How to Continue Bulk?

I have to say that I do not believe in the traditional approach of bulking and cutting. I prefer to “clean bulk”. However, I am what you might call an easy-gainer. My only limitations seem to be how much volume I elect to program and rest/ recovery. Over-training or under-eating have never been issues. I could eat broccoli and add an inch to my arms. But this is just my disclaimer before I get into my recommendation (which may not work for you).

When I was a D1 linebacker I basically ate everything, all the time and worked out for hours a day, so adding size while staying lean was not an issue. When I got older I needed to switch to a paleo-type diet consisting only of meats, vegetables, and fruit. I have never needed to add heavy starches, sugars, or complex carbs to my intake in order to gain size. Maybe you do.

Over the course of the day I eat the following (spaced out into about 6 meals)
5-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts (or an equivalent amount of other types of meat)
4-6 Whole Eggs
1-2 lbs. of assorted vegetables
1-2 handfuls of raw almonds
1 avocado
1-2 granny smith apples
1 post-workout shake consisting of: 1 pint of frozen blueberries, 1 cup egg whites, 2 scoops of whey powder.

Now you may notice that this diet includes a lot of fat, which my body responds well to. It does not, however include any starch or processed sugar. I have been on this diet for 2 years. During that time I have gone from a 270-lb powerlifter to a 230-lb. sub 10% bodyfat. However the most important fact is that I have increased my muscle mass while losing fat. Arms, calves, quads, traps, and neck are all bigger. In my judgement there is no reason to bulk and cut. It IS possible to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously. You just have to be genetically pre-disposed to do so.

[quote]Spider40 wrote:
It IS possible to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously. You just have to be genetically pre-disposed to do so.[/quote]

I appreciate the fact you mentioned that.

[quote]bulkNcut wrote:
I’ve been bulking for 13 Granted 8 months in it was interrupted by some very serious health issues that kept me from gaining for about 3 months so it was not continuous. Anyways I started at 6’2 139 and now I’m 6’2 202. I’m starting to get a bit of fat on my stomach. Not too terrible but definitely noticeable. Anyways I’m wondering where to go from here.

Should I bulk up to about 225 and then cut some fat? Or should I maintain 202 and try to lean out? My overall main goal is to gain muscle mass but I’m also trying to get much stronger. At this point all of my main lifts are continuing to go up quite well. A little fat doesn’t bother me. People close to me say my stomach is starting to look pudgy and think if should bother me. They don’t understand it’s part of a process.

Anyways just wondering where I should go from here. Maybe ill throw up some pics later, I’m not a big fan of putting pics of myself on the Internet though. [/quote]
I’m in the same boat! Same height, started at 140 pounds 9 months ago. Now I’m 215 and my waist went only from 32 to 34 as well lol. I’m cutting down for ~2 weeks and then getting back to gaining.

I’d recommend doing a short cut, then getting back to bulking. In the scheme of things, a few weeks is no big deal, and you’ll be able to get back to bulking without feeling self conscious of your belly. Also it’ll limit the amount of new clothes you have to buy lol.

and don’t listen to Spider40 for now…if you can keep putting on muscle without much fat, then theres no reason not to do keep bulking, with short cutting cycles interspersed in. As we get stronger/bigger these gains will come far slower, which I think would then warrant a more “long-term” lean approach. However at this noob point, gains come fast. ride em out

browndisaster and the OP are both young and should maybe ride the wave and buy lotery tickets. I will be happy to get only 1% of their huge gains for my xtra wise suggestion.
It is nice to see the fallowing generation knowing so much.
Please teach us more.
By the way #s say you will die younger than us.

For the most part, I analyze how I look in the mirror and how I perform in the gym as an indicator of my gaining. However, I do keep a log of my health markers. Taking measurements like resting heart rate and weight every morning seems like a waste of time.

Since gaining all this weight, I have gotten a blood lipid panel done, as well as check my BP twice a week. It turns out my BP went through the roof because of the weight gain, lack of cardio, and excessive salting of all my food. So yeah, I wish I started my “health log” the same day I started my gym log. Clearly we should all be striving to get healthier as we get stronger. You have great points, you should expand upon them instead of telling me I’d die early!

" you should expand upon them instead of telling me I’d die early! "
You can PM me with any specific question or post them here.
All the best !

If I start doing HIIT in a few weeks would I be able to continue gaining weight and lose day at the same time? I feel like I would lose weight and it would be hard to tell if it was fat of muscle and I wouldn’t make much progress.

not lose day, haha i meant lose fat.

And brown disaster your pic bothers me on a whole other level haha.