When to bulk?

RumHam

Hi,

I'm sure this topic has come up over and over again on here but i'm looking for some advice.
Around this time last year I decided to get fitter, I was 16 stone 11 when I started and i'm 12 stone 13 now. I'm in skinny fat mode now, slight bit of belly fat left but nothing significant.

I'm 6'3" and the body fat measurement I got said I was just over 18%.
I've been running 3 days a week, generally two 5k runs and one 10k for the last year and doing Ice Cream Fitness for the last month or so. I think my diet is decent enough now and i'm trying to burn off more body fat before I try to bulk up a bit.

I'm wondering at what percentage body fat I should start bulking up as after almost conquering the belly I really don't wanna go too soon and start adding inches to it. I've read a lot of contradictory articles online about when to bulk so I'm a little confused now as to what to do.

Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated.

Gummy Panda

RumHam wrote: »

Hi,

I'm sure this topic has come up over and over again on here but i'm looking for some advice.
Around this time last year I decided to get fitter, I was 16 stone 11 when I started and i'm 12 stone 13 now. I'm in skinny fat mode now, slight bit of belly fat left but nothing significant.

I'm 6'3" and the body fat measurement I got said I was just over 18%.
I've been running 3 days a week, generally two 5k runs and one 10k for the last year and doing Ice Cream Fitness for the last month or so. I think my diet is decent enough now and i'm trying to burn off more body fat before I try to bulk up a bit.

I'm wondering at what percentage body fat I should start bulking up as after almost conquering the belly I really don't wanna go too soon and start adding inches to it. I've read a lot of contradictory articles online about when to bulk so I'm a little confused now as to what to do.

Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated.

Once you are happy with your bf, I'd move to maintenance for awhile for your body to adjust. Once you are consistently able to maintain your new bf levels, lean bulk.

RumHam

Gummy Panda wrote: »

Once you are happy with your bf, I'd move to maintenance for awhile for your body to adjust. Once you are consistently able to maintain your new bf levels, lean bulk.

Great thanks for the reply. I'll give that a go. Will probably try to cut a bit more for the next month or so

generic2012

I'm one of the few that think everyone should 'bulk' when they start off lifting weights, as long as 'bulk' just means a modest caloric surplus and nothing ridiculous. The limiting factor to muscle growth with novice lifters is caloric intake, that changes as a lifter progress because less and less muscle can be put on. It is A LOT easier to lose fat than to gain muscle, so I would take advantage of the speed at which you can acquire muscle as a beginner.

Alf Veedersane

It's also worth noting that if you're arelative beginner to weight training, you don't need to go on a big ol' bulk of 400-500 kcals of a surplus a day. It's more about eating the right food, especially plenty of protein*


In the region of 1g per pound of lbm

RumHam

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

It's also worth noting that if you're arelative beginner to weight training, you don't need to go on a big ol' bulk of 400-500 kcals of a surplus a day. It's more about eating the right food, especially plenty of protein*


In the region of 1g per pound of lbm

I've been eating about 1800-2000 a day, rarely ever more than 150g of carbs and always at least 170g of protein. Been progressing a bit with the ICF program so hopefully i'll see some results from that.

generic2012

RumHam wrote: »

I've been eating about 1800-2000 a day, rarely ever more than 150g of carbs and always at least 170g of protein. Been progressing a bit with the ICF program so hopefully i'll see some results from that.

You're severely holding back your progress on ICF with an intake like that, but if it's in line with your goals...

RumHam

generic2012 wrote: »

You're severely holding back your progress on ICF with an intake like that, but if it's in line with your goals...

Yeah I wasn't sure what amount to eat to be honest. I've probably become a little over cautious about what I eat because I'm wary of going back to the way I was.

Gummy Panda

Do people actually rate ICF as a programming?

It looks like a bastardised 5x5

generic2012

Gummy Panda wrote: »

Do people actually rate ICF as a programming?

It looks like a bastardised 5x5

It's 5x5 with more volume and arm workouts. Volume is king. I've never done it but it gets very good reviews. By reading it it seems superior to other 5x5s.

Mellor

generic2012 wrote: »

It's 5x5 with more volume and arm workouts. Volume is king. I've never done it but it gets very good reviews. By reading it it seems superior to other 5x5s.

Isn't the volume the same as 5x5 on the main lifts, just with some assistance/bro lifts.

DoYouEvenLift

Would get to <14% and try to lean bulk for a couple of years

generic2012

Mellor wrote: »

Isn't the volume the same as 5x5 on the main lifts, just with some assistance/bro lifts.

Yep, more volume overall.