What is your LBM to FAT gain ratio when bulking?

What is your LBM to FAT gain ratio when bulking?

  • .5lbs or less fat gained with 1lb LBM

    Votes: 36 49.3%
  • .75lbs fat gained with 1lb LBM

    Votes: 11 15.1%
  • 1lb fat gained with 1lb LBM

    Votes: 14 19.2%
  • 1.5lbs fat gained with 1lb LBM

    Votes: 2 2.7%
  • 2lbs+ fat gained with 1lb LBM

    Votes: 10 13.7%

  • Total voters
    73
Romac

Romac

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[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]This may be the wrong board to ask this but, assuming you are not on legal or illegal gear, how much fat do you gain for every pound of muscle during your current or past bulking efforts?[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]Please don't guess. People that guess usually over estimate their muscle gains and underestimate their fat. Answer only if you actually measure your BF before and post bulking cycles.[/font]
 

DieTrying

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I've really grown to hate the word "bulking" :rasp: . IA said it good we he referred to it as "muscling up" :thumbsup: . With my slow-ass metabolism, I will never do a "bulk" again. I've really tried to pack on loads of muscle twice before and both times put on WAY to much fat :frustrate . Everybody is different, but as soon as I eat over 3,000 cals, here comes the lard!
 
Beelzebub

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Yeah, same here, I got up to 270lbs for a couple of weeks, felt fat as ****. Cut down to 253 now and I'm still lifting the same amount of weight. Trying to cut down to 240 before I start any of the illegals.
 
Dwight Schrute

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. Everybody is different, but as soon as I eat over 3,000 cals, here comes the lard!
Are you serious? Jesus I have people over 3,000 and cutting.

How much do you weigh?
 

iron addict

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I have some people cutting at 4k, and others need 2,500. Genetic variation plays a huge role.

Iron Addict
 
Romac

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I have some people cutting at 4k, and others need 2,500. Genetic variation plays a huge role.

Iron Addict
i'd even widen the range, but i'm always afraid to speak about what I am doing...it always starts a flame war...(hint...peek at my fat-loss diary)

then insert flame here:
:smite:
 
Dwight Schrute

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I have some people cutting at 4k, and others need 2,500. Genetic variation plays a huge role.

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Of course genetics play a role but I find its often bad food choices. You can easily have your totals for the day look somewhat good but if you don't have the proper food items to get those totals, its pointless.

Eggs and Bacon for breakfast will not get you to 8% even though its low carb. I tihnk people tend to get caught up in the macro totals without looking what tehy are actually putting in ther body.
 
Dwight Schrute

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then insert flame here:
:smite:
One problem you might run into is stalling when you reach single digits because its best to gradually lower calories over a long peroid of time. As it is now you might bottom out (since they are so low) before you hit your target bf%. You caloric restriction actually isn't that bad INTIALLY because you bf% was fairly high so in essence you weren't in that much danger of losing LBM (the less bf%, the more likley a chance to lose mass). Now that your bf% is approaching single digits there is almost nowhere to go but down which will really put you at risk. This is why its always smrater to start higher then SLOWLY drop calories over time because once you hit single digits you will still have some room to play with. You probably could have lost the same amount of weight in the same amount of time with almost double those calories. As far as your carb sensitive opinion, when you are at 1400 calories at 175+ lbs, you sensitive to anything. GOing from 20 to 10 is a great accomplishement, but now the real dieting begins ;)
 
Romac

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One problem you might run into is stalling when you reach single digits because its best to gradually lower calories over a long peroid of time.
It is happening now. I have reached about 10% bf and have lost 1 lb of LBM. The whole reason for my restriction was to accelerate fat loss (i'm very impatient) and i'm thrilled with the results. I've gone from 198lbs to 174lbs in less than 2 months. 23lbs of measured bf and 1lb of LBM. From approx 20% measured BF to 9.5%. I've gone from fat **** to seeing my top 4 abs in under 2 months. I have 1 more week left and will continue this trying to stay at about sub 1300 calories. I am always tempted to go lower to increase my caloirc defecit, but i'd rather not lose another entire pound of lbm in this last week. But even so...that would be about 25lbs non-lbm lost for 2lbs lbm.

When the week is up, my plan is to slowly creep the calories back up, keeping an eye on my BF% as i do so. But the first week i will keep them sub 1300. I am dropping the daily cardio at the end of the month so that should give me an extra 400 or so calories right there.
 

GTOman

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From my own experience it does seem to depend on where you were at calorie-wise when you started. So many people use 'maintenance’ calories as a starting point and either add or subtract from there to either gain or loose. The problem I have found with that is the maintenance level for myself changes as I increase or decrease calories.

For example, a few months ago I determined my maintenance calories at about 2500-2600 cals/day. After a couple weeks at this level I neither gained or lost. Then I started to bulk and went to 3000 cal/day. This worked great for about 2 weeks, then my gains dried up. I then increased my calories to 3500 cals/day and once again started to see gains for a few weeks. The gains have stopped once agian and I've been stuck at my current body weight for about three weeks now.

It looks like my 'new' maintenance level is 3500 cals/day as I am neither gaining or loosing. If I want to continue to bulk I'm going to have to increase it to at least 4000 cals/day (there is now way I can do that 'clean'). Is it possible that your body adapts to an increase (or decrease) in calories? Maybe that's why we hit plateaus when cutting. Most advice that I've read is never go below 2000 cals/day when cutting. If I had started cutting when my maintenance level was at 2500 cals/day then I would only have 500 cals to play with. If I were to start cutting now, I would have 1500 to play with.

Anyway those are just my thoughts, I'm sure Bobo and others would have a much better explaination for this. :)
 

TheManGuy

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I'm cutting on 4500cals a day, and losing 2 pounds a week!! Best of all I'm an endomorph, you guys should try the blood type diet. Works great.

I'm eating the same caloreis and losing fat and gaining muscle.

I'm doing low carb, carb up on training days 3 times a week now.
 
exnihilo

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Heh, I just dialed in my diet. I eat the same things every day now, makes it pretty easy to keep things in line.

I have yet to sit down and get an EXACT total but I'd say a little over 6,000 calories. We'll see how it works out :D SHW class here I come!
 

ZackMurphy

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..... you guys should try the blood type diet. Works great.
I'm glad you're having success with it, but please be wary of that one. You'll do no specifc harm of course, but there is little to no science behind that one, and the more you rest from that guy, the harder it is to take seriously. Anecdotes are mixed, and the science just isn't there.

I even read a thing from him online once where he was going so far as to assign dietary needs based on personality traits. He's a short cab ride from doing astology-based diets.

But again, if your current diet is working for you, that's great.

On topic: I tend to gain fat:LBM at about a 2:1 ratio. I have been extremely clean when bulking and cutting, getting no sugars, no processed foods, solid veggies, proteins, and good grains, various macro ratios, proper fats.... I just can't seem to ramp it up beyond that. I keep trying, but a fatty bulk seems to be my lot in life. I like cardio, so I don't mind much, but it remains a frustrating fact for me.
 

BryanM

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for all the guys who answered more towards the high end scale is your body type endo?
 

ZackMurphy

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for all the guys who answered more towards the high end scale is your body type endo?
I would suspect ectos are more likely to be at the very high end, but you never know. Endos will gain the muscle just fine, and if their cardio is in line, they'll gain almost exactly like mesos. Speaking is huge generalities, obviously, and only speaking as if everyone is just one type and not a blend....

I'm more ecto than meso, probably 70/30 or 80/20. I gain weight, but it's often more at than muscle. I DO gain muscle, but probably 2:1 fat. That said, an ecto is my situation can simply go less hypercaloric, retain high levels of protein synthesis, and gain mass without trouble. I just won't gain LBM as fast as a typical meso, but I can gain it cleaner if I remain hypercaloric with a smaller kcal surplus.
 
T-Bone

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From my own experience it does seem to depend on where you were at calorie-wise when you started. So many people use 'maintenance’ calories as a starting point and either add or subtract from there to either gain or loose. The problem I have found with that is the maintenance level for myself changes as I increase or decrease calories.

For example, a few months ago I determined my maintenance calories at about 2500-2600 cals/day. After a couple weeks at this level I neither gained or lost. Then I started to bulk and went to 3000 cal/day. This worked great for about 2 weeks, then my gains dried up. I then increased my calories to 3500 cals/day and once again started to see gains for a few weeks. The gains have stopped once agian and I've been stuck at my current body weight for about three weeks now.

It looks like my 'new' maintenance level is 3500 cals/day as I am neither gaining or loosing. If I want to continue to bulk I'm going to have to increase it to at least 4000 cals/day (there is now way I can do that 'clean'). Is it possible that your body adapts to an increase (or decrease) in calories? Maybe that's why we hit plateaus when cutting. Most advice that I've read is never go below 2000 cals/day when cutting. If I had started cutting when my maintenance level was at 2500 cals/day then I would only have 500 cals to play with. If I were to start cutting now, I would have 1500 to play with.

Anyway those are just my thoughts, I'm sure Bobo and others would have a much better explaination for this. :)

Yes your body always adjusts to a new maintenence level if you stay on that calorie level each day. You should always vary your calorie intake per day, and just add it up at the end of the week...I know this from my own mistakes. I know I should vary calories like that and haven't and fat loss has slowed or stoped for me for this very reason. I always insert a higher calorie week and then lower calories again and that seems to work but not really. I know I have to vary the calories each day but I guess I'm just too fucking lazy! and also sick of dieting!..Oh well, I know what I have to do, I just don't always do it!.
 
jminis

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Yes your body always adjusts to a new maintenence level if you stay on that calorie level each day. You should always vary your calorie intake per day, and just add it up at the end of the week...I know this from my own mistakes. I know I should vary calories like that and haven't and fat loss has slowed or stoped for me for this very reason. I always insert a higher calorie week and then lower calories again and that seems to work but not really. I know I have to vary the calories each day but I guess I'm just too fucking lazy! and also sick of dieting!..Oh well, I know what I have to do, I just don't always do it!.
Letting laziness become the best of you is what will keep you from that sick physique you want. Push through it bro. :thumbsup:
 
exnihilo

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Letting laziness become the best of you is what will keep you from that sick physique you want. Push through it bro. :thumbsup:
Yes, at the same time don't become so obsessed with your goals that you stop enjoying your day to day life in search of some distant thing like looking a certain way. Lighten up and have a few beers and some pizza with friends every once in a while :) Just don't let it become de rigueur...
 

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