Engage Bear Mode, or... Who is on a bulk?

[alek]

I'm trying to put on a bit of weight through the end of the year or so. I'm shooting for about 195# as a 7-day average.

No real strategy on how to do that other than not let my gut blow up. I'm hoping to fill out my chest, shoulders, and upper back area a bit to help fill my warmer clothes. Wish me luck.

[413x]

I've gained 50% of my BW from when I started lifting.

[alek]

I'm trying to put on a bit of weight through the end of the year or so. I'm shooting for about 195# as a 7-day average.

No real strategy on how to do that other than not let my gut blow up. I'm hoping to fill out my chest, shoulders, and upper back area a bit to help fill my warmer clothes. Wish me luck.

Update: on Sep 21, my 7 day average was 187.1 pounds. Today, it’s 193.9.

I haven’t been tracking my umbilicus daily, but today it was 35”, which is very likely what it was a month ago.

~7 pounds in a month is probably too much, but my gut hasn’t blown up, so I count that as a success. I’ll see if I can put on only a pound or so through Thanksgiving.

[dw]

I'm trying to put on a bit of weight through the end of the year or so. I'm shooting for about 195# as a 7-day average.

No real strategy on how to do that other than not let my gut blow up. I'm hoping to fill out my chest, shoulders, and upper back area a bit to help fill my warmer clothes. Wish me luck.

Update: on Sep 21, my 7 day average was 187.1 pounds. Today, it’s 193.9.

I haven’t been tracking my umbilicus daily, but today it was 35”, which is very likely what it was a month ago.

~7 pounds in a month is probably too much, but my gut hasn’t blown up, so I count that as a success. I’ll see if I can put on only a pound or so through Thanksgiving.

You probably know this but you can gain quite a substantial amount of "fake" weight when you start bulking, especially if you go right from a cut to a bulk. I think mostly due to...I forget the term, gut contents (i.e. more food in your digestive system which also absorbs more water and leads you to drink more water).

[broseph]

I'm trying to put on a bit of weight through the end of the year or so. I'm shooting for about 195# as a 7-day average.

No real strategy on how to do that other than not let my gut blow up. I'm hoping to fill out my chest, shoulders, and upper back area a bit to help fill my warmer clothes. Wish me luck.

Update: on Sep 21, my 7 day average was 187.1 pounds. Today, it’s 193.9.

I haven’t been tracking my umbilicus daily, but today it was 35”, which is very likely what it was a month ago.

~7 pounds in a month is probably too much, but my gut hasn’t blown up, so I count that as a success. I’ll see if I can put on only a pound or so through Thanksgiving.

You probably know this but you can gain quite a substantial amount of "fake" weight when you start bulking, especially if you go right from a cut to a bulk. I think mostly due to...I forget the term, gut contents (i.e. more food in your digestive system which also absorbs more water and leads you to drink more water).

I count on about 2 pounds whenever I switch between cutting and bulking. I think it has to do with glycogen stores being full vs empty, and all the water that follows it in vs out of the cells.

I've been at maintenance for a month now after cutting, and I'm still waiting for those 2 pounds to show up, signaling the beginning of The Bulk.

[dw]

I'm trying to put on a bit of weight through the end of the year or so. I'm shooting for about 195# as a 7-day average.

No real strategy on how to do that other than not let my gut blow up. I'm hoping to fill out my chest, shoulders, and upper back area a bit to help fill my warmer clothes. Wish me luck.

Update: on Sep 21, my 7 day average was 187.1 pounds. Today, it’s 193.9.

I haven’t been tracking my umbilicus daily, but today it was 35”, which is very likely what it was a month ago.

~7 pounds in a month is probably too much, but my gut hasn’t blown up, so I count that as a success. I’ll see if I can put on only a pound or so through Thanksgiving.

You probably know this but you can gain quite a substantial amount of "fake" weight when you start bulking, especially if you go right from a cut to a bulk. I think mostly due to...I forget the term, gut contents (i.e. more food in your digestive system which also absorbs more water and leads you to drink more water).

I count on about 2 pounds whenever I switch between cutting and bulking. I think it has to do with glycogen stores being full vs empty, and all the water that follows it in vs out of the cells.

I've been at maintenance for a month now after cutting, and I'm still waiting for those 2 pounds to show up, signaling the beginning of The Bulk.

I gained two pounds as well of excess weight, by my estimation, when I went from cut to bulk. (Also about 3 pounds from creatine.)

[alek]

I'm trying to put on a bit of weight through the end of the year or so. I'm shooting for about 195# as a 7-day average.

No real strategy on how to do that other than not let my gut blow up. I'm hoping to fill out my chest, shoulders, and upper back area a bit to help fill my warmer clothes. Wish me luck.

Update: on Sep 21, my 7 day average was 187.1 pounds. Today, it’s 193.9.

I haven’t been tracking my umbilicus daily, but today it was 35”, which is very likely what it was a month ago.

~7 pounds in a month is probably too much, but my gut hasn’t blown up, so I count that as a success. I’ll see if I can put on only a pound or so through Thanksgiving.

You probably know this but you can gain quite a substantial amount of "fake" weight when you start bulking, especially if you go right from a cut to a bulk. I think mostly due to...I forget the term, gut contents (i.e. more food in your digestive system which also absorbs more water and leads you to drink more water).

I was at maintenance for about 5 months prior to adding weight, but I imagine most of the weight gained is from water and glycogen.

I am a little fuller in the chest, shoulders, and upper back, and my underwear is tighter around my thighs. At this rate, I’ll have to buy new shorts next summer.

The bit about not blowing up my gut was in reference to my umbilicus measurement, which has been stable throughout the year.

I’d be confident in saying 5 of the 7 pounds gained is lean body mass.

[FredM]

I count on about 2 pounds whenever I switch between cutting and bulking. I think it has to do with glycogen stores being full vs empty, and all the water that follows it in vs out of the cells.

I've been at maintenance for a month now after cutting, and I'm still waiting for those 2 pounds to show up, signaling the beginning of The Bulk.

It's like 3-4 for me -- and this just happened.

I went from cutting straight to "bulking" (just above maintenance) and gained no weight whatsoever for 3 weeks. Two days ago I weighed 174 for basically 20 days in a row -- today I weighed 178. Still freaks me out every time and I end up eating less than I probably should for a few days.

It's actually pretty similar to what happens with creatine and I assume it's a similar mechanism. I don't take creatine anymore though because despite the fact it does indeed bloat me by 4+ lbs basically overnight after a few weeks, all my best strength gains have been when I'm not taking it.

[alek]

I'm trying to put on a bit of weight through the end of the year or so. I'm shooting for about 195# as a 7-day average.

No real strategy on how to do that other than not let my gut blow up. I'm hoping to fill out my chest, shoulders, and upper back area a bit to help fill my warmer clothes. Wish me luck.

Update: on Sep 21, my 7 day average was 187.1 pounds. Today, it’s 193.9.

I haven’t been tracking my umbilicus daily, but today it was 35”, which is very likely what it was a month ago.

~7 pounds in a month is probably too much, but my gut hasn’t blown up, so I count that as a success. I’ll see if I can put on only a pound or so through Thanksgiving.

No, I haven’t put on only one pound in the last month. On 10/24/20, my 7-day average was 193.8, and today it’s 196.3, which is a gain of 2.5 pounds.

I’m continuing to fill out the upper body, specifically traps, delts, and arms—I’ve had to get rid of a couple polo’s that were too tight in the arms... never had to do that before. #winning

I know I’ve put some extra fluff into my middle, but it still appears in the mirror that I’m around the same size. When I check my umbilicus, it’s around 35.25, and I’m still using the same holes on my lifting belt that I was using prior to the bulk.

I’m gonna keep going as long as the progress is similar. I’ve been thinking about goals for next year, and I think one of them will be to get lean—like really lean—at least once.

[JohnHelton]

I’m gonna keep going as long as the progress is similar. I’ve been thinking about goals for next year, and I think one of them will be to get lean—like really lean—at least once.

I was going to get really lean, so I dropped a few pounds. At 34.5” waistline, I have semi-abs if I lean back a bit and flex a bit. Not really lean, but I just don’t have an appetite for what it takes to get really lean. So instead, I’m going to try to get really strong...which means bulking. Last October through the end of the year, I bulked up 20 lbs. That was too much, too fast. This time I’m going to try to go slowly so I can get as lean a bulk as possible. My only real question is whether I stop at 210 lbs (where I can still cut down to 93 kg), or do I blow past that and just look for PRs that I never thought possible. The latter could be fun if I don’t get disgusting in terms of fat.

[alek]

I’m gonna keep going as long as the progress is similar. I’ve been thinking about goals for next year, and I think one of them will be to get lean—like really lean—at least once.

I was going to get really lean, so I dropped a few pounds. At 34.5” waistline, I have semi-abs if I lean back a bit and flex a bit. Not really lean, but I just don’t have an appetite for what it takes to get really lean. So instead, I’m going to try to get really strong...which means bulking. Last October through the end of the year, I bulked up 20 lbs. That was too much, too fast. This time I’m going to try to go slowly so I can get as lean a bulk as possible. My only real question is whether I stop at 210 lbs (where I can still cut down to 93 kg), or do I blow past that and just look for PRs that I never thought possible. The latter could be fun if I don’t get disgusting in terms of fat.

I've always been pretty "skinny". Even now, when I look at videos of myself squatting, I think I look like a beanpole. I can still see the topmost abs in the mirror despite putting on 10 pounds in about two months, but that's probably because this is the first properly done bulk I've ever done. I'm 6 feet tall, so I think I still have quite a ways to go before I don't think I look under-muscled. Same as you, as long as I'm not fat fucking myself, I'll keep up the bulk.

I do have to be somewhat careful with my body size. Over the past 4 years, I've gotten bigger and smaller so much that my wife would have a duck if I no longer fit into my clothes... again.

[mettkeks]

I've ended my diet 6 weeks ago at 82kg down from 93. I'm 4 weeks into this massing phase and I weigh in at 83. My lifts are within 5% of where I left off. I contemplated bulking through winter, but I will do another mini-cut in january to get below 80, then another 3 month bulk, and then a short diet before summer.

I've decided that I will stay between 76 and 80kg long term. I really like being this light. I know it's not the greatest thing for my bench goal, but that's not that important to me right now. Losing them darn love-handles is my top priority. Thighs not rubbing together while walking sounds really nice too, lol. I look more muscular the leaner I get anyways. And my shoulders look rediculous in size M shirts.

I'll do longer massing phases after summer. The slow weight-gain works pretty well for me. I don't have any cravings anymore, I eat pretty much zero sweets, and usually have a couple of cals left over in the evening.

[ChasingCurls69]

I'm still inconsistent with bulking, but sitting at 204 during my inconsistent diet times which is almost as high as my peak weight.

My main obstacles are just time management+organizing eating since I tend to procrastinate doing things and eat really slow and much less if the food doesn't taste good to me. Need to consistently clean my shakers and start using whey protein at least once a day and Peri-RX a few times a week+normie creatine on off days. Getting closer to 210-215 by the next time a meet comes up would be nice in the long journey to 105kg without getting fat or ruining my teeth with soda.

[mettkeks]

I'm still inconsistent with bulking, but sitting at 204 during my inconsistent diet times which is almost as high as my peak weight.

My main obstacles are just time management+organizing eating since I tend to procrastinate doing things and eat really slow and much less if the food doesn't taste good to me. Need to consistently clean my shakers and start using whey protein at least once a day and Peri-RX a few times a week+normie creatine on off days. Getting closer to 210-215 by the next time a meet comes up would be nice in the long journey to 105kg without getting fat or ruining my teeth with soda.

I take my time to cook one meal a day. Usually lunch. I'm getting 1000-1400 cals and 70-90g protein from that meal alone. Müsli in the morning with a 2 scoop shake are another 800-1000 cals easy. A bit of cheese or some nuts here and there can bump up your cals quite a bit.

Just rinse your shaker with hot water right after you use it.

[broseph]

Waking this thread back up to make sure I'm not the only one on the gainz train.

I'm up ~7 pounds in 2 months, with ~1 inch increase in waist circumference*. Lifts feeling awesome. Nighttime topless toothbrush-flexing looking good. I'm running Hanley's 12-session template over 6 weeks with extra accessory volume.


*I think 1 inch of waist circ is just being full vs empty vis a vis gut contents and water weight.**
**There's probably a little fat gain too.


Also, instead of Bear Mode, it's more like Werewolf Mode because I eat modestly all day until I became an insatiable ravenous maniac at sundown.

[JohnHelton]

@broseph Good luck with the bulk. I find it so much harder than cutting (I just add fat rapidly). I'm cutting again, trying to get as lean as you achieved, then maybe I will give bulking another shot.

[broseph]

@broseph Good luck with the bulk. I find it so much harder than cutting (I just add fat rapidly). I'm cutting again, trying to get as lean as you achieved, then maybe I will give bulking another shot.

If feel like with cutting, the fat/muscle loss split is something stupid like 55/45, and for gaining it’s 45/55... Always favorable, but juuuuuust barely so.

And I’ve never been able to get bigger or stronger on maintenance (besides the initial one-time bump after you stop cutting).

The scary thing about bulking is the dramatic step-wise increases in bodyweight. You add a few calories here and there and your weight stays the same and then all of a sudden you gain 5 pounds in a week.

[BenM]

Waking this thread back up to make sure I'm not the only one on the gainz train.

Also, instead of Bear Mode, it's more like Werewolf Mode because I eat modestly all day until I became an insatiable ravenous maniac at sundown.

Right with you bro. I think I'm up about 6kg in 5 or 6 months. It's hard to gain this slowly but I seem to have pulled it off for the first time in my life. And the night time hunger is my biggest battle too.

[JohnHelton]

If feel like with cutting, the fat/muscle loss split is something stupid like 55/45, and for gaining it’s 45/55... Always favorable, but juuuuuust barely so.

And I’ve never been able to get bigger or stronger on maintenance (besides the initial one-time bump after you stop cutting).

The scary thing about bulking is the dramatic step-wise increases in bodyweight. You add a few calories here and there and your weight stays the same and then all of a sudden you gain 5 pounds in a week.

Exactly

[FredM]

If feel like with cutting, the fat/muscle loss split is something stupid like 55/45, and for gaining it’s 45/55... Always favorable, but juuuuuust barely so.

And I’ve never been able to get bigger or stronger on maintenance (besides the initial one-time bump after you stop cutting).

The scary thing about bulking is the dramatic step-wise increases in bodyweight. You add a few calories here and there and your weight stays the same and then all of a sudden you gain 5 pounds in a week.

Exactly

For me it's like 3 days. And agreed, it's terrifying. +0/+0/+0/+0/+0 -- wtf --- +0/+0/+0/+0/+1 --- K, finally -- +1/+1/+1/+1 --- Congrats, now you're fat!

I find bulking 200x harder than cutting. The margin for error seems waaaay smaller. If I lose 1 lb or 2 lbs in a week I lose about the same LBM ratio (not much). It also doesn't matter as much what my training looks like -- as long as I'm eating protein and lifting weights 2x/wk or more. Whereas with bulking I have to hit the magical program where I'm actually getting stronger AND keep the weight gain slow enough or I gain approximately all fat. As a result I've had exactly one successful bulk out of 4 tries.