Never ending bulk from 110lbs @ 5'9

[DoItForCuddles]

I started bulking around 3 month ago, after disordered eating left me severely underweight. For the first month I ate 3000 cal a day and basically screwed around on the smith machine. Second month I screwed around with compound movements just trying to move up the weight on whatever lifts I felt like doing on that day. Around a month ago I started SL5x5 and have been seeing LP on everything apart from the bench. I dropped the weight on the squat because I was using sissy pads and bad form.
I made it up to 57kg (125.6lbs), went on holiday for a week and lost almost 3kg in one week. When I got back I decided to stop counting calories and just eat enough clean foods to gain weight at a decent rate. Calorie counting is great and gives good results, but my priority is to stop these disordered thoughts about food I can't do that while calorie counting. I personally don't care about abs or being shredded, as long as I'm not fat I'm happy.

Current weight: 122.5lbs
Current lifts (all 5x5 with 3 minute rest intervals)
Squat: 105lbs
Bench: 83lbs
Row: 90lbs
OHP: 50lbs
DL: 176lbs (1x5)

Will post progress pictures when I hit 50 posts

[Enficy]

Sounds good man, just keep consistent and keep eating! Make sure you read up and watch videos on form and whatnot and you'll be pretty ripped and strong in a few months!

[DoItForCuddles]

Sounds good man, just keep consistent and keep eating! Make sure you read up and watch videos on form and whatnot and you'll be pretty ripped and strong in a few months!

Thanks man, best of luck to you with your goals too

[DoItForCuddles]

Really wasn't feeling it today. Had a huge argument with my mum before the gym and I was already tired. I know I sound like a bitch rn.

The day I decide to start a log is the first day I fail my squats. I've squatted heavier with sissy pads and poor bar placement, however I guess it's better to fail at a lower weight with good form. My legs do feel really worked out though, if that means anything.

I then start my bench presses at a weight I've been failing the past few attempts. It's looking really good, but then on the 3rd set a gym friend I made comes along and starts spotting and encouraging me to do 8 reps. I ended up doing 5-5-7-8-4 reps. And then I repped the empty bar to failure. I don't really mind, this guy has been really friendly to me and I don't have the balls to say 'well actually I'm doing a 5x5 routine which is superior for strength gains' so I just went along with it. No idea if I should progress.

Rows went up to 112lbs as normal

Finished the session off with another set of presses, 4x6 assisted chinups and a set of squats at the weight I failed (110lbs)

I think I might just eat and sleep a lot and come back in tomorrow and try again with the next workout

[DoItForCuddles]

Weighed in at 56kg this morning (123.4lbs)
Skipped a rest day and got the 5x5 squats I failed yesterday (110lbs)
Failed last rep on my last set of OHP, still on 50lbs
Deadlifts progressed to 70kg (154lbs). These are finally starting to feel heavy and I love them.
Did some rows for the fun of them, I hear it's difficult to overtrain your back. These progressed to 95lbs.
Finished with some bicep curls and leg extentions.
Everyday I feel stronger and healthier, despite me failing quite a lot at low weights. I guess this would happen even if I ate a lot without weightlifting. Being underweight really sucks

[Way2Cold]

Hey man I'm basically on the same boat i've just been lifting alittle longer, race me OP i'll beat you to some numbers we agree on
Be really careful with the DL's btw really easy to mess up something with them

[Enficy]

OP don't worry about failing the weight as long as you're not completely breaking down in form and injuring yourself.

Besides that, when you fail the weight you're training your CNS to respond to heavier weights next time. Your body is like a machine which rebuilds itself. Don't be discouraged, and about that gym friend you really just need to tell him you're on a program. "my trainer told me to do this routine, etc, etc." is a pretty solid excuse to not get pushed to do extra reps that will just fuk up the rest of your sets.

[DoItForCuddles]

Huh, we're pretty much exactly the same but you're a year older and shredded. How about we keep an eye on eachothers numbers for motivation rather than racing? I'm a pussy and hate competition

[DoItForCuddles]

OP don't worry about failing the weight as long as you're not completely breaking down in form and injuring yourself.

Besides that, when you fail the weight you're training your CNS to respond to heavier weights next time. Your body is like a machine which rebuilds itself. Don't be discouraged, and about that gym friend you really just need to tell him you're on a program. "my trainer told me to do this routine, etc, etc." is a pretty solid excuse to not get pushed to do extra reps that will just fuk up the rest of your sets.

Cheers man, I'm still really happy with the way things are going. I feel fantastic, and I still have many pounds to gain, which probably means pounds are inevitably going to be added onto the bar too. And I've pretty much perfected form on all lifts too

[Enficy]

Huh, we're pretty much exactly the same but you're a year older and shredded. How about we keep an eye on eachothers numbers for motivation rather than racing? I'm a pussy and hate competition

Haha saying "we're pretty much exactly the same" is quite a stretch man. My lifting career has been a bit complicated, 3-4 years ago I started lifting when I was like 5'3ish 95lbs(not anorexic, just really skinny because metabolism, not enough eating in general), and progressed to 5'5 125lbs and had to stop lifting 1.5 years in due to life circumstances. I just came back 4.5 months ago been making some decent gains.

You should check my log haha, I'm benching 175lbsx3, squatting 245x5, deadlifting 315x4. Gonna get video of deadlifts tomorrow

I'll definitely check in here occasionally though.

Cheers man, I'm still really happy with the way things are going. I feel fantastic, and I still have many pounds to gain, which probably means pounds are inevitably going to be added onto the bar too. And I've pretty much perfected form on all lifts too

Yeah the more weight you gain the easier it will be to put weight on the bar, just keep it up man consistency is key. And I wouldn't say you've perfected your form without a experienced lifter sees you perform the lift. Good form at best IMO. Especially when dealing with heavier weights form is harder to maintain.

[DoItForCuddles]

Haha saying "we're pretty much exactly the same" is quite a stretch man.

Sorry bruh, that was directed at Way2Cold, above you
And I've checked your log already, you're strong man! I'll hit those numbers one day.
Thanks for checking out my log and posting, for some reason it helps

[Way2Cold]

Huh, we're pretty much exactly the same but you're a year older and shredded. How about we keep an eye on eachothers numbers for motivation rather than racing? I'm a pussy and hate competition

Competition? I'm more about that there bulk time but sure
Im squating 125
bench is 115
I don't even bother dead lifting
within 4 weeks I should be 130ish pounds see you there

[Enficy]

Sorry bruh, that was directed at Way2Cold, above you
And I've checked your log already, you're strong man! I'll hit those numbers one day.
Thanks for checking out my log and posting, for some reason it helps

Whoops, I should have noticed haha. Keep it up and you will brah!

Competition? I'm more about that there bulk time but sure
Im squating 125
bench is 115
I don't even bother dead lifting
within 4 weeks I should be 130ish pounds see you there

IMO, once you get good at rows and build some mass in your back, you should start deadlifting. It is a AMAZING back exercise as long as you don't rush the weight increments and focus on form first. It's one of those exercises where it has to start feeling a little easy before progressing to a higher weight. From what I've felt so far, I had to get the weight for like 4-5 reps for 1-2 sets before moving up in weight. So work on reps, then sets for the higher reps, then move up the weight.

It's not required to do deadlifts, but I know for a fact they've made my back a lot bigger these last few months.

[DoItForCuddles]

Rest day, would like to give a s/o to peanuts/peanut butter, whole milk, oats, tinned sardines, Greek yogurt and quark

Weighed in at 56.6KG this morning (124.5lbs). I know about daily fluctuation etc but a trend line over the past 8 days shows a weight gain of almost 3lb/week, I'd like it to be much closer to 2. Ill reassess when I hit a healthy weight for my height

[DoItForCuddles]

Weighed in at 56.4KG(124lbs) this morning

Decent session at the gym today. Squats progressed to 52.5KG(115.5lbs). Lost my balance halfway through the last set and had to start it over. My bench finally progressed to 40KG(88lbs). I kept the rows at the same weight because I know how easy they are to cheat. Ended the session with random pec flies, bicep curls and chinups in a typical 18y/o noob fashion.

I just feel fuarking great guys. Why did I put this off for so long?
I love you all

[DoItForCuddles]

Took a rest day yesterday. Weighed in at 56.2KG this morning. Weight gain is ~1.8lbs a week, which is a good rate for me right now. When I hit 57KG I might slow it down a little.

I filmed myself for the first time today. OHP progressed to 62.5lbs. DL progressed to 176lbs. And my squat form is all fuarked up. I fold over in the hole, even with an empty bar. I'm going to to some mobility work on my rest days and deload/reset.

[Enficy]

Hey man, some good advice for the squats is making sure you're doing low bar squats, and doing a lot of abs to build a stronger core. Planks and leg raises are pretty good. I don't really think it's your mobility or a deload thats the problem.

[DoItForCuddles]

Got s**tfaced for the first time in a while last night. It wasn't worth it. Woke up hungover after 4 hours sleep and went straight into the gym like an idiot. Failed my squats on the fourth set. Couldn't hit last workouts bench, let alone increment it. Barbel rows incremented fine.

Weighed in at 55.8KG this morning, this will be due to the dehydrating effect of alcohol I'm sure.

None of this really matters. I won't remember this one workout 20KG down the line. I'm determined to do better on Tuesday after recovering from yesterday.

Hey man, some good advice for the squats is making sure you're doing low bar squats, and doing a lot of abs to build a stronger core. Planks and leg raises are pretty good. I don't really think it's your mobility or a deload thats the problem.

I think thats good advice man. As I said in the OP I'm not bothered about definition/abs as long as I'm not fat, however the fact that I'm so damn skinny and can't see them means they're weak and need work. I'll take up weighted planks on rest days

[DoItForCuddles]

Weighed in at 56.5KG yesterday and 55.8KG this morning. Weight gain seems to be ~0.75lbs per week. Wouldn't mind it being a bit faster.

I switched to doing high bar squats and deloaded to only 40KG (Sorry Enficy). I know low bar is always recommended due to being able to lift more, but when I squat low-bar my sholders really hurt and I squat-morning a lot of the reps, even with an empty bar. I squat high-bar with much, much better form. Better I deload and work on form towards the start of my lifting journey rather than squat bigger numbers with s**tty, dangerous form. II'll squat 45KG next time, which will be tomorrow if I feel recovered. Will also carry on doing ab work on off days. I'm really pleased my form is good again though. I severley hurt my shoulders and hips squatting how I used to.

Didn't try to increment OHP, hit the same weight (55lbs). I noticed I said 68 last time, thus was me ****ing up the conversion somehow. DL went to 90KG (198lbs), decided to do 2x5 to make up for switching to HB squats (less posterior chain involvement with HB, and besides I do like DLing)

Ended with barbell curls and chin ups. Good session overall.

[DoItForCuddles]

Weighed in at 56.4KG (124lbs) this morning. Weight gain seems to come in jumps, I'll wake up one day @ 57.5KG.

Squat went up to 45KG with good form and depth on every single rep. I didn't try and increment bench (no spotter) and used 40KG. Barbell rows went up. I've no idea what they're actually at because I use the EZ bar for them, but the important thing to me is that it's heavier than last time. Ended with tricep extentions and chin ups. Another satisfying session.

[DoItForCuddles]

Got restless and skipped a rest day. Weighed in at 56.2KG today.

Squats went up to 47.5KG, again with good form on all reps. They were ****ing intense today, I love it! OHP stayed where it is. DL went up to 100KG (2x5). Ended with some barbell curls, some sets on the shoulder press and some pull ups. Yet another session I'm happy with!

I've got a few problems. Tomorrow I'm going to my dads place for 2 and a bit weeks. There is a gym there with free weights however I dont know if the rack there can actually be used for squats/OHPs. I will however do my best.

Disordered thoughts are also creeping back in. It's real easy to talk yourself out of eating when you aren't tracking macros. I try to eat more rather than less when I'm in doubt however my weight gain seems to have slowed right down, so I'll have to step it up. My dad doesn't even have a scale at his place, which is probably a good thing because daily weighing and plotting graphs and over-analysing is something I did before I started recovering and also needs to stop.

[doubleapril]

sounds great.

[DoItForCuddles]

So my dad lives abroad and every summer I fly over to see him. He is pretty loaded so we eat out almost every day and usually gain a lot of the wrong sort of weight. I was pretty scared because there is no real gym, only an apartment 'fitness center', with 50x cardio machines, a few dumbells, some machines and a very neglected rack with a non-removable bench. To my delight I found a little ingenuity lets me use this rack to squat. The gym is deserted 24/7 so it's practically mine!

The only problem is I have no idea how much the bar weighs. It's definately not an olympic bar despite being the same size/thickness as the one at my normal gym. I incremented on all my lifts too easilly, especially on the bench which I always struggle with. Finished with curls4girls and the lat machine. I'll call today a light day and come back tomorrow and double the increment.

Anyways I plan to go hard these 2 weeks. I'm going to be getting a huge caloric surplus whether I like it or not. As I say I don't care about my physique, I just want to stop being so damm weak, however this ****ing voice in my head can't stop fretting about fat gains and it needs to be beaten.

[DoItForCuddles]

Incremented on everything today. My brother came with me and filmed me. I noticed my back curving while DLing 110KG, so Ill deload a little. I want to be doing this for a while!

[TargetBeast]

Great Job Bro, keep it up, I've done 8 months of my bulk already, gained 40-50 lbs so far Dw it's definitely worth it, Just don't stop until you can look at yourself in the mirror at any angle and you're satisfied with how you look, that's my plan haha

[DoItForCuddles]

Great Job Bro, keep it up, I've done 8 months of my bulk already, gained 40-50 lbs so far Dw it's definitely worth it, Just don't stop until you can look at yourself in the mirror at any angle and you're satisfied with how you look, that's my plan haha

Cheers man, would rep if I had any power

[DoItForCuddles]

Woke up groggy and not feeling it. Failed squats and bench. Rows went up. Will try again tomorrow if I feel recovered

[DoItForCuddles]

Woke up feeling hype af. Ran to the gym and incremented on everything (Squats, OHP, DL). Almost passed out on the last squat. Ended with barbell curls and some lat machine action.

I've no idea how much I weigh, but I've been eating ****loads. I also am beginning to get horny as **** again. I used to fap only twice on a good day, but as my weight plumeted that dropped to twice a week and then I stopped completley. I now wake up hard and get random boners all the time, which I think is good news. TMI?

[DoItForCuddles]

Woke up after 5 hours and couldn't get back to sleep. Went to the gym and incremented my squat and barbell row. Failed to increment my bench.

My insomnia used to be much worse. Gaining weight is fixing a lot of problems for me, including being really weak

[DoItForCuddles]

Failed squats today. OHP and DL went up. DL seems to be my best lift for some reason, it's disproportionate compared to my other lifts. I still think my squat form is broke, when I fail I feel the weight move over my toes and fall forwards. The weight itself feels heavy but not too heavy that I shouldn't be able to lift it.

My sleep is much better, and I feel like I'm eating more than enough. I won't have access to scales for like another week, so we'll find out then.

Ended with the lat machine and bicep curls as per.