Looking for some assitance on bulking cycle. Newb

[Bcmaloney]

Hey AM was looking for a bit of guidance for a new guy to weight/bulking cycle.

A little bit about myself. I am 6'2.5", 210 pounds, guessing about 22-25% BF, and 18 years old. Fairly limited lifting history. Recently i have lost a substantial amount of weight over the last 8 months (95 pounds) to make weight for the military. I lost the majority of the weight from eating right (3000-3500 calories a day), meaning leaner meats, more vegies, no junk, etc. and with some cardio. And i've come fairly use to it, like a lifestyle. Anyhow I have barley touched any weights. I feel it is about time.

My goal for the next 4-6 months is to hit around 15% BF, lean out, and gain a good amount of strength so I am not worried about Basic training for the military.

*I would like to finish building up my cardio endurance, but it does not seem you should really do this at the same time as bulking.*

Basically I am looking for someone to read through this and give me the basics on lifting, eating, supplements, etc. I have read a few guides and what not but was looking for something a little more personalized, so i dont kill myself.

I have been a long time reader of AM for weight loss. Now I am in need of some help. Was wondering if anyone would put me on the right track for a bulking cycle.

How I understand a "bulking cycle"

Its a set amount of weeks/months where you deal exclusivly with weights to pack on muscle and as little fat as possible. Basically you eat clean, and aim for a substantual amount of protein and carbs/fats in the right ratio to maximize gains, and keep you caloric intake up.

Few questions, I know some vary person to person, but a ballpark answer will work.
What is the right ratio of carbs/protein/fats for maximizing gains?
How many calories should i eat?
Most common foods to eat?
what is a good lifitng routine, rep/set #'s, etc?
Good supplements, protien blends?

Please add your two cents no matter how little it is, any help is appreciated. Thank you very much for reading this. I have a gym membership, with a good amount of machines, free weight, etc.

 

[HawaiianPride]

Damn bro you are asking quite a lot. It's good that you are interested in knowing how this works but we can't really just hand you all that information on a silver platter. I'll give some brief advice in what I think you should know.

1. I'm very confused on your exact goals. You said that your looking for guidance to a "bulking cycle". Then later on you say your goal for the next few months is to cut your BF down to 15%. So do you either want to bulk, or cut. Because you obviously cannot do both at the same time.

2. IMO, if your goal is to bulk, I really don't think that's a good idea. Simply because your BF is above 20%. Most of your gains will most likely just be "fatty" gains. I would suggest you take the time to research and read everything you can about proper cutting diets.

3. Generally, people that want to bulk usually focus on compound movements, then at times complimenting them with isolation movements. As for people looking to cut weight, I notice their rep schemes are a bit higher, while still keeping the weight moderately heavy since you want to avoid loosing as much muscle as possible.

4. Diet: For your cutting goals these foods would be acceptable..

Protein:
Tuna or most any fish.
Cottage cheese.
Eggs (especially the whites).
Chicken breast (boneless skinless).
Turkey breast (boneless skinless).
Lean beef.
Low fat or no fat cheese.
Low fat pork.
Milk protein isolate.
Whey protein.
Soy protein.
Essentially most any other source of protein so long as it is low in saturated fat and carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates:
Sweet potatoes.
Oat meal, oat bran, oat bran cereal (i.e. cheerios).
Bran cereal.
Brown rice.
Wheat bread (try to limit to 2 slices per day).
Beans.
Low fat popcorn (low fat butter spray makes this a delicacy).
Vegetables.
Stay away from refined grains and anything that says "enriched" or "high fructose corn syrup" on the label!

Fat:
Omega 3 capsules (i.e. fish oil capsules).
Flax seed oil.
Primrose oil.
Borage oil.
Olive oil.
Nuts (limit to 1 serving per day), peanut butter (as long as it does not contain hydrogenated oils).
Egg yolks.
Fish (salmon especially).

Now if you really need help in setting up a right diet I can help you out there. But like I said before, research this stuff before wanting answers.

5. Supplements: If you must choose supplements just stick with the basics such as whey, multi-vits, bcaa's, fish oil/flax, n.o. (optional), and creatine (again, optional).

6. Keep in mind, even on a cut you can reward yourself with a cheat meal once per week to keep yourself sane from having such a strict diet. And as far as bulking goes, IMO always keep it clean. Avoid soda pop, fast foods, and anything containing saturated fats. This applies to both.

I'm pressed on time atm. But if you want to know anything else let me know dude. But like I said, do some more research!

 

[Bcmaloney]

We'll what I was looking into was bulking up some then cutting, but it seems you advise me to cut first, then bulk. Like i said i am fairly new to this and not 100% on anything thus far.
I can get the diet under control, But thank you very much for your input. But I do have one quick question, On lifting days I would be going in the PM after work but what do you suggest eating before hand

 

[HawaiianPride]

A solid meal 30-45 minutes prior consisting of protein, carbs, and fats for faster absorption. Also, look into Dextrose or Glyco-Maize, these are necessities before training. PWO you'll need fast acting carbs to make up for being catabolic during your workout session.

 

[Bcmaloney]

Just out of curiosity do you think personal training is worth the pretty penny that it cost? I guess it will vary highly on who exactly is your trainer and there experience, etc. I mean not like I am incapable of learning on my own/asking around but just would like a solid foundation.

As far as diet goes this is what i have gathered from what you have said and I've searching via google and my **** internet.
Now when would you suggest taking BCCA's/N.O/Creatine and Dextrose? Morning/Pre WO/Post WO? and w/ whey
Here is my schedule that I will be working with. Please adjust the supp dosage/timing as necessary.

6:15 - Wake up
6:30 - Cardio
7:15 - Breakfast *multi/fish oil/ (eggs/toast)
10:15 - Light snack (yogurt w/ flax seed?)
1:15 - Lunch (tuna w/ light mayo & celery)
3:15 - Snack (cottage cheese)
6:15 - Pre w/o Shake (whey??) w/ BCCA's/N.O Ex/Creatine
7:15 Work out
8:00 Lean chicken/rice/etc (muscle milk shake???)
9:30 bed
Aiming for around 3500-4000 calories i will eat/adjust the foods and keep it clean, those are quick examples.

I would just like to say i do appreciate the time/effort you are taking to help me out. thank you. also not trying to take the lazy way out by not researching but my internet is extremely slow lately and it takes forever to search around

 

[HawaiianPride]

Don't waist your money on a PT. Most of them don't even know what they are talking about anyways. I don't have much time yet again (sorry) but that diet is definitely not 3500-4000 calories bro.

I'll write you up a diet tomorrow first thing. Like I said you need to shed some BF so you need to be in the 2300-2500 range. That diet there is probably around 1800 just by looking at it.

I'll get back on this in the a.m.

 

[rocketman123]

Damn thats pretty high calories. For bulking, you want to be around 18 Calories per pound, plus about 200 Calories to bring it above maintenance, of LEAN body mass from what i have found, or LBM (so your total weight minus the weight of your fat, so multiply 210 by .20 (or whatever your bodyfat percentage is) and subtract that from your total to give you lean body mass).

Protein should be around 1.5g/LBM
Carbs should be around 2g/LBM
and the rest fat
protein and carbs are 4 kcal per gram and fat is 9 kcal per gram. find out your total caloric intake, then subtract the calories from protein and carbs to find the amount of fat calories you need, then divide that by 9 to see how many grams per day it is.

You should be eating about 6 to 8 equal meals a day, so this "snack" business should be replaced with actual meals. eat about every 2 to 3 hours. Split the calories/food equally between them, do a preworkout protein shake with 20g protein/20g waximaize or whatever fat digesting carbs, and a postworkout protein shake with 40g protein/30-40g waximaize or whatever. Bulking, I like to do a 20g protein shake with 20g waximaize right when i wake up, because sleeping for 8 hrs means you are not eating for 8 hrs so your body, not having any nutrients to draw from, turns to muscle (or more specifically amino acids) since it is the purest form of energy. Your body is essentially eating itself while you sleep. Taking a fast digesting protein first thing in the morning spikes insulin. This is benificial in the morning because the protein is shuttled directly to the muscles via insulin (this is why you eat protein and fast digesting carbs directly after workout). For your last meal of the day, eat a cup of cottage cheese since the casein protein in it gels up when it hits acid, thus taking about 7 hrs to digest.


Cardio in the morning is good, but when you are bulking, you dont want to do cardio because you are burning calories which means you have to eat more. So it is detrimental to the point of bulking. Doing 20min every couple 3 days is good for cardiovascular health though.

But like was said above, you shouldnt be bulking now since you are at a high bodyfat already (essentially you have been bulking already which got you to 20% bodyfat!)


Supplements arent really that important until you get to plateaus. I have found that glutamine is helpful for recovery though. Multivitamins are definately a must though.

All the info here i have found by researching or asking people. This should get you started but you need to do lots more research so you can get the best possible results in lifting. One thing i might suggest, although i know a lot of people will disagree, is to get a subscription to a workout magazine or two. Just dont believe everything they tell you. Research it and make an educated decision about something instead of blindly following every word which is why a lot of guys here dont like the magazines since they are always trying to get you to do/take the latest thing. They do expose you to a lot more than what you would normally learn.


Anyway, good luck with it! I was once a newbie too ha!!