Thread: LiftinBear's Journal

Without seeing your exact diet, my first thought is your calories are too low. At your weight you should be around 3300-3800 cals per day for a bulk.

The other thing is don't limit yourself to reps in the 10-12 range. I like to vary the reps wo to wo, but for a bulk use a range of 3-8 reps. Eat big, lift heavy, get big.

cardio on a bulk?

Bear ,

welcome to IM ,

Where does your workout fit into your diet? between which meals ?

Here is a typical day:
Meal1-Egg whites/apple
Meal2-cottage cheese/yogurt
Meal3-Chicken/pasta
Meal4- Protein bar or shake
Meal5-Chicken/salad or veggies/yams or potatoes
Meal6-cottage cheese/veggies

Any supps ? Whats your macros ? or does that matter on a bulk ? I forget ? LOL EFA's I sound like I know what I'm talking about but I don't. Just asking the same questions I see asked of every newbie . But you are definetly at the right place. PLENTY of people on here that know the ins and outs of all aspects

My Workout is before meal 5. So...if I need more calories...what do you suggest I change on my diet?
Thanks Guys

The best thing to do is to post your calories and the macros, meaning how many grams of protein, carbs and fats. Start a free log at www.fitday.com. You can look up the macros and calorie content of most foods.

Judging by the above, I would add a couple of whole eggs to the egg whites, and a serving or two of oatmeal to meal 1. Meal 2 maybe some ground turkey or 93%-96% lean ground beef and 1-2 cups of brown rice. Meal 3 add the veggies from meal 6. Post workout have some whey protein powder. Meal 6 cottage cheese and some natural peanut butter. Don't forget EFA's. Take some fish oil caps at each meal. Just some suggestions. For more detailed responses, and answers to specific questions try posting in the diet forum.

Also, I find it hard to bulk while eating totally clean. Don't be afraid to have a cheat day or 2 each week where anything goes .

Originally Posted by JerseyDevil

The best thing to do is to post your calories and the macros, meaning how many grams of protein, carbs and fats. Start a free log at www.fitday.com. You can look up the macros and calorie content of most foods.

Judging by the above, I would add a couple of whole eggs to the egg whites, and a serving or two of oatmeal to meal 1. Meal 2 maybe some ground turkey or 93%-96% lean ground beef and 1-2 cups of brown rice. Meal 3 add the veggies from meal 6. Post workout have some whey protein powder. Meal 6 cottage cheese and some natural peanut butter. Don't forget EFA's. Take some fish oil caps at each meal. Just some suggestions. For more detailed responses, and answers to specific questions try posting in the diet forum.

Also, I find it hard to bulk while eating totally clean. Don't be afraid to have a cheat day or 2 each week where anything goes .

See I told ya somebody who knows what they are talking about would reply ! Way to go JD

Hey Dude...

Thanks for the encouragement. Also, here's to kicking off your program..

I see you also got a recommendation to start FitDay. I love that thing, and actually wound up getting the PC version of it. I don't have any experience with on-line version, but the PC version rocks!

Cheers!

Originally Posted by gwcaton

See I told ya somebody who knows what they are talking about would reply ! Way to go JD

I talk a good game GW, but your physique PROVES you know what you're talking about .

Have had a good week so far.
The workouts feel great but I must admit I'm feeling more sore than I thought. Did Cardio on Sunday, legs on Monday, Chest and Biceps yesterday and today is cardio. Actually felt good to see that all the muscle gains I made before did not dissappear!!!
As far a food goes...I've been eating alot. Started using "Fitday" to track what I eat. Here is the readout from Monday and Tuesday.

Calorie Fat Protein
2033 53 199
2043 42 173

Hope I don't gain fat with these numbers.
So far so good...I think???

dude if you are gonna bulk i suggest not doing cardio. the cardio will eat the cals you are trying to bulk with.

Hey Bullet,
Appreciate the feedback.
I'll cut down on the cardio in a week or two. Really want to cut a bit of fat from my waist for now.

ok bro i was under the impression you were bulking first.

3 days a week of cardio and 2000 calories a day....looks like a cutting program rather than bulking.....

Got to get my calories up for sure. Man thats a lot of food to eat. I'll also look at dropping the cardio down in a few weeks.

I had a great week. Didn't miss a single workout and the soreness is starting to go away. Weight was the same as last week... 165 lbs. No change.

This week I want to add some weight to my chest workout.

Next week I'll do some body measurements to see if there is any progress. I can feel my shirts getting a bit tighter (a good feeling I must say).

Thats it for now.
Take care all. Keep pumping the Iron!!!

Originally Posted by LiftinBear

Got to get my calories up for sure. Man thats a lot of food to eat.

You're 165 pounds. 2,000 is peanuts. It is maintenance level for an active 130 pound woman! You should probably be at 2700 MINIMUM. I'm 196 and I eat 4000 plus a day. I'm at 2000 calories by 4 in the afternoon.

You need to up your calories big time. Forget that miniscule amount of fat around your navel, you'll forget about it pretty fast when your arms, back, etc. start growing bigger and bigger.

Up the cals!

Ok Soxmuscle and Egoatdoor,
Thanks for the input. I'll be upping the calories this week.

Have a good week guys.

Been a Good Week so far. Was able to get my calories up to 2970 yesterday!!!
Yesterday was a leg workout and today is Chest and Biceps. Looking forward to a great workout. Gonna really push it.

I had a body composition analysis done today:
Results:
Weight 168.61 lbs
Fat Free Mass (bones and Muscle) 132.41lbs
Fat Mass 36.2 lbs
percent bodyfat 21.5%
Not sure if these are good ratios or not but I'll get another test in a month for comparison.

Later Guys...

21% bodyfat is not good. You want to get it down to the mid teens at very least if you want to look anything like a bodybuilder.

Hey all,
This week was another good week as far as the workouts go. Was able to get all the planned workouts done. Added weight to most of my sets this week.

On the diet side...well...I ate alot!!!. Got over 3000 cals everyday which was an improvement from last week.

I have to admit I am a bit confused about the bulking/cutting method (as you can see from previous posts to my journal).... I want to lose some fat on my sides and stomache AND get big at the same time.

Is it possible to do this at the same time or should I only worry about the fat when I am cutting?

I took measurements last night and theres no differences in bicep or chest measurements at this point...maybe I'm being impateint.

Thanks everyone!

Are you pretty new to training? If you are, then some cleanup of the diet can allow you to gain some mass and cut fat at the same time. Once you have been lifting for awhile though, doing both is damn near impossible I would say, the further you develop the more difficult it becomes.

For me I do one or the other, bulk or cut. If I were to maintain calories for instance, I would go NOWHERE, if I drop any bodyfat at all its so piss slow I dont see it even after weeks. The body works best doing one thing at a time, gaining or losing. Ideally you shoot for maintaining mass while dieting down and even that is somewhat of a feat, because of water loss.

Was your bodyfat tested with calipers or some other method?

It was tested on one of those Tanita weigh scales...you know...put your bare feet on it and it spits out the results.

Ooooooooooooh, those are crap, I own one. I can't see my abs terribly well but I dont believe that I am personally 31% bodyfat.

I have never been under 27% on that thing, and I drink a lot of water, so I have a hard time believing I am severely dehydrated.

I sorta think it was off for me too. Said I was dehyrated but I drink a hell of a lot of water. Anyway...thanks for the input Mudge...appreciate it!

Originally Posted by Mudge

Ooooooooooooh, those are crap, I own one. I can't see my abs terribly well but I dont believe that I am personally 31% bodyfat.

I have never been under 27% on that thing, and I drink a lot of water, so I have a hard time believing I am severely dehydrated.

Yeah the scales claim not to work if you are dehydrated since it measures resistance (bioelectrical impedance), I got a better reading (25%) with my socks on. They are not likely to work for most people.

This is my weekly update. The workouts were real good this week except for yesterday. I didn't eat well and felt weak for the workout.

I've been able to add more weight to most of my lifting each week and it is good to feel the progress, however I am still lifting on the light side. I do 4 sets of 12 reps for each excercise. I am thinking of increasing the weight and lowering the Reps. Comments anyone???

I can tell I've dropped some fat thanks to the cardio 3 times a week. I will keep the cardio up for a couple more weeks then cut it back.

I did some cold measurments this morning...

Body Weight 168# (up 3 pounds from the start of my journal)
Biceps 15 inches (gain 1 inch yehaww!!!)
Waist 33.5 inches (lost half an inch)
Thighs 23 inches (lost an inch here...hmmm...)

I am real happy with the weight gain and the fat loss...

I posted a couple pics to record my progress.

Take care everyone.

Definitly some size gained in your arms. Looking good in here.

Great progress for such a short time