I feel like I’m bulking wrong and don’t know what to do?

[retropod]

Hi! I’ve never posted here before so hopefully this post is okay.

I’m 22 years old and have been lifting on and off since I was 17 (so 5 years). I’ve been pretty consistent with it for the last year and a half, and EXTRA consistent (lifting 4-5 times a week) the past 8 months or so. I feel like I’ve never seen any newbie gains or any real muscle growth, ever, since I’ve started lifting. I can lift more, which is nice, but I’ve never really seen a physical difference.

So I tried to bulk. For reference, I was 118 lbs at 5’6” last summer, but didn’t start my bulk until February 2021, where I weighed about 120-125. I lost a lot of my progress pics and the earliest is from June 2021, where I weighed about 130lbs. Pics here:

https://imgur.com/YT0z86N

https://imgur.com/UzDIFGB

https://imgur.com/ihLQ2iu

When I started my bulk in February, I ate about 1900 cals (212c, 120p, and 63f). I’ve increased my calories and currently eat 2300 cals (287 carbs, 144p, and 64f) and weigh 138 pounds. Pics here:

https://imgur.com/4tC09Tj

https://imgur.com/xOMjE0b

https://i.imgur.com/RPqivmu.jpg (sorry for the pic quality here’s it’s literally 9am but so rainy and dark outside lol)

I have cheat days on the weekend where I eat unhealthy, but I usually eat less calories when this happens.

I admit I increased my calories very slowly, but it bc I wanted to see if I could lean bulk initially and minimize fat gain. Even “lean bulking,” I feel like I’ve gained a majority of fat with absolutely no muscle to show for it. Am I bulking too slowly? Do I eat too much fat? Should I skip cheat days? Maybe I'm in my head about it too much but I feel like I’m going about this completely wrong. I want to gain more size, mainly around my legs, but am scared to increase my cals if it’s just gonna be more fat

I’d really appreciate any advice, honestly

Edit: thanks so much for all the responses I’m reading them all and appreciate the advice

 

[christinme11]

@retropod You started bulking in February? So it’s not even been a month? It’s unlikely you’re seeing significant fat increase. Could just be mostly water weight.

Also what are you doing in the gym? You need to train quite hard, particularly as you bulk - you should see your strength going up.

 

[alwxwiseman31]

@retropod Salt slips said it best. Progressive overload is absolutely necessary for muscle hypertrophy, tracking will be key. Spend your energy on that to get results.

Macros seem fine. Wouldn’t worry about making changes there, but I’m curious to know your maintenance caloric needs? Just as a point of reference to know what sort of a surplus you’re in.

 

[growingkidsministry]

@retropod Theres a lot of information on here that’s good, but also for working out for 5 years you dont look like you have 5 years of muscle? Maybe you need to reevaluate your workouts abd figure out what better suits your body for working out. Your core looks a bit toned but there are no real indications of bigger muscles. (Not much quad sweep from the picture, deltoids, etc)

I saw you increased 65 lbs to 95 lbs on your squat. Thats a great start, but not a significant raise in weight. It seems that your progressive overload is extremely small. 30 lbs added on a squat in 5 years is a tiny amount of weight. Maybe you seem to also be doing that with your upper body as well? If you aren’t pushing your body then you arent burning as many calories as you might think. your bulk calories seem fine if you were to correct your workout program. the muscle will just not grow substantially because your workouts are not correct. (Sorry, i dont mean to sound harsh I just want to be blunt with you)

 

[retropod]

@growingkidsministry It’s not harsh bc I agree, I feel like I’ve made such little progress in such a long time. Based on all the comments here I’m probably just gonna focus on seriously pushing reps/weights for the next months and hopefully see changes before I do anything else with my calories

 

[growingkidsministry]

@retropod Just be sure to do it safely!!! Nothing worse than over doing it. There are some really good people to get info from. Megsquats is great on youtube, super knowledgable. Alan thrall is also good!! Just make sure your body gets used to a weight before moving up you’ll see great progress in no time! Also since you will be pushing the weight, maybe taking at least 2 days off a week would benefit you! Good luck

Edit: also progressive overload can be with reps too. I like to do high weight low rep days, and high rep low weight days, but my body works best with rep ranges of 3-5 reps with lots of sets, which i have figured out over 11 years of trial and error lmao. so find what works best with you!

 

[betelo995]

@growingkidsministry 65 lbs is 29.51 kg

 

[ktgooch]

@retropod Focus more on achieving progressive overload with your workouts.
You can actually eat at your maintenance calories, focus on getting sufficient protein and progressively overloading your muscles, and just being patient with it, then you’ll start seeing more progress. ("maingaining")

You don’t need to increase your cals, and cheat days with calorie deficits / in moderation are completely fine.

 

[shawnv]

@retropod I would recommend following a structured work out program where you are doing the same workouts for 3-4 weeks and focusing on progressive overload (adding more weight to your lifts each week). I worked out for years just doing random exercises/Instagram workouts and never made any progress. As soon as i started following a program I was blown away by the changes!

 

[plope132]

@shawnv This. My guess is one of three things, possibly all 3 - no progressive overload, too little volume, program hopping/lack of a structured hypertrophy program.

OP I recommend Mark Carroll's programs. Large educational component, very structured, appropriate volume with intensity.

 

[shawnv]

@plope132 I use his programs and love them!!

 

[adrianemarthe]

@retropod Hey so we have really similar stats! I started out around 5’6 117 lbs before I ever stepped foot in a gym and was around 123 when I started lifting consistently. We even have a similar body shape! It’s been about a year (pandemic closed gyms down for a looong time) and at my highest I was 140, though I’ve since cut down to 134 (mainly water weight I think) to better fit my old clothes.

Though I do not train solely for aesthetics, I’d say a good amount of my gains have been muscle based on the feedback of personal trainers and more advanced lifters + little change in my waist circumference. I never really worried about getting fat since I’m still relatively new, usually gained

 

[ronit]

@retropod From the calorie side, you seem to be fine from the info you delivered. However, I'm wondering about your training. You may be doing all the right exercises to hit full body and emphasize on what you favor, but if you aren't really using the bulk to push yourself hard on progression, you may be shooting yourself in the leg. Programs aren't recommend religiously in this sub because people don't knowwhich exercises to choose, but because people don't know how to progress. I would start by reassessing how hard you are really pushing yourself in the gym. Some people need more volume to grow, others need less and within a person, it may very from body part ti body part. And whether whatever program you're running is specifically for hypertrophy rather than focusing on maximizing strength gains. Sure, there is some overlap, but you are bulking to get the most out of it and making sure your training is really conducive to your goals is beyond important.

 

[dawn16]

@retropod Everyone gave really good advice as far as nutrition. I would recommend using a program that focuses on progressive overload. I’m a huge fan of Hypertrophy Coach. He has a handful of programs and a TON of valuable education that will help you in the gym. The app also helps you track your weight lifting and see how your lifts are increasing over time. I added about 40 pounds to my deadlifts in a 6 week period using his program.

 

[mickiewinnie]

@retropod Track your strength progress and get an idea of good strength to weight ratios by going to strengthlevel.com.

Lift for a month, and then use one day just to test your overall Wilks strength rating. There is a Wilks calculator on that website. To do this, just perform the lifts required for the Wilks rating until failure. This means lift whatever highest weight you've previously lifted (before test day) one set, as many reps as you can literally until failure (have a spotter).

Do this test once a month.

Then you'll get your Wilks score and can track overall strength gains. Physical looks will come automatically.

 

[mandaresh]

@retropod What does the routine look like

 

[aspiringchaplain]

@retropod FWIW, you look great.

If you don't already have a little workout journal (or app) to track reps/weight I highly recommend it. Then you know you're making progress and can easily look at what you did for a particular bodypart/day the last time you were at the gym and try to push a little more each session.

As long as you are making progress I wouldn't worry that you aren't putting on muscle, because you are. At some point you'll probably have to cut to see it though.

We don't have similar stats, but just anecdotally when I bulk there comes a point where I don't look as muscular because I'm carrying more fat. It's really when I cut that I get to see the results of the bulk. Up until that point I just track lifts, macros, and trust the process is working.

 

[retropod]

@aspiringchaplain I’ll definitely start tracking my stats a bit better because, based on all these responses, that’s where I seem to be lacking. I’m glad my eating seems okay though bc that’s what I was concerned I was doing wrong

 

[jl090812]

@retropod What's your workouts like? Your macros look fine, cheat days are fine (we need them more for mental reasons, at least I do). Are you lifting heavy? You're wanting to target lower body, so are you doing heavy squats, heavy deadlifts, heavy hip thrusts and glute bridges?

When I do lean bulking, I really only add like 300-500 calories surplus (85% of that is protein), focus on lifting, but also don't neglect my cardio since that's how I get manage to not gain as much fat. In reality, the surplus ends up coming close to maintenance, just a higher maintenance level, or just a little bit over.

 

[livin4christ2]

@retropod 1) The pace you’re bulking at seems generally fine. Women can expect to gain, at most under ideal conditions, 1lb of muscle a month so gaining about 2lbs a month of weight is a good rate.

2) Eating fat doesn’t make you fat, so I wouldn’t worry about that too much.

3) I’ve never really heard of cheat days on a bulk since you’re actively eating over your maintenance every day. By “cheat” do you mean “less than ideal macros” or “significantly over calories”?

4) Can you provide some details around your programming and what sort of progress you’ve seen on your lifts since February? It’s hard to know if the bulk is “working” without any strength indicators.