Anyone done a bulk?

[everycowandagain]

I am 6 weeks into a 20 week bulk, working to add muscle and gain strength.

Feeling stronger on all my lifts, squat bench and deadlift have all definitely benefited.

I am up a couple of kg and my coach is talking about increasing calories again.

Anyone else done a bulk? How did you find it? Any tips for that stage when you really start going outside your comfort zone??

I tested my max lifts this week and SMASHED THEM ALL!! Upped my deadlift max from 77.5kg to 90kg! My coach though I had a bit more too, but I stopped there because my back was complaining. Delighted with it though!! Repping my old bench 1 rep max as well!!

All this food is making me strong!! And I can really see some more shape in my shoulders and arms, which I love.

@Flavourflava I want BIG shoulders too!!

So weird that the key to big shoulders is endless 5kg lat raises but we are where we are.

Ooh, 100kg is in sight, such an exciting milestone.

@Flavourflava thanks for tagging me! Off for a nosy now 😆

ive been lifting for about 2 months now with the help of my brother (who’s a body builder), but haven’t made much progress! Do you all think a coach is a need/must?

Depends what your goals are really @Endlessdark

I used to train without and built plenty of strength and muscle, and had lots of fun. I'm now training for powerlifting and have a coach and it makes a big difference.

Yep, that 100kg is definitely in sight!!

@Endlessdark I make much more progress with coaching/PT. It's two things for me, one being the technique which is important when you are lifting and vital when you are lifting heavy, and the second is programming. I get in the gym, open my training plan and do what's written! If I was designing my own workouts I would be getting nowhere fast.

I don't think you need a coach but I do think you need a programme. Loads of good programming online but BootybyBret (lol, the worst name but the programming is good!) is one that springs to mind if you're training for aesthetics.

@Endlessdark Haha - no worries, I just don't think the main boards and their basically anorexic tone are any use to anyone.

Congrats!! That's a huge increase in 1RM well done!

Thanks @PenelopeTheShroudWeaver I am so pleased with it. It was a combination of all the food, a few weeks of heavy doubles and singles and a tweak to my set up so that I was doing a better job of pulling myself into the bar to initiate the lift.

Feeling very proud of myself! About to go into a more hypertrophy focused training block to really chase those gainz!

ive been lifting for about 2 months now with the help of my brother (who’s a body builder), but haven’t made much progress! Do you all think a coach is a need/must?

You need to be on a programme with progressive overload (that strengthens you, rather than injures you!) But I think that I feel "safer" to go for the big lifts with a PT there to catch me (and literally once when I couldn't get a back squat up!)

I work twice a week with a PT, but when I'm travelling or my PT's away, I use the MegSquats programme. It's specifically built & programmed for women , and I find the weights recommended to be quite conservative - she uses percentages of your training max, rather than your 1RM.

And there will be plateaux. I'm in one now, i think, but actually today I did 5 sets of 6 x back squats @ 50 kg and it felt gooood. Last week I could barely deadlift 80 kilos. So it's up & down.

And a body builder will be training for very specific effects, whereas you probably need a programme that offers all-round strength.

Brilliant, I’m going to check both of those out and see who I’m most drawn to! I’ve been following a plan but not sure if it’s working. It was as follows:

monday - quads and glutes
tuesday - back and bis
wednesday - hams and glutes
thursday - core tris and shoulders
friday - ham and gluts

each day consists of about 5 dif exercises (7 on non glute days!). Does this sound about right? Weirdly for only one day a week my biceps have had the most change!

also can I pick your brains on high protein diets? Because I’m busy with two littles I find it difficult to get my protein in without using protein shakes/ bars yogurts etc but find these upset my stomach a bit. Any tips?!

Also what the heck is up with hip thrusts/ bridges. Do they ever stop feeling like they’re crushing every reproductive organ? Even with the bar pad I find it so painful/ uncomfortable!

Fairly classic bodybuilder split, nothing wrong with it but it really depends on your goal. I do 4 days whole body because I don't have a huge amount of time so a shoulder and tris only day isn't well spent for me. I think lots of people here are powerlifters so they'll have a squat, deadlift and bench days.

High protein - trying to have protein at every meal chips away at it better than it getting to 5pm and you still need 75g. Healthylittlelifter is quite good for whole days on IG. Randomly eating tins of tuna is my go-to though so I'm not that helpful.

Hip thrusts - is your bar low enough? Mine is right at my hip crease so no organs involved. I think my pelvis used to feel a bit bruised at first so I'll say yeah, it does get better!

I think the thing with a plan is to pick one and stick to it. Consistency is key. There's no reason that plan wouldn't work as you're giving muscles a chance to rest in between. 5 consecutive days is a lot though. And 5-7 exercises sounds good. I do about that.

Some people fold a mat up and wrap that round the bar for thrusts. Pads aren't all equal. The one at my gym feels fine and I'm hip thrusting twice bodyweight. But I've used ones that aren't anywhere near as good.

Re protein I make sure I'm getting it in every meal and also have snacks. Lots of cottage cheese, fage yogurt, baby bels. I get things like protein bread etc. I use protein powder, optimum nutrition gold standard. I make sure the portion size of my protein is big. Things like veggie mince can be good. As well as chicken, lots of chicken of course. And I eat protein yogurt/puddings.

Apologies if my tone is off - I'm so so tired from today's session and trying to find ways to kill time before bed.

Ha I see I've cross posted! But at least we're consistent!

I'm a powerlifter so I do indeed do squat, bench and deadlift days. And don't train consecutive days except once, and then they're designed to be back to back. And then I go to sleep after.

Which is a good point, to get strong and grow muscle sleep really matters too. Training, food and sleep. Which is pretty much my life, with a bit of work thrown in.

I train twice a week with a trainer, and do a circuit class (with Pump style baby-weights) - so that's 3 intense sessions, plus I"m trying to do a version of the MegSquats programme twice a week - I tend to pick and choose the lifts I don't do with my PT.

With my PT I do 30 mins strength training then 30 mins metcon/HIIT/CrossFit style dying ie cardio, but it's all mixed up with agility.

So my session today was:
5 x Supersets : 3 band assisted pull ups; 6 back squats at 50 kilos

Then metcon alternating
20 m weighted sled push;
run around the gym car park;
20m sled push
10 ball slams or burpee box jumps or hand-release press ups or rainbow ball slams or weighted lunges or upside down burpees with a sideways jump

No rest gap
5 rounds with a different agility exercise after the 2nd sled push each round

Yes, I die twice a week ...

So my training doesn't always hit the big numbers, but I'm steadily getting stronger & stronger, very slowly, for the last 5 years. I started at 58, and it took me over 4 years to pull a 100 kilo deadlift. Still can't do an unassisted pull up.

But it feels so so good to be so very fit and strong in my mid060s. I have a tough, all-absorbing and sometimes stressful job, so I need to be fit.

@EveryWitchWaybutLoose goodness me you’re an inspiration!! That’s bloody incredible. Definitely seems like I need to up my game! My gym has some classes so I’m going to take a look and see if there’s anything strength focussed. I’m desperate to be able to do pull ups! No idea why 🤣

thanks so much for all the help all of you, I wish we could all have an in person gym session! Haha. I’ve done well with the protein today - 135g and just got done doing my quads and glutes 😮‍💨

@Endlessdark cos pull ups are cool! Chin ups are much easier though, I can just do chin ups but barely move with a pull up.

same here, I usually make an extra pad out of a folded towel

I am working towards a pull up at the moment but it's going to take a while before I can do one!!!

It took me forever to manage my first pull up! I started with a blue band for assistance and gradually worked my way down to the thin red one.
I can do some unassisted ones now, but still no more than 2 or 3 in a row and some weeks none at all!

I’m still on the blue band 😕