Read the Nutrition forum stickies. Real good info.
Most of the clean bulk stuff as been contested. In the end, research sited by some senior members in the nutrition forum points to macros being all that matter.
Calorie surplus = weight gain
Calorie deficit = weight loss
Your goal is to maximize lean body mass gains and minimize fat gain using a calorie surplus.
Cardio will increase the amount of calories your body needs. If you want to be able to eat more food, use cardio.
Make sure you take in sufficient protein. At least 1gram/pound of body weight. Get essential fatty acids (olive oil, fish, fish oil supplements, nuts, flax seed, etc) and sufficient calories to gain the weight.
For lifts, always push. Never just do the exercise or go through the motions. Stick to compound movements. Squats, bench, pullups, dips, deadlifts, rows. Check the Exercise forum. Always try to add weight to the bar.
I haven't done a lot of rearch on lifting programs. I've tried high rep low rest workouts and low rep long rest workouts. I tend to prefer a 5X5 style workout with compound movements using 2-3 minute rests. I've read after 3 minutes, the muscles replenish the majority of the ATP in the muscles enabling you to lift the same weight. If I get through my last set with 5 reps, I up the weight.
Get a baseline. Find out your current bodyfat and measurements. As you gain weight, keep track of where your body is putting it.
Google Alan Aragon and "culking". There are many who recommend shorter cycles between bulking and cutting cycles to minimize fat gain.
Right now, I'm experimenting with losing fat and adding lean body mass. I'm using calorie cycling to attain this goal. High calories (500+ surplus) on workout days with weight training in the morning after 1 hour of preworkout meal and low calories (800 deficit) on non-lifting days. You can see how it turned out in "losing fat logs" in 11 weeks.
In the end, the best advise I can give is to make sure you get all your starting data (weight, body part measurements, body fat) and monitor your calories. Make sure you get your vitamins, EFA and protein requirements and see how your body responds. The calories can be adjusted as you go.
Just remember, most say it is not realistic for more than a .5%-1% per month lean body mass gain. If you're 180 pounds, that's 1.8 pounds per MONTH. That would be 10lbs of lean body mass on the low end and 20lbs on the high end. To insure as little fat gain as possible, you'll want to shoot for the lower end.
That comes to 1/4lb per week. If you're really concerned about adding fat, start with a 250 calorie surplus and see how your body responds. Only you will know what a 250 calorie surplus over maintenance is for you. If you keep good records, you'll know after a few weeks. You can use a basal metabolic calculator to give you an idea on a starting point. Most likely, somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 calories unless you're really light or really heavy.
Good luck
Bookmarks