Do you have any tips for former fat guys when buliking up?
I tend to gain fat very easily, yet I would like to gain at least 20 more pounds of muscle.
What can I do to minimize the fat gains while eating surplus calories? more Cardio, Low Carbs??
Federov-
Dude - I FEEL your pain like you have NO idea! I think I have a familial obesity gene, because I seriously gain fat weight on anything over ~2800 cals and anytime I have a day or two of high glycemic carbs… yes, even a couple days being on the road eating chicken sandwiches with no mayo, I can just feel like I’m getting fatter!
Anyway, I hate to say it, but I think carbs are the culprit. On average most trainers or those that know the human body will say to get a minimum of about 150 grams of carbs per day. That’s MINIMUM, so for bulking 200+ are generally necessary. For me being a FFG, 150 is my MAX! Many days I barely get 100, but when the protein is at 1 gram/pound and healthy fats aren’t limited, I feel pretty good. Even on this “diet” I still slowly creep up in bodyfat, so no matter how hard I try I still have a good 20# of flub to burn off come Jan 1.
You would think that at 6 foot, 245 (about 15% bodyfat) I would be starving on only 2500-2800 cals, but I seem to do okay. Again, getting the healthy fats in is a must, lots of fiberous veggies and water to keep your satiety high, and constant protein.
To add to my dismay over this realization of a life of reduced carbs, I have problems with my blood sugar so it’s hard to stick to P+F and P+C meals. But, I think those combos will really help you.
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Well, I’m a FFB too so I’ll participate.
I’m currently bulking-up. I’m 6’4’’ 230lbs BF at around 12%.
The best way?I’ve found so far is a 5 on/ 2 off planning. For example, I’m bulking at 4000kcal/day and during weekends I go down to 2500-3000kcal. Follow an outcome-based planning and increase calories accordingly.
Meal timing is CRITICAl because you can’t get away with poorly timed meals. I got for 2 P+C meals ideally 1 Post w/out drink and 1 Post w/out meal and 4 P+F meals (the rest of the day).
I train 4 times per week: 2 upperbody days/ 2 lowerbody days.
Supplements: 1st) Power drive and ZMA 2nd) Alpha Male and M or Methoxy-7 & because of its partitionning properties.
Foods: Veggies, Lean protein, nuts, boatloads of EFAs, skim milk yogourt and cottage cheese and protein supplements.
Oh…and most important tip: Have fun and visualize success.
My 2 cents,
-LP
Slow and steady none of that 2 week eat everything in site stuff. Up intake slowly as you stop gaining
Keep a food log, see how you respond to different levels of macros.
Taper meals. Big early, smaller as day wids down. Exception being post w/o.
Well thats a quick list. Main thing is to find what works for you through experimentation and documentation.
Phill