# On a bulk



## MattWakefield (Jun 22, 2012)

So i've decided summer is now over and its gonna be hoody and tracksuit weather from now on so wanting to go on a bulk.

Currenty at 12 stone 5'11 (lean about 10% body fat) my target weight is 13 stone for xmas (obviously not worried about being lean) would you recomended getting the cals from anywhere and anything or still trying to be clean-ish. Wanting to be 13st lean for next summer.....shouldnt be to hard?


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## Sharpy76 (May 11, 2012)

Clean eating all the way imo. Otherwise you'll put a load of sh!t weight on and end up getting nowhere imo.

Lean bulk then it'll be much easier to lose a bit of fat next summer rather than a ton of lard lol.


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## aesthetics4ever (Aug 6, 2010)

Agreed Sharpy. Sometimes it's easy to become focused on getting to a certain weight when all that does is encourage over eating and fat gain. Saying that, for me anyway, I need to put on a little fat to gain muscle.


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## Uk_mb (Feb 18, 2011)

Sharpy76 said:


> Clean eating all the way imo. Otherwise you'll put a load of sh!t weight on and end up getting nowhere imo.
> 
> Lean bulk then it'll be much easier to lose a bit of fat next summer rather than a ton of lard lol.


100% agree with this, even tho I don't follow it myself.

I found a lean bulk was too hard to do and ended up cheating ... A lot lol

I wud advise, give both a try . Clean bulk, see how u get on and within a few months if ur happy then continue, if not then opt for the good old plain bulk BUT make sure u have the will power to shed some excess fat in th future


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## MattWakefield (Jun 22, 2012)

Was hoping you wouldn't say that, gonna cost a fortune now, instead of eating a 1200 calorie cake like just now :/ ha


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## MattWakefield (Jun 22, 2012)

Also, as its summer my reps have been high 10 - 12, if im going on a bulk should i go to drop sets or low reps i.e 6-8 with higher weight?


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## aesthetics4ever (Aug 6, 2010)

Personally I'd train the same way regardless of whether I'm bulking or cutting. If it's the best way of building muscle when bulking then it's going to be the best way of maintaining muscle tissue whilst lower cals.


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## L11 (Jan 21, 2011)

Surely a stone of lean mass in a year is almost impossible naturally? If not I also want to know how!


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## MattWakefield (Jun 22, 2012)

This is why im tihnking of putting a 'dirty stone' on made up of any cals i can get in me, then concentrate on stripping the fat slowly as not to burn muscle on cardio starting around january time...


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## Uk_mb (Feb 18, 2011)

If ur wanting to keep around a st of lean muscle after if, ur gna have to put on a lot more than 1st if ur dirty bulking bro


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## Mish (May 1, 2011)

You're approaching it all wrong by aiming for a weight


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## MattWakefield (Jun 22, 2012)

Uk_mb said:


> If ur wanting to keep around a st of lean muscle after if, ur gna have to put on a lot more than 1st if ur dirty bulking bro


my thought was get up to 13st 'dirty cals' when i start stripping fat probably lose 5-8 pounds but would be eating good clean calories so would put 2 -4 pounds of muscle on from jan - may?

i'd be happy with 13st lean by the end of next summer


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## MattWakefield (Jun 22, 2012)

Mish said:


> You're approaching it all wrong by aiming for a weight


Why? advice??


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## Monkey skeleton (Jul 8, 2012)

The other argument for a clean bulk is that there's generally more nutrients in clean food. So, in theory you should recover better, have better health generally, and make more gains from your training.

That said (and I may be wrong here) but the type of food you eat should make very little difference to how much fat you gain, it's simply a case of calories in VS calories burnt.


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## Mish (May 1, 2011)

MattWakefield said:


> my thought was get up to 13st 'dirty cals' when i start stripping fat probably lose 5-8 pounds but would be eating good clean calories so would put 2 -4 pounds of muscle on from jan - may?
> 
> *i'd be happy with 13st lean by the end of next summer*


Firstly you don't even know what 13st lean looks like. You might look like a wee bag of sh*te, or you might feel that you physic is not proportioned properly at that weight. In these terms is makes absolutely no sense just aiming for a weight or particular number.

I also feel you are dreaming a little with it being so easy for you to put on x amount of lean mass, then strip x amounts of fat whilst maintain mass and doing all this under a deadline.

You know what you want to do you just need to approach it a little wiser.


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## FreshPrince88 (Apr 2, 2012)

Bulking myself at the moment bro - Holidays over, The weather cold time for buliking!

I am bulking as clean as possible but not beating myself up if i cheat slightly, I think that is the best way to enjoy bulking aswell, If you bulk full dirty you tend to find all your junk cravings back which will be harder to beat once you start cutting or maintaining again


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## ianm2585 (Mar 14, 2010)

i normally just increase the calories on clean meals with bigger portions and keep an eye on the abbs in the mirror when they start fading to far away i normally then start to go hi lo on carbs . if you have a set weight to aim for i generally find you end up rushing to this weight last year i was 11st at 8% fat this year i was 11st 6lb at 8% fat and i never went heavier than 12st next year i was hoping to be 12st but will settle for 11, 10 to 11, 12 ,


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## Wardy211436114751 (Jan 24, 2011)

L11 said:


> Surely a stone of lean mass in a year is almost impossible naturally? If not I also want to know how!


Depends how long you've been training but no definitely not impossible.

OP I was 12st and bulked (only bulk I've done) and put on a stone in 5 months with minimal fat gain. Clean foods are always better the only time dirty bulking is good really is when you are struggling to get the required kaclories down ya but that applies more to the heavier guys trying to put on even more weight. I was bulking on about 3,500 kcalories a day reasonably clean to get from 12 to 13st.


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## ftz (Feb 29, 2012)

ianm2585 said:


> when they start fading to far away i normally then start to go hi lo on carbs . ,


what do you mean by this mate? do you carb cycle for a while if you start losing the abs?


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## ianm2585 (Mar 14, 2010)

yeah normally drop carbs a bit on non training days but try to time this with putting the reps up as well if it goes right i usually finish a low rep cycle then go a medium rep cycle with lower carbs then back to a low rep cycle after a few weeks


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## Porkchop (May 24, 2012)

What sort of macro ratio should you look at achieving on a clean bulk? Obviously carbs are going to play a much bigger part in the calories, and you want to keep protein high. What about fat?


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