Max Muscle Per Week

I'm 16, 5'6 and 160 pounds. After wrestling is over, I plan on bulking for 4 months then cutting for 4 months, smartly. (I have a tough time losing weight, so I'm giving myself enough time) I was wondering if I would be able to go up to around 180+ of mostly muscle. I understand some people think 1-2 pounds per month of muscle on a slow clean bulk. If I were to go on a 4 month bulk, would it be possible to add around 15 pounds of muscle? For all you mathematically impaired, that is a little less than 4 pounds of muscle per month :). If needed, I could bulk for 5 months and cut for 3. Obviously not 3 months straight of cutting because that wouldn't be healthy (nutritional wise).

I will have a very strict diet set up. Of course I would be putting on fat along with muscle, but I'm trying to keep that to a bare minimum.

Basically my question is...
How many pounds of muscle can a person put on in a week/month?
 
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2lbs of pure muscle per month with a perfect diet and routine. No chemical enhancement of coarse.
 
I guess what I'll have to do is take 5 months to bulk. For the bulking phase I will be getting assistance in my diet and routine as to maximize muscle gain and minimize fat gain. I will be able to take 4 months to cut if I need it.

So hopefully put on 10 pounds of muscle with a few pounds of fat.

I have been offered the uhh, chemical enhancers, from my brother's friend...but I want to see what I can do on my own. ;)
 
If you truly do bulk for 5 months with a very strict and clean diet and you cut with a clean diet it shouldn't take you 4 months to lose the fat. That's if you are starting with very little fat, of course if you start fat and bulk it will take a lot longer to cut than if you start skinny. But yeah, I'm very similar to you in losing weight. I've always been between skinny and medium but never got the six pack to show through. I can get down to seeing my top 2 abs but never have been able to get past that point. I heard it's much easier to cut after you have put on muscle so hopefully it will help. I'd say it's ok to give yourself the 4 months to be safe, and if you are cut before the 4 months is up you can start bulking again or just maintain depending on your goals.

As far as chemical enhancers... creatine and whey protein are good supplements but if you are talking steroids my advice is stay the hell away heh. I have a friend that used roids and he got big quick but he regularly completely loses his temper and goes into fits of rage. Throws **** around and looks for anyone he can hit, trust me it's not worth it. Plus you know what happens to the goods down low ;)
 
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The range is going to be roughly 0.5 to 1.5 lbs/week, over the short term. Unless you have good genetics, I'd rule out the higher end. One to 1.5 lbs/week tends to be the domain of the genetic elite, the drug user, and/or those coming back from extended layoffs.

For a 4-month bulk, roughly 16 weeks, I'd say you could expect 8 lbs, *maybe* as much as 10-12, and a very small chance of getting 12-16 lbs.

You'd up your odds of gaining 12+ by not being so strict on the diet. The trade-off is more fat gain, but most people aren't going to add piles of muscle while keeping abs.
 
Evidence that de novo lipogenesis is a concern in humans that aren't becoming clinically obese?

What he's suggesting is actually what has to happen for most people; get ****ing big, then diet down. A person with genetics to get big while staying lean can do it. Somebody with drugs could do it. Perhaps someone of average genetics with OCD attention to diet and training could. For most people, it's spinning wheels.

I know I"m not the only one that's noticed an insane difficulty in gaining muscle with the slow bulk. There's been a great many in the past that have had to add a ton of mass, accepting the fat gain, then diet in order to become truly big.
 
Evidence that de novo lipogenesis is a concern in humans that aren't becoming clinically obese?

What he's suggesting is actually what has to happen for most people; get ****ing big, then diet down. A person with genetics to get big while staying lean can do it. Somebody with drugs could do it. Perhaps someone of average genetics with OCD attention to diet and training could. For most people, it's spinning wheels.

I know I"m not the only one that's noticed an insane difficulty in gaining muscle with the slow bulk. There's been a great many in the past that have had to add a ton of mass, accepting the fat gain, then diet in order to become truly big.

So you're saying that for many people the slow bulk doesnt work?
but what if you slow bulk, gaining about 0.25 kilos a week. most of that got to be muscle right? and im sure its not that hard to get you're diet to the level that you gain 0.25 kilos a week and if you then train correctly, shouldnt most of that be muscle?
I just dont understand what you mean by difficult to gain muscle with a slow bulk, do you mean that you gain weight slowly, but not alot of it is mucle? suggesting that most of the 0.25 kilos really are fat?
 
i cant slow bulk. i either gain (alot) of weight, stay the same, or loose weight. theres not really an in between for me. well at the very least, its hard for me to gain weight slowly
 
So you're saying that for many people the slow bulk doesnt work?
but what if you slow bulk, gaining about 0.25 kilos a week. most of that got to be muscle right? and im sure its not that hard to get you're diet to the level that you gain 0.25 kilos a week and if you then train correctly, shouldnt most of that be muscle?
I just dont understand what you mean by difficult to gain muscle with a slow bulk, do you mean that you gain weight slowly, but not alot of it is mucle? suggesting that most of the 0.25 kilos really are fat?

I mean that you gain weight so slowly that it doesn't deserve to be called "bulking".

I've seen tons of guys spin their wheels for years trying to slow bulk. Of that group, you find that they either give up (most of them) or want it so bad they say to hell with it and just pile in the calories until they grow.

There's a lot of this in anecdote, and the body's adaptive relationship to both nutrition and training suggest it's likely very necessary for a lot of people.

I'm not talking about the "I'd like to gain 10 lbs" people, this is more for the "I'm 150 lbs and want to be 275 lbs of muscle" guys. Radical changes in physique require radical approaches.
 
I'm not talking about the "I'd like to gain 10 lbs" people, this is more for the "I'm 150 lbs and want to be 275 lbs of muscle" guys. Radical changes in physique require radical approaches.

I agree with this. Some people just expect to put on 10lbs a month. If you want to be 125 heavier, than a slow bulk would take decades.
 
I agree with this. Some people just expect to put on 10lbs a month. If you want to be 125 heavier, than a slow bulk would take decades.

I'm about 175 pounds with probably around 20% body fat. I want to be at least 180 pounds with 10% body fat. Is that Achievable by August?
 
You would need about 22lbs of muscle from this point. If I was in your shoes, I would cut bodyfat down to 10-12%. I would then bulk until August.
 
I mean that you gain weight so slowly that it doesn't deserve to be called "bulking".

I've seen tons of guys spin their wheels for years trying to slow bulk. Of that group, you find that they either give up (most of them) or want it so bad they say to hell with it and just pile in the calories until they grow.

There's a lot of this in anecdote, and the body's adaptive relationship to both nutrition and training suggest it's likely very necessary for a lot of people.

I'm not talking about the "I'd like to gain 10 lbs" people, this is more for the "I'm 150 lbs and want to be 275 lbs of muscle" guys. Radical changes in physique require radical approaches.

okay i understand, and completley agree! However, theres no need to go on such a huge bulk that you end up getting something like a 50/50 ratio muscle/fat, or more than that. Then you might aswell cut down on the cals a bit, still gain alot of muscle but keep the fat gain a bit back.
 
okay i understand, and completley agree! However, theres no need to go on such a huge bulk that you end up getting something like a 50/50 ratio muscle/fat, or more than that. Then you might aswell cut down on the cals a bit, still gain alot of muscle but keep the fat gain a bit back.

The ratio of muscle to fat gained is genetically determined.

Training and diet might skew it 5%, certainly no more than 10%.
 
You would need about 22lbs of muscle from this point. If I was in your shoes, I would cut bodyfat down to 10-12%. I would then bulk until August.

Actually, I realized the goal is not possible. I got my first body fat % check today and was shocked to see 26.7%......

So I'll cut down to 150 Pounds which should be 10% assuming I lose no muscle in the process. Then I can bulk until August safely. I'm going to have to be on the lighter side of the scale when it comes to linebacker/ Defensive End then.
 
What you lack in weight, make up for in STRENGTH!!!
 
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