Growing belly on strength programs

[lidagon]

..otherwise, still skinny.

So...Been doin' strength programs for a year now. Started with 55kg on 5' 9". Currently at 66kg. Squat getting close to 90 kgs low bar, DL 110kg last tested, bench 70kg.
As you can see from stats, I am disgustingly ectomorphic. So the obvious direction within this one year was to bulk. I ate as much as I could, aiming around 3000cal or more when convenient.

I was guided by idea that skinny guy should bulk no matter dirty or clean, but having reached reasonable amount of protein of course. I even tried GOMAD, but couldn't bear the toilet troubles especially during working hours at that point. Still drinking large amounts of milk, preferably high in fat. Supplemented with creatine, whey, caseine, weight gainers, some vitamins and minerals, zinc, magnesium... Quit drinking even a drop of alcohol year ago.

So I ate junk and carbs but I payed attention to also have vegetables and fruits in my diet.

In short, all these led me to weak gains, meaning I always get some very small definition of muscle very fast from the beginning whatever I do, and then I stay at that level with no increase in muscle SIZE. So legs and arms practically stayed skinny for one year. What worries me is this:

I always though I can gain no BF, so this became my goal eventually, its a common sense for bulking. But last month or so I noticed sudden growth of belly. No other distributions of fat, just round stomach, which is obvious even when emptied. This is proof I've been in caloric surplus as i thought is requirement, and now this..

And this is all I got at this point. Belly and same muscle gains as in the start. Maybe a bit of chest and shoulders(I say maybe cause I don't measure).

I am on Madcow 5x5 at the moment, always been doing assistance work as well.

Now I want to know if this is normal. Can someone give any valuable input on this?

I am worried its cortisol levels or something, so I have medical hormone examinations appointed, however, last time endocrinologist laughted at me for coming and insisted that I'm healthy with no further insight.

Am I doing something wrong?

[beisner44]

You ate too much and gained fat, you should read the nutritional stickies, they will answer all your questions.

[lidagon]

You ate too much and gained fat, you should read the nutritional stickies, they will answer all your questions.

Thanks for the reply, but... I am aware of nutritional section, as much as some guidelines from other places which for example state that caloric surplus and certain amount of fat are required to gain muscle. The problem is, I gained no fat anywhere but waist/belly.

I'm not scared of fat, but basically I want to know if stomach fat is normal, if gaining fat means getting belly with no increase elsewhere, or is this an indicator of health issue?

[Partyrocking]

Thanks for the reply, but... I am aware of nutritional section, as much as some guidelines from other places which for example state that caloric surplus and certain amount of fat are required to gain muscle. The problem is, I gained no fat anywhere but waist/belly.

I'm not scared of fat, but basically I want to know if stomach fat is normal, if gaining fat means getting belly with no increase elsewhere, or is this an indicator of health issue?

It's an indication that you're male.

[Vpac]

SO you just assumed you required 3000 calories, regardless of your current weight, height, age, daily activity levels and weight training experience?

It doesn't work that simple. You need to calculate your starting calories initially. Lets say you needed 2500 calories to maintain your weight at 55kg. You should have upped your calories by 100 to 2600 and then weigh yourself every Wednesday and Sunday and write your weight down. If you are gaining weight, great, continue with 2600 calories. After 2 weeks you haven't gained weight, increase to 2700 calories. And repeat like this. You want to aim for 1 - 1.5kg gain a month. For the first two or three years you want to gain between 12kg - 15kg every year.

What you can do is if you want is do a mini cut for 10-12 weeks and aim for 1lb loss a week, which will be about 5-6kg in total and bring you back down to around 60kg. How long did it take you to go from 55kg to 66kg? So you may want to cut for a while, bring your body fat level down a little bit, then go a very long slow lean bulk for one or two years or whatever your goal is.

[lidagon]

It's an indication that you're male.

Isn't it true that stomach fat lowers testosterone, and increases estrogen? If so, doesn't this mean even less muscle gains.

Not even sure if its visceral fat.

How to proceed then if Madcow requires caloric surplus all the way?

[ds4545]

Your a male with likely an already slowing metabolism with an admittedly poor diet. Whats the mystery?

If you're concerned about your health takes the tests and let a doctor evaluate. There's not much a message board can help you with here

[lidagon]

SO you just assumed you required 3000 calories, regardless of your current weight, height, age, daily activity levels and weight training experience?

It doesn't work that simple. You need to calculate your starting calories initially. Lets say you needed 2500 calories to maintain your weight at 55kg. You should have upped your calories by 100 to 2600 and then weigh yourself every Wednesday and Sunday and write your weight down. If you are gaining weight, great, continue with 2600 calories. After 2 weeks you haven't gained weight, increase to 2700 calories. And repeat like this. You want to aim for 1 - 1.5kg gain a month. For the first two or three years you want to gain between 12kg - 15kg every year.

What you can do is if you want is do a mini cut for 10-12 weeks and aim for 1lb loss a week, which will be about 5-6kg in total and bring you back down to around 60kg. How long did it take you to go from 55kg to 66kg? So you may want to cut for a while, bring your body fat level down a little bit, then go a very long slow lean bulk for one or two years or whatever your goal is.

Ok, makes sense for a slight cut and clean bulk, but im afraid back to 60 is back to underweight. I think it was a modest weight gain, 10 kg in year or so, and to gain was a main objective for someone so skinny. Its just you would expect some fat in arms or legs, so im wondering wtf. Next 12 weeks im doing madcow which demands surplus, and i want to increase squat above pathetic 90 kg, so that i can do Smolov. Im not sure if its smart to cut then..

[lidagon]

Your a male with likely an already slowing metabolism with an admittedly poor diet. Whats the mystery?

If you're concerned about your health takes the tests and let a doctor evaluate. There's not much a message board can help you with here

Well, im interested in other peoples experiences. I wouldnt say it was poor diet per se, there is no such thing as bulking on broccoli, or is it? Also, i was asking about fat distribution, as someone may know better than me, i just think its weird it all goes to stomach. Or its just bad genetics and another hopeless case. Because I know my friend has been eating similarlly and he got muscle gains in legs, arms, not just waist size.

[lidagon]

Also, doctors, here at least, are not eager to dedicate much to someone just because he wants to gain muscle mass. Especially what you get from insurance, and i cant pay somewhere else cause i quit my job recently.Not to even mention that you must wait for months to get some test done. I already did parasite testing. Now im waiting for hormonal blood tests.