[PROGRESS] I was told I should x-post this here from /r/progresspics. 7 months of dirty bulking

[zeromega]

Here's February to September gains. I'm 5'8" and went from a twiggy 107 to a respectable 144lbs in 7 months. My leg pic gains are only from February to June since I haven't taken recent leg pics but there's a fair amount of progress in those four months. My legs have only gained maybe an inch since then.

Diet: 20/4 intermittent fasting, vegetarian, lots of pizza, protein cakes, ice cream, cookies, fruit, peanut butter straight from the jar, etc. Basically whatever I wanted while getting in enough protein and calories.

Workouts: no cardio, lift every day, 4 day body part split (chest/tri, back/bi, shoulders, legs/abs) with one main lift a day (bench, dead lift, OHP, and squat respectively) and some accessory lifts, about an hour a day.

Current goal is to cut down to about 132lbs. I actually bulked to 150lbs and have lost a few pounds down to 144lbs when I took that picture. I'll probably bulk again starting mid to late winter and try to get to at least 160, maybe 170lbs. Long term goal is just to get as big as I possibly can but still lean.

Edited to add:

Before stats

Chest: 35"

Upper arm: 10.5"

Forearm: 9"

Thigh: 19"

Current stats

Chest 37.25"

Upper arm: 13.25"

Forearm: 10.5"

Thigh: 24"

 

[free_indeed23]

@zeromega man. i like this so much! i subscribe to a lot of fitness type shit on instagram/tumblr etc and a lot of them are like "lift lift lift" but goal pictures are like your before. i admire that you are getting muscles. i want to get muscles like yours and i wish you could be my gym buddy!
i sometimes can convince girls to come lift with me.. but most can't do the weight i do already and never come back a second time anyway... anyway, you look awesome! can wait to see after the end of the cut

 

[mfld]

@zeromega Are you on Fitocracy? This is the kind of shit I'd love to follow.

 

[zeromega]

@mfld No, but I'm on MFP. Same username. And sometimes I'm on instagram and post recipes. Username there is Eat2Lift.

 

[erickem]

@zeromega HUGE respect. If I saw you in a gym I'd get all fangirly about your arms.

 

[mark58]

@zeromega Awesome work! Any current pics not flexing?

 

[zeromega]

@mark58 Sorry for crappy iPhone pic

 

[aj1984]

@zeromega Wow, that is incredible, especially on a vegetarian diet. What kind of protein sources did you use? How many calories did you eat while bulking? What made you adopt such a short IF window which the commonly used one is 16/8 and many women do 14/10 to avoid hormonal dysregulation? Speaking of which, have you experienced any hormone changes on this diet? Do you have any more pics, especially unflexed?

To be honest I find your case extremely fascinating because there is so much implicit and explicit social pressure put on women not to add mass. Your before picture looks like the so called "ideal"--not much fat, but not much muscle to speak of either. Could you elaborate a little bit on what made you want to become big in the first place and what kind of responses you have received? I am trying to put some mass on especially in my shoulders right now, but it's because I am actively trying to look more masculine.

Thanks and sorry for the millions of questions. Keep being awesome!

 

[zeromega]

@aj1984 My main sources of protein are egg whites and cheese. I was flexible with calories. With bulking you just have to eat a lot. 20/4 just seemed the most natural for me. I think my hormones may have been (positively) affected by IF. I already don't have periods but I feel like my testosterone went up. I feel more aggressive, confident, and sexual. If I have time tomorrow I can put up unflexed pics but I don't have any on hand. I wanted to get big because I've always thought it looks better. People were accusing me of having an eating disorder and saying I looked sick. Now I can beat them up if they say mean things. Lol jk. But yeah I just like more muscles.

 

[erickem]

@zeromega Would love to see the non-flexed photo if you find you have time today. Not many women end up in the strongfat category so it's not well documented and I'm super curious!

 

[zeromega]

@erickem Crappy iPhone selfie but it's the best I could do for right now.

 

[erickem]

@zeromega Awesome, combined with the flex photo it's obvious you are going to be something else when you hit that cut goal. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dawn16]

@zeromega

I already don't have periods

Forgive my male ignorance... but why is that?

 

[zeromega]

@dawn16 I started taking the pill really young (when I was 12) and now even when I don't take it I don't have periods. My gyno checked me out and everything appears normal. I don't want to have kids anyway so I'm not super concerned about it.

 

[alejandra79]

@zeromega Questions:

How old are you?
Do you have other pics standing next to other people for size comparison?
Does your job allow you to be active or do you sit in an office all day?
What was your calorie intake during bulk?

 

[zeromega]

@alejandra79 I'm 21. I don't think I have any recent pictures of me standing next to other people. I just finished school about a month ago so I was fairly sedentary. I'm about to start working as a personal trainer so I should be a little more active. My calories were just whatever. Eat enough protein and didn't care too much about the rest. Just eat.

 

[alejandra79]

@zeromega Sweet! Trying to get some guys I work with to realize women should life too. They were asking me questions. Great job! Keep it up!

 

[pattidawn]

@zeromega Thank you so much for sharing, your progress is so inspiring to me!

Can I ask what your calorie goals are within the 4-hour window? Any tips for a girl just getting into lifting? (Currently BP the bar, squat only 50lbs, leg press 125..)

 

[zeromega]

@pattidawn Right now I'm on 1200 calories to cut. My biggest tip as a beginner is to keep frequency high. As a beginner, you won't be lifting super heavy weights and your body isn't used to what you're asking it to do. It makes sense when you think about it like this: Who needs more recovery time, Jim Wendler squatting 1,000lbs or the new kid at the gym squatting just the bar? Sure, Wendler is used to squatting but putting that much force upon your body requires more recovery time. Lighter weights take less recovery time. You could hit each body part every other day with no problem for your first few months. When your gains eventually stall, reduce frequency and increase volume.

 

[pattidawn]

@zeromega

Right now I'm on 1200 calories to cut.

How many calories do you eat during a bulk, by contrast? Sorry if you have answered this elsewhere.

When your gains eventually stall, reduce frequency and increase volume.

Thank you so much, that makes a lot of sense! I BP'd the bar plus 10lbs today!