How long should I bulking up as a skinny guy?

[alij123]

I was pretty underweight a month and half ago I was 108 lbs 5'10 that was when I decided to start lifting but I couldn't really calculate my exact calorie needs so I ended up gaining 2-2.5 lbs a week i'm 130 lbs
now 6 weeks later don't know how much of that was muscle but yeah luckily I don't think it mattered very much because I was really underweight I didn't really put on any fat not by the looks of it at least I do see
improvements though my frame is a bit more filled out than when I started. I did some more research and now i'm eating around 2500 calories on workout days which I go 4-5 days a week and 2200-2300 on rest days
I should be gaining 1 lb a week now or close to that I was wondering how long should I be bulking for? My goal is to be around 175-180 lbs by the end of my fitness journey a bit more than that would be fine as well.
I just want to know when I should stop and how fat will I look by then? Don't have many before pictures but i was quite skinny eating around 1400 or less calories a day just because I have a really bad apatite
but I do have a couple which show how thin my frame was in general
The first 2 photos are me from before I started eating to bulk and going to the gym
The rest are current
I have been eating and going for nearly 2 months now!

[faithbrah]

stop bulking when you're getting too fat for your own liking. at that height, maybe 150-170 pounds is a good range to stay in if you want to look lean but not too small

[AdamWW]

stop bulking when you're getting too fat for your own liking. at that height, maybe 150-170 pounds is a good range to stay in if you want to look lean but not too small

150 at 5-10 is pretty small

[faithbrah]

150 at 5-10 is pretty small

it's pretty subjective, but i agree it can be too small for a lot of people. i'm a few inches shorter than him and ~140 seems to be the sweet spot for me, subjectively

[desslok]

Years, or longer.

[AdamWW]

it's pretty subjective, but i agree it can be too small for a lot of people. i'm a few inches shorter than him and ~140 seems to be the sweet spot for me, subjectively

Especially if the goal is maximal muscle mass

Someone at 5-10 can absolutely get to a weight of 170-175lb at 10-12% bodyfat in the long term... so BULKING to only 150 seems like selling himself very short

[paulinkansas]

I looked at the first pic without reading any of the post. Thought you seemed proportionate for a lady. But then I saw the topless pics and realized my mistake. My apologies.

In 5 years of college i went from 136 to 166. Bench was probably 75 pounds when I started. Could do 225 for 8 reps when I left college.

[desslok]

In 5 years of college i went from 136 to 166. Bench was probably 75 pounds when I started. Could do 225 for 8 reps when I left college.

Doctorate in Slumlordology is only 5 years? Thought it was 7?

[Rsurf72]

Considering in all your pics there really no bodyfat there, I'd say you are a very long ways away from any worries.. Christ sake you can see all your abs, your a stick. Can't see any of my ab muscles and people tell me I need to eat more in so skinny. And I workout hard af and eat so much it's becoming boring

[paulinkansas]

Doctorate in Slumlordology is only 5 years? Thought it was 7?

3.5 years undergrad studying number crunching. 1.5 years of grad school studying advanced number crunching. I looked down at all the people that studied advertising.

What do I do now?

Advertising.

[Former300lber]

5'10, You'd probably be comfortable in the 160-180lb range, depending on your genetics, and goals.

It's not going too happen over night tho, enjoy the process. I would personally slowly add weight over the next couple of years, slow and steady and focus on strength / powerbuilding.

[DougyF7]

You already gained 20lbs in six weeks and look and I'm sure feel a lot better eating more. It won't take you very long to get to where you want to be.

[alij123]

Especially if the goal is maximal muscle mass

Someone at 5-10 can absolutely get to a weight of 170-175lb at 10-12% bodyfat in the long term... so BULKING to only 150 seems like selling himself very short

I wanna understand the process of it all do I bulk to 170-175 then cut or do I bulk to 185 or so then cut down to 175 will I even need to cut at all? Also when I do reach that weight goal will I ever have to bulk again?
Or do I just maintain calories or add a small surplus and just build muscle over the years?

[alij123]

You already gained 20lbs in six weeks and look and I'm sure feel a lot better eating more. It won't take you very long to get to where you want to be.

Honestly feel pretty bad eating a lot more cause I've legit been underweight my whole life I never ate alot and it just became a habit over the years my food would just sit there and i'd forget to eat now I feel like
throwing up at times when I need to stuff it down to reach the calorie mark but I do enjoy going to the gym alot honestly best part of my day now I have become addicted to lifting already

[DougyF7]

Hmm are you eating foods you enjoy? You can eat things you like and still maintain a healthy diet - in fact that's an important part of maintaining a healthy diet. Maybe it's just an adjustment period in terms of food quantity since you haven't eaten much your whole life.

As for bulking (or just getting to a normal/healthy weight may be a better term for what you are doing), you just can keep at the calories you are at if you are still gaining weight to get to your desired weight - no need to be concerned about cutting.

[AdamWW]

I wanna understand the process of it all do I bulk to 170-175 then cut or do I bulk to 185 or so then cut down to 175 will I even need to cut at all? Also when I do reach that weight goal will I ever have to bulk again?
Or do I just maintain calories or add a small surplus and just build muscle over the years?

As others have said, bulk until you feel your fat levels are unappealing or objectively approaching a point that is less healthy.

It's unlikely you'll reach anywhere near peak muscle potential on your first 'bulk'.

The idea is limiting weight gain to about 1lb a month on average (long term), while making consistent progress in strength on a PROVEN program with planned progression.

If you do that, you can gain a lot of size without too much fat.

On average a skinny novice should probably be bulking AT LEAST a year if they follow these guidelines.

[faithbrah]

Especially if the goal is maximal muscle mass

Someone at 5-10 can absolutely get to a weight of 170-175lb at 10-12% bodyfat in the long term... so BULKING to only 150 seems like selling himself very short

oh yeah, i meant 150 at his leanest, as in right after a cut. then bulk to 170, rinse and repeat until desired physique

[AdamWW]

oh yeah, i meant 150 at his leanest, as in right after a cut. then bulk to 170, rinse and repeat until desired physique

Yeah OP aint gunna be cutting for a while I don't think

[alij123]

Yeah OP aint gunna be cutting for a while I don't think

I've got a good understanding of it now thank you!

[alij123]

I've got a good understanding of it now thank you!

It's been 4 months now and I am 146 pounds!
Also, I plan to start cutting in another 3.5-4 months (I'll be 155lb or a bit more) because I'll be going on a trip during the summer and I can't eat enough for a bulk consistently during the trip. I think 2 months of cutting should be enough since I'm still quite lean and then I want to bulk again long term, for another 8-10 months because again, I'm still quite lean. Hopefully I'm not making a mistake.

[AdamWW]

It's been 4 months now and I am 146 pounds!
Also, I plan to start cutting in another 3.5-4 months (I'll be 155lb or a bit more) because I'll be going on a trip during the summer and I can't eat enough for a bulk consistently during the trip. I think 2 months of cutting should be enough since I'm still quite lean and then I want to bulk again long term, for another 8-10 months because again, I'm still quite lean. Hopefully I'm not making a mistake.

How long is your trip?

You can do what you want of course, but realize if you cut for two months, that’ll mean sacrificing 2 months of growth to some degree.

If it were me, I’d just keep going. But that’s just me.

[alij123]

How long is your trip?

You can do what you want of course, but realize if you cut for two months, that’ll mean sacrificing 2 months of growth to some degree.

If it were me, I’d just keep going. But that’s just me.

Like a month perhaps a bit over a month but yea the trips a family trip involves my sisters wedding and stuff so I can't really say no but I can either cut for the month or two that i'm there or just keep bulking more when i'm back I just wanted to cut because I was planning on cutting while on the trip so I could just lose some fat and then start the bulk right after getting back it'll be a small cut though just a month or two probably 8 lb max then just bulk to 170+. Oh and also I plan to do gym stuff while I'm there as well while maintaining or cutting or I can just calisthenics if anything pushups etc

[Mrpb]

It's been 4 months now and I am 146 pounds!

Try going slower. 0.5 pound per week would be fine. That will be hard enough to keep lean.

[coachcalande]

Take a look at the builds of guys like saquon Barkley, Emmitt smith, Barry sanders, Sam mills and other NFL players between 5-9” and 5’-10”

They look great over 200 lbs.

[alij123]

Try going slower. 0.5 pound per week would be fine. That will be hard enough to keep lean.

Yeah I'm gaining 0.5-1lb a week I just gained a lot of weight at the start because I didn't know what I was doing with calories and just ate a **** load (which didn't turn out to be as bad as it would seem because I was severely underweight so the weight excess weight I gained just got me to a normal weight level) but recently the last month or month and half now i've been slowly gaining weight I gain between 2-4 pounds a month now depending on if I miss some calories during the month or not

[xsquid99]

Take a look at the builds of guys like saquon Barkley, Emmitt smith, Barry sanders, Sam mills and other NFL players between 5-9” and 5’-10”

They look great over 200 lbs.

LOL, those guys are elite level professional athletes, not really a valid comparison to a regular person.

OP, the slower the better. Try to keep it to under 2-3 lbs per month.

[alij123]

Try going slower. 0.5 pound per week would be fine. That will be hard enough to keep lean.

Question, my stomach pops out a lot when I relax it especially after eating a lot but like even in the morning it pops out a bit but like I can still see some ab outlines and my obliques are defined and I look really lean everywhere else is that a side effect of bulking or am I gaining a lot of stomach fat?

[SuffolkPunch]

Question, my stomach pops out a lot when I relax it especially after eating a lot but like even in the morning it pops out a bit but like I can still see some ab outlines and my obliques are defined and I look really lean everywhere else is that a side effect of bulking or am I gaining a lot of stomach fat?

It's because the rest of your is small. Grow muscle all over and your stomach will be the narrowest part, regardless of small amounts of bodyfat or water weight or food in transit.

[Mrpb]

Yeah I'm gaining 0.5-1lb a week

1 pound per week is definitely too much. Go slower if you want to stay lean.

1-2 pounds per month would be ideal for lean bulking. That can also help with the bloating.

am I gaining a lot of stomach fat?

When gaining 1 pound per week you're probably gaining 0.5 pound of fat per week.

[AdamWW]

Question, my stomach pops out a lot when I relax it especially after eating a lot but like even in the morning it pops out a bit but like I can still see some ab outlines and my obliques are defined and I look really lean everywhere else is that a side effect of bulking or am I gaining a lot of stomach fat?

Most peoples stomaches aren’t flat if they’re relaxed no matter how lean they are