# Thoughts on eating a bunch to make better gym gains



## PrismaticTaper (Aug 27, 2014)

Saw this cool infographic that discusses the need to eat big to get big results: http://www.suppnation.com/articles/infographic-eat-big-2-get-big/

It even shows some eating habits of Jay Cutler, Ronnie Coleman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

What do you guys think though? Is it absolutely necessary to eat a ton to make more gains?? It sure is easy to think that because then I don't have to worry too much about how much I am eating.


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## coltmc4545 (Aug 27, 2014)

Yes.

10 characters


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## PrismaticTaper (Aug 27, 2014)

Sorry, didn't mean to be short. I'm just interested in seeing what more experienced lifters think. I've tried to go on bulks for a longer period of time (about 3 months), but I feel like I don't experience as much strength gains as I would expect. I'll admit, I am a hard gainer, which may be a factor. With summer coming to close, I may try and do another bulk, but I'm still on the fence about it. I feel like I have been benching/squating/deadlifting the same weight for a while, with varying rep ranges when I am feeling more energetic.


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## PrismaticTaper (Aug 27, 2014)

I'm assuming you might not have seen the rest of my post below that advert. in the middle of my original post, too.


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## deadlift666 (Aug 27, 2014)

You need to eat a lot to get big. No way around it.


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## grind4it (Aug 27, 2014)

You must eat at the level you what to achieve. If you want to get big you got to eat big. you can take all the hormones you want but at the end of the day diet will dictate your gains or lack of.

if you are serious about wanting to bulk my suggestion is to post up your diet, your stats and your goal and let some of these good brothers give you some feedback. another option is to hit spongy up with helios he can put a diet together for you


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## mistah187 (Aug 27, 2014)

Just read my quote. No short cuts.  U can always tell when people don't eat right. Big on cycle small off cycle.


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## PrismaticTaper (Aug 27, 2014)

So your body fat percentage will inevitably increase by eating big to lift big, right? Just depends on what caloric surplus you decide to implement? Unless you throw in some sort of cardio (i know, cardio kills gains). In other words, an "eat big lift big" mentality isn't conducive to eventually obtaining a lean physique unless you cut after, correct?


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## CptFKNplanet (Aug 27, 2014)

Yes, you cannot gain muscle without some fat. The amount of fat will be dependent on how high of a surplus you are in, how frequently you add overall calories, and how strict you are as far as sticking to your diet. Cardio does not "kill gains". IMO everyone should do at least a little bit of some sort of cardio daily purely for the cardiovascular benefits... which is the whole point of cardio. Yes, you will have to cut after bulking if you want to have abs which is what I'm gathering from your posts. "Hard gainer" means scared to lose abs. It's up to you if you want to be a 130 lb twig with abs forever, or put in the work and be 200+ with abs someday and have a respectable amount of strength. The only way to get there is by eating more and putting in the time and effort though. Dieting down shouldn't be hard for you if you're scared of the fork.


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## Mrs.IH88 (Aug 27, 2014)

cpt, why is pigglet all arms?  what happened to his little legs?

and my input..  Gotta eat!  And I think when you add in those calories, you might want to reevaluate your routine.  You'll want to stay in a low rep range to gain strength.   You can do a high rep range if you choose but, it takes longer to get stronger.  If you've been doing the same for a while, you might not be pushing yourself enough.


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## SFGiants (Aug 27, 2014)

Eat big get big!


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## CptFKNplanet (Aug 27, 2014)

Mrs.IH88 said:


> cpt, why is pigglet all arms?  what happened to his little legs?



They made me be piglet cause I'm short. If I were to squat I would have to stand on a bench and put the bar on the lowest pegs. It's too dangerous. I can't even use the leg extension because my feet barely reach the end of the seat


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## shenky (Aug 29, 2014)

Bulking works. Surplus of calorie for gains.


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## SFGiants (Aug 29, 2014)

shenky said:


> Bulking works. Surplus of calorie for gains.



Don't have to be a crap diet either.

Good fats pack on calories!


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## shenky (Aug 31, 2014)

SFGiants said:


> Don't have to be a crap diet either.
> 
> Good fats pack on calories!



Word, but I will say that as soon as I got to 4k calories it became nearly impossible to stick to clean foods...financially difficult and too time consuming. Dose burritos


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## eatcravemove (Oct 2, 2014)

Remember that eating too much protein will work against you with weight gain.  Protein makes you full quicker so you won't be able to eat as many carbs/fats.  Also, increasing protein past a certain point just doesn't result in your body retaining those amino acids and building more protein in your body.


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