7 months bulk = gained 10 pounds

[maeva27]

The bulking thread is kind of dead so just thought I'd share... I started bulking somewhere in september and gained around 10 pounds since then (I was 118 back then and I am now 128 pounds). I was around 17% BF according to a trainer that used calipers. I know they aren't accurate but it sort of makes sense given how I looked back then. Anyways! I have no clue what my BF is at the moment and I don't care.

I'm still going to gain for another month or so and then slowly cut a tiny bit (I don't feel I have that much to cut), and then maintain, and get back to a bulk again in september. I wish I didn't care about how I look in a bikini but all my fat is in my stomach

I like to think I gained 5 pounds of muscle and 5 pounds of fat. Am I delusional (LOL)? My back & shoulders look wayyyy better and my jackets fit different (tighter!) so that's something. How much muscle can a women expect to gain in 7-8 months, naturally? I am eating around 2500 calories at the moment, U/L split 4-5x a week with minimal cardio.

Also, I wanted to thank everyone who recommended I bulk. I was really scared to do it at first because of the fat gains, but I'm glad I did this, and want to do another 10-12 pounds bulk next year too.

[chamelious]

How much strength did you gain in that time period? If your lifts went up consistently then its a good bet you put on a decent amount of muscle. How much exactly i wouldn't even like to guess other than to say its almost always less than we think/hope just like the reverse is true for fat loss, because natural bodybuilding.

[maeva27]

How much strength did you gain in that time period? If your lifts went up consistently then its a good bet you put on a decent amount of muscle. How much exactly i wouldn't even like to guess other than to say its almost always less than we think/hope just like the reverse is true for fat loss, because natural bodybuilding.

My lifts went up. Hard to say on all lifts because I had to stop doing deads for a while due to back pain, but it's better now and I hit a PR last week even with that short break.

I guess we'll see when I cut. It will help guide my next bulk. This has been quite an eye opening experience for me! It's just so hard to gain. Even at around 2000 calories I was hardly gaining (and I have a very sedentary job, plus I'm only 5'5). Next time I'll go straight to 2,500 calories to start with.

[mavd]

Five pounds of muscle within seven months with a ten pound weight gain is a reasonable expectation for a female. Congrats on the bulk and happy cutting.

[sy2502]

[QUOTE=mavd;1547540441]Five pounds of muscle within seven months with a ten pound weight gain is a reasonable expectation for a female. /QUOTE]

It is?

[maeva27]

[QUOTE=sy2502;1547545601]

Five pounds of muscle within seven months with a ten pound weight gain is a reasonable expectation for a female. /QUOTE]

It is?

I wish it was but I have some doubts... I may be a little optimistic about the muscle gains.

[mavd]

[QUOTE=sy2502;1547545601]

Five pounds of muscle within seven months with a ten pound weight gain is a reasonable expectation for a female. /QUOTE]

It is?

I think so. That's an average of 0.7 pounds a month. It's her first bulk and she was very under-muscled before. She didn't go insane on calories and she says her lifts went up. Why not?

Edit - I guess I would feel more confident to say that lean gains and not necessarily muscle gains can account for half of the weight. Connective tissues and water will be part of this. I'll say that it's reasonable to think only 5 of the 10 is fat and her bodyfat percentage reading would reflect 5 pounds of lean mass gained. I suppose 5 pounds of pure muscle *would* be a bit optimistic.

[sardelsa]

Congrats on your bulk so far!

Yea bulking can be a very mental challenge, especially your first one. It's hard to know what to expect, and all the questions that run through your head like, "am I doing enough, am I gaining any muscle? Am I going to look the exact same when I cut down?" once you do it a few times and you see the results, it gets a bit easier. I don't even know how much muscle I gain each time, but if you compare my progress pictures from when I first started, it is clear I did something right.

[ProYeo]

My bulk for about 1.5 years netted me around 7-10 pounds of muscle as a guess.

I gained 30+ pounds total (natty). Stage weight before was about 111, after was 115 or so. But that second stage weight was much leaner than the first, several %bf lower.

Just some numbers for ya since you asked

[maeva27]

My bulk for about 1.5 years netted me around 7-10 pounds of muscle as a guess.

I gained 30+ pounds total (natty). Stage weight before was about 111, after was 115 or so. But that second stage weight was much leaner than the first, several %bf lower.

Just some numbers for ya since you asked

Oh god I saw your post about gaining 30 pounds and about 1/3 was muscle. It kinda makes my expectations a little more realistic. I mean if YOU 'only' gained 7-10 pounds in 1.5 year, I guess if I gained 3-4 pounds that would be amazing. I'm a total fan BTW.

I'm confident I am doing things right, but I guess YES I am afraid of looking the same once I diet down. But I did learn a lot, and I'll be ready for the next round.

[maeva27]

[QUOTE=mavd;1547549091]

I think so. That's an average of 0.7 pounds a month. It's her first bulk and she was very under-muscled before. She didn't go insane on calories and she says her lifts went up. Why not?

Edit - I guess I would feel more confident to say that lean gains and not necessarily muscle gains can account for half of the weight. Connective tissues and water will be part of this. I'll say that it's reasonable to think only 5 of the 10 is fat and her bodyfat percentage reading would reflect 5 pounds of lean mass gained. I suppose 5 pounds of pure muscle *would* be a bit optimistic.

Yes yes, it was my first bulk because before I was spinning my wheels and eventually a bunch of people here told me I was just wasting my time and I decided to listen to all of you and bulk for real I don't know if I was under muscled, in all honesty, if you can compared me to the 'average' 5'5/115-120 pounds women (not talking about competitors of course) I was probably more muscular than 90% of them. But yes I was (still am) tiny/petite.

I am also scared to stop the creatine because I usually lose 1-2 pounds when I stop taking it.

I guess whatever my final weight is, I did gain some muscle so that is good. And I did check my workout logs and my lifts have been consistently going up every week (or almost). So at least, I'm stronger.

[maeva27]

Congrats on your bulk so far!

Yea bulking can be a very mental challenge, especially your first one. It's hard to know what to expect, and all the questions that run through your head like, "am I doing enough, am I gaining any muscle? Am I going to look the exact same when I cut down?" once you do it a few times and you see the results, it gets a bit easier. I don't even know how much muscle I gain each time, but if you compare my progress pictures from when I first started, it is clear I did something right.

Hell yes it was a mental challenge. I was so scared of gaining fat. Now I've just accepted it's part of the process and even 10 pounds later I'm not fat by any standards. If summer wasn't coming up I'd keep bulking. My pants still fit (they won't soon though). Anyways I now have a different relationship with food and with my body, so this bulk has been almost therapeutic.

But yeah, looking the same as before scares me, even if it is unlikely.

BTW thanks for your posts, especially on MFP, you've inspired me to keep going times and times again.

[mavd]

[QUOTE=maeva27;1547557731]

Yes yes, it was my first bulk because before I was spinning my wheels and eventually a bunch of people here told me I was just wasting my time and I decided to listen to all of you and bulk for real I don't know if I was under muscled, in all honesty, if you can compared me to the 'average' 5'5/115-120 pounds women (not talking about competitors of course) I was probably more muscular than 90% of them. But yes I was (still am) tiny/petite.

Sorry, no offense was meant. I thought I recalled your posts from before but then again there's tons of skinny gals that come to these forums wondering what they're doing wrong so I probably inserted a mental image of someone else. But, 5'5" and 115 IS pretty tiny with or without muscle in my book, but then again I haven't been that size since sophomore year of high school :*)

I am also scared to stop the creatine because I usually lose 1-2 pounds when I stop taking it.

That's normal. And lends to the idea that 2 pounds of your 10 is water if you weren't taking it pre-bulk. You don't have to stop taking creatine in a cut.

[maeva27]

^^

No worries, no offense was taken I just wanted to point it out since I can't really rely on 'newbie' gains... In which case I guess a higher % of those 10 pounds would have been muscle mass.

I was debating between keeping the creatine while cutting. You would keep taking it?

[mavd]

From my understanding the affect of creatine is to help push through or closer to muscle failure. Muscle failure is typically something that is more likely to be used during a bulk (i.e. attempting to set new PRs for a lift) than in a cut (some think that going to muscle failure will be damaging and you don't have the nutrients to support repair in a cut). Therefore, it isn't really as useful in a cut than a bulk, but if you like it it's not going to hurt anything.

Personally, I generally don't train to failure during bulks or cuts, and never noticed any benefit to creatine when I used it, so I don't.

[maeva27]

Quick update. I've cut to 122 pounds and do not wish to go lower. I'm maintaining at the moment. So I would estimate my gains to be 4 pounds for my first bulk (was 118 pre-bulk with similar body fat % IMO). So 4 pounds of muscle and 6 pounds of fat... Not too bad? But it seems like it all went to my upper body and just a tiny bit to my glutes & legs.

I just can't wait to bulk again in August and hopefully gain another 4 pounds of muscle again in a 7-8 months period (or so). That seems so little but since I'm currently set on doing this naturally, I'll take it.

[Myfitfriend]

That’s some impressive gains. Well done