Yes, some bodies just aren't made for bulking--if you have small joints especially.

This. It's ****orts that care more about abs and what people think of them and want to look like Instagram models year round as a natty lol. Anyone with any appreciable muscle has been pretty fluffy at some point. You need to ****in eat to grow. Your body isn't going take the energy to build muscle because you gave it 33 extra calories lmfao

In for a bunch of non lifting miscels like the specimen above me to tell me how to grow tissue

On spread to neg

Imagine thinking you can accurately calculate your BMR or your calorie intake to within 33 kcals lmao

Bingo

It's true for most people though. How many people have we seen get big and fat from lifting, thinking that they are musclebound, who go on a cut and have to lose 40-60lbs to get close to seeing abs (everything that they have gained)? I am one of them. In the end, they wind up 5lbs heavier than when they started, if they are lucky, lmao. Everybody starts lifting and gains a ton of fat and thinks that they put on 20-30 lbs of muscle. Slow and controlled lean bulking is the path to success, in my opinion. I'm talking 250-500 cals over maintenance with short intense cuts every once in a while.

Everyone is certainly different, but it really comes down to training. Most people [not saying you, EOD yes] don't train anywhere near hard enough to justify a 500+ cal surplus. There are certainly different ways to get it done. I personally think the 250 cal range is way too low due to margin of error and other factors.

If you're in a surplus, make sure you're in a surplus. It's extremely easy to cut off excess fat later.

Yep, I think you can reach your potential much faster being fluffy. Personally I’m stronger lb for lb when I’m closer to 20% BF than 10% by far. More work capacity, more food for recovery and repair. That said anything over 500 cals surplus is a waste because you just pick up fat faster and have to cut sooner. Personally where I am now I feel like I can only carry a certain amount of muscle at a given body composition. When fluffy I can get strong (for me) when lean I look bigger but make zero progress in strength or size. Granted I have been training for 5 years consistently.

But the fat loss usually comes with muscle loss as well. So it's important to gain as little fat as possible. But i think 250-500 calories over maintenance is a good amount. Anything over that is probably fat.

Of course, but that comes back to training as well in regards to how much muscle is lost. I do a pretty good job at maintaining size during my cut even as a natty twink

I do too to a point. It’s almost identical to a building phase where I get stronger and see improvement in lifts to a certain point, anything beyond that seems to be just gaining fat. When dieting I lose very little muscle down to a point probably around 12% as a guess then when I start crossing that threshold into freaky lean I start to lose strength, stamina which is followed by muscle mass. I’ve decided I’ll probably just hold around 185-190 going forward. I’m about 205 and fluffier right now (8lbs vacation weight). I also notice more joint issues hold me back when lean, I feel fragile and tend to get minor strains etc more easily.

I'm doing my first mini cut at 185, on my way to 200 over the next year or so... 5'8 crew, trying to become a bigger human.

Avi is 173 for reference, and can still see some delt striations at 185 without a pump

We are the same height. My Avi is 176 no pump dry/depleted bottom of last cut. I can look good and have visible abs but not shredded up to about 194. I have big abs though so that varies person to person. I don’t start getting vascular until mid/upper 180s. I prefer vascular over abs, but I don’t really enjoy how I have to live to maintain shredz. I did it for almost a year May 18-March 19. Made zero progress other than regaining a little lost ground. Still not as strong as I was before getting that lean. Looks a LOT more impressive being lean shirtless though, but look a lot better in clothes carrying a little more bodyfat. Going up and down just works for me, I get into diet mode and just embrace the suck of dieting then relax a little and eat like a normal person and gain some fat back. I don’t think I’ve made any real progress in a couple years. Natty life, still enjoy the grind most days but lately I haven't had my normal “fire” in the gym. Just go there and do it. Motivation for training hard and heavy kind of has peaks and valleys for me.

Yeah i'm a bit different, the training is the fire for me, and physique is a nice byproduct. Hence why i have **** abs and calves, i don't enjoy training them lol

I used to be like that too, having that drive just kind of comes and goes for me now but I stay consistent. I don’t train abs or calves either. Abs are built with squats, deads, OHP, and pull-ups. My calves stay about the same size as my arms so I don’t bother other than occasional single leg BW calf raises during the day occasionally.

I don't think it's a myth. You need slightly extra calories because lifting is a heavy calorie burning activity and when you don't replace those calories you lose muscle/fat which if you are bodybuilding isn't the goal. Also puts your body under strain and eating a bunch of stuff is like a smorgasbord of nutrients for your body to recover faster after and build stronger.. And when you get bigger that causes a chain reaction and you need even more not just to recover but more mass requires more calories just in daily function I would think so your maintenance level is even higher then.
The question though is what is someone's true "maintenance" level? Think that would be hard to calculate by BMI alone and if you were able to calculate it, it would probably fluctuate.. more variables come into the equation and others leave the table.. That's why you can't just eat 1 calorie over some magical "maintenance" number and get optimal results. It's a lot of broscience.
A lot of people over do it though I'm sure, and gain a lot more fat and put a lot more crappy unhealthy stuff in their bodies than they have/had to, to reach their desired results.

i love greg, don't agree with him on a lot but he obviously looks 1000x better than I do and has an infinite amount more experience than I have. And I have nothing but respect for anyone that's willing to share their stack they used to go pro. That said, he was arrested for selling dat dere back when he claimed natty soooo take that claim how you will

Lol. I guess I'm just imagining the fact that this time last year I was 195# at about the same body fat % as I am now at 210#... Dreamer bulked from 195 and 17ish% to 230 @ 25%, then cut down to 210 currently back at 17ish%. And that's with training around an injured shoulder since I started my cut, would have surely held onto a little more lean mass if I wasn't limited in my movement selections.

"Serious training"

You got fat bro lol

Do you have sources to back up your claim? Why add unnecessary body fat? If you’re gonna cut down and lose it anyway?

Source: real life. You can nerd out on what "science is optimal", but at the end of the day all that matters is what works to produce results for you in the gym.

For me:
More food = better recovery = better strength etc.

I've put on 10 lbs in 8 weeks and don't look fat, and put 50 lbs on my 5 rep squat And snatch RDL... We grown. Going to do a 2-3 week mini cut to re-optimize hormones and improve insulin sensitivity for another 8 week push. Rinse and repeat. Actually never have tried the mini cut thing before so it's a experiment for me

https://i.imgur.com/7MKV7h8.jpg

Never trust a juicer. Lmao at those natty pics in the second video.

lean bulking is the truth.


BTW, Dr Doucette for you.

if bulking was a myth I would be incredibly jacked right now.

lol can see why you'd hate on abs since urs are mad poverty

good on you for packing on fat to add weight to your lifts, but not everybody is about that always lifting heavy lifestyle.

Didn’t watch video but if he’s saying you can “get bigger” without eating in a surplus, he’s retarded. In order to gain weight u have to eat more calories than u use

There's bulking, and there's dreamer bulking. Never confuse the two.

I'd love to see where I said i hate on abs, i said i hate training them, so i don't which is why they suck, yes...(packed on fat).. ok tyroneyeah it's the misc, i get that

Bulking and cutting is the most efficient pathway for someone who is not already an advanced lifter. Once you're near your genetic potential, the weight gain from bulking will be mostly fat.

Anyway, the problem is people don't bulk properly. Obviously an excessive caloric surplus will lead to excess fat gain, which I find a lot of people give in to especially after coming off of a long cut and their leptin and ghrelin is all out of wack. How the fuk is someone supposed to put on weight without eating in a caloric surplus? You can recomp and stay roughly the same weight all you want, but at some point you aren't going to be building any more muscle without going into a caloric surplus. People also train like trash generally. Your body doesn't want to build muscle. You gotta force that bitch to put on muscle. High intensity, high volume, consistently.