experiences with bulking
 

for those of you who have tried to bulk to add on lots of mass, how was your experience? I am currently 5 11, 149 pounds and I would like to be 180 by spring break which is actually probably a really easy goal considering I should be experiencing lots of beginner gains. My plan is to just eat 3000+ cals/day and do the rippletoes program. I will gain a lot of water weight/fat but that is what I want since I am so skinny. I want mass and I don't care about muscle or whatever. I'll worry about that after I get the mass.

I just want to hear other people's experiences - how long did it take them to achieve their goals, how difficult was it, what they did, etc.

Re: experiences with bulking
 

Just trying to gain "mass", fat or muscle, is not the way to go. People dont bulk to get heavier and not care about fat, they bulk because it provides the best anabolic environment. Gaining lots of fat for the sake of being heavier is not healthy. Of course a little fat is ok...

As far as ur goal, I def. think its possible if ur dedicated. Ull prolly need more than 3k calories however, altho its prolly a good start. My maintenance calorie level is like 3200ish and I weigh 168 right now. Also, if ur goal is specifically to be 180 during spring break, creatine will prolly add about 5lbs or so in water weight, so make sure ur on during spring break. Other than that keep ur diet strict and lift lots

-Mike

Re: experiences with bulking
 

Don't settle for just mass. If you gain 25 lbs of fat with 5 lbs of muscle you'll just look fat. My first 3 months of serious lifting/diet I gained around 17lbs, probably about 10 of fat and 7 of muscle.

The most important part of weight gain will be diet. You may gain a quick 5 lbs of "muscle" just by starting to lift regularly, but this will probably just be water weight. Most skinny people have little conception of how many calories they eat or what the ratio of protein/fats/carbs they are consuming is. If you keep track of this and make sure to eat enough and often enough, there's no reason that you couldn't gain a very significant amount of muscle.

Re: experiences with bulking
 

OP : Berardi

Re: experiences with bulking
 

[ QUOTE ]
Don't settle for just mass. If you gain 25 lbs of fat with 5 lbs of muscle you'll just look fat. My first 3 months of serious lifting/diet I gained around 17lbs, probably about 10 of fat and 7 of muscle.


[/ QUOTE ]
would it be better to eat at a slight calorie surplus (considering exercise levels as well), or is that not sufficient to add as much muscle as possible?

Re: experiences with bulking
 

The best advice I can give is simply to eat lots of clean foods and lift HEAVY. I have gone from 5'11" 170 3 1/2 years ago to 212 today. The process isn't really as complicated as they want you to believe. If you have trouble putting on weight, consume 1-2 servings per day of something like BSN's TrueMass or Universal Real Gains.

Re: experiences with bulking
 

Sorry, but there is no way you will naturally gain 30 pounds of muscle by Spring Break. Go for 10-15 solid pounds of muscle, no fat and that's pushing it. You will have to be extremely diligent in your workouts and diet. I would probably drink no alcohol or soda at all during this time if your that serious. I mean, chicks will probably did a 155 ripped dude more than a 180 bulked up, bloated guy, with a puffy face and a little belly.

Re: experiences with bulking
 

excuse my inexperience but..

for those of you who say I shouldn't put on water weight or fat, why? At 5 11, 149 I am a stick right now. If I put on 30 lbs. of pure mass, that is no muscle, I won't look fat, I will just look like a normal person. At that point, I can quit eating so much and just eat maintenance and work on getting ripped. Realize, I DON'T WANT TO BE A BODYBUILDER WHATSOEVER I just don't want to be so skinny.

so in regards to my actual plan, which is to eat 3k calories a day and to start rippletoes, is that OK for a beginner starting out bulking?

also, as far as eating "clean" means.. I am a frosh at college which means lots of fast food (Chipotle, wendy's, chinese food, etc.), cafeteria food, etc. I have no idea how to cook and stuff so what am I suppose to do? Is there really a big difference in 3k calories of clean food and 3k calories in cafeteria food?

sorry if I sound stupid

Re: experiences with bulking
 

health wise there is a big difference. also, certain types of food (mostly processed carbs) will increase the amount of fat you put on vs muscle...

Re: experiences with bulking
 

sunny,

I wouldn't overthink this. Just start out and pay attention to your results. If your a natural skinny you probably won't put on that much fat on a 3k diet because your metabolism is high.

Sounds like you're a great candidate for the Rippetoe program. There's even some diet advice for skinnies in the FAQ. Check that out.