Dirty Bulk #2 - 6 months remaining.

[Gmoneybags]

I am currently 6'2, 230 lbs.

I told myself I wouldn't cut down again until I hit my strength goals. The following strength goals are as follows:

Bench Press: 315 x 1
Squat: 405 x 1
Deadlift: 495(500) x 1
Military Press: 225 x 1

I am getting closer and closer to those goals, with the last month being a bit of a plateau due to switching back to my old gym. I am currently:

Bench Press: 225 x 10, 235 x 7, 255 x 3 ... (Around 275-280)
Squat: 335 x 8 (Form was sloppy, leaned forward on the last couple of reps, with knees over toes.)
Deadlift: 335 x 10 (I used to do touch and go, however, since plateauing on pulling from the floor. I recently switched to pause deadlifts, hit 335 x 10 pausing.) (I have, however, this summer hit 405 x 8, touch and go)
Military Press: 185 x 5 (I fell off a bit, I am around 175 x 6 currently. Hit 205/210 couple weeks ago)

I am close, hopefully these next 6 months will close the gap. Once I hit these numbers, I will be cutting regardless of weight.

The four pictures are all of a similar pose, however, different time intervals.

Picture #1 - 2 years ago, ~190 lbs (6 months after lifting)
Picture #2 - 1.5 years ago, 225 lbs (1 year after lifting) - peak of first dirty bulk
Picture #3 - 1 year ago, 183 lbs (after 6 months of cutting from bulk)
Picture #4 - Today, 230 lbs

[Cuttinghard]

Dude you're gonna get stretch marks

[Gmoneybags]

Dude you're gonna get stretch marks

Haha yeah . Too late

[Cuttinghard]

Good luck if you have your mindset, hope you dont lose motivation or youre gonna be fat lol. Its not easy to shred!

[Gmoneybags]

Good luck if you have your mindset, hope you dont lose motivation or youre gonna be fat lol. Its not easy to shred!

Haha can't stop lifting now or I will definitely get even more fat. I started eating clean again yesterday, (4000 calories, but 4000 fairly clean calories. No soda, no fast food, no candy, limiting fats, etc) I think I am going to continue to slow bulk to 240, or recomp until then. However, once I cut, I will be pushing the prowler / some boxing / crossfit w/ lifting heavy.

[sharkweek50]

Why add all the fat, when you're gonna just have to cut and lose the muscle anyway?

Bulking/cutting is stupid as hell unless you compete.

If you'd actually figure out your maintenance calorie requirements and then develop a diet plan you would add the muscle/strength without 75% of the fat gains you are getting now.

Do you realize that 200cals extra/day for 6 months is over 10lbs of fat?

Clean up your diet, eat the correct amount of calories/macros from quality foods and you're progress over two years will be much greater than splitting your **** up into 6 month bulk and cut segments.

[bruceleelegend]

although u put on a lot of fat you also packed on alot of muscle. you can really see that your arms shoulders lats etc grew alot. after a cut ul look great. good luck

[denmase]

Not enough fat

[Cuttinghard]

Not enough fat

hahaha

[vanahea]

Sorry but why get fat in the process of getting strong, it's not like the extra pounds are gonna help you benching 315 other than the fact your ROM is gonna be half of what it were before .

[Gmoneybags]

Haha, I know, I know. When I cut down I watched my macro's pretty darn close, counted calories, but man, to be honest. I really love my M&M Cookies and Swiss Rolls. I lift with a bunch of powerlifters, so you can only imagine their influence on my diet.

Sooo .... I ended up dirty bulking, not intentionally, it just evolved that way. However, I am back on watching my diet more closely, cutting out the excessively horrible foods. (No junk, strictly skim milk / water, no soda, no fast food, balanced diet (greens,rice,protein,etc)

I'll stop being a pussy and clean it up a little. (**** you guys for not letting me have my Swiss Rolls)


Not to mention, what I forgot to add, this is is my last semester of college. I have to live it up a little before I am stuck in a cubicle ... But by god, Ill get ripped and strong in that cubicle.

Strength has jumped real nice however. (225 - 280 bench, 240 - 400 pausing box squat, 340 - 450ish dead, 175 - 215 military .... hopefully we can keep those gains rolling.)


Thanks for all the constructive criticism, Ill show you guys the peak of my bulk (hoping 240, ill clean it up till then!), then the end of my cut. Now my cut, I will be doing that completely right. Might get a nutritionist to be that extra driving force to get everything perfect. Then I will push the prowler, run hills, intervals, circuit training, cross-fit that **** up till I get down to a nice abdominal level.

[gbullock32]

Eating a "clean" 4000 calories will add the same amount of fat as "dirty" 4000 calories, fat gain is all about calories in vs calories out not the name or type of foods you eat. That said eating whole foods as opposed to candy and stuff will be better for overall health.

[Gmoneybags]

Eating a "clean" 4000 calories will add the same amount of fat as "dirty" 4000 calories, fat gain is all about calories in vs calories out not the name or type of foods you eat. That said eating whole foods as opposed to candy and stuff will be better for overall health.

Of course, you are completely right. However, at 6'2, 230 lbs, with lifting 4 - 5 times pushing for PRs every time. I burn through quite a bit of calories, 4k calories is around ~500 above maintenance for myself. I honestly am not worried about fat gain, I have a high metabolism, so when I cut, it falls off pretty nice.

[Bradeful]

just cut lmao, its better, your basing what your going to be doing to make urself look off of numbers that dont matter a whole lot. You wanna reach a certain bench mark on your lifts but your just gonna be that fat guy lifting alot of weight cause hes fat, i use to be this same way till i cut 90 pounds...yeah lifts when down but who cares, i look 20x better than i did lmao

[Gmoneybags]

just cut lmao, its better, your basing what your going to be doing to make urself look off of numbers that dont matter a whole lot. You wanna reach a certain bench mark on your lifts but your just gonna be that fat guy lifting alot of weight cause hes fat, i use to be this same way till i cut 90 pounds...yeah lifts when down but who cares, i look 20x better than i did lmao

Haha man, cutting blows. I hate that lethargic feeling! I promise to do it in March though man, I am going to be stubborn until then.

[LionRiver]

Of course, you are completely right. However, at 6'2, 230 lbs, with lifting 4 - 5 times pushing for PRs every time. I burn through quite a bit of calories, 4k calories is around ~500 above maintenance for myself. I honestly am not worried about fat gain, I have a high metabolism, so when I cut, it falls off pretty nice.

you don't know wtf you're talking about.

[Gmoneybags]

you don't know wtf you're talking about.

Enlighten me.

[Bradeful]

Haha man, cutting blows. I hate that lethargic feeling! I promise to do it in March though man, I am going to be stubborn until then.

allowing yourself to go through this "dirty bulk" is just allowing yourself to get into bad habits, going to make cutting 10x worse, I feel this could honestly lead to you getting your bench marks on your lifts and then just saying screw cutting and continue eating like a fatty and its not going to go anywhere good, but obviously you won't know till it happens and how motivated you will be to cut once you get to your numbers on your lifts, just doesn;t seem like a very good idea to me lmao and you shouldnt feel "lethargic" if you eat the right food, when you eat right you can eat way more good food and keep under your calorie count or whatever you are watching

[Bradeful]

and just looking at your pictures you can see that you have gained fat with your dirt bulk, being a fat guy who can lift alot is nothing special anyone can eat like **** and doing, in your 3rd picture you look way less fat than your as of today picture or whatever, and your 2nd picture at peak of dirty bulk look how big your belly is lol

[Cuttinghard]

Haha, I know, I know. When I cut down I watched my macro's pretty darn close, counted calories, but man, to be honest. I really love my M&M Cookies and Swiss Rolls. I lift with a bunch of powerlifters, so you can only imagine their influence on my diet.

Sooo .... I ended up dirty bulking, not intentionally, it just evolved that way. However, I am back on watching my diet more closely, cutting out the excessively horrible foods. (No junk, strictly skim milk / water, no soda, no fast food, balanced diet (greens,rice,protein,etc)

I'll stop being a pussy and clean it up a little. (**** you guys for not letting me have my Swiss Rolls)


Not to mention, what I forgot to add, this is is my last semester of college. I have to live it up a little before I am stuck in a cubicle ... But by god, Ill get ripped and strong in that cubicle.

Strength has jumped real nice however. (225 - 280 bench, 240 - 400 pausing box squat, 340 - 450ish dead, 175 - 215 military .... hopefully we can keep those gains rolling.)


Thanks for all the constructive criticism, Ill show you guys the peak of my bulk (hoping 240, ill clean it up till then!), then the end of my cut. Now my cut, I will be doing that completely right. Might get a nutritionist to be that extra driving force to get everything perfect. Then I will push the prowler, run hills, intervals, circuit training, cross-fit that **** up till I get down to a nice abdominal level.

I don't think anyone on here is going to agree with your current "bulking". Come on man m&m's cookies and Swiss rolls? If you know what you need to do (cut) start it now and stop getting fat. The muscle you are gaining cant even be seen its like you are gaining 5 lbs of fat for every 1 lb of muscle. Do yourself a favor and start now and maybe in a year you will be able to see some sort of progress

[Gmoneybags]

allowing yourself to go through this "dirty bulk" is just allowing yourself to get into bad habits, going to make cutting 10x worse, I feel this could honestly lead to you getting your bench marks on your lifts and then just saying screw cutting and continue eating like a fatty and its not going to go anywhere good, but obviously you won't know till it happens and how motivated you will be to cut once you get to your numbers on your lifts, just doesn;t seem like a very good idea to me lmao and you shouldnt feel "lethargic" if you eat the right food, when you eat right you can eat way more good food and keep under your calorie count or whatever you are watching

Oh no worries, I have cut once, it is all about mind over matter. The main hurdle when bulking, in my personal opinion, is fending off the hunger and having adequate, healthy food on hand. The problem, where most people stray, they get hungry, then say "Oh well, this isn't healthy, but one time doesn't hurt." If they have healthy food on hand, they can subside that hunger with contemplated leeway on their daily caloric intake / macros. (Possibly keep a 200-250 calorie cushion for when you get hungry, then make sure you hit your mark by bedtime.)

When cutting comes, don't you worry, things will be completely strict. Once in the routine, it is easy sailing. I've done it before, will do it again.

[Bradeful]

Oh no worries, I have cut once, it is all about mind over matter. The main hurdle when bulking, in my personal opinion, is fending off the hunger and having adequate, healthy food on hand. The problem, where most people stray, they get hungry, then say "Oh well, this isn't healthy, but one time doesn't hurt." If they have healthy food on hand, they can subside that hunger with contemplated leeway on their daily caloric intake / macros. (Possibly keep a 200-250 calorie cushion for when you get hungry, then make sure you hit your mark by bedtime.)

When cutting comes, don't you worry, things will be completely strict. Once in the routine, it is easy sailing. I've done it before, will do it again.

Its not even hard to eat good when bulking, when I cut i go low carb which f'ing sucks, but when bulking carbs are great, good complex carbs are good and still are very tasty, if you going to be involved in any aspect of body building or lifting and actually looking good than might as well get out of the bad habits of eating mcdonalds and etc...

[denmase]

So you did a dirty cut???

[Gmoneybags]

I don't think anyone on here is going to agree with your current "bulking". Come on man m&m's cookies and Swiss rolls? If you know what you need to do (cut) start it now and stop getting fat. The muscle you are gaining cant even be seen its like you are gaining 5 lbs of fat for every 1 lb of muscle. Do yourself a favor and start now and maybe in a year you will be able to see some sort of progress

Ha, well this thread is not here to contradict everyone's opinion on clean bulking. I highly condone clean bulking. I think the confusion stems from the title of the thread, "Dirty Bulk", as in, when I decided to start bulking, my intentions were 100% towards eating junk to make my gains.

I don't believe in dirty bulking, I just got lazy and let college do the rest. I ate what I wanted, drank what I wanted, and lifted 4x a week. Could my gains be better? Of course. Would I look better? Most definitely. Will I recomp / clean up my diet? Yes. Am I satisfied with my strength gains? I am.

I guess it all comes down to being phased or bothered by fat gain. It personally doesn't bother me one bit, I know when push comes to shove, and it is time to put things in gear. They will be in gear. I will be gaining 10 more lbs, over the course of 6-7 months. Then I will "do myself a favor" and lean up.

[Gmoneybags]

So you did a dirty cut???

100% beer diet. Beer calories under maintenance + multi.

[Gmoneybags]

Its not even hard to eat good when bulking, when I cut i go low carb which f'ing sucks, but when bulking carbs are great, good complex carbs are good and still are very tasty, if you going to be involved in any aspect of body building or lifting and actually looking good than might as well get out of the bad habits of eating mcdonalds and etc...

It's true, I agree. I will do it, just for you.

[Bradeful]

It's true, I agree. I will do it, just for you.

lol im not trying to like tell you what to do, just I am a guy who came from being a big huge fat strong guy, to being a lean under/around 15% body fat and i still lift heavy, theres very little chance your going to keep the gains on your lifts by doing this dirty bulk, doesn't it seem like your going to be doing circles after you cut and your lifts r low again?

[Gmoneybags]

lol im not trying to like tell you what to do, just I am a guy who came from being a big huge fat strong guy, to being a lean under/around 15% body fat and i still lift heavy, theres very little chance your going to keep the gains on your lifts by doing this dirty bulk, doesn't it seem like your going to be doing circles after you cut and your lifts r low again?

I understand where you are coming from, no doubt. Last cut, from 225 - 183 lbs. I maintained most of my strength, I think I lost 10 lbs here or there. Bench went from a 235, to 225 post cut last time.

From last time I was 225, to this time. My strength has increased quite drastically. I know, the bulk had a lot of fat gain, I understand this. I could have done much better, I am not denying that fact. However, being 225 last time, benching 230/235 ish, to 230 this time benching 280. I would say that is fairly successful. If I would have clean bulked the entire time, would I have made better strength / not wasted as much time? Yeah I believe so, and that is where lies my mistake.

[Cuttinghard]

I understand where you are coming from, no doubt. Last cut, from 225 - 183 lbs. I maintained most of my strength, I think I lost 10 lbs here or there. Bench went from a 235, to 225 post cut last time.

From last time I was 225, to this time. My strength has increased quite drastically. I know, the bulk had a lot of fat gain, I understand this. I could have done much better, I am not denying that fact. However, being 225 last time, benching 230/235 ish, to 230 this time benching 280. I would say that is fairly successful. If I would have clean bulked the entire time, would I have made better strength / not wasted as much time? Yeah I believe so, and that is where lies my mistake.

Well if you dont care at all about your body or skin and only care about strength gains why dont you just get on juice. It will cut your 6 months into 2 months and you will realize that bulking is for fat lazy people who dont get laid.

[Gmoneybags]

Well if you dont care at all about your body or skin and only care about strength gains why dont you just get on juice. It will cut your 6 months into 2 months and you will realize that bulking is for fat lazy people who dont get laid.

Ha, well, I do get laid. I guess from transition from cutting to bulking, your personality has to take over a little until you decide to not gain anymore fat. Juicing, eh, I'd rather get stretch marks / fat naturally.

Seem a little bitter man, is this dirty bulking going completely against your philosophy? I mean, I have admitted it wasn't the best route and gaining muscle in the clean fashion clearly wins.