I need to bulk.

[StevenNevets]

*16 years old
*8+- months experience

-5ft. 9
-133 lbs.
-9%BF

In the past 12 weeks I lost about 4 pounds of fat and 4 pounds of muscle, a lot came off in the last few weeks. So I guess for bulking I'll have to eat like 2-3x as much



I just finished my program and am only going to workout very lightly the next 2 weeks.


_____________


Equipment:
-dumbbells
-barbell
-bench-press
-resistance bands
-pull-up bar

_____________


This is the bulking program I've been thinking of doing.
http://www.mensworkoutguide.co...uscleinstructions.html

(How to Build Muscle in 16 Weeks Or Less)
http://www.mensworkoutguide.com/home.html



Please suggest a different one if you think there's something better but I'm limited to that equipment above.

_____________


some questions/looking for opinions


1. recommend WHEY protein *without* any soy (allergic, have yet to find this)
2. Special K or Total for breakfast?
3. I lost weight for a reason, very low calories. It's best to raise calorie count slowly?
4. I will keep doing HIIT on treadmill, how critical is it to do lower-body too?
5. Do people normally keep working abs during bulking or stop until they start cutting?





If you guys could help with those questions or give any other tips or suggestions please do!


Thanks.

 

[dealmaster00]

(these are my personal answers, not to be mistaken for professional advice or anything)

1. Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein is 100% Whey I believe. I can check when I get home. It's pretty cheap too.

http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-...&qid=1218457402&sr=8-1

2. I eat oats, milk, 1/2 scoop of Whey for breakfast.

3. Find out your maintenance caloric intake, add 500 calories to that and eat that much every day.

4. I don't believe it's necessary but it can't hurt to keep doing it. I've heard not to do it more than 2x a week when combined with weight training.

5. I'm bulking and I do 3 sets of reverse crunches at the end of every workout. Once again I don't think that it is necessary though - the main lifts will hit your abs as well.

 

[StevenNevets]

Thank you for the input.


Here's the nutrition for o.n. whey. (see bottom)
http://www.optimumnutrition.co...s/100Whey-gs-facts.jpg

It gets frustrating seeing this a lot, other brands too...





Do you really think maintenance+500 is enough? My maintenance is around 1,700 and 2,300 seems low for bulking.

 

[KoolDrew]

I'm not going to really spend time looking at the routine. As long as the routine is balanced, uses mainly compound movements, and allows you to get stronger over time it should work fine given sufficient calories. The most important thing is that you are getting stronger though. If you're not, changes need to be made.

2. Special K or Total for breakfast?

Neither. BOth are low in calories and protein. You need a significant amount of both to gain weight. Aim for 1g per pound of bodyweight in protein (which would be 133 grams).

3. I lost weight for a reason, very low calories. It's best to raise calorie count slowly?

Yes. While in a calorie deficit your metabolism will slow down. To prevent excessive fat gain you should slowly up calories. You should be aiming at gaining 0.5-1lb a week. Up calories until you get to that point. At your size it may not take much to gain weight. Of course that depends on on genetics, activity levels, etc.

4. I will keep doing HIIT on treadmill, how critical is it to do lower-body too?

HIIT is fine, but it is quite a lower body workout so be careful with it. I would probably limit it to 2x a week and if possible do it on the same day you work lower body, but away from your normal workout. For example, do HIIT in the AM and lifting in the PM. If you can't do that then you can do it after your leg workout. You could also do it on a day of its own, but I would treat it as a leg workout and make adjustments if recovery becomes a problem.

5. Do people normally keep working abs during bulking or stop until they start cutting?

During a bulk is the ideal time to work abs. You can't build musccle tissue in a calorie deficit. Use the bulk to build up your abs and cut later on to show the abs off.

Do you really think maintenance+500 is enough? My maintenance is around 1,700 and 2,300 seems low for bulking.

Muscle can only be built so fast, eating more will just cause excess fat gain not make you gain muscle any faster. However, everybody is different. Maintenance + 500 is just a guideline. You have to track calories on a website like fitday or thedailyplate and adjust calories based on progress. If you're not gaining any weight, up the calories a bit. If you're gaining weight at too rapid of a pace, lower calories a bit.

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: StevenNevets
Thank you for the input.


Here's the nutrition for o.n. whey. (see bottom)
http://www.optimumnutrition.co...s/100Whey-gs-facts.jpg

It gets frustrating seeing this a lot, other brands too...





Do you really think maintenance+500 is enough? My maintenance is around 1,700 and 2,300 seems low for bulking.

Most people who are allergic to soy can eat soy lecithin just fine.

Gaining weight is not complicated. You just eat more food until the scale starts moving in the right direction.

 

[StevenNevets]

Originally posted by: crt1530
Most people who are allergic to soy can eat soy lecithin just fine.

Well I can't. I already tried that exact powder, tasted good, wasn't too fun coming out.