Pre contest season bulk up...how far do you go?

[RicPhoenix]

How far do you go when deciding how much to bulk up in the off season? What are your guidelines for how heavy you will get? Is the bodyweight your goal or do you look at the mass as a necessity to diet back to a certain contest weight?

[BIG MAN FROM AR]

i bulk way to heavy.. last show was 210 bulked to 280.. no way 70 pounds in 6 months is good for you at all..

[liftsiron]

I try to stay within 20 pounds of contest weight. Bulking no doubt helps the younger guys alot more than older guys who have trained for many more years.

[RicPhoenix]

Do you all set guidelines for off season body fat percentages so that as long as you stay below a certain percentage you can gain as much weight as you like?


Also, I have heard that the older you are the more it might be necessary to stay closer to contest weight as compared to the young fellas who can gain then drop weight easily.

What we need to do is figure out a way to keep from going so catabolic when a person gets to 280 so that they dont have to come down to 210. Where you doing your aminos and all that?

[BigWilly]

This year I'm going to stay as close to 10% bodyfat as possible. I don't really care about my weight as long as I'm seeing positive changes.

BW

[Akira]

Originally Posted by BIG MAN FROM AR

i bulk way to heavy.. last show was 210 bulked to 280.. no way 70 pounds in 6 months is good for you at all..

^^ For SURE! BIG MAN is a real harcore bulker - take a look at his before and after photos. The guy is a freak! ;)

:bigok:

[RicPhoenix]

So how will you control this weight and yet gain more muscle or make positive changes? Are you doing cardio in the off season so that you can take in more nutrition yet not put on body fat?

[RicPhoenix]

Hi all...I am up to 284 lbs at 5'10 1/2 . I am still trying to decide when enough is enough. My mate who is guiding me says I am not too fat yet...but I am getting there. The thing is if you compete in the super heavies there is no upper limit so you really have to just try to put on as much size as possible, whereas in the other catagories you know how much to gain because there is a range for that catagory ie...heavy weights at 200-220 lbs or whatever. Also if you are tall, you have to pack on mass to fill out those long limbs.