is bulking overrated?

[DepressiveJuice]

dorioan yates (of all people) said that bulking is not necessary to do. he stated that it is better to up your calories a bit instead of going up and down on body weight. wouldnt this be a better approach instead of being a fatass for 3-4 months a year?

i remember reading an article of john romano saying that its possible to build muscle while losing bodyfat. i was thinking about this. upping your calories 200-500 above maintenance level while taking fat burners would help you build muscle while losing bodyfat. any truth to this?

 

[Addicted]

Probably...

but it doesn't sound HALF as fun!!! I just finished 7 days of low calorie/low carbs on the anabolic burst diet, time for 7 days of pure unadulterated gluttony

 

[me2dammit]

bulking

doesnt mean you have to be a complete fat ass. You just get smoother, but should be able to get into beach shape in 3 weeks.

So use that as a guide. If bulking you feel you are getting to fat, cut up for 10 days and than resume bulking.

Besides to get trully huge and "break the barrier" the body puts up, most of us have to bulk. Once you make it past that barrier you can always go back much easier(muscle memory), the key is to break it once by eating like a 800lb gorilla.

 

[bigdelt69]

who said anything about bulking and becoming a fatass. I try to bulk all year long because i am an ectomorph. i eat everything i can, good and bad. it is so hard for me to gain weight which is why i decided to use juice in the first place.

it all depends on what kind of build you are:

 

[DepressiveJuice]

yea but not all people can bulk without geting fat

 

[pittbull2]

I dont care if I get a little fat while bulking as long as I'm hard as a rock with a little pudgy ness thats ok with me I can always lose it.

 

[Hugh Gellatts]

"dorioan yates (of all people) said that bulking is not necessary to do. he stated that it is better to up your calories a bit instead of going up and down on body weight. wouldnt this be a better approach instead of being a fatass for 3-4 months a year?"


sometimes you have to read between the lines on the pro's comments. Dorian may have been referring to the use of all bloat drugs for an extended period and holding as much water as possible....and not been talking about diet. of course he eats more in the off-season. from the rumors i've heard he included some"cutting drugs" like tren and halo for strength in the offseason.

i remember a while back t-mag had an interview with Charles Clairmont, and i remember finding it interesting that he ran stromba for the whole cycle. clairmont would use heavy for 5-6 weeks, then take 2-3 weeks off (of course the inj drugs were still there, but the liver got a break) and re-start. this somewhat correllates with Dorian's comments that he would go balls to the wall for 4-5 weeks and then ease up for 1-2 weeks. i wouldn't be surprised if Dorian cycled in a simular fashion to clairmont...crazy Brits.

 

[YoungAndWeak]

IMO when youre bulking go all out.I recently switched from cutting at 2000 cals to bulking at 7-8000 cals and I went from 187 to 204 in 3 weeks and not getting too fat....Im a lil bloated from the test/deca thats it.Oh did I forgot to mention the cycle?

 

[serge]

IMO when youre bulking go all out.I recently switched from cutting at 2000 cals to bulking at 7-8000 cals and I went from 187 to 204 in 3 weeks and not getting too fat....Im a lil bloated from the test/deca thats it.Oh did I forgot to mention the cycle?

i do beleave in taking in 1000cal surplus over your maintanace caloric intake, but going from 2000 to 8000cals/day is a bit too excessive, unless ofcoarse you are running plenty of gh along with a few grams of gear

Jay Cutrel recently outlined his feeding schedule, i would estimate he takes in about 5-6000cals/day, but does so every 2-3 hours around the clock, including during the night. at the same time he cant be compared to ANY of the people on this board since NONE of us are running as much gear or have nearly as much solid muscle as he does

here it is:

Bodybuilding.com recently did an interview with Jay Cutler where he outlined a typical day’s intake of food and supplements. Here’s what Jay said:

5 AM
1 packet of hGH Promino Plus AM formula with one scoop L-Glutamine Power, 1 Super Vitamin Pack, 10 egg whites, one cup oats, one banana, one tbs honey, 7 plain rice cake

6:30 AM
Train: 1packet of Complete Creatine Effervescent Power 20 minutes before training

7:45 AM
2 1/2 scoops of ProM3, 7 rice cakes, one can Coke, one cup oats, one small box raisins (33c), one fat free muffin (30c)

9:15 AM
6oz plain pasts, 4 oz turkey breast

11:45 AM
2 cups cooked rice, 5oz fish (red snapper)

1:15 PM
Train: 1packet of Complete Creatine Effervescent Power 20 minutes before training

2:40 PM
2 1/2 scoops of ProM3, 7 rice cakes, one can Coke, one cup oats, one small box raisins (33c), one fat free muffin (30c)

4:00 PM
3 scoops Complete Gainer Power, one cup oatmeal

5:50 PM
4oz turkey breast, 2 cups cooked rice

8 PM
2 1/2 scoops ProM3, 7 rice cakes, 2 cups cooked rice

9:15 PM
Eat Out! Sushi (about 30 pieces of various fish), one 8oz serving of fat free frozen yogurt

11:30 PM
1 packet of hGH Promino Plus PM formula with one scoop L-Glutamine Power, 10 egg whites, 7 rice cakes, one cup oatmeal
The next 2 meals are not every night, but an example of what would be eaten most likely.

2 AM
2 scoops ProM3, 1/2 cup dry oats

4 AM
3 scoops Complete Gainer Power

Within each 24 hour period, Jay is eating 12 meals!! At my best, I’m lucky if I can get in 8, and often feel sick to my stomach for having done so. It takes time to train the body to eat in this fashion, just as it takes time for the muscles in your legs to contract properly when doing squats. And no matter how dedicated one is to their nutritional program, Jay’s ability to consume food is far beyond that of the average human being. This makes him an exceptional bodybuilder

 

[Beezers]

Most people gain unwanted bodyfat while bulking because they have a poor understanding of nutrition, don't follow a tight diet, don't have a plan for a bulking diet and thus have no idea how much they're really eating, and have little understanding of how thier body responds to various caloric and nutrient intakes. Bulking does not mean becoming a fat ass or even getting fat. You won't be dialed in, but there is no need to be. You can still be lean while bulking. The key is to have a set diet that maps out all the nutrients and calories you're eating. You also must eat clean....as in lean protein, good fats, and LOW GI carbs. In order to grow you must supply your body with more calories than it uses daily. You can manipulate the weight gained by ingesting various amounts of nutrients at certain times. Coouple that with intense training and you fuel muscle growth. You have to sacrifice to get truely huge and one of those sacrifices is some cuts and leanness. If you aren't self-confident enough to carry a thin layer of fat and water while trying to get huge then you're playing the wrong game.

 

[Delinquent]

Ok, doesn't it seem odd that Jay Cutler relies on protein shakes a lot more than what is recommended on here?

 

[liquidmuscle]

i prefer to get lean body mass rather than mass, i tried bulking for about 2 yrs and all i got was fat, true i was biogger but fat came with it, now i focus on more LBM and i am trying to still ditch the love handles

 

[macDbol]

"bulking" in the sense of eating everything in sight might work fine for ectomorphs who usually arent big eaters to begin with,,

but u gotta be careful with upping your calories too high if your and endo or meso, for me i find slow steady gains more effective a bfl type diet with higher protein and hi-carbs after workouts works best for me

 

[Diz]

I bulk in the winter,yes I get fat.I love it,I look forward to it.I get better at taking it off every summer.I take it off slow,it takes about four months.

 

[Japanese machine]

i hate the way i look "bulked" i like to stay lean and conditioned year round.

 

[macDbol]

yeah wearing sweat pants for 2 months sucked

 

[drveejay11]

Re: Probably...

but it doesn't sound HALF as fun!!! I just finished 7 days of low calorie/low carbs on the anabolic burst diet, time for 7 days of pure unadulterated gluttony

LOL...LOL

 

[BP66]

I bulk in the winter,yes I get fat.I love it,I look forward to it.I get better at taking it off every summer.I take it off slow,it takes about four months.

I agree with Diz on this one. For those of you that can eat clean year round and manage to stay lean in all the while you're trying to bulk, more power to you. But for me, the summer time is a pain...watching what I'm eating all the time, turning down offers to eat out, and especially doing all the cardio. Once mid to late September rolls around, it's time to let myself go a little and start eating more of the foods I enjoy. Like a majority of you, I don't want to be a glutton, but I will eat the foods I like. Come late February, it will be time to start cleaning things up. Then, it's beach weather again and time to show off the hard work. I also understand that there are a lot of guys on this board that are just like the dude I train with, and would just rather be big all the time and not worry about being lean. That's cool too. To each their own. Personally, I'm looking forward to pizza, general tso's chicken and sweet and sour shrimp. Good luck to all you guys.

 

[OAKBOX]

Shit, i upped my cals to 2700 from 2100 (on the count of all you 3000 cals+ people telling everyone you got to eat to grow) and in two months i've put on 4 lbs of fat and only 1 lb of muscle! I went from 19% to 21%BF... You guys can keep the bulking shit, i'll take the long approach. Endomorphs like me shouldn't be eating that many cals.

 

[RussianBro]

Sorry, bros...
I have no problem with bulking... I grow like a fucking mushroom... No fat... Just getting bigger, ripped all the time... I guess I was blessed with my high metabolism.
I can eat pizzaz and other crap (thank God I don't eat junk food, maybe once a month) and doesn't harm my physique whatsowever...

 

[Surgical]

But Dorian also said that you have to put on SOME fat if you want to put on more muscle. In his early days his daily calorie intake was only 3500, and he put on some good size with that diet. He outlines it in his book.

My trainer, Mike Francois told me that in his bulking season, he still ate really clean, with maybe 1 cheat meal every week or two. All he did was add one more serving of rice and one more chicken breast to his meals. You can still bulk while eating clean, and put on lean mass. You'll still add some fat, but you'll be putting on more mass. He says in the offseason your bodyfat should be between 10-12% so that you can easily diet down to 6-8% or less for contest.

It all depends on the person though. I store fat very easily. I tried the Lee Priest bulking diet last year, eating everything in sight. I got my protein, carbs, and a huge amount of fat. And I got really fat. I put on about 50 pounds in 5 months with this diet. But I still put on a good 12 pounds of muscle. I'm leaner and heavier than I was last year when I dieted down.