Bulking question

[vlad]

So I've been bulking so 5 full weeks now and gained about 3-5lbs cause some of it is also water weight and fat. I am doing it all naturally and it seems like this time it's not going that well. The last time I did 8 week bulk I gained almost 20lbs. Here is my diet for the last 5 days and it's been pretty much the same for the whole 5 weeks.

11/4/09
Fat 89.5g
Protein 259g
Carbs 352g
Calories 3285
11/5/09
Fat 99.5
Protein 246g
Carbs 371g
Calories 3435
11/6/09
Fat 102.5
Protein 254g
Carbs 402g
Calories 3795
11/7/09
Fat 85g
Protein 237g
Carbs 360g
Calories 3325
11/8/09
Fat 91g
Protein 216g
Carbs 392g
Calories 3545

I am 6ft. 211.5lbs this morning. Is this a normal gain at this point or should I change something and expect more? I have been training extra hard the last two weeks and it seems like my abs are looking better and I might be loosing some fat which is weird since I am lifting really heavy (for me) with no cardio.

[l6873]

Sounds like you need to eat more if you're getting leaner. I'd start with another 100 grams of protein.

[Canadian Protein.com]

is overtraining a possibility?

[vlad]

WOW another 100g of protein, lol. I am having a hard time eating this much. I will give it a shot.
I thought that I might be over training so I split my cycle into 7 days instead of 6 to get some more rest. I feel like I get lots of rest and I have tons of energy when I am training.

Used to be this:

Day 1
Back, Bis, Abs
Day 2
Chest, Tris, Forearms
Day 3
Off
Day 4
Legs, Calves, Abs
Day 5
Shoulders, Forearms
Day 6
Off

Now:

Day 1
Back, Calves, Abs
Day 2
Chest, Forearms
Day 3
Off
Day 4
Legs, Calves, Abs
Day 5
Shoulders, Forearms
Day 6
Tris and Bis
Day 7
Off

[l6873]

WOW another 100g of protein, lol. I am having a hard time eating this much. I will give it a shot.

Shouldn't be too hard, just add an extra 15 grams to every meal or throw in something like an egg white shake and a can of tuna.

[GYMBRAT]

thats a decent sounding lean bulker which is my main stay as of now on, but I would be adding in more cals through out the day for that extra size your looking for I usually opt for around 5-6000+ cals a day during my bulkers

[vlad]

5-6k cals damn. I am going to up everything and see how that goes. I think that my fat intake might be a bit low so I am going to make sure that I have 100g/day and I will up my protein to 300-350g and my carbs to 400-450g and see how that goes. This should up my calorie intake to 4000-4500. I do want to gain weight but I don't want to gain too much fat.
I just gotta thank everyone that has been giving me advice on working out and also everyone that is stressing proper form. Ever since I joined this board my workouts have been much better. My form had improved and even though I am lifting less now I am getting a much better workout. So thank you.

[Big D]

short dave has a great bulkin plan. i forgot were he posted it, maybe do a search if your interested

[devo09]

if your natural right now then your rate of weight gain is good. You only want to aim for .5-1lb per week MAX if your bulking without drugs. Anymore than that and you're going to gain a lot more fat than necessary

[vlad]

Great progress so far, keep it up! Are you getting a good post workout shake? getting lots of fast carbs back into the system afterwards? Are you still making gains in your lifts?
I am taking 50g of protein and 80-100g of carbs(dextrose) for my post workout shake. About an hour to two hours after that I have a big meal which is another 50-70g or protein and 60-80g of carbs.
My lifts are getting better every week and I am noticing my muscle growth. I am lifting a little less then I did before because I figured out that my form was shit with most of the exercises. I am getting much better workouts now and my elbows are not hurting anymore.
My wife made me feel really good tonight by telling me that I look huge, lol. She thinks that I am too big and she would prefer me smaller. I have never been this big and lean at the same time before and just didn't know how much I am supposed to be gaining since I am in the 200s. Like I said before I gained 35lbs of muscle in about 4 months and was expecting to keep gaining muscle at the same rate. I guess 0.5-1.0 of lean muscle per week is pretty good then.