60g of fat

400 grams of protein is WAY excessive. The most you should do for building muscle is 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

I say this because there is a limit to how much protein you can actually use and is typically around 2.0 grams / kilogram of body weight. The best way to build muscle is to make your body the best environment to grow muscle. That means giving it food, working out hard, and eating right.

I can detail a diet for you more if you like, but I just wanted to comment that this above statement is totally wrong. You need about 150 grams of protein a day, not 400. The excess protein will just get turned into fat. If you eat that big you'll end up fat, bottom line.

 

[jupiter19]

Don't do it, you'll end up looking like a meat heat, and noone likes meathead guys. Girls don't and my gay friends don't either. You'll end up with no stamina and all this "bulk" that you have to drag around. Plus the instant you stop exercising it'll all turn to flab and you'll regret it for the rest of your life. What you should be aiming for is lean, wiry, true strength. Look at furniture removalists or shearers over here in Australia if you want to see what a really fit and strong body looks like.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pikerslanefarm/2518222865/lightbox/ <- this guy could work any gym junkie into the ground and bury him without raising a sweat.

 

[D_Pokin Joe Frazier]

400 grams of protein is WAY excessive. The most you should do for building muscle is 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

I say this because there is a limit to how much protein you can actually use and is typically around 2.0 grams / kilogram of body weight. The best way to build muscle is to make your body the best environment to grow muscle. That means giving it food, working out hard, and eating right.

I can detail a diet for you more if you like, but I just wanted to comment that this above statement is totally wrong. You need about 150 grams of protein a day, not 400. The excess protein will just get turned into fat. If you eat that big you'll end up fat, bottom line.

I don't mean to correct you but if that is you look to be very skinny so if you are following your own info I can see why.
Now you are right that you will gain some fat but when you are trying to bulk up you can not avoid it. I stand by my first statement back by 20 years of owning my own gym an having a degree in phisical education and being 6 '0 an weighing 230 at 10% body fat an I am old on top of that (45)

 

[D_Pokin Joe Frazier]

Don't do it, you'll end up looking like a meat heat, and noone likes meathead guys. Girls don't and my gay friends don't either. You'll end up with no stamina and all this "bulk" that you have to drag around. Plus the instant you stop exercising it'll all turn to flab and you'll regret it for the rest of your life. What you should be aiming for is lean, wiry, true strength. Look at furniture removalists or shearers over here in Australia if you want to see what a really fit and strong body looks like.

Sheep Shearer Study | Flickr - Photo Sharing! <- this guy could work any gym junkie into the ground and bury him without raising a sweat.

Not to be a smart ass but muscle can not turn into fat but you can get fatter if you don't workout an you should be working out till you die for a better quality of life.

 

[Pith]

I don't mean to correct you but if that is you look to be very skinny so if you are following your own info I can see why.
Now you are right that you will gain some fat but when you are trying to bulk up you can not avoid it. I stand by my first statement back by 20 years of owning my own gym an having a degree in phisical education and being 6 '0 an weighing 230 at 10% body fat an I am old on top of that (45)

I am an endurance athlete. I don't pump iron so to speak.

Your first statement still doesn't make sense due to the fact that 400g of protein, 200g of carbs, and 60g of fat doesn't come CLOSE to 4-5 thousand calories. You have no clue as to how hard this individual is working out and can't make a claim that he needs 4-5000 calories.

Owning a gym, having a degree in Physical Education, and being 45 doesn't make you right. I, however, am up to date with the literature and research that backs up my claims. Sorry, but you're not correcting anything.

 

[Pith]

Not to be a smart ass but muscle can not turn into fat but you can get fatter if you don't workout an you should be working out till you die for a better quality of life.

Muscle can turn into fat. As muscle breaks down due to inactivity the broken down proteins will either be excreted or sent to the liver for gluconeogenesis. When excess glucose circulates in the blood due to inactivity that glucose gets turned into fat in your liver, sent to the adipose tissue (fat), and you gain fat by losing muscle.

 

[D_Pokin Joe Frazier]

I am an endurance athlete. I don't pump iron so to speak.

Your first statement still doesn't make sense due to the fact that 400g of protein, 200g of carbs, and 60g of fat doesn't come CLOSE to 4-5 thousand calories. You have no clue as to how hard this individual is working out and can't make a claim that he needs 4-5000 calories.

Owning a gym, having a degree in Physical Education, and being 45 doesn't make you right. I, however, am up to date with the literature and research that backs up my claims. Sorry, but you're not correcting anything.

So you are saying knowledge practical application an experience mean nothing?
Might I ask what your degree is in?

 

[D_Pokin Joe Frazier]

Muscle can turn into fat. As muscle breaks down due to inactivity the broken down proteins will either be excreted or sent to the liver for gluconeogenesis. When excess glucose circulates in the blood due to inactivity that glucose gets turned into fat in your liver, sent to the adipose tissue (fat), and you gain fat by losing muscle.

I have to disagree with you fat cells an muscle cells are to different types of cells therefore they can not change into each other an even if they good does the muscle turn to brown fat or white fat? If you don't believe me just type in "does muscle turn into fat" online an every thing will say it does not.

An you do know that michael phelps takes in 12,000cals a day an he is not fat granted we all can't be Olympic gold medalist.

As for you last statement yes you can gain fat by losing muscle but one does not turn into the other.

 

[D_Pokin Joe Frazier]

I am an endurance athlete. I don't pump iron so to speak.

Your first statement still doesn't make sense due to the fact that 400g of protein, 200g of carbs, and 60g of fat doesn't come CLOSE to 4-5 thousand calories. You have no clue as to how hard this individual is working out and can't make a claim that he needs 4-5000 calories.

Owning a gym, having a degree in Physical Education, and being 45 doesn't make you right. I, however, am up to date with the literature and research that backs up my claims. Sorry, but you're not correcting anything.

6-8 meals a day of chicken/lean cuts of red meat an rice and vegetables plus two of your meals being weight gainer protein shakes will put you right where I said.

 

[Pith]

So you are saying knowledge practical application an experience mean nothing?
Might I ask what your degree is in?

Exercise Physiology. I've read a bit of research that would say your recommendation of 400g of protein is too high. You may have done it, but you didn't do it right.

It still doesn't change that you're recommendation of 4-5k calories still only has 3000 calories of macro nutrients. You recommended to him 400g protein, 200g carbs, and 60g fat and if you do the math it's around 3000 calories, but you told him 4000-5000. So far you're experience doesn't make sense, but my science has proven data to suggest you're recommendations are too high.

 

[Pith]

I have to disagree with you fat cells an muscle cells are to different types of cells therefore they can not change into each other an even if they good does the muscle turn to brown fat or white fat? If you don't believe me just type in "does muscle turn into fat" online an every thing will say it does not.

An you do know that michael phelps takes in 12,000cals a day an he is not fat granted we all can't be Olympic gold medalist.

As for you last statement yes you can gain fat by losing muscle but one does not turn into the other.

When did I ever say a muscle cell turns into a fat cell? As muscle breaks down the protein turns into amino acids, which gets converted into glucose and then fat. Muscle breaks down and you will gain weight. No one said anything about cells changing except you.

You also find out on the internet that there is a "fat burning" stage during cardio, which doesn't exist. You can't believe everything on the internet. I don't understand where you are trying to go with the Michael Phelps reference.

 

[Pith]

6-8 meals a day of chicken/lean cuts of red meat an rice and vegetables plus two of your meals being weight gainer protein shakes will put you right where I said.

You never said that. You're also probably getting too much protein still. All this guy needs is 150g of protein, 40-50g of fat, and the rest is carbs. How many carbs? Depends on his activity level.