Aggressive Bulk for Newb Gains?

[LeoMiker01]

So I just need some help figuring out if I should take a more aggressive bulk approach to maximize newb gains. So I am 6 feet tall, 19 years old, and a 140 pounds. I’m not like super skinny by any means I do have a bit of muscle and can bench press 185 but I am still a newb I guess. Would it be smart to bulk aggressively trying to gain 25-30 pounds within a year trying to get to 170-175 or is that too much?

[SuffolkPunch]

I don't think bulking too fast is ever a good idea - you're just making problems for yourself down the line in terms of fat loss (cutting sucks).

Don't try to gain more than 2-3lbs a month IMO.

[TolerantLactose]

185 lb bench at 140 lb bw is decent. You're 19. There's no rush to get to whatever your goal is.

Also, don't neglect the rest of your body.

[WolfRose7]

Not really, there's no benefit to gaining 4lbs a month as opposed to 2

[AussieQuads]

So I just need some help figuring out if I should take a more aggressive bulk approach to maximize newb gains. So I am 6 feet tall, 19 years old, and a 140 pounds. I’m not like super skinny by any means I do have a bit of muscle and can bench press 185 but I am still a newb I guess. Would it be smart to bulk aggressively trying to gain 25-30 pounds within a year trying to get to 170-175 or is that too much?

I don't know about an aggressive bulk... but you could go slightly faster than a more experienced lifter (have a slightly bigger surplus)... E.g. instead of a 5-10% kcal surplus over maintenance kcals you could go say 10-15% over total kcals.

For a beginner, 25-30lbs is realistic for a good portion of individuals provided you have a decent genetic response to training... I gained about 20kg (44lbs) or so in my first year, but mind you some was obviously body fat and I was recovering from an eating disorder so 1/2 of that was just regaining contractile tissue I lost from the eating disorder... which put my net first year gain at around 22lbs in my first year...

I always say 1-1.5% total bodyweight weight gain per week for beginners is a good ballpark rate of weight gain to aim for... then obviously you'll have outliers on both ends of the spectrum... hyper responders to training and under or non-responders.

Did this help? I hope it does man.

[CommitmentRulz]

I always say 1-1.5% total bodyweight weight gain per week for beginners is a good ballpark rate of weight gain to aim for... then obviously you'll have outliers on both ends of the spectrum...

A week? No way.Way too fast. Just encouraging fat gain.

[LeoMiker01]

I don't know about an aggressive bulk... but you could go slightly faster than a more experienced lifter (have a slightly bigger surplus)... E.g. instead of a 5-10% kcal surplus over maintenance kcals you could go say 10-15% over total kcals.

For a beginner, 25-30lbs is realistic for a good portion of individuals provided you have a decent genetic response to training... I gained about 20kg (44lbs) or so in my first year, but mind you some was obviously body fat and I was recovering from an eating disorder so 1/2 of that was just regaining contractile tissue I lost from the eating disorder... which put my net first year gain at around 22lbs in my first year...

I always say 1-1.5% total bodyweight weight gain per week for beginners is a good ballpark rate of weight gain to aim for... then obviously you'll have outliers on both ends of the spectrum... hyper responders to training and under or non-responders.

Did this help? I hope it does man.

Thanks man I really appreciate the advice, everyone tells me either do a super lean weight gain phase which is just kind of hard to manage at this beginner stage since I don’t know much about nutrition, but I also have this handful of people telling me to stuff my face to maximize beginner gains but your response seems to be right in the middle and I will likely follow your advise on what kind of calorie surplus