# Super basic question about bulking



## Itburnstopee (Jun 5, 2015)

Goals are to gain 20lbs, currently am 185lbs about 17% bf, plan to get down to 10%. Only been lifting for like 10 months, just learned to actually eat more than 2000 cals (so like 2700-3000 a day) and have already put on like 5lbs in the last 2 months. So when do I begin to cut? Should I try and lean bulk, and if so what would you guys estimate my daily caloric intake to be for maintenance?


Thanks


----------



## Megatron28 (Jun 6, 2015)

How tall are you?  From what I am hearing, you probably want to bulk first (and learn how to eat).  Then cut to reduce body fat   .  You need to get your diet dialed in though. I would recommend getting a good diet coach to put your on the right path.  It would be money well spent.


----------



## NbleSavage (Jun 6, 2015)

OP you would be well-served connecting with Spongy on this forum. He's got a thread discussing new clients, not sure if he's full-up yet or not, but a professionally designed diet will get you to your goals without all of the trial & error that most new to the game have to experience. Think of it as an investment with a rapid return, plus the knowledge you'll gain through the interaction with your diet coach.

It would be money well-spent, IMO.


----------



## Pinkbear (Jun 6, 2015)

Sounds like you need a recomp. 
Do both at once


----------



## MrRippedZilla (Jun 6, 2015)

Depends on what your overall physique goal is. 

If you simply want to look better, than continue to bulk beyond 15% isn't a good idea unless you enjoy dieting for months on end. 
Since you only learnt to eat properly in the last few months, you still qualify as a newbie and therefore can actually continue to gain some muscle even when dieting. Because of this, I'd recommend moving to maintenance for a few weeks to stabilize things and then dieting down to at least 12% before going back to maintenance and then resuming your bulk.
So maintenance >> cut >> maintenance >> bulk. 

If you just want to get as big as possible on the other hand, then I would continue bulking with a better control over calories to limit fat gain - some people can get away with a  large caloric surplus & others cannot in terms of the ratio of fat/muscle gain.


----------



## Itburnstopee (Jun 6, 2015)

As much as I would love to get a diet coach, or any kind of coach, I cannot afford that kind of stuff atm but hopefully someday.
I guess a recomp would be better than bulking though since I have the bit of extra fat. Also I want the mass for aesthetics but also for a shorter rom on my bench for when I compete.


----------



## Milo (Jun 6, 2015)

Depends on your genetics and bodytype IMO. For me it takes a minimum of 5k calories to gain weight. It's not so easy to eat 5k clean calories a day considering a 7 ounce chicken breast and 2 cups of rice is around 600 calories. And I don't know about you but I'm not about to eat 35 ounces of chicken breast every day. I am lucky in the fact that I can eat whatever I want and still maintain a very low bodyfat percentage. For this reason I eat a ton of pasta (in many cases Ramen noodles. I typically do 4 packets at a time which is over 1200 calories. Best of all, they are like 25 cents a packet) eggs, and oatmeal. However if I had a slower metabolism and put weight on more easily I would be inclined to do a cleanish bulk and maintain a manageable body fat percentage year round.


----------



## Azog (Jun 6, 2015)

I'd cut first. No reason to be over 15% bodyfat while bulking (12% really, but I'll get flamed for that one lol). Your insulin sensitivity will suffer and your body won't build muscle as efficiently. I'd cut then bulk. Once you start to get too fat again, do a 4-6 week cut. Rinse, wash, repeat.


----------

