Thread: BULKING...how much muscle/how much fat

Getting tired of me yet?

Originally posted by QueenofSquats
While bulking..how much fat is healthy to gain per muscle, at what stage do you decide you have gained enough muscle to start cutting???

I can't really comment on the healthy amount of fat per muscle, because i don't really know of any health issues that arise from putting on fat (Unless you balloon up to obesity territory). You can read the thread a few lines down, title "help" with a lot of punctuation marks, Duncan sets me straight on muscle gaining ability, and i guess you can get some insight into fat gain. Being a woman you will probably gain muscle slower than men, so you're pretty much screwed.

When you've had enough bulking is a personal matter. You could do a Lee Priest type bulk where you become the pillsbury dough boy (in your case, girl), but i doubt any natural wants to have an extra 50, 60, 70lbs of fat to diet off. Just bulk until your happy with your muscle, or are unhappy with your fat gain.

Originally posted by QueenofSquats
Also if your calorie intake is say 2000 at the time of start of bulk and after the cut..will your metabolism change, do you eat the same calories after gaining muscle (when you cut up or it changes???)

If you gain weight, you're maint calories will go up. Say its muscle, then your muscles are using up more cals even at rest. Say its fat, it still takes more energy to move around 200lbs than it does for 180lbs.

Like wise for cutting, your maint cals will ultimately go down.

QofS...are you looking at doing abulking cycle?

first you have to determine how many cals you need to consume to maintain weight. After determining this you can add about 500 additional calories per day. This would give you a weight gain of about a lb per week. If this is too much...which it may be, you could try say 250-300 cals over maintenance level. Of course with this LBM gain will be slower but you will accumulate less fat.

Also, as your weight increases you will also have to increase calories. As mentionned it's the same when cutting...as your BW decreases you have to periodically adjust cals downward. As to how many additional cals you'll need it is highly individual...just try to pay attention to your body.

In terms of the length of a bulk diet it is highly individual. I would suggest that when you find yourself feeling sluggish from the additional weight gain to begin to cut again. Just be sure to give the bulk a few months at least to work.

I have some general number crunching formulas at home which I can send you via pm if you like...I don't have them with me here now at work. Just let me know if you're interested and I'll try to find them. Again they're only generalizations so you'l have to make modifications.

Good luck!

I concur with both of the above. Do yourself a favor and go on a slow bulk, you will thank me come cut time. I would base the amount of time I bulk up on the fly, in that when you feel you have gotten the size you want, stop bulking.

Glad to see you agree with me Duncan

Thanks..you guys..great sources of info...most of the time when I ask for info is to get more knoweledge, I am not planning to bulk, but a client of mine is, who I have just started training, so knowing more on this is great.
So if a person gain 5lbs of muscle and than starts cutting, after reaching the stage you are happy with do you go back to eating the same number of calories you use to before bulk or you increase it as your body has gain more muscle?