Bulking up-difference between muscle and fat

The Dukie

Hey guys,I'm bulking up until next summer.I need to know though how you tell the difference between fat and muscle.I have gained weight but not sure whether its fat or muscle???

legend365

check your body fat percentage.

Many tests online.

Dovers

The Dukie wrote: »

Hey guys,I'm bulking up until next summer.I need to know though how you tell the difference between fat and muscle.I have gained weight but not sure whether its fat or muscle???

Get your body fat measured. It will probably go up a little if you are consuming excess calories but nothing dramatic. If your weight has gone up and your body fat remains relatively unchanged its lean muscle mass. Depends also on the time period in which you have gained this weight that would give an indication also

neilmct.com

u should be lean before u bulk anyways so if it looks like lots of fat is piling on then you are doing something wrong - you only want a few hundred cals above maintenance to add muscle

EileenG

Pinch an inch! If your waist is increasing in size, particularly if it's in a form that you can grab or pinch, you are gaining fat. If your waist stays the same, but your thighs and upper arms increase, you are gaining muscle.

The Dukie

EileenG wrote: »

Pinch an inch! If your waist is increasing in size, particularly if it's in a form that you can grab or pinch, you are gaining fat. If your waist stays the same, but your thighs and upper arms increase, you are gaining muscle.

Both really.I have lost definition of abs completely but chest arms have increased as well!!!I wasn't really that lean before bulking.should i cut now and start again??

neilmct.com

The Dukie wrote: »

Both really.I have lost definition of abs completely but chest arms have increased as well!!!I wasn't really that lean before bulking.should i cut now and start again??

can u post up a pic ?

corkcomp

The Dukie wrote: »

Both really.I have lost definition of abs completely but chest arms have increased as well!!!I wasn't really that lean before bulking.should i cut now and start again??

you should probably post up your current stats and general goals before we can answer that?

The Dukie

neilmct.com wrote: »

can u post up a pic ?

Not a chance!!!Im the shy type

corkcomp wrote: »

you should probably post up your current stats and general goals before we can answer that?

I'm 5'8''.Weigh 163 pounds.Go to the gym at least 5 times a week.Do separate muscles on each gym session.want to be at least 200 pounds of muscle.Thats my goal.Obviously it will change when I get to that weight.My diet is
breakfast-porridge with 1 spoon peanut butter and scoop of protein shake
Snack-Nuts
Lunch-Ham sandwiches with fruit,nuts
Snack-Nuts
Dinner-Steak,beans,pasta,chicken curry with rice,eggs etc.
Before Workout-Protein shake
After Workout-Protein shake with beans and eggs
Anything else?

corkcomp

The Dukie wrote: »

Not a chance!!!Im the shy type


I'm 5'8''.Weigh 163 pounds.Go to the gym at least 5 times a week.Do separate muscles on each gym session.want to be at least 200 pounds of muscle.Thats my goal.Obviously it will change when I get to that weight.My diet is
breakfast-porridge with 1 spoon peanut butter and scoop of protein shake
Snack-Nuts
Lunch-Ham sandwiches with fruit,nuts
Snack-Nuts
Dinner-Steak,beans,pasta,chicken curry with rice,eggs etc.
Before Workout-Protein shake
After Workout-Protein shake with beans and eggs
Anything else?

ok, your diet looks generally okay but you dont appear to have anywhere near enough vegetables in there? You could prob do with a little more protein, processed stuff like ham isnt great. Also, nuts are great but you dont really need them two or three times every day, have a can of tuna instead for one snack and some fruit for the other? ... You would be better off trying to stick to a clean bulk - as such there is no need for the average gym goer to have separate bulk and cut cycles!

if you calculate your maintenance calores and add a modest surplus - say 200 and lift heavy it will be possible to drop fat and add muscle at the same time .. what has worked for me was adding at most 1 stone per 2 months, anything more will end up being fat + spare tyre lol

rccaulfield

Theres a hell of alot wrong here imo-go do some quality research for a few weeks it will save you years of going nowhere-training5-7 times a week is awful for the typical trainer-your diet-is it calorie controlled- buy a calipers to measure bodyfat to answer your original question or else your guessing-besta luck!

Colm_OReilly

Starting Strength, meat and a heap of milk would be your best friend

The Dukie

corkcomp wrote: »

ok, your diet looks generally okay but you dont appear to have anywhere near enough vegetables in there? You could prob do with a little more protein, processed stuff like ham isnt great. Also, nuts are great but you dont really need them two or three times every day, have a can of tuna instead for one snack and some fruit for the other? ... You would be better off trying to stick to a clean bulk - as such there is no need for the average gym goer to have separate bulk and cut cycles!

if you calculate your maintenance calores and add a modest surplus - say 200 and lift heavy it will be possible to drop fat and add muscle at the same time .. what has worked for me was adding at most 1 stone per 2 months, anything more will end up being fat + spare tyre lol

Veg is with dinner.Don't have it everyday though!I might start putting it with dinner everyday though.what else would you suggest for protein?Have tuna already.that would replace nuts if i get chance.Was told that if you really want to gain weight and muscle fast,you bulk for a couple of months and then cut to get definition!?

corkcomp

The Dukie wrote: »

Veg is with dinner.Don't have it everyday though!I might start putting it with dinner everyday though.what else would you suggest for protein?Have tuna already.that would replace nuts if i get chance.Was told that if you really want to gain weight and muscle fast,you bulk for a couple of months and then cut to get definition!?

LOL, who told you that?

why not just be a little more patient? its far better to gain muscle cleanly and not start piling on fat, a little of the gain will be fat ... if you realise in a few months that you have a load of fat to loose you will prob want to do this fast then?? then you may loose muscle and you will have to begin the bulk again?? its easier not to get into the whole thing of cycling .. if you have a good program + diet you should be able to gain muscle and loose a bit of fat simultaneously!

Transform

The Dukie wrote: »

Veg is with dinner.Don't have it everyday though!I might start putting it with dinner everyday though.what else would you suggest for protein?Have tuna already.that would replace nuts if i get chance.Was told that if you really want to gain weight and muscle fast,you bulk for a couple of months and then cut to get definition!?

more bodybuilder old school talk!!!

No need to ever put on fat when gaining muscle

The Dukie

corkcomp wrote: »

LOL, who told you that?

why not just be a little more patient? its far better to gain muscle cleanly and not start piling on fat, a little of the gain will be fat ... if you realise in a few months that you have a load of fat to loose you will prob want to do this fast then?? then you may loose muscle and you will have to begin the bulk again?? its easier not to get into the whole thing of cycling .. if you have a good program + diet you should be able to gain muscle and loose a bit of fat simultaneously!

Well,i say told,i meant read off some bodybuilding site!!:-)
So confusing!So is my diet alright so?If I continue with that and gym program,I will be able to gain muscle???