12-Week Bulking Trainer Thread (Post all questions here)

[saulreyes]

Hey Derek!

First off thanks for doing this!!!!

The target maintenance caloric intake for my age-41, height-5,11, weight-215lb is about 3000 calories. Do you recommend cutting down to 2500 on cardio/rest days or is it necessary to maintain that level every day? I worked really hard to shred off 80lbs and am now trying to put on some muscle mass with your program, but don't want to gain fat again!!!

Next question, due to family life and work I work out first thing in the morning at 5AM. I do a small pre-workout meal (2 scoops of CytoGainer mixed with soy milk) 30 minutes prior to working out. Do you think this is sufficient or would you recommend something else?

Thanks again for your dedication to helping out us amatuers!!!

[puredoubt]

Hey Derek,

i'm on week two of this program and so far so good, but i've made a few small adjustments i'd like your feedback on. first off, i've switched calves and shoulders/traps so that i'm doing chest/back/arms one day and legs/shoulders the next. i assume that's no biggie, but thought i'd ask. also, instead of doubling up on the shrugs, i'm replacing the barbell shrug with upright rows because i feel like my shoulders need a bit more work. other than that, i'm sticking with your plan as detailed. am i still in line with your plan or did i alter too much?

also, i have trouble lying on a flat bench (actually getting up from the bench) because i have virtually no abdominal muscles (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prune_belly_syndrome) and so can't do a situp motion. because of this, there's certain basic exercises i just can't do (without a partner) like flat bench. so i tend to use an incline bench more than usual and to substitute for something like a flat bench i'll use a hammer strength machine instead. do you think it's ok to substitute something so fundamental as the flat bench with machines, or should i really make it a goal to find some way to use the flat bench, even though i may look silly (like a turtle on its back). close grip bench for triceps, for example, i do on the incline bench... i assume it works the triceps just as well as lying flat. any corrections or insights you could give me would be great.

thanks a lot!

[Roniboney]

hey derek im pretty pumped to start your programme.i have written myself this diet plan which i hope will work.please critique it if you have time.

9am Meal1:70g oats,1/2 cup blueberries,3oz chicken breast,1 tbsp natty peanut butter,1 cap sesamin,1 multivitamin,1 tsp lecithin

in between meal 1 and 2 ,3 bcaas caps,5g creatine

12am Meal 2:Pwo- 70g oats,1 scoop ON chocolate whey,creatine 5g,vitamin c,glucosamine,sesamin

3pm Meal 3:1/2 cup brown rice,4oz chicken,1 1/3 tsp extra virgin olive oil,4g fish oil,5 caps cla,lecithin

6pm Meal 4:8oz sweet potato,4oz chicken or turkey,1tbsp natty pb,4 fish oil,5 cla

9pm Meal 5:1 tin tuna>around 4oz>?1/2 cup brown rice,5 tsp natty peanut butter, 1 cap sesamin,multivitamin,lecithin

Each meal except pwo will have 1 to 2 cups of veg like brocolli or mushrooms


without the veg calories it amounts to around 2400 calories.with the veg maybe 2750 cals


also on days that igoout and will be up a little later than 10.30pm i will have one scoop of on casein protein


i know that im going to get flamed for having just 5 meals but tbh 6 meals makes me hungry all day and i enjoy to sleep around 9 hours so 5 seems ideal.if ihave to go to 6 i will though if you feel i might be hurting my performance having 5. great programme man.i start in 9 days and i look forward to it.

[alannigz]

Hi Derek,

Is it ok to do workout B of the same bodypart if im still sore from workout A ? Because i've been told that i should wait for soreness to go away before working the same bodyparts.

thanks

[irockj00ssockz]

Has anyone ever posted results on this?

After my workout camp is over I will do a log on it.


Oh and didn't you or someone else have something like this before?

j/w because I think I remember one

[bravesfan1984]

hey derek....say for example i wanted to get in the rep range of 10-12 for a set of flat bench press or whatever....would it be more optimal to try to get in the rep range without using rest pauses or utilize rest pauses to go a little heavier (such as 8 reps RP 2 reps RP 1 rep)?

[destinypua]

hi beast¡¡¡

well im on the 2nd week of this program and after see the video of the monday workout i see that i nedd to increase the weight.

my question is this.
what if i cant use more weight?


and i have another doubt.
¡is not dangerous doing squats or benche press to failure?

well i hope you can help me bro.

[alannigz]

hi beast¡¡¡

well im on the 2nd week of this program and after see the video of the monday workout i see that i nedd to increase the weight.

my question is this.
what if i cant use more weight?


and i have another doubt.
¡is not dangerous doing squats or benche press to failure?

well i hope you can help me bro.

Hope i can help you on this one:

1.What do you mean by "cant use more weight" ? You are going to do lower reps than week 1 so you should be able to use more weight. Or is it that you work out at home and dont have enough plates ?

2.Thats why you have a spotter or do them in a squat rack with safety bars on, its hard to save yourself if you are doing heavy weights.

just my 2 cents

[bondbuilder]

Dereck, Is it better to just take a wheight gainer (with whey concentrate) or take the
creatine with ?

[coolaidml]

What are the best times to be taking Creatine Derek?

I currently am taking 5 grams 30 minutes before my workout and another 5 grams at end of workout. On off days I take 2 5 grams at different times during the day on empty stomach. Also would it be better taken with food?

I have read so many conflicting articles and really don't know what to believe in regards to taking it properly with times, dosages etc....

[bondbuilder]

What are the best times to be taking Creatine Derek?

I currently am taking 5 grams 30 minutes before my workout and another 5 grams at end of workout. On off days I take 2 5 grams at different times during the day on empty stomach. Also would it be better taken with food?

I have read so many conflicting articles and really don't know what to believe in regards to taking it properly with times, dosages etc....

@coolaidml : The best moments to take creatine is during meals because if you eat meat, it will be better absorbed. Furthermore, you can take before and after workout but it's better to take after because Creatine has a tendency to slightly lower blood glucose. Moreover, it there is a significant time lag between decision and effects
beneficial. It is therefore not recommended to consume creatine just
before exercise,

[AwsomeAndy87]

Derek,

I'm currently on week #3 of your program and I won't be able to do week #4 next week because I'll be out of town on vacation. What do you suggest I do? Should I start the program from week #1, should I repeat week #3 the week after my vacation or should I do week #4? I would greatly appreciate your help on the matter.

[dumborambo]

hi Derek, just had few questions

1) should i eat something before cardio if i am doing it early in the morning like 6:00 am? what should i eat then?

2) if i have to consume 4 oz of chicken so is it 4oz after cooking or before cooking?

3) 4oz of un cooked chicken breast = how much oz of cooked chicken breast?

4) what should we take as proworkout meal and postworkout meal?

5) are postworkout and preworkout meals suppose to be part of 5 meals to be eaten daily or are the seperate?

[destinypua]

hi derek.

well i start your program but i see that i have to take the sets to failure.

do i need to fail in the last set or i need to fail in each one set.

is not dangerous fail in squats or bench press?

well i thinks thats all and i hope you can helpe me with this.

[Kiki22]

Hey Derek, what's up.

Well, yesterday was my first time doing Stiff (I go to gym since 2008), and I'm really feeling some soreness on the back of my leg. So my question is:

Should I do the cardio today or no?!

[nymyth]

Has anyone ever posted results on this?

After my workout camp is over I will do a log on it.


Oh and didn't you or someone else have something like this before?

j/w because I think I remember one

I have been logging my workouts on the workout tracker, and I will post my before and after picture once the program is done. I am on week 5 right now and my strength is higher than it has ever been... :-)

[irockj00ssockz]

I have been logging my workouts on the workout tracker, and I will post my before and after picture once the program is done. I am on week 5 right now and my strength is higher than it has ever been... :-)

Okay thanks...

After I'm doing with this strength and conditioning camp, I will log mine too.

[sicinsane]

hey Derek i was wondering on day 2 lower body instead of doing stiff leg deadlift's can i switch to doing the lying leg curls? i think i have the form wrong on the stiff leg deadlifts

[nymyth]

hey Derek i was wondering on day 2 lower body instead of doing stiff leg deadlift's can i switch to doing the lying leg curls? i think i have the form wrong on the stiff leg deadlifts

its what I ended up doing...lol (im pretty sure he picked it to compound the lower back exercise, I just cannot do it)

[Roniboney]

bump

[dumborambo]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hi Derek, just had few questions

1) should i eat something before cardio if i am doing it early in the morning like 6:00 am? what should i eat then?

2) if i have to consume 4 oz of chicken so is it 4oz after cooking or before cooking?

3) 4oz of un cooked chicken breast = how much oz of cooked chicken breast?

4) what should we take as proworkout meal and postworkout meal?

5) are postworkout and preworkout meals suppose to be part of 5 meals to be eaten daily or are they seperate?

[kenny1022]

Beast,

I'm in my last two weeks of your program and really enjoying it plus seeing some solid gains. The only deviations I've made are using Friday as my rest day and doing my second lower body routine on Saturday as well as implementing rope pulldowns instead of close grip bench. A few q's:

1. I'm a cyclist and it's the season to ride. I bike anywhere from 1 - 2 hours a day, 6 times a week. Obviously, I got my cardio covered. If I keep my nutrition up to compensate for all the cardio as well as getting my rest in, should this have minimal impact to my growth?

2. After my last week of the program, can I start it again? Do you have any other recommendations/programs? Or is this info covered in your last week sessions? I'm holding off on watching sessions in advance. It keeps the motivation up.

Thanks for all the help!

Ken

[kwjensen]

Derek,
First, thanks for the program.

I'll get right to it.... The program has Shrugs twice during the week. What are your thoughts on replacing one of those with something to hit the side delts again? I'm thinking either side lateral raises on Upper Body A instead of shrugs..... or military press again during Upper body B, instead of shrugs.

I've got a narrow frame and I'm hoping to gain more width. Thoughts? Thanks, and take care.

KWJ

[puredoubt]

its what I ended up doing...lol (im pretty sure he picked it to compound the lower back exercise, I just cannot do it)

that's what i thought when first doing these.. but i just concentrated on form and after a couple days i finally started to really feel it in my hamstrings. in fact, after putting some weight on the bar my hammys were more sore than they've ever been. i could hardly walk! now it's one of my favorites.

keep at it, and just concentrate on pulling with your legs, not your back. i know that sounds strange -- "pulling with your legs." but it will make sense once you get the feel for it.

[Roniboney]

hey derek ,me again,im going to try out the scivation game over leanmass diet and use your bulking trainer,however i will follow the diet i have already left in the thread if you say it would be better. oh i fricking love the idea of the every 21 meals carb up.

[puredoubt]

Derek,
First, thanks for the program.

I'll get right to it.... The program has Shrugs twice during the week. What are your thoughts on replacing one of those with something to hit the side delts again? I'm thinking either side lateral raises on Upper Body A instead of shrugs..... or military press again during Upper body B, instead of shrugs.

I've got a narrow frame and I'm hoping to gain more width. Thoughts? Thanks, and take care.

KWJ

i thought the same thing. so i replaced one of the shrugs with upright rows. this movement still works the traps (simply shrug and squeeze as you row up) but works the delts as well. works well for me.

[gamelover]

I am on week 2 of the program and so far I like it but I have a few questions:

1. What do you mean by the rep range, say 8-10 reps? Do you mean stop and 10 no matter what or keep going in the current set with the weight you have chosen until you cant do one more rep? The reason I ask is that its sometimes tough to estimate what weight will land me smack in the middle of a rep range. Sometimes I drastically over or underestimate how much weight to do(say 9 or 17 reps for the 12-15 rep range)

1.5 How does that work for subsequent sets for the multi-set days? Sometimes my endurance isnt great for the same weight in the latter sets.

2. I workout in my home gym and I have a squat rack, barbell, and dumbbells up to 65lbs Currently for dumbbell shrugs I am on the 65 lb dumbbells for 10 reps so do I switch back to barbell shrugs for that day when I exceed what I have?

3. In week 1 For the hack squats I used the barbell hack squat (I have no smith machine). The first time I did it I based my weight on what I had previously done with the front squat in previous routines. About halfway through the first set I got the most god awful headache I have ever had. Ideas? Having never done hack squats I wondered if my form was poor or something. I felt the weight was very hard but I was able to do the reps ok.

4. Do you think that barbell high steps are a good substitute for the leg press on lower day A, or do you have a better one for that exercise?

5. On week 2 lower body A I did my calves and I must have really beat the crap out of them because the following day I tried to jog, I'm not really much of a jogger, and my calves would not function properly due to muscle fatigue. Ideas for less leg intensive cardio?

[maknel]

this is my food log

i am 5'5" 130lb

starts on June 18th
fatsecret.com/Diary.aspx?pa=mdcs&id=306146
just don't look at the 4th of July...

using that thing it said i needed 3700 calories to gain 1 pound a week, ive been eating roughly around 90%.. i don't know whether i am getting fat or not, but i am lifting more than when i started,, i do notice my arms are getting thicker, and my legs too.

Thing is i also do about 2 hours of muay thai 3 days a week, and on weekends i do rough cardio for 30 minutes a day.

my chest is getting bigger and wider, and i have been able to lift more and more.. my first time i did 30 on barbell curl, couldn't even lift 50, last set i was able to lift 50 to 4set of 6reps.

So i know i am growing muscle, because i am lifting more and more, but am i eating to much?

[Neo98]

I am 22 year old skinny guy weighing 140 lb and ht. is 6 ft.
Is this workout going to help me .. I want to gain nearly 6-8 lb muscle in next 3-4 months..
How much calorie should i take to bulk.
How much muscle mass should i gain my doing this workout in 12 weeks ??

[dumborambo]

hi Derek, just had few questions

1) should i eat something before cardio if i am doing it early in the morning like 6:00 am? what should i eat then?

2) if i have to consume 4 oz of chicken so is it 4oz after cooking or before cooking?

3) 4oz of un cooked chicken breast = how much oz of cooked chicken breast?

4) what should we take as proworkout meal and postworkout meal?

5) are postworkout and preworkout meals suppose to be part of 5 meals to be eaten daily or are they seperate