So far...month and a week of bulking..no significant changes

P

Phate89

2
So far...month and a week of bulking..

Well, It's been about a month and a week of actually trying to bulk.
I started bulking at 144-145, and am currently 150, so only a 5-6 pounds gain of 1-1.5lbs a week. I was actually at 151 a week ago..but somehow managed to lose 1 lb ;(

Its weird, when I look in the mirror I look like I can see more muscle and that my arms are getting bigger, but when I look at the pictures I don't see a big difference. I've made many improvements in my weights and reps..but can't see any significant change in size

Before[Relaxed]

Before[Relaxed]

After[Flex]

After[Relax]

After[Flex]

After[Relax]


Yeah. I know that its only been a month and 5-6 pounds will hardly do anything, but i'm going to take monthly pictures and I'd appreciate if any of you guys can give advice on anything you think I should whether lower calorie intake, raise, work on certain body parts, etc

Thank you.
 
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What is your calorie intake? Boost it up if you can, then keep your weightlifting scedual at a peak and keep the cardio (if you are doing it) to a slow minumum.
 
My current calorie intake is 2000-2100 ( somenights i might go over a bit )
I do a HITT session 1-2 times a week.

Why would you suggest boosting my calorie intake? If I boost it up anymore, wouldn't I be gaining more fat and not muscle since you can only create .25-.5 lbs a muscle a week?

Thanks
 
I know how you feel man. I have been bulking for roughly the same amount of time, and have gaine like 5 pounds. I can see my arms are definitley bigger, and for some reason i think I am putting fat on. But I know I could be gaining much more weight. Chillen, who has been bulking for almost 2 months has gained almost 20 lbs, and he still lean as... himself. I don't really have advice, but just wanted to say that I'm in the same position. Might take some pictures soon. Just keep working at it, at least you are seeing some results.

However, have you noticed any progress in your lifts?
 
amp89 said:
I know how you feel man. I have been bulking for roughly the same amount of time, and have gaine like 5 pounds. I can see my arms are definitley bigger, and for some reason i think I am putting fat on. But I know I could be gaining much more weight. Chillen, who has been bulking for almost 2 months has gained almost 20 lbs, and he still lean as... himself. I don't really have advice, but just wanted to say that I'm in the same position. Might take some pictures soon. Just keep working at it, at least you are seeing some results.

However, have you noticed any progress in your lifts?
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Glad to hear I'm not alone on this. I feel like my arms are more bigger..but in the pics..they look the same. asnd I feel exactly the same i feel like i gave gained flab, blah.And yea I have progressed in my lifts significantly. Every session I continue trying to up the reps and up the weights.
 
amp89 said:
I know how you feel man. I have been bulking for roughly the same amount of time, and have gaine like 5 pounds. I can see my arms are definitley bigger, and for some reason i think I am putting fat on. But I know I could be gaining much more weight. Chillen, who has been bulking for almost 2 months has gained almost 20 lbs, and he still lean as... himself. I don't really have advice, but just wanted to say that I'm in the same position. Might take some pictures soon. Just keep working at it, at least you are seeing some results.

However, have you noticed any progress in your lifts?
Click to expand...

I am not as lean as I was before the bulk, I wanted to clear that up. Im probably at about 12% (guessing) Body fat UP from about 8% (professionally checked, August 29th, 2007).

Phate:

EDIT: (I need to learn to slow down on reading posts, lol) The 2000 to 2100 calories is this per day on average during the entire time? What IS your HITT sessions? What did you determine your MT line to be? How far above are you in the 2000 to 2100 or is this a deficit for you?........You should know which....

You have to experiment to see what works for you Phate. In experimenting I mean, try different calorie sets that bring about the desired weight gain in conjunction with experimenting within different types of exercies and/or simple training methods---and then give it proper time.




Didnt you just purchase some more weights during this month, which improved your intensity when compared to the beginning of the month?

Let the new intensity level and weight progression do its work; you havent really used them long enough.....give it some more time.

On your FIRST page of your journal-----list the days of the week you train, and what you do "Specifically" for those days---------then IN the journal list the routine and weights.........

This way one can eyeball your program and tweak things as they go by and problems develop.


Best wishes to you my dear friend



Chillen

Gaining about 6 pounds in one month isnt bad. Obviously it isnt fat accumulation according to the pic comparisons.
 
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Phate89 said:
My current calorie intake is 2000-2100 ( somenights i might go over a bit )
I do a HITT session 1-2 times a week.

Why would you suggest boosting my calorie intake? If I boost it up anymore, wouldn't I be gaining more fat and not muscle since you can only create .25-.5 lbs a muscle a week?

Thanks
Click to expand...

dude i would suggest raising up to 2500 and then increasing or decreasing each week depending on how your body responds.
 
Chillen said:
I am not as lean as I was before the bulk, I wanted to clear that up. Im probably at about 12% (guessing) Body fat UP from about 8% (professionally checked, August 29th, 2007).

Phate:

EDIT: (I need to learn to slow down on reading posts, lol) The 2000 to 2100 calories is this per day on average during the entire time? What IS your HITT sessions? What did you determine your MT line to be? How far above are you in the 2000 to 2100 or is this a deficit for you?........You should know which....

You have to experiment to see what works for you Phate. In experimenting I mean, try different calorie sets that bring about the desired weight gain in conjunction with experimenting within different types of exercies and/or simple training methods---and then give it proper time.




Didnt you just purchase some more weights during this month, which improved your intensity when compared to the beginning of the month?

Let the new intensity level and weight progression do its work; you havent really used them long enough.....give it some more time.

On your FIRST page of your journal-----list the days of the week you train, and what you do "Specifically" for those days---------then IN the journal list the routine and weights.........

This way one can eyeball your program and tweak things as they go by and problems develop.


Best wishes to you my dear friend



Chillen

Gaining about 6 pounds in one month isnt bad. Obviously it isnt fat accumulation according to the pic comparisons.
Click to expand...

Yea chillen, i experiment with my calorie intake and found i maintain around 1600-1700 cals and at 2000-2100 i can do a slow bulk of about 1-1.5 lbs a week. During HITT sessions, i tend to eat a little bit more. And yes I have bought more weights and they have greatly intensified my routine. I will do what you said, and later list my current stats on the first page.

And why are you guys trying to get me to raise my calorie intake when with my current intake i am gaining 5-6lbs a month, which is perfect imo to keep fat gains down. Anymore increase in intake is not going to speed my muscle building process, if i am wrong please correct me.

Thank you Der, and yes I have taken your advice and do eat smaller meals throughout the day ( it has helped to get more protein, now get around 150g a day )
 
Hi Phate

I'm gonna go a little against the grain here and say your rate of weight gain is fine but 5-6 weeks is nowhere near long enough to notice gains. I fear upping your calories so soon could cause needless fat gain. If you're gaining over 1lb a week on average then that's 52lbs in a year, that's a fantastic rate of progress.

as you're 5lbs heavier now you could maybe add 50-100kcals to your daily diet but not much more is needed
 
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I'd say add a couple hundred more calories, because of the weight gain, and keep at it. I can see a little improvment in the chest and arms. i'd say good work, don't change a thing
 
I know how you feel. My first 5 weeks of bulking I felt exactly the same. I looked in the mirror and seemed to see results, but then in photos couldn't see anything. I also think that 5 weeks is too early to see gains clearly.Now it's been about 3 months and I'm am definitely seeing gains, but it's still tough to gage how much fat I'm putting on vs. how much muscle. Sometimes I think I should cut the calories, but then I worry I'll miss out on some muscle being gained. I don't want to work hard at the gym and not gain because I'm paranoid about the fat. I've decided to accept some fat and cut it later. I think this may be the same logic the people who are encouraging you to increase the calories a bit are using. And I have to say that 2100 cals does seem awfully low. But you know your body. Maybe you could experiment with small increases and see what happens. I think it's tough for us guys who've been overweight in the past. Once those fat cells are there, they are just waiting to pounce the minute we increase the cals. I started bulking at 2850 (I calculated my MT at around 2500) and I've gradually increased that to about 3100 currently. I've gained 13.5 pounds in 3 months.(152->165) at a very steady rate. I'm guessing that two thirds is muscle and one third fat. I hate the fat part and it comes this close to depressing me. One lesson I've learned is that next time I'll take better care in making measurements before and during so I can better judge the results.
 
Hey Buddy,

Good work on the progress so far. There is absolutely no doubt that the photos show some gains in size.
 
2100 calories?

thats how many i need to cut for 5 pounds a month. how are you bulking with that? I mean of course i have like 15 pounds on ya but still. I'd go up to 3000 at least
 
AZN_Dave said:
2100 calories?

thats how many i need to cut for 5 pounds a month. how are you bulking with that? I mean of course i have like 15 pounds on ya but still. I'd go up to 3000 at least
Click to expand...

Read the replies on the first page, and you'll find your answer :)
 
Look, this may rub some people the wrong way, but I'm going to bring it up as a learning exercise. I expect to get shot down just as much as I expect to get validated...

This thread exhibits a very quantitative approach to building muscle, which is good as a starting point, however, the body is not a computer. It will not respect your numbers, you cannot turn around to your body and say - hey, I've been in a 500 cal surplus for a month I should have gained 1.2345 lbs of fat an 2.345 lbs of muscle, I want my month back! While this may work for some, generally, your results will only be as accurate as the most accurate tool in your toolbox, being your inaccurate temperamental analog body.

So, what is the alternative, eat a little more to give the best chance at turning your gym work into muscle gains. Now, what is the risk of doing that?...fat.

Fat... the constant threat. Are some people afraid of it? - Especially those that have previously been overweight (myself included) - of course! Yes! We do not want to gain any fat back, but at the same time, we all know that muscle comes with fat, and we all understand that each bit of muscle you gain makes it that much easier to burn the fat off later.

So why such an emphasis on bulking to absolutely minimize fat gain? - By doing so you run the risk of making your calculations so fine that you may miss out on the results.

So I submit that the problem is not the accuracy or strategy of your calculations - but rather - an irrational reluctance to put the fat on. This is the case for me, anyway. This irrational reluctance promotes a lack of faith in ones ability to cut the fat off at the end of the bulking stage - which, at the end of the day, may be responsible for your not achieving your muscular goals.
 
I am extremely confident I can lose the fat, but i'd like to keep my fat gains at the lowest because I am in high school, and I am self concious, and those two don't really mix.

My surplus at the moment is fine, any more would be a waste
 
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