6'3 (1.9 m), 170 lb (77 kg). Unique circumstances, looking for program recommendatio

[RayAP19]

I was recently (last year or so) very short on money, so all I had was a pair of 10-pound dumbbells. I tried everything I could to make the most out of it by increasing reps and doing some moderately difficult bodyweight calisthenics.

I also managed to actually miscalculate my calories during this time. I was attempting to bulk, but I was actually recomping accidentally. (if I have the terminology correct). I put on a decent amount of muscle, but nowhere near my goals.

Once I fixed that, saved some money for bigger dumbbells and started lifting heavier (around two or three months ago), I put on a little more muscle, but still not close to what I want.

I also gained a lot of fat. Since January, I've gained 40 pounds since bulking (6'3, 135 lbs/61 kilos to 170 lbs/77 kg). No idea how much of that has been muscle vs fat, but the bulk hasn't been incredibly clean. Starting off at 6'3, 135, I was guilty of just wanting to see the numbers of the scale go up. "I'll cut later, no matter how much it takes" I'd always tell myself, since I had a goal of gaining around 100 pounds and didn't want to wait years for that to happen.

I have access to dumbbells up to 50 lbs each and a bench. What program would you recommend for hypertrophy and bulking?

Thanks. Sorry if I didn't provide enough info, fe free to ask if so.

[safcpaul]

You need more weights or join the gym unfortunately. If you do workout from home I would suggest a squat rack and a barbell and more weights. 50lb dumbells you'll outgrow quickly. You really shouldn't have put on 40lbs without proper weights. Pick a novice program like fierce 5 and eat in a surplus. Fierce 5 does have a dumbbell version but even for that you'll need more weights

[RapidFail]

x 2 to Fierce 5 dumbbell - good program.

That said, you won't be able to do it properly with just 50lb dumbbells. What you want are adjustable or spin lock dumbbells and enough plates to get them up to 90lb each or so. Bulking while.not adequately training your muscles is a recipe for fat gain. It sounds like you'd benefit from recomping at this stage - eating at a small (say 250 calorie) deficit while training hard. When you're ready to bulk again, keep the gains to 2lb per month with a ~250 cal surplus.

[Rsurf72]

I read somewhere that working out for a lifetime will gain a natural person 20-30 lbs of muscle. If this is accurate I'm not sure how realistic your goal of 100lb gain would be!

[Toker095]

SS 5x5

GOMAD

Come back after a year

[RapidFail]

SS 5x5

GOMAD

Come back after a year

This is your advice to a guy who only has dumbbells and has already gained 35lb, a lot of which was fat?

[RapidFail]

I read somewhere that working out for a lifetime will gain a natural person 20-30 lbs of muscle. If this is accurate I'm not sure how realistic your goal of 100lb gain would be!

I think it varies a lot depending on the original level of musculature and genetic potential. OP has s big 6'3" frame and started out at just 135lb. I think a lean 50lb gain is probably realistic in the long term. 100lb, probably not.

[Filmbuff81]

Renaissance periodization has an at program you could try.

You basically need to really ramp volume and reps to work really close to failure.

If you can afford to get a whole series of resistance bands you could add those to your workouts too

So it would let you do banded pressing and squats and deadlifts to go heavier than your 50lbs weights.

Consider modifying tempo as well.

5 second eccentrics to help extend the window of weight for exercises.

And I’d also suggest doing a bunch of chin-ups and push-ups too.

Basically need to get creative and start looking at your diet.

[RayAP19]

I read somewhere that working out for a lifetime will gain a natural person 20-30 lbs of muscle. If this is accurate I'm not sure how realistic your goal of 100lb gain would be!

Are you saying I'm basically locked in to my body type (lean, skinny)? I'm asking sincerely. I had a goal of at least 200 pounds (if not more) with 15% body fat or less. Is that not possible?

I appreciate all the replies from everyone, BTW.

[SuffolkPunch]

Are you saying I'm basically locked in to my body type (lean, skinny)? I'm asking sincerely. I had a goal of at least 200 pounds (if not more) with 15% body fat or less. Is that not possible?

I appreciate all the replies from everyone, BTW.

Body types are not a thing. Obviously genetics do play a role but your state now is more a function of your lifestyle and habits.

Any lifter of average height should be able to get to 180-200lbs at 15%ish. It will be the product of several years work but most people should be able to do it. At 6'3'' it should certainly be possible.

[EiFit91]

I was recently (last year or so) very short on money, so all I had was a pair of 10-pound dumbbells. I tried everything I could to make the most out of it by increasing reps and doing some moderately difficult bodyweight calisthenics.

I also managed to actually miscalculate my calories during this time. I was attempting to bulk, but I was actually recomping accidentally. (if I have the terminology correct). I put on a decent amount of muscle, but nowhere near my goals.

Once I fixed that, saved some money for bigger dumbbells and started lifting heavier (around two or three months ago), I put on a little more muscle, but still not close to what I want.

I also gained a lot of fat. Since January, I've gained 40 pounds since bulking (6'3, 135 lbs/61 kilos to 170 lbs/77 kg). No idea how much of that has been muscle vs fat, but the bulk hasn't been incredibly clean. Starting off at 6'3, 135, I was guilty of just wanting to see the numbers of the scale go up. "I'll cut later, no matter how much it takes" I'd always tell myself, since I had a goal of gaining around 100 pounds and didn't want to wait years for that to happen.

I have access to dumbbells up to 50 lbs each and a bench. What program would you recommend for hypertrophy and bulking?

Thanks. Sorry if I didn't provide enough info, fe free to ask if so.

Join a gym if you want to keep growing with weights.

You can bulk just fine with calisthenics too but you need to know what you are doing.

[EliKoehn]

Any lifter of average height should be able to get to 180-200lbs at 15%ish. It will be the product of several years work but most people should be able to do it. At 6'3'' it should certainly be possible.

Can I quote you on this in the future? Lol

I thought it was dogma here that <20% at >200lbs was considered unrealistic for naturals of normal height.

[TAWS6]

I think it’s reasonable for someone in the 5’6-510 height range to end their lifting career at 180-200 at 15 percent. Most guys in that height range start at about 150 lbs. So there’s your avg 30lbs of muscle over a 5 yr span.

[paulinkansas]

I think it’s reasonable for someone in the 5’6-510 height range to end their lifting career at 180-200 at 15 percent. Most guys in that height range start at about 150 lbs. So there’s your avg 30lbs of muscle over a 5 yr span.

I fit right in those parameters. 18 years old, 5'8" 136 pounds right out of high school. 5 years of lifting in college, 23 years old, 166 pounds.

[EliKoehn]

I think it’s reasonable for someone in the 5’6-510 height range to end their lifting career at 180-200 at 15 percent. Most guys in that height range start at about 150 lbs. So there’s your avg 30lbs of muscle over a 5 yr span.

That's actually fairly short, isn't it? By those numbers, someone 5'10" - 6'2" (what I would consider the range of "normal" height), could be 15% some ways above 200.

[paulinkansas]

That's actually fairly short, isn't it? By those numbers, someone 5'10" - 6'2" (what I would consider the range of "normal" height), could be 15% some ways above 200.

Franco Columbu was 5'5". He's the shorter guy. I used to lift with his wife's ex husband Larry.

[TAWS6]

That's actually fairly short, isn't it? By those numbers, someone 5'10" - 6'2" (what I would consider the range of "normal" height), could be 15% some ways above 200.

6 ft and up 200+ lean is definitely doable. Especially if they start at 180.

[EliKoehn]

6 ft and up 200+ lean is definitely doable. Especially if they start at 180.

Oh good, it seemed like nobody thought this. Maybe I misunderstood someone or overgeneralized.

[TAWS6]

Oh good, it seemed like nobody thought this. Maybe I misunderstood someone or overgeneralized.

Yeah 15 percent is still lean. It’s definitely not contest lean. When some ppl say lean they mean contest lean 5-7 percent. That might be where the confusion is.

[EliKoehn]

Yeah 15 percent is still lean. It’s definitely not contest lean. When some ppl say lean they mean contest lean 5-7 percent. That might be where the confusion is.

My standards must be low lol. I consider anything less than 20% "lean" if the question is binary.

Guess it's the powerlifting mentality.

[RapidFail]

That's actually fairly short, isn't it? By those numbers, someone 5'10" - 6'2" (what I would consider the range of "normal" height), could be 15% some ways above 200.

Average height for an American man is 5'9", so a range of 5'7" to 5'11" would be closer to 'normal'.

[TAWS6]

Average height for an American man is 5'9", so a range of 5'7" to 5'11" would be closer to 'normal'.

20 percent is too soft IMO.

I tend to go by the not a midget not a giant rule lol

[air2fakie]

Oh good, it seemed like nobody thought this. Maybe I misunderstood someone or overgeneralized.

You may be taking what one or two people said numerous times & attributing it to everyone. You'll be over 6', 200+ & lean by your definition in no time.

[air2fakie]

Are you saying I'm basically locked in to my body type (lean, skinny)? I'm asking sincerely. I had a goal of at least 200 pounds (if not more) with 15% body fat or less. Is that not possible?

You're not locked into your body type, but don't get locked into a specific goal weight.

If you weren't doing anything special to stay at 6'3", 135 lbs I'm going to guess that you have a thin, lanky frame. Which doesn't mean you'll always be skinny, but it may be hard to put on enough muscle to be 200+ lbs, muscular & lean by whatever standards you have. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just saying to just try to get muscular & lean, which definitely is possible - regardless of what weight you end up with.

IMO it'd be easier for someone who is your height, overweight with a large frame, back and wide shoulders to get down to 200 lb+, muscular & lean - than someone who started out thin-framed @ 135 lbs.

I'm speaking generally of course, without knowing more about you or being clairvoyant.

[EliKoehn]

You may be taking what one or two people said numerous times & attributing it to everyone. You'll be over 6', 200+ & lean by your definition in no time.

Hey, I hope so! That's encouraging.

[RayAP19]

IMO it'd be easier for someone who is your height, overweight with a large frame, back and wide shoulders to get down to 200 lb+, muscular & lean - than someone who started out thin-framed @ 135 lbs.

Yeah, being skinny sucks. Especially as skinny as I started out.

[RayAP19]

I have a few questions about Fierce 5 since it was recommended to me at least twice in this thread. I'm not asking these questions to be pretentious or anything, I promise, and I'm sorry if I come off that way. I'm just a bit of a perfectionist and I like to stay as informed as I can.

Is this program good if I'm just working out for looks? I know that sounds vain, but my goal is just to look as good as possible. I know there's no set definition for that, but just in general. I want to be visibly muscular.

Also, are there any drawbacks to this program compared to others? I noticed that the biggest thing about is probably its simplicity. Does that present any issues with maybe not targeting every muscle group as intensely as one might want? I think I read that it was designed to be balanced, but I'm just making sure; maybe I misunderstood.

And I can go for a run right after my workout without negatively impacting my gains, right?

Thanks, guys.