Trying to bulk.

[FastNHard]

Okay, looking for some answers. I'm going to try to make this as simple as I can but still need to cover everything. 44 year old male, 5'11", 160 pounds at the moment. I'm trying to bulk, I'm wanting to get to 170 pounds then might go up from there if I don't like my progress. I've been trying to bulk the last 2 and a half years although I'm still the same weight as 2 years ago. I have put on weight But that was in the first 6 months of training, so it's been 2 years of nothing after that. My thyroid is just a few points from being hypothyroidism but my Dr. says it's okay, I don't feel okay no matter what western medicine says. My body is so catabolic it isn't even funny anymore. My calories have been anywhere from 2800 up to 5400, yes, 5400 a day, protein is well over 1 gram per body pound, carbs have been anywhere from 150-480 grams and fats have been anywhere from 50-250 grams per day. Still cannot bulk on that. Workouts have been anything from full body to each part per training. I've done all the known 1-5 rep, 6-10 rep, 8-12 and even higher. I don't even get a good pump unless I do 20 or more reps. No burn, nothing. What gives? Is it my thyroid? Weak, tired, muscles do not want to do the work, just tired and drained as hell! My Dr. says I'm fine by my blood work though. Any thoughts?

 

[Flexxx]

A pump has nothing to do with your ability or nonability to build muscle. Unfortunately genetics play a big part of what you are naturally (or even un-naturally) are capable of achieving. I have seen a lot of guys pump themselves full of drugs in the quest for muscle with no big results because they were not predisposed to have big muscles.

Diet plays a major factor and even though your calories may be high I would tend to up the protein intake up. I typically would take in at a minimum of 1.5x body weight but also have taken in 3x when on a very low carb diet. If you don't take in enough protein to rebuild your muscles your body will break down your existing muscles for its protein source. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

 

[b3ar]

Damn! Youre burning some serious calories. It seems like you're doing everything right. (From personal experience... the only thing I could suggest is the 8-10 rep range, 3 minutes rest between sets, and single body parts per day with no more than an hour TOPS in the gym. No cardio and keep your heartrate low since you burn so efficiently. I had great success with that and I changed it up from 1 body part a day for 5 days a week to 2 body parts every other day.
You burn fuel so efficiently and it seems like your need to counteract that by bumping up your rest time. I went from 145 to 220. Granted it took a few years but it worked.

 

[FastNHard]

A pump has nothing to do with your ability or nonability to build muscle. Unfortunately genetics play a big part of what you are naturally (or even un-naturally) are capable of achieving. I have seen a lot of guys pump themselves full of drugs in the quest for muscle with no big results because they were not predisposed to have big muscles.

Diet plays a major factor and even though your calories may be high I would tend to up the protein intake up. I typically would take in at a minimum of 1.5x body weight but also have taken in 3x when on a very low carb diet. If you don't take in enough protein to rebuild your muscles your body will break down your existing muscles for its protein source. Robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Yeah, I was wondering about my protein intake, I'm not sure exactly what it is at the moment, it has to be 1.5 per pound. I do meal prep so I'm very on spot with everything being the same day to day. I'm so catabolic anymore it's just so tiring. I'm thinking I'm one of those guys that can't bulk, I plateau at 161-164 pounds every time.

 

[911947]

One of the best resources in my opinion is the website of Lyle Mcdonald (bodyrecomposition.com). He is known for writing great articles about nutrition and training and having several good books. This guy is legit.


To answer your bulking problem. I have the same problem, but not as extreme as you. There is a good scientific article about, which you can find the summary of here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/re...e-to-fat-gain-in-humans-research-review.html/. Basically boils down to the following: some people upregulate NEAT in order to resist fat gain (and this is also possible in reverse).

 

[FastNHard]

Damn! Youre burning some serious calories. It seems like you're doing everything right. (From personal experience... the only thing I could suggest is the 8-10 rep range, 3 minutes rest between sets, and single body parts per day with no more than an hour TOPS in the gym. No cardio and keep your heartrate low since you burn so efficiently. I had great success with that and I changed it up from 1 body part a day for 5 days a week to 2 body parts every other day.
You burn fuel so efficiently and it seems like your need to counteract that by bumping up your rest time. I went from 145 to 220. Granted it took a few years but it worked.

I'm training with a guy now, he trained people a few years ago. He has me on no more than 10 reps, three sets per one exercise. Usually stays in at an hour or under.

 

[FastNHard]

One of the best resources in my opinion is the website of Lyle Mcdonald (bodyrecomposition.com). He is known for writing great articles about nutrition and training and having several good books. This guy is legit.


To answer your bulking problem. I have the same problem, but not as extreme as you. There is a good scientific article about, which you can find the summary of here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/re...e-to-fat-gain-in-humans-research-review.html/. Basically boils down to the following: some people upregulate NEAT in order to resist fat gain (and this is also possible in reverse).

I'll check it out thanks.

 

[b3ar]

Sounds perfect. An hour is good since your rest time of 2-3 minutes will eat up some of that workout time. It's hard to do because you are just sitting there waiting for your next rep, but it helps. Also lift heavy as fuck.

 

[FastNHard]

Sounds perfect. An hour is good since your rest time of 2-3 minutes will eat up some of that workout time. It's hard to do because you are just sitting there waiting for your next rep, but it helps. Also lift heavy as fuck.

I lift fairly heavy, if I go too much I end up hurting myself.

 

[Flexxx]

I don't set a rest time. I rest until I feel I am rested enough to do another heavy set. After a very heavy set of leg presses I may take 5 to 10 minutes for my heart rate to go down and my breathing return to normal. With smaller muscle groups it is much less. Listen to you body and not the clock.

 

[FastNHard]

I don't set a rest time. I rest until I feel I am rested enough to do another heavy set. After a very heavy set of leg presses I may take 5 to 10 minutes for my heart rate to go down and my breathing return to normal. With smaller muscle groups it is much less. Listen to you body and not the clock.

Yep, makes sense. Thanks.

 

[DSF140]

Keep us posted, @FastNHard ,I'm a slow gainer, too. I'd like to know what ends up working for you.

 

[b3ar]

I don't set a rest time. I rest until I feel I am rested enough to do another heavy set. After a very heavy set of leg presses I may take 5 to 10 minutes for my heart rate to go down and my breathing return to normal. With smaller muscle groups it is much less. Listen to you body and not the clock.

Man! Thanks for that. My legs are a problem area that I'm always trying to work on with size gaining. I've never taken more than 3 minutes on heavy leg day. Your insight on the matter has opened my eyes to try something different. Thanks!

 

[Flexxx]

I have gone with the philosophy of if you want to get big you lift, eat, and rest big. There is no way I can tackle a heavy set if I am not well rested and focused.

 

[DSF140]

One other thing that occurred to me in the gym this evening, @FastNHard , is that I've gotten some good results from doing meticulously slow sets with perfect form. I'm still a slim, hard gainer, but I started out like an emaciated twig. I've found that when I'm imagining that I'm a big muscle dude like @Flexxx or @b3ar ,then I can continue with a few more reps than I otherwise would not have been able to do. And I keep going until I literally cannot lift any more. I can get an explosive pump with only six reps if I do them right.
Oh, and eat a ton of protein, as Flexxx suggests.

 

[FastNHard]

Keep us posted, @FastNHard ,I'm a slow gainer, too. I'd like to know what ends up working for you.

I'll keep everyone posted, probably will be over a period of a few months though. I don't see anything changing within the next 6 months though. I used to think I was a hard gainer, now I'm sure I'm a no gainer. Really nothing has made a difference that I have changed.

 

[FastNHard]

One other thing that occurred to me in the gym this evening, @FastNHard , is that I've gotten some good results from doing meticulously slow sets with perfect form. I'm still a slim, hard gainer, but I started out like an emaciated twig. I've found that when I'm imagining that I'm a big muscle dude like @Flexxx or @b3ar ,then I can continue with a few more reps than I otherwise would not have been able to do. And I keep going until I literally cannot lift any more. I can get an explosive pump with only six reps if I do them right.
Oh, and eat a ton of protein, as Flexxx suggests.

I've not done much of the slower reps, time under tension I guess it's called? I might try bumping up my protein to 200 grams and try that.

 

[Flexxx]

Most people think they eat a lot more protein than they actually do. I habe instructed people to log their food for 1 to 2 weeks and come back to me with the results. All of them have then confessed their input as a lot less than they imagined.

 

[FastNHard]

Most people think they eat a lot more protein than they actually do. I habe instructed people to log their food for 1 to 2 weeks and come back to me with the results. All of them have then confessed their input as a lot less than they imagined.

Probably true. I eat 4 turkey burgers a day, sometimes 6, 24 grams per burger, oatmeal in the morning which is 15 grams, whey is 46 grams and whatever three potatoes is, not much. That's at least 157 grams on the light side and 181 on the higher side. That isn't counting various other things I put in my shake if I can eat it, 1 banana, 2 more cups of oats. It's pushing 195 grams per day.

 

[b3ar]

What's the caloric, carb and protein content of your post workout shake?