Bulking up

Is anyone else here trying to bulk up at all? If so what are you doing.

Im on the protein shakes and 3000 cals a day.

I’m bulking up, but not super-intensely. I’m taking about 1 protein shake a day and doing an intensive workout (the Rock Hard Challenge).

My protein of choice is Nitrean which many have had good success with as it contains both whey and casein.

What exactly are you doing? What proteins and what program? I look forward to seeing the results!

I’m bulking up also.
I do it by eating much more fish, meat, eggs, milk and complex carbs than I used to. I don’t count cals, but try not to increase my bodyweight with more that 0.5 kg (1 lbs) per week.
Supplements: Gainer, fish- and seal-oil (omega3,6,9) and creatin.
Currently training with stronglifts 5×5 intermediate

Im using USN – Pure Protein IGF-1 seems to be working really well. Im taking it twice a day so thats about 85g of protein.

Doing a split work out 4 times a week but I also do a lot of cardio so I need a lot of calories.

So far I have put on 3kg in the last 2 weeks and im very happy with how its going.

yea im attempting to bulk and its not going to bad. im 5’9” and 120 lbs, and i need about 3300 per day otherwise i dont put on any weight. i take whey protein post workout as well

3000 calories! Wow! Thats a lot. What is your protein intake?

I am definitely trying to bulk up. As a nutritionist, I shy away from supplements and eating like that (not saying they dont work) but prefer getting the nutrients I need from my food

For me:
Heavy weight, few reps, several minutes of rest inbetween sets. I also do endurance lifting for toning last. I eat around 1600-2000 calories a day, and try to eat about 130g of protein.

I also noticed earlier this spring that my arms were getting so large that I was having difficulty scratching my back. This was definitely a red flag for me and I slimmed down a bit and began taking pilate’s and yoga (not the meditative kind, its called “power yoga”) once or twice a week and began lifting heavy again. Its amazing how much that stuff helps to build muscle. I am now back to where I was in upper body strength and have less flexibility problems.

The things I need to work on is lower body and core strength which will aid in my overall strength and get me over the hump in several areas.

Just started bulking routine today: 3000 calories, heavy weights (well, for me anyway ;) ) 4x week, lots of sleep. I’m currently at 136lbs. Gonna try to bulk up to 145, then cut back down to 140, then start over again.

@keane54 and NC_STeeler33: 3,000 calories per day for a guy your size isn’t alot. If I eat any less than 2,500 per day I lose weight, and I’m a little smaller than you. I think than 3,000 is probably about right, but you may even need to eat more.

I would always encourage you to try to rely on shakes and supplements as little as possible. It’s not difficult to eat 3,000 calories if you pick the right foods (nuts, dairy, etc.). And with that many calories getting enough protein shouldn’t be an issue unless you’re just eating junk food.

I’m on a bulk of sorts right now! But, its more accidental than deliberate. My wife just had a baby, and I’m being dad and mom for a while. We have folks bringing over meals for us, but I have no idea whats in them. Because I’m sleeping so little I’m eating tons, easily 3,000-3,500 per day. So, I’m trying to take advantage of it and I’m doing tons of heavy weight low rep deadlifts, squats, etc. In a week or two I’ll be back to a weight loss phase.

@jakjak: Why go from 136, to 145, then back to 140? It would be far better to go by a body fat percentage. You might go from 136 to 145, and only put on one pound of fat. In that case, why lose five pounds? Just lose the one pound of fat, and then go back to bulking!

I’m currently bulking, I am an ectomorph and spent the last few weeks figuring out how many calories I need to gain weight. I have a body fat monitor in the mail soon too.

I am at (151 lbs), & 3500 clean calories currently, < 100g fat, 180-250g protein, 250-300g carbs. I don’t use any drugs, just take whey protein to supp. This is the first week I’ve gained a pound. I work out 3 times a week, very little cardio (due to my body type). I have no idea what my body fat % is, most of it is around my middle, im guessing 18-22%. I am going to bulk as long as that number doesn’t grow, then cut and repeat.

I use Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Standard as its mainly made with protein isolates which have a better absorbution rate then protein concerntrate which is what most protein powders are made of

@chaddukes: yeah, body fat is a better measure than raw weight. Hopefully I can gain mostly muscle! Congrats on the new baby btw!

Thanks jakjak!

Looking to put on about 5kg in muscle mass but I’ve been doing it for a few years now by eating properly. My biggest problem is currently missing meals at the weekends from all the partying but trying to sort that out.

Eat lots of fish, chicken, pasta, fruit and veg, with protein shakes post workout. One thing I’ve learnt to do is add an extra meal in when I get home from work, I just eat my lunch earlier and hungry by the time I get home. This has helped enormously in maintaining my weight as I’m naturally pretty skinny.

Ive been bulking up for 4 months now. I started off at 135lbs im now up to 160lbs. I have a varied diet mostly eating the right foods, lean meat, lots of pasta, eggs etc mixed in with some treats. For the first 3 months i did a full body work out for 3 days a week Doing 3 sets of each exercise for 5 reps. I have now switched to a pyramid spilt session workout which is 4 days a week. Im an ectomorph im guessing i eat around 3500-4000 calories a day. Im trying to get up to 225lbs many more years to go but ill get there.

@chaddukes: just ordered a body fat caliper and myotape yesterday. I’ll see where I am in body fat currently. I may just switch to cutting if I’m way above 15%.

@Matey7000: You’re my hero. 25lbs in 4 months?! I can’t seem to put more than a pound a week on. Then again, I’ve only been eating 2700 – 3000 cals/day. I started doing squats/deadlifts last week, so I’m hoping that will help.

@zag2me: weekends are a challenge to me too. Too much unstructured time. Most weekends I’m lucky to eat 2x/day, let alone the 5-6 meals I have during the work week. Anyone else have trouble making calorie goals on the weekends?

Wow, if anything I have trouble keeping my calories down on weekends.

Glad that you’re getting the calipers. I’m at about 15-16% right now. When I get to 12% I’ll go to a higher calorie diet to gain some mass. If I get above 15% again, then it will be back to the cutting phase. My goal is to go from 12% to 15% over the longest time frame possible. Then once I get to 15% to cut down to 11%. Then from 11% to 14%, again over a long period of time to minimize fat gain. If it only takes two months to gain 3% body fat, then I’m probably putting on more fat than muscle. So, I’ll need to cut calories. Once I get to 14% I’ll cut down to 10%…and so on…..

Thats the goal anyway!

@NC_STeeler33 – how many reps and sets you doing? For ‘bulking’ you should be doing about 8-12 reps with 2-4 sets.. If you are doing high weight with low reps this is more strength work.

I don’t know. Starting Strength and 5×5 are well known for packing on the mass. 8-12 might be the traditional hypertrophy range, but doing 6 sets of 4 will add to some substantial bulk as well. Remember that the 8-12 rep range isn’t going to recruit as much muscle fiber as a set of four reps. I’m not saying that your suggestion is incorrect, because its not. But, you can certainly do heavier weights and lower reps and gain a good bit of size.

Of course there is always going to be cross over and i agree with you as well. With starting strength, because it is a beginner program as well the gains people see are the ‘noob’ gains, that they would get even if they did the 8 – 12 rep range.
As you get more advanced this does change and strength work is definitely more in the low rep range. But you are right to say you will still develop size when doing low reps, just not as effectively.

Agreed.

Would doing a 3 day split with 3 Exercises with 4 sets of 8 reps per body part work for bulking? For example, on a back and biceps day I do 3 sets of back with 4 sets of 8 reps, and then I’ll do two different exercises for biceps with 3-4 sets of 8 reps.

@jasonman424, the short answer is yes, assuming your eating enough calories to see results.

You may want to consider this program that is credited to Lyle McDonald:

Credit to Lyle McDonald for this routine. One of my personal favorites, obviously start with less volume and work your way up.

Since it gets asked about fairly often, here is the routine. Some notes follow

Mon: Lower
Squat: 3-4X6-8/3’ (3-4 sets of 6-8 with a 3’ rest)
SLDL or leg curl: 3-4X6-8/3’
Leg press: 2-3X10-12/2’
Another leg curl: 2-3X10-12/2’
Calf raise: 3-4X6-8/3’
Seated calf: 2-3X10-12/2’

Tue: Upper
Flat bench: 3-4X6-8/3’
Row: 3-4X6-8/3’
Incline bench or shoulder press: 2-3X10-12/2’
Pulldown/chin: 2-3X10-12/2’
Triceps: 1-2X12-15/1.5’
Biceps: 1-2X12-15/1.5’

For the Thu/Fri workouts either Repeat the first two or make some slight exercise substitutions. Can do deadlift/leg press combo on Thu, switch incline/pulldown to first exercises on upper body day. A lot depends on volume tolerance, if the above is too much, go to 2-3X6-8 and 1-2X10-12

Sets are work sets only, warm up appropriately.
****
A few notes:
1. This is an intermediate program. It is not appropriate for rank beginners (less than 6 months of consistent proper training) and tends not to be ideal for the very advanced (more than 3 years of proper training, near their genetic limits).

2. Folks who can’t handle 4 days per week can use this on an alternating three day per week ABABA type of program so that everything gets hit every 5th day.
Monday: Upper body
Wednesday: Lower body
Friday: Upper body
Monday: Lower body
Wednesday: Upper body
Friday: Lower body

this can also be useful for older trainees since recovery is usually down a bit.

2a. For folks who don’t do well training 2 days in a row (heavy leg days can be fatiguing for the upper day) and who can train on weekends, a schedule of
Mon: lower
Wed: upper
Fri: lower
Sat: upper

may be superior you get a day off after at least two of the workouts.

3. The program should be done across 6-8 week blocks of training. The first 2 weeks are submaximal run-ups where you are working below your best weight for the rep range. You might go something like 80-85% of best (e.g. if 100X8 is your best, go 80-85 lbsX8) in week 1 and then 90-95% of best in week 2. that means that sets will NOT be to failure and the workouts should be pretty comfortable.

For the next 4-6 weeks, the goal should be to make improvements as much as possible. When you get to the top end of the rep range on the first set add weight. Some may find it better getting all sets at the same weight before going up at the next workout.

3. People vary massively in how well they can handle weights across multiple sets. If you can do it, get all of the work sets at the same weight. If you can’t, you are better off warming up to your heaviest weight on the first set and then pyramiding DOWN (e.g. lower weight on subsequent sets). Ascending pyramids suck.

4. After the 6-8 weeks is up, you MUST backcycle. If you want to change exericses, do it during the two week submaximal runup. Even if you want to keep the same exercises, you MUST backcycle to 80-85% of your previous best and runup at to numbers again. You MUST listen to me about this, if you try to keep hammering past that point, you will burn out and start backsliding.

Why I prefer this program for bulking
-Max OTers may scoff at 4 or even 3 days a week. This is a taxing program. The volume and intensity are both high. I do not recommend this for cutting and I’m sure Lyle would agree, it is simply too taxing and one would most likely burn themselves out.
-This will work for both natural and assisted athletes, but more geared towards natural. The old 1 body part bombardment splits simply don’t work as well for naturals. Repeated stimulation, not annihilation (thanks Lee Haney), and adequate time for rest are very important to this routine.
-Though one can build both size and strength from most rep ranges, some are still better than others. The main goal of this program is hypertrophy, but when reps around 6 will build strength effectively as well. There is also ample opportunity to switch rep ranges with subsequent blocks of training.

Susan
www.CatapultFitnessBlog.com

Great Info Susan.

@jasonman424: Notice that the routine that she suggested is an Upper and Lower split. Not a body part split. I really believe that body part splits are not only a waste of time for beginners, but are potentially dangerous.

If you’re a newbie you’d be better off doing something like Starting Strength, or Starr’s 5×5.

I agree 100% with chaddukes…..if you are a beginner don’t isolate body parts yet. do starting strength for a 3-6months. then you can look at doing
mon: chest/tri
Wed: back/biceps
Fri: leg/shoulders

Yea, I’ve heard that before. It’s just I love doing a body part split and i feel that one to two excercises won’t really work my muscles completely. What are the reasons as to why I should avoid a body part split?