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jasonn0413
jasonn0413 g Jason Kang
2 Post(s)
2 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: June 6, 2018
Posted

Hello guys, I'm from Malaysia, I've been traning for almost 10 months and now I'm trying to bulk up to gain muscle mass but unfortunately its not going well.

I'm 22, 173cm, 63.6kg, 14.6% Bodyfat, Goal - gain muscle mass and look aesthetic with low bodyfat %, my daily calories burn range from 2000 - 2700 depending on the workouts (I'm using fitbit Versa to keep track on my daily calories burned), and as for how I keep track on my bodyfat % and muscle gain, I use Omron Bioelectrical Impedance Scale which I know its not really accurate but at least its better than nothing, as to where I'm from, I don't think DEXA Scans or Underwater Weighing are available here.

I've been trying to bulk for 3 weeks now with a diet consisting of, brown rice, grilled chicken breast, coffee, ON Whey Protein, ON Pro Gainer, boilled eggs, banana, and sometimes cheat meals out from home but I limit it to 2-3 times per week, and I always make sure I have my caloric intake more than 2700 as to my knowledge to gain weight in muscle mass you have to be in a caloric surplus with quality foods, however I do not calculate meticulously on how many caloric surplus I have in conjunction with the daily calories burn, I just try to get over 2700 calories everyday with the food mentioned above (mostly hitting 3000 calories)

I'll provide the information which I got from the Omron Scale

Week 1 - Weight : 62.9kg

             - Bodyfat : 13.7%

             - Skeletal muscle (whole body) : 37.0%

                                                    (trunk) : 31.6%

                                                     (arms) : 41.3%

                                                       (legs) : 54.1%

 

Week 2 - Weight : 63.1kg

             - Bodyfat : 14.2%

             - Skeletal muscle (whole body) : 36.7%

                                                    (trunk) : 31.3%

                                                     (arms) : 41.0%

                                                       (legs) : 53.9%

Week 3 - Weight : 63.6kg

             - Bodyfat : 14.6%

             - Skeletal muscle (whole body) : 36.6%

                                                    (trunk) : 31.0%

                                                     (arms) : 40.9%

                                                       (legs) : 53.7%

 

As you can see over the course of 3 weeks I lost muscle mass although I'm not sure by % whether its a lot or not but its still a loss and to be frank its not really pleasing to watch :3 . Although i know 3 weeks is a little short to make assumptions on I'm doing the wrong things to gain muscle mass and maybe if I keep on continuing on a caloric surplus I might gain some muscle mass on the next week but I'm a person who wants sulutions as fast as possible so, pardon me if I'm assuming things too fast. Another thing I'm concerned about is, before trying to bulk, about 3-4 months ago I was at 71kg with bodyfat % of 20 above, and I followed the same diet above without the mass gainer and on a caloric deficit, combined with Intermittent Fasting (24 hours) for 2 days a week which eventually lead me to the Weight and bodyfat % on week 1 which is written above, and during the course of losing fat and maintaining muscle mass, I noticed not only did i lose fat but my muscle mass increased as well... Which is weird because all the research that I did suggest that while on a caloric deficit and traning routine to lose bodyfat, you are expected to lose muscle mass as well but I gained muscle mass instead, and now while I'm trying to bulk up I lose muscle mass instead...

So I really hope theres someone out there who can enlighten me on what I'm doing wrong to bulk up and thanks in advance for reading such a long post, I hope I'm not posting this in the wrong section though, thanks again and I really appreciate for anyone taking the time to reply ^^

     

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: jasonn0413

Hello guys, I'm from Malaysia, I've been traning for almost 10 months and now I'm trying to bulk up to gain muscle mass but unfortunately its not going well.

I'm 22, 173cm, 63.6kg, 14.6% Bodyfat, Goal - gain muscle mass and look aesthetic with low bodyfat %, my daily calories burn range from 2000 - 2700 depending on the workouts (I'm using fitbit Versa to keep track on my daily calories burned), and as for how I keep track on my bodyfat % and muscle gain, I use Omron Bioelectrical Impedance Scale which I know its not really accurate but at least its better than nothing, as to where I'm from, I don't think DEXA Scans or Underwater Weighing are available here.

I've been trying to bulk for 3 weeks now with a diet consisting of, brown rice, grilled chicken breast, coffee, ON Whey Protein, ON Pro Gainer, boilled eggs, banana, and sometimes cheat meals out from home but I limit it to 2-3 times per week, and I always make sure I have my caloric intake more than 2700 as to my knowledge to gain weight in muscle mass you have to be in a caloric surplus with quality foods, however I do not calculate meticulously on how many caloric surplus I have in conjunction with the daily calories burn, I just try to get over 2700 calories everyday with the food mentioned above (mostly hitting 3000 calories)

I'll provide the information which I got from the Omron Scale

Week 1 - Weight : 62.9kg

             - Bodyfat : 13.7%

             - Skeletal muscle (whole body) : 37.0%

                                                    (trunk) : 31.6%

                                                     (arms) : 41.3%

                                                       (legs) : 54.1%

 

Week 2 - Weight : 63.1kg

             - Bodyfat : 14.2%

             - Skeletal muscle (whole body) : 36.7%

                                                    (trunk) : 31.3%

                                                     (arms) : 41.0%

                                                       (legs) : 53.9%

Week 3 - Weight : 63.6kg

             - Bodyfat : 14.6%

             - Skeletal muscle (whole body) : 36.6%

                                                    (trunk) : 31.0%

                                                     (arms) : 40.9%

                                                       (legs) : 53.7%

 

As you can see over the course of 3 weeks I lost muscle mass although I'm not sure by % whether its a lot or not but its still a loss and to be frank its not really pleasing to watch :3 . Although i know 3 weeks is a little short to make assumptions on I'm doing the wrong things to gain muscle mass and maybe if I keep on continuing on a caloric surplus I might gain some muscle mass on the next week but I'm a person who wants sulutions as fast as possible so, pardon me if I'm assuming things too fast. Another thing I'm concerned about is, before trying to bulk, about 3-4 months ago I was at 71kg with bodyfat % of 20 above, and I followed the same diet above without the mass gainer and on a caloric deficit, combined with Intermittent Fasting (24 hours) for 2 days a week which eventually lead me to the Weight and bodyfat % on week 1 which is written above, and during the course of losing fat and maintaining muscle mass, I noticed not only did i lose fat but my muscle mass increased as well... Which is weird because all the research that I did suggest that while on a caloric deficit and traning routine to lose bodyfat, you are expected to lose muscle mass as well but I gained muscle mass instead, and now while I'm trying to bulk up I lose muscle mass instead...

So I really hope theres someone out there who can enlighten me on what I'm doing wrong to bulk up and thanks in advance for reading such a long post, I hope I'm not posting this in the wrong section though, thanks again and I really appreciate for anyone taking the time to reply ^^

     

Hey @jasonn0413.

 

The reason you probably gained muscle and lost fat while cutting is due to the fact that you're still new to training. If that was 3-4 months ago, that was about 6 months into you starting training. Definitely a newbie then, and you're still somewhat of a newbie now, or that is you probably have the potential to make newbie gains.

 

Here's the line that is probably the problem - "I do not calculate meticulously... I just try to get over 2700 calories". I'm not saying you have to track every day for the rest of your life.. but if you don't know fully what you are getting in, how can you know you're in a surplus?

 

That 0.3% drop in your muscle mass might also be false, because remember the scales aren't totally on point.. but if you aren't tracking macros either, then how do you know you're getting enough protein? Eating good food is one thing.. eating enough of it to reach your calorie and macro goals is another thing. I'd try to track a bit more so you know what you're getting in terms of macros.

 

In terms of calories, you have gained weight, so you're on the right track. Keep in mind that a good rate of weight gain would probably only be 1kg per month in your first year, which works out to around 25lbs. You've gained 0.7kg in 3 weeks.. which actually probably puts you right on target. If you continue that rate for the entire year, your chances of making lean gains and minimal fat gains are good.. as long as you are getting enough protein to get growth with your calorie surplus.

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
jasonn0413
jasonn0413 g Jason Kang
2 Post(s)
2 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: June 6, 2018
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

Hey @jasonn0413.

 

The reason you probably gained muscle and lost fat while cutting is due to the fact that you're still new to training. If that was 3-4 months ago, that was about 6 months into you starting training. Definitely a newbie then, and you're still somewhat of a newbie now, or that is you probably have the potential to make newbie gains.

 

Here's the line that is probably the problem - "I do not calculate meticulously... I just try to get over 2700 calories". I'm not saying you have to track every day for the rest of your life.. but if you don't know fully what you are getting in, how can you know you're in a surplus?

 

That 0.3% drop in your muscle mass might also be false, because remember the scales aren't totally on point.. but if you aren't tracking macros either, then how do you know you're getting enough protein? Eating good food is one thing.. eating enough of it to reach your calorie and macro goals is another thing. I'd try to track a bit more so you know what you're getting in terms of macros.

 

In terms of calories, you have gained weight, so you're on the right track. Keep in mind that a good rate of weight gain would probably only be 1kg per month in your first year, which works out to around 25lbs. You've gained 0.7kg in 3 weeks.. which actually probably puts you right on target. If you continue that rate for the entire year, your chances of making lean gains and minimal fat gains are good.. as long as you are getting enough protein to get growth with your calorie surplus.

Thank you for your reply Scott, I will improve on tracking my macros and try to make adjustments as I gain weight, I just watched your "Building Your Meal Plan! Learn How To Calculate Protein, Carb & Fat Daily Intake For Your Goals!" video and it really helped me get back on track alot, thanks for the information again, have a great day!

 

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: jasonn0413

Thank you for your reply Scott, I will improve on tracking my macros and try to make adjustments as I gain weight, I just watched your "Building Your Meal Plan! Learn How To Calculate Protein, Carb & Fat Daily Intake For Your Goals!" video and it really helped me get back on track alot, thanks for the information again, have a great day!

 

So glad to hear that man! You can also check out the video below, it's kind of an updated version of that previous @mealplan video. Keep us updated with your progress, and have a great weekend! 😊 

 

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
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