ok lets debate, is bulking just an excuse for us to eat a lot of food?

[110%]

ok, i need to hear some bulking success stories (natural bodybuilders that is), b/c with my results i have hardly gained anythinggggg. i started bulking around august of 2001 and went for 5 months and gained 26 lbs, my strenght increased enourmousss amounts, my size gains were incredible seriously i got a looot bigger, and i praised bulking thinkning man i wish i would have done this more i bet i have gained a good 10-15 lbs of muscle, well at the start of january of 2002 i started up a cutting diet to lose the fat at a sufficient 15 X bw -500 cals per day, 50/30/20 pro/carbs/fat diet, and im thinking i will probably lose around 10-15 lbs fat max and the rest i will be keeping which would be a 10-15 lb gain. well since january my first week of cutting i lost nearly 5-8 lbs in water, then it is now march 20 and i am down to only 4 lbs above what i started bulking at at roughly the same bodyfat percentage maybe a little less and my size most that i gained when bulking has all left and i seem to be back down to what i started around.

the thing is that i really dont get is lately i have no troubles losing 1-2 lbs a week,i stricly diet mon-sat though i am gorging with food on sunday a binge of whatever i want (for example this sunday i ate tons of pasta and garlic bread, don pablos chicken quessadilla, 4 packets quaker maple and brown sugar oatmeal, and 4 bowls lucky charms with skim milk) though i still lose the weight, and my strenght is going up no losses so i cant be losing muscle, though i am losing weight and it sure doesnt seem like it and i know that you see yourself in the mirror everyday but trust me it doesnt seem like i am losing ne fat but the weight is slowly diminishing. on this rate i am gonna be back down to what i started bodyweight at and 7 months that would be no weight increase,where im sure if i would have just done maintenance i would have gained some weight. now i want to hear some good bulking success stories b/c even of my results there is no way i am not gonna bulk again come winter time b/c i love eating sooo much food and i gained a ton of size when i was bulking and strenght was great, but who actually has gained and kept around 10 lbs of tehir weight b/c i always see ppl say they keep around 50% of the weight they gain when bulking, then i always see ppl that say they always bulk but lose it all when they cut. so what do u think, LETS DEBATE

also who does what i saw around crum say, diet around 8 weeks cutting then bulk 8 weeks then repeat over and over, anybody keep good gains with this?

 

[Lumberg]

You know, I seem to have hit a wall as well. I am trying to bulk and went from 153-161 in about a week and a half but have just stalled. But then again it's probably not healthy to gain much more in such a short period. I am also taking CLA which definitely reduces my appetite and I think I just haven't grown the muscle to support anything heavier yet. But I'm tryin'!

JC

 

[110%]

well see i gained weight good, about 1-2 lbs a week not too much, and 26 lbs at the end of my bulking diet, and my size increased alot and same with strength (i will not stop bulking b/c i got much better strength increases bulking and have been able to maintain it and i love eating that much and i got really big when bulking), and i really did get a lot bigger much noticeable, though as soon as i started cutting to get the fat off after 10 weeks i am only 4 lbs up over my starting bodyweight and have lost 20 lbs and most of my size and i dont think much of the weight i lost was muscle as i was able to maintain strength. and also i always hear ppl syaing "man i have went though 4 bulking cycles but cant keep my muscle cuz when i cut i lose all the weight i gained" so this leads to my question, who has gained and kept around 10-15 lbs from bulking and have maintained a good 50% lean muscle weight of weight gianed when bulking???

 

[b fold the truth]

You are gaining and dieting too drastically. I used to have a lot of success with the ABCDE diet. I would diet hard for 2 weeks then bulk for 3 weeks after. I think that the original plan was 2 weeks dieting and 2 weeks bulking...but we tried to go heavy (1-3 reps) when bulking (building) and 8-12 when dieting (leaning down). We found that the third week really helped with our strength increases as well as the weight that we gained. We tried to gain 10 and lose 8, gain another 10 and lose another 8. We did stay pretty lean yet did gain 2 lbs every 5 weeks...not bad.

Also...we did not have to diet for longer than 2 weeks nor did we have to forcefeed for more than 3. Our metabolism was always fast too.

B True

 

[Par Deus]

If you eat a bunch of fat, "yes", if not, "no".

 

[RdStrcklnd]

I agree with Par Deus, guys who bulk with tons of fast food and pizza are just using it as an excuse to eat shit, and its horrible on their body. Without the fat it can be a great way to gain size.

 

[b fold the truth]

Most people who do not "bulk" or do not eat fast food...are also not very big either.

B True

 

[musclefattie]

i am trying to cut now..got my cardio, lifting and supplements sorted and am working out my diet(still needs some work) but i actually find that i look "bigger" now because of added definition and i definately ain't going back down to the same weight as i was before, at the start of bulking i was 187 pounds, at the start of dieting i was 210 pounds..right now i'm 207 and will go down to about 195 if possible before may and then maintain till sept/oc thten bulk again...in my opinion if you bulk with steaks and kfc and potatoes...the gains stay.

 

[Lumberg]

b fold, that's a great idea.
I never heard of that diet before, but I love it. I've found that I am doing a similar thing but instinctively. I am gaining a few pounds, then rather than losing weight I just maintain my weight while increasing strength for a couple weeks, then I gain again and stabilize again.

 

[b fold the truth]

You just sit around for 3 weeks, eat a ton of food, train heavy and grow. For 2 weeks you diet and do cardio and increase your reps a bit. You never get too big or too small...but are constantly growing. Gaining 10 and losing 8 was never a problem.

B True