Setting Realistic Goals for Muscle/Mass Gain

[scrappie345]

Starting this thread in an attempt to gain some knowledge on the amount of muscle mass I can expect to gain in X amount of time based on where im currently at. we'll just call it a year to make it easy. Gauging this somewhat accurately is important to me b/c just like most of you, i don't want to put on an unnecessary amount of fat in my bulking phase-i'd still like to look good in the process.

A little about me: 6' 192 pounds...something like 12% bodyfat. I've been lifting consistently for the past 15 months. 14 of those months consisted of me doing ****ty splits that were terrible for me and way too much volume, but I still made some noob gains and managed to put on 12-15 pounds of muscle in that period. I'm now on Star's 5x5 program so I feel like I'm at least on the right track as far as that goes. Anyway, heres what im currently at for my top sets of 5 in the Star workout so far:

Bench: 205
Squat: 195
DL: 240
Military (DB's): 140

as you can see there's clearly a ton of room for strength gains, which should lead to mass gain since im eating at a caloric excess. Don't give me too much **** for the Squats and DL, until now i always neglected legs a little bit and im new to ATG squats- Im working them hard now and know theres a lot of room for gain. I also never used to DL...I see this weight going up A LOT over the span of the next few months.

So back to the question: how much muscle mass do you think a guy in my position can put on naturally in the next 12 months through proper training and nutrition? Also, how much fat should i put on in this time as well just to make sure I'm taking in enough calories to foster new muscle growth? im not afraid to put on a little bit of fat just to make certain that I'm getting my maximum amount of muscle growth possible, I just dont want to put on fat for no reason.

Last question: what do you think the distribution of muscle gains by month should look like? I assume that it wont be linear and that i will be able to put on more muscle in sooner months than the latter. something like 3,2,2,1,1,1....? im just trying to use all of this info so that i can set goals and hopefully watch the scale move in the right way for the months to follow. It will also help me set a calorie goal so that I know im eating the right amount. i know this was long. i really appreciate some help from you guys

[autonoma]

Starting this thread in an attempt to gain some knowledge on the amount of muscle mass I can expect to gain in X amount of time based on where im currently at. we'll just call it a year to make it easy. Gauging this somewhat accurately is important to me b/c just like most of you, i don't want to put on an unnecessary amount of fat in my bulking phase-i'd still like to look good in the process.

A little about me: 6' 192 pounds...something like 12% bodyfat. I've been lifting consistently for the past 15 months. 14 of those months consisted of me doing ****ty splits that were terrible for me and way too much volume, but I still made some noob gains and managed to put on 12-15 pounds of muscle in that period. I'm now on Star's 5x5 program so I feel like I'm at least on the right track as far as that goes. Anyway, heres what im currently at for my top sets of 5 in the Star workout so far:

Bench: 205
Squat: 195
DL: 240
Military (DB's): 140

as you can see there's clearly a ton of room for strength gains, which should lead to mass gain since im eating at a caloric excess. Don't give me too much **** for the Squats and DL, until now i always neglected legs a little bit and im new to ATG squats- Im working them hard now and know theres a lot of room for gain. I also never used to DL...I see this weight going up A LOT over the span of the next few months.

So back to the question: how much muscle mass do you think a guy in my position can put on naturally in the next 12 months through proper training and nutrition? Also, how much fat should i put on in this time as well just to make sure I'm taking in enough calories to foster new muscle growth? im not afraid to put on a little bit of fat just to make certain that I'm getting my maximum amount of muscle growth possible, I just dont want to put on fat for no reason.

Last question: what do you think the distribution of muscle gains by month should look like? I assume that it wont be linear and that i will be able to put on more muscle in sooner months than the latter. something like 3,2,2,1,1,1....? im just trying to use all of this info so that i can set goals and hopefully watch the scale move in the right way for the months to follow. It will also help me set a calorie goal so that I know im eating the right amount. i know this was long. i really appreciate some help from you guys

An good goal is to gain 1 lb per week average. Eat clean. Everyone is different and even with the same person, your training style/stimulus will also be different..very hard question that you are asking.

Eat roughly 300-500 calories more than your maintanence calorie load. Eating carbs is easier when you are bulking up.

[dopamine72]

You need to figure out how many calories a day your body needs to start gaining. It may be a little over maintenance or 3000+ over depending on your metabolism. If you start gaining too much body fat, cut the calories back, you will figure all this out over time. Get lots of carbs, protein and fats. I would really focus on getting all your major compound lifts stronger; bench, squat, dead lift, military press, dips, pull ups , rows. You should get great results doing Rip's SS. You will gain muscle off that for sure, just eat past maintenance like said before.

[scrappie345]

thanks for the responses. i guess youre right autonoma this is pretty tough to answer accurately and might be something im just going to have to learn through trial and error for myself. like i said i want to eat enough so that it doesnt hinder muscle gains at all but i also dont want to unneccesarily become a fat-ass. its also a bitch to count calories when youre bulking...a lot more to count than when cutting

[laneanders]

Starting this thread in an attempt to gain some knowledge on the amount of muscle mass I can expect to gain in X amount of time based on where im currently at. we'll just call it a year to make it easy. Gauging this somewhat accurately is important to me b/c just like most of you, i don't want to put on an unnecessary amount of fat in my bulking phase-i'd still like to look good in the process.

A little about me: 6' 192 pounds...something like 12% bodyfat. I've been lifting consistently for the past 15 months. 14 of those months consisted of me doing ****ty splits that were terrible for me and way too much volume, but I still made some noob gains and managed to put on 12-15 pounds of muscle in that period. I'm now on Star's 5x5 program so I feel like I'm at least on the right track as far as that goes. Anyway, heres what im currently at for my top sets of 5 in the Star workout so far:

Bench: 205
Squat: 195
DL: 240
Military (DB's): 140

as you can see there's clearly a ton of room for strength gains, which should lead to mass gain since im eating at a caloric excess. Don't give me too much **** for the Squats and DL, until now i always neglected legs a little bit and im new to ATG squats- Im working them hard now and know theres a lot of room for gain. I also never used to DL...I see this weight going up A LOT over the span of the next few months.

So back to the question: how much muscle mass do you think a guy in my position can put on naturally in the next 12 months through proper training and nutrition? Also, how much fat should i put on in this time as well just to make sure I'm taking in enough calories to foster new muscle growth? im not afraid to put on a little bit of fat just to make certain that I'm getting my maximum amount of muscle growth possible, I just dont want to put on fat for no reason.

Last question: what do you think the distribution of muscle gains by month should look like? I assume that it wont be linear and that i will be able to put on more muscle in sooner months than the latter. something like 3,2,2,1,1,1....? im just trying to use all of this info so that i can set goals and hopefully watch the scale move in the right way for the months to follow. It will also help me set a calorie goal so that I know im eating the right amount. i know this was long. i really appreciate some help from you guys

In a calendar year generically speaking for your body fat %, weight, and height. You should end up around 10% body fat, and about 215 lbs minimum. The heavier you get in terms of muscle the more calories you will have to eat to fuel your continued growth, so set a growth point for now (4k calories is a nice sticking point for myself), re-evaluate in 2 months, or at approximately 198 lbs. By then you should have lost at least a half % of body fat, and put on 7 pounds of muscle minimum. It changes based on your muscle/fat ratio like I said. The more muscle you have the more fuel they need. Your strength increases leg-wise in particular should be exponential not linear. You should see 20 lb increases in strength weekly starting out, followed by 15, then 10, etc. Until you eventually near your peak for your genetic type. This will not be the case in body parts you have previously trained. You should overall see a slight body fat decrease, excellent strength and size gains, and overall weight gain in a calendar year. It differs based on genetics, dedication, determination, and intelligence in working out properly (number of times per week, intensity, volume, etc.) Trial and error my friend. Find out what works best for you, ask for advice, try out a few things, discard what doesn't help you, and try again. Keep at it even if you stall out at points. Strength through perseverance.

[scrappie345]

haha man if i could get to 215 with 10% bodyfat in a year thatd be amazing...i'd love that. i'm afraid that might be a bit optimistic though...remember im doing this naturally for now. also what are these bodyfat decreases while bulking of which you speak? didnt really think i could get that to happen while not on gear. im not a completely untrained noob...seems to go against the whole calories in vs calories out thing. maybe im mistaken...