Steady Bulking

[CLAIRE]

Is it possible to do a slow bulk where you can gain muscle without gaining fat??, I am not in any competitive training. Have been trying to gain muscle and eat more. My goals are to be as strong as possible and be as ripped as I can without losing fat to the extreme of a competition.

I have noticed a BIG difference in lifting heavy and not being tired with trying to cut all the time. I have been getting a buzz from lifting heavy getting addictive !

My difference in measurements are as follows

March December
Biceps 12 Biceps 12
Bust 40 Bust 37
Under Bust 33 Underbust 32
Waist 33 Waist 31
Lower Abs 37 1/2 Lower Abs 36 1/2
Hips 39 Hips 39
Thighs 22 1/2 Thighs 22
Calfs 15 Calfs 14 1/2

Most proud of Biceps went from 16kg now 26kg, Chest Press 26kg to 34kg, Dead lift 40kg to 53kg, Back 20kg to 40kg and after lots of pull ups from stood and am starting to manage a couple of hanging pull ups.

The weights have gone up in the space of 3-4 weeks since I started to go heavy and eat maintenance calories so I am feeling this is the right way to go, its making me feel way better than I have ever felt!!

Never bulked before but am enjoying so far, just dont know what plan of action to do am having a rest week and working on some training and nutrition plans for the winter period so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[big_paul_ski]

That is a good question but to gain muscle and have no fat gain is pretty much impossible. You can keep the fat gain minimal but it will take some time. I'm sure you know this but when cutting your going to loose some muscle and the trick it trying to retain as much as possible before a show it what ever. It's the same with building. Try to gain as little fat. Hope this helps.

 

[CLAIRE]

So if I have gained strength but not weight is this not creating bigger muscles but just stronger tighter ones? Does bulk mean eating more cals to gain more muscle size with a bit of fat and then to lose it on a cut would you lose all muscle gained or just a portion of it, and I guess the extra muscle will help burn more fat? Would just doing training for strength add lean muscle mass at all ? or is it best to do cycles.

 

[PillarofBalance]

So if I have gained strength but not weight is this not creating bigger muscles but just stronger tighter ones? Does bulk mean eating more cals to gain more muscle size with a bit of fat and then to lose it on a cut would you lose all muscle gained or just a portion of it, and I guess the extra muscle will help burn more fat? Would just doing training for strength add lean muscle mass at all ? or is it best to do cycles.

I think the answer to your questions will be found in carb cycling.

 

[sassy69]

You're talking about a "slow, clean bulk" - basically increasing your cals, but eating all optimal clean stuff - not shitloading like many can do for a serious bulker. There are many ways to do it. Some that come to mind:

1) Keto bulking - this is basically keto dieting w/ more carb refeeds
2) Carb cycling - sorta similar to the keto approach but focus less on the protein / fat, and more on the schedule of your carb rotation

In terms of measuring "progress" - muscle weighs more than fat - or equivalently it is denser for the same volume of space. So end result if you're gaining muscle, losing or at least not gaining fat, you should see the change in your body composition more than on the scale. An example is back in 2005 when I was getting back on the wagon to start prepping for a competition after a couple years of upheaval in my personal life - when I got going on my diet again, tracking progress on the scale as well as through skinfold caliper measurements, over 5 weeks I dropped 8% bodyfat, but only lose 2 lb on the scale. The difference was very apparent in how I looked but if I was only tracking progress by the scale, I probably would've killed myself in frustration.

You should see strength go up but just pay attention to how you fit in your clothes -f or example, you should get looser in the waist, tighter in the quads - things like that. Because you're looking to bulk, expect the scale to move up some but the proportion of size where you have muscle vs where you tend to hold your body fat should change.

 

[BLTC]

carb cycling is the only way I know other than using GH