Am I ready to Bulk?

~Lisa~ · 05-17-2007, 12:51 PM

I think I know the answers to my questions already, but I would really appreciate and love to hear what you all think, too.

I am genetically predispositioned to be thin and seem to have a hard time putting on lean muscle. My father is the same way, and swears that he was always a "string bean" even tho he says he lifted weights in college, trying to bulk up. I have NO idea what his regimen was or if it was a fly by the seat of your pants, typical college guy lifting thing.

Anyway... I'm 5'6" and weighed 119.8 this morning. I've been doing the fitness thing, working out, eating clean for 1 year and 3 months now - with one 4-month hiatus from December '06 to April 1, 2007. I've been back at it for just about 2 months now. The lowest I ever weighed last year was a flat 115 and I got down to 16% body fat... you can see all of my pictures in my journal or a few of them on body space... my main chunk of fat lives on my butt and thighs. LOL

Ok... so I have never done a true, full length bulking phase before. I'm DYING to grow some arms and some serious legs. Is it time for me to bulk? I'm NOT at my absolute leanest, but I'm pretty stuck right now.

I've generally been eating around 1400-1800 cals per day... you can see my meals in my log (and the workouts that go along w/ the meals). Do you think I am lean ENOUGH to start bulking?

My idea of what to do is to increase calories to 2,000-2,500 a day throughout my 6 meals; lift heavy in the gym doing 5x5's; decrease cardio going down to running a mile or so 2 or 3 times per week.

What do you all think??
Thank you for any suggestions and help you may have!

darkangel · 05-17-2007, 04:03 PM

What's your current bodyfat percentage?

~Lisa~ · 05-17-2007, 04:05 PM

The best I can do without travelling is using a digital hand-held analyzer... I know it's not entirely correct, but before my workout today it was 19.6%.

twinnett · 05-17-2007, 04:22 PM

I think a slow bulk would be great for you! If you're genetically pretty skinny, adding calories, lifting heavy and decreasing cardio would be great! I've been bulking for around 10 months and my bodyfat has not increased by much at all!

fitinidaho · 05-17-2007, 08:03 PM

If that is your next Goal, then I say go for it.
I am an ecto like you and it's really hard to put on muscle. I was at 100 pounds and was eating 3,000+ cals a day to only gain 5 pounds in a year!
Up your cals slowly and when you hit the 2,000-2,500 mark, and you arent gaining like you want, dont be afraid to up your cals some more as long as they are clean cals.

Beefcake Girl · 05-18-2007, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinnett

I think a slow bulk would be great for you! If you're genetically pretty skinny, adding calories, lifting heavy and decreasing cardio would be great! I've been bulking for around 10 months and my bodyfat has not increased by much at all!

Agreed

I am in the same category and I do all of the above to make changes to my physique

there is no reason to get drastic, even though we are may not add muscle easily....no need to gain too much fat or get out of shape cardiovascularly! It is easier mentally and physically to add weight in a methodical way

~Lisa~ · 05-18-2007, 10:27 AM

Awesome... thank you so much guys! Nice to be more certain about what I should be doing now.

BuffedWildCat · 05-18-2007, 10:51 AM

Too bad you didn't live close to me, I'd love to help you and would definitely love to have a workout partner! I have some advice though, since you are a hard gainer, you are going to need all the help you can get gaining muscle so I would drop the cardio altogether, you will get better results. Cardio, especially if it's not of short duration and high intensity, has a tendency to burn off muscle. I quit session skating at the local skating rink for a while when I was preparing for my bodybuilding competition because of that fact. Session skating is basically low intensity cardio. Now if I were to do speed skating sprints, that would be different, that type of training will send your body signals to BUILD muscle. Also, if you do heavy squats, heavy deadlifts, and heavy lunges, to name a few, trust me, you will get your cardio! If you aren't huffing and puffing after a set of squats, lunges, or deadlifts, then you're not lifting heavy enough. I'm always huffing and puffing after a set of heavy squats, lunges, or deadlifts (when I do them, I don't normally even train my legs). Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Too bad you don't live close enough for me to help/train you, cause then I could prove to you what I've said. In any case, whatever you decide to do, GOOD LUCK!

~Lisa~ · 05-18-2007, 01:15 PM

Hey BuffedWC!! I just finished reading your comments here and in my body blog and reading thru your profile and I really wished we lived hear each other too!! I would LOVE to have a workout partner who was also a military wife... so knowing what that whole lifestyle is like. I've gotta say, the Army wives that live here... are incredibly out of shape, overweight and don't seem to care! It's the weirdest thing. They think *I'm* the strange one??! LOL

Thanks so much for all of your comments and advice! Me dropping cardio altogether does NOT break my heart.

Do you keep up with a journal here in the Journaling section? I see that you're getting nearer to your first competition!! That's so exciting... I'll follow along with your progress, thru your body blog at least.

I'll let you know how my muscle gain goes! I love the 5x5 plan... I love feeling like a badass in the gym using heavy weights. hehehe

~Lisa~ · 05-24-2007, 11:52 AM

I feel so much better just being on A Plan!! I'm doing zero cardio... except for that which comes from heavy lifting. I still haven't increased my calorie intake over 2,000 cals... but a gradual increase isn't a bad thing, I guess.

It's funny how quickly a change in strength happens! I can lift heavier already... I suppose from the extra food I'm eating, eh?

If I could just grow some ARMS I'd be all set.

BuffedWildCat · 05-31-2007, 10:47 PM

You will want to increase your calories slowly anyway, to give your metabolism a chance to pick up.

Also, your strength will increase not just due to eating more, but also because you aren't doing cardio! Like I said, cardio burns off muscle. There are a lot of people out there who can attest to better strength gains once they cut out the cardio. Talk to some powerlifters, like Titania, they don't do cardio, if they did they'd be shooting themselves in the foot. Cardio and strength do NOT go together.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear of your positive progress so far!

darkangel · 06-01-2007, 08:02 AM

Looks like our stats are very similar. I'll be curious to hear how your slow bulk goes. That's pretty much what I've been doing... the program I'm on calls it a "modified mass" cycle.

What does a typical day's diet look like for you? I have a hard time getting enough calories from the food I eat.