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 wouldnt worry too much, focus on pull downs & rows?
I can do pull ups, 5 or 6 reps, mostly because I'm short and fairly light, my bench pressing is very weak though.
As for bulking.... I used to when I was younger but now (late 50's) any extra goes on the belly/love handles (or 2nd set of buttocks as I sometimes refer to that 'fat depot') so I dont eat more than I need👀

I have fairly consistent sets of pull-ups. I would implore you all to do negatives and chin over the bar holds rather than waste your time with bands. Glaciers make faster progress than people trying to get pull ups with bands.

That's exactly what I have in my training plan! Holds and negatives... suspect the extra bulk weight is making my life harder though!!

Oh I do negatives. I can hold and then drop slowly for something like 12 seconds … aeons of time.

I understand the lure of pull ups but if it's physique and muscularity you want I'd focus on other back exercises

I have pretty good back muscle definition, I just really want to be able to smash out a pull up!!

That's interesting because for me it was the opposite! I did negatives and static holds for a while but I didn't start seeing progress until I started using bands. From that point, it was slow but steady progress

I have to add though that although I do want to get better at pull ups it is an accessory movement for me, and as such I always do it at the end of a session when I'm already fatigued from my "more important" exercices.

It might have played out differently if pull ups had been more of a priority?

In case anyone is interested in an update on my bulk, I had dropped my calories back from 2700 to 2500 because I had picked up body fat a bit quicker than we wanted, but now after 10 days back at 2500 I am down a kilo :-( Hopefully not muscle loss!!

I have got 6 weeks of my bulk left to do some solid hypertrophy focused training and hopefully find the right calorie level to gain, but not gain too much...!!

With 14 weeks done and 6 to go I feel like I have definitely got stronger and added some muscle mass. Looking forward to uncovering it later in the summer.

Hi all, I'm new to training, and so much of what I've read on this thread echoes with me. I was on Fast800 diet and then switched gradually to normal eating days and upping calories. I was overweight and I'd done the whole NHS advised calorie deficit and lost a stone but then plateaued, hence Fast800 which a friend suggested. The good things were that it reset my relationship with food especially sugar binges, and got me into healthier eating, and my body fat went down from 44% to 25%. Towards the end I started strength classes and that led to the gym which led to a trainer which led to a jump in calories from about 1650 to 2000 with more to add soon I suspect. This has been a big mental leap and what has helped is the trainers encouragement. I'm starting to feel really frustrated when I read things like I'm working out 7 days a week, and on 1200 calories and not losing weight 🙃

I still have questions:

When I cut do I have to take my body fat below 25%?

My period last month was very light last month and I wonder if that was a hangover from calorie restriction- anyone else had lighter periods the more lean and muscular they get? Waiting to see what it shows up like this week.

Interesting about the mental side - sometimes when my trainer asks me to lift a weight I overthink it and freeze, it's actually a really horrible feeling and I wonder if it's normal or a sign my body isn't made for it? For me the bottom line is I want it to be enjoyable.

Not that keen on gaining weight in summer and the timing feels wrong- I'll be leaning out in autumn when no one will see it anyway (obviously that is not my only motivation!) Wonder if just a small surplus is better than a high one - anyone done both and can compare experiences?

Talk to me about the importance of sleep while weight training- I average 5 hrs and am finding I need an early evening nap so I know I need more and this has to be a focus next month.

Also how to reach macros without going well over on fat.

Today - 145g protein, 180g carb, 88g fat. Should be 200g carb and 68g fat. Main fats were peanut butter, salmon, coconut oil biscuit, chocolate, nuts. I guess the biscuit and chocolate did it but I am due on. I also still kind of baulk at the amount of carb - I decided to sandwich my day with high protein breakfast and dinner and moderate protein higher carb lunch, it's just I need to eat more mindfully at lunch and not just grab a portion and think it will do then snack on fats.

Hope I don't kill the thread. Appreciate this is a pretty niche area of mn.

I'm going to talk to my trainer about the body fat. Focused a bit more on my mindset in the gym. I think basically there are some machines I hate! Hip thrusts being one of them and Romanian Deadlifts being the other. I think we might build slow on those. We've also added some cardio which I do at the end and I asked for some floor abs. The cardio was great as it gave me that dopamine endorphin serotonin rush and the floor work was good as I like focused bodyweight stuff. Today I met the macros much easier, the cardio helped a lot with the digestion side too. Although realised cooked chicken weighs a lot less than raw chicken. Not wholly convinced I need so much protein but rolling with it for now.

Hi @MistyTrains that all sounds great! I’ve been really slacking this month due to major stress at home with 5 year old dd. Was hoping to get back at it today (it is Monday after all!!) but I’ve got no one to mind the baby so I can go to the gym. I could do YouTube workouts but likewise I’m coming on so feeling very bloated and sore! can you give me some of your motivation? What sort of high protein breakfast do you have? I find protein powders/ bars really give me an upset stomach so would rather avoid them.

Haha my motivation took a hike at the weekend and I was frequently horizontal. However just from doing something today I feel much better. Could you do some foam rolling instead?

So breakfast wise a couple of days I have had one egg plus one egg white (scrambled) with 40g flakes salmon. I always try and have some ideally green veggies with protein even just spring onion.

Then followed by a second breakfast (I am loving this second breakfast shit) of between 30g-40g oats (my trainer has 60g...not quite there yet!) with milk and greek yoghurt and berries/apple, 10g almonds and a 5g of seeds and a smidge of dark chocolate, either made as overnight oats or as hot porridge in the morning.

When I have the oats first it seems to open up the carb flood gates and I am hungry every 2 hours for the rest of the day, but not if I have eggs first.

I use the Fast800 chocolate protein powder and make up 1 serving but split it over 2 throughout the day. Likewise it doesn't massively agree with me.

These are some of my increases in the last 3 weeks

30lbs>>110lb Leg Press
10lb>>25lb Smith Machine squats (controlled barbells)
20lb>>35lb Leg extensions
40lb>>50lb on the hip abductor
10lb>>25lb Lateral pulldowns

Lol just realised lbs should read kgs above.

Well if you cut, which you don't have to, you don't have to go below 25% body fat if you don't want to! Lots of us round here do more powerlifting style training which is all about strength and not body fat levels!! It's quite liberating to focus on strength and performance not aesthetics or body fat!

I find that every time I adjust my calories and macros it takes me a short while to recalibrate my food habits so that I am hitting my targets. You adjust as you work out what you need more or less of. In my case I do struggle most with the higher carbs in a bulk, I can hit 150g protein with no issues but +200g carbs takes some real planning.

Good to know re. body fat, thank you. That also prompted me to look at power lifting and resolve a bit of a conundrum. I have a risk of a collapsed lung as I had one already. Looking at the main power lifts, I think the deadlift and the bench press are ones I need to be careful in, as they work the chest muscles a lot. Barbell squats not so much. I just don't want to put myself out of action as it's going well.

Ah yes that makes sense about adjusting! Yes my carbs were helped by a cookie today. Yesterday oats, a wholemeal pitta with bean soup (that was a starter!), quinoa. I also had an apple and pear which was quite carby, or I'll have a banana, but I know it's best not to have too much fruit.

It's just miserable to get to the end of the day with a high protein target and little fat and carbs left - had a late dinner of steak and salad tonight. I think I'm gonna try and get a mid morning proteiny snack in, after my two breakfasts and protein shake.

@MistyTrains I'd check with an expert re the lifts and your body. They're all full body movements, eg bench includes leg drive you might not see, squat involves creating lots of upper body tension you might not see. I'm pondering whether it's squats or deadlifts that need more upper body and it's a tough call. Deadlifts are a hip hinge movement so lots from lower body.

And yes it's liberating to think about your body as an amazing tool you need to fuel rather than something that needs to be disciplined and restricted.