anybody else ditch bulking/cutting and just try to look good year round?

[danimal79]

Eventually I would love to do this, as soon as I am 225lbs and 10% bf. Untill then its 5k cals for 6 months then a 2-3 month cut and re-evaluate

5,000 cals a day??? unless you're doing some serious cardio, you're over-eating.

[BigBuck6]

5,000 cals a day??? unless you're doing some serious cardio, you're over-eating.

He might need the calories, I eat anywhere between 6000-7000 per day depending on what my activity levels are. In the past, I have hiked it up a lot higher.

[Machdiesel]

5,000 cals a day??? unless you're doing some serious cardio, you're over-eating.

Wrong, I'm at 5k cals and only gained 2 pounds the last 2 weeks. Im training DC every M-W-F and do light cardio 3 other days a week. If you wanna weigh 235 you gotta eat like your 235

[danimal79]

Wrong, I'm at 5k cals and only gained 2 pounds the last 2 weeks. Im training DC every M-W-F and do light cardio 3 other days a week. If you wanna weigh 235 you gotta eat like your 235

na bro. like i said, you don't need that many calories, unless you're doing some SERIOUS cardio. the average 200lb male needs anywhere from 2,200 to 2,600 calories (in a day) for maintenance. and if you're only gaining 1lb a week on a 5k diet, you either:

a) aren't counting calories properly, and are not consuming what you think you are

b) need to see a doctor

[BigBuck6]

na bro. like i said, you don't need that many calories, unless you're doing some SERIOUS cardio. the average 200lb male needs anywhere from 2,200 to 2,600 calories (in a day) for maintenance. and if you're only gaining 1lb a week on a 5k diet, you either:

a) aren't counting calories properly, and are not consuming what you think you are

b) need to see a doctor

While your argument does have some merit, most of us are not average males. Your stats say 5'9" @ 165lbs. I'm 6'5" @ 250lbs bro plus I surf almost everyday with lifting and life's other challenges.

Argument aside remembering back to undergrad days ACSM standards are 18-22 calories per day per pound of body weight (check my numbers fellas i'm running off memory) to increase in lean mass. With that equation, your numbers are a bit low and an ACTIVE male looking to gain lean muscle mass should consume somewhere around 3600-4400 calories per day.

[danimal79]

While your argument does have some merit, most of us are not average males. Your stats say 5'9" @ 165lbs. I'm 6'5" @ 250lbs bro plus I surf almost everyday with lifting and life's other challenges.

surfing, as well as the word "active" would fall under my reference of "serious cardio", so we're basically saying the same thing.

Argument aside remembering back to undergrad days ACSM standards are 18-22 calories per day per pound of body weight (check my numbers fellas i'm running off memory) to increase in lean mass. With that equation, your numbers are a bit low and an ACTIVE male looking to gain lean muscle mass should consume somewhere around 3600-4400 calories per day.

my numbers aren't a bit low at all, especially in comparison to yours - they're right on track. my numbers were in reference to MAINTENANCE CALORIES. so if the average 200lb male's maintenance is between 2,200 and 2,600, then he would have to consume between 2,700 and 3,100 a day to gain 1lb per week of lean mass. you could even up it to between 3,200 and 3,600 for 2lbs per week of lean mass. anything much more than that is falling under the line of excessive, and 5,000+ is just pointless imo.

a lot of people think you have to eat like a horse to gain muscle. this is only half true. regardless of how hard you lift, and how much you eat, there's only so much muscle your body can put on, which means there's only so many calories (among other things) that are needed to do the job. just because you consume it, doesn't mean it's needed.

and don't let my stats fool you. i got myself up over 185 at one point, before i took time off from lifting and dropped down. that may not sound impressive to you, but my ultimate goal is to be a lean 175ish, and then i plan on maintaining year-round. i started out around 140 (being generous) as a skinny-fat kid with ZERO muscle, and no definition to speak of lol.

the point is, i've bulked many ways. i dirty-bulked and ate over 4,000 calories a day for a year straight, because the big guys on forums said i should. and it worked...i DID put on size! but i also put on more fat than i wanted to.

a couple years ago i saw a video with ronnie coleman. at the time, the mr olympia standards were changing, and they were beginning to set strict judging for bloated midsections. so ronnie was talking about how he cut the calories a lot, and risked some extra size for the sake of slimming his waist. but what he saw was that when it was all said and done (bulk/cut) he gained about the same amount of lean mass as had hoped to (before the mandate), WITH LESS CALORIES. in his words:

"you don't have to eat that much. as long as you train hard, the size is gonna come. i see that now." -ronnie coleman

so i tried it...and he was right. like i said...unless you have a physical problem, or you are doing a ton of cardio, you don't need to go overboard with your calories.