Help me Bulk

[phillyb]

I have never bulked before in my life. I used to be 300 pounds and the only thing on my mind was weightloss. Right now I weigh in at 190 pounds at 6'2", and I am just about to come off of a 10 week cut where I dropped 40 pounds from 230. I would estimate my BF to be anywhere from 12-15% because you can see my top 4 abs. That might seem like alot in 10 weeks, but I worked my *** off and my diet and exercise level prior to it were absolutely horrid. It's amazing how important diet is in bodybuilding.

Cutting Stack - I used protein, lipo6 liquid-caps, and tried out CLA. My workout routine was 6x a week lifting and 6x a week cardio.

Cardio consisted of 6 30 minute sessions a week at 200w on an elliptical which ended up being about 400-450 calories. Plus I have a somewhat physical job as a delivery driver, which helps burn some more calories.

Workout Routine - 3 sets of each exercise, 10 reps a set, no more than 1 hour of lifting

Mon - Chest
Tues - Bi's
Wed - Tri's
Thur - Back
Fri - Legs
Sat - Abs/Forearms/Misc

Diet on Cut - I kept a 60/20/20 split of calories, taking in around 1600-1800 calories a day. I have a sample picture from Fitday.com that shows a typical days diet of what I eat.

Current goals for upcoming bulk - I want to try to put on as much quality lean muscle as possible. Im not too concerned with adding some fat, but would like to keep it to a minimum.

Bulking stack - I have been doing alot of research on this website, and came up with a Powerfull+CissusRx+cAMP stack. I will also still be using protein, and in addition, purchased some CEE which I am going to incorporate.

So what I would really like some input on, is my diet, and my workout routine. Because all I have ever done is basically cut, I'm not sure how to put on weight effectively. I plan on taking a 1 week break from everything before I stark my bulk also.

For my workout routine, I was going to try the 5x5 method.

Mon - Chest/Tri's
Wed - Bi's/Back
Fri - Legs/Misc

I also still would like to do cardio, for all its health benefits, but am probably going to drop it down to 2-3 times a week on offdays.

So in a nutshell, the only thing I am truely having problems with is my diet. Because during my cut I did low carb, and didn't do any carb cycling, just tried to keep it below 100g of carbs a day. But I know the key to bulking is carbs, and my problem lies in basically the fact that I will be coming off of a 1600-1800 calorie low carb diet. So I'm not sure how to increase my calories or my carbs/fats to add weight. I'm pretty sure I cant just go from 1600 to 4000 calories and not gain tons of fat.

Note - lol sorry if it seems like I just blabbered on about nothing, but I have been doing alot of research, and studying, and would like to make the best gains possible. I also thought I would give you as much information as possible so it would be easiest for you to give me advice. My goals are to go from 190 pounds at 12-15% BF to about 200 pounds at the same or lower BF.

Thank you for any advice or feedback you can offer me. I am a sponge seeking to soak up your knowledge!

 

[jjohn]

I would say to go with 3000 cals. and 150 g. carbs, with 2g. per lbs. bodyweight protein, the rest of fat. Healthy fats of course. Up the carbs by 40-50g. per week if you feel like you can have more. This will give you minimal weight gain, and maximum mass. It worked for me, so I guess its pretty good. Eat 7 meals a day, and keep track of your progress.

 

[rocketscientist]

Actually - I wouldn't jump on a bulker right away. Give yourself a couple of weeks to consolidate your current body composition. In my experience, jumping from a diet below maintenance to one several hundred calories above (like in a typical bulker) can make you blow up pretty quick... and not in the good way.

I typically 'ramp' up my calorie intake and monitor how my body reacts to that. Just my take.

 

[jjohn]

You're right. This is why I am saying to let carbs down, as carbs come in with a lot of water. This way, you will be ok, and if you really are strict with carbs, and up the proteins, I find it easy to gain good mass, without being bloated. Just my opinion. Maybe with 2250 cal. a day, and keep carbs around 150g. if you prefer, and slowly crank up the cals. That way you'll be more that sure your fat gains will be kept to a minimum.Now go train!!!:good:

 

[motiv8erJR]

Do you mind posting how old you are too bro, sometimes thats helpful. Keep in mind your over 6 feet tall, so you will probably need to make sure your keep your cals right were you dont stay in a catabolic state so lots of protein and complex carbs. I always recommend Invalid Link Removed to make sure you have your ratio right!

Take care!

~Mk


EDIT: And dude 6x a week lifting is not needed. Most of the guys that use AAS dont do more than 5 days on a week, and they have speeded recovery. You might want to try a 3-4 day split your body will build more muscle and recover that way. And cycle your cardio maybe. 3 interval hard days, and maybe 2 light days. Allows have at least two rest days dude, it will keep you from burning out and every 6-12 weeks you need to just take a week and stop lifting or your central nervous system will burn out... and thats not fun

 

[phillyb]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am 20 years old motive8rJR if that helps. But basically what you guys are saying is to slowing increase my calories and find a ratio of protein/carbs/fats that works for me. Because I figured I couldn't just jump from below maintenance to above maintenance and not expect to gain a bunch of fat like you guys confirmed. I have been eating 6 meals a day and using fitday.com for the past 3 months so now I just got some work to do to come up with a new diet. One that includes carbs!

 

[jjohn]

fitday.com looks like a very useful tool. Plan a good diet, dont forget to do a minimum of cardio, and you will gain shredded pounds of pure lean mass

 

[motiv8erJR]

Yeah man, at your age just slowly let the carbs come back in. In my opinion use them pre and post workout as long as you dont work out to late at night. That is always a good place to make sure your using them and stuff. And great job dude, you have done a marvlous job, keep it up

~MK