re: BULK support thread for those of us bulking

Little over 1 week in.



Body fat now at 15%. Using my scale to measure. I know it's not the most accurate eat but if nothing else I can measure trends.

Waist is staying consistent between 31 and 31.25 inches so far. I guess fat is being added elsewhere

Yesterday was Day 1 of Week 2. Chins were better this time. Started off doing sets of 5 up to 60 reps. Then did sets of 4 from there on out. No 1 rep sets like last week. Did 110 dips instead of 100.

20 rep squat last Thursday wasn't as bad as I was expecting but it was only 45% of training max. Week 6 it's 70% and that is where it will suck.

No but I am working about 30 hours a week at the restaurant where I am constantly walking

Did prowler earlier. A lot better than last week. Didn't give out and took less time between pushes. Did my 10 40 yard prowler in 13 minutes 39 seconds which is 4 minutes better than last week

The thing that worries me at this point is insomnia

Seems like I am getting it bad on my workout days.

Last week I worked out on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and tried to go to bed around 10pm(set alarm for 7:15am) and get 9 hours of sleep but all 3 nights I didn't fall asleep until about 5am. Lied there for 7 hours.

This past Sunday I fell asleep around 1am which is an improvement but I still am not getting the sleep I need.

I sleep like a baby on non workout days though. Fall asleep immediately. I am guessing I am getting some kind of cortisol spike, or maybe some blood sugar issue with eating more carbs on workout days. It's weird because on Sunday I went to bed at 9:30pm and my heart rate was 62 before I lied down. Then 3 hours later after doing nothing but lie there for 3 hours my heart rate was 105 and pounding. Not sure whats going on. Another constant in my insomnia nights is how thirsty I get. I'll drink several 1 liter bottles of water and still feel like I am in the middle of the Sahara in terms of thirst.

Dealt with the same thirst issues when u bulked (jumped from 140-165 over a summer. From my novice studies it is due to how your body acts during protein synthesis.

For me, after a high protein meal (8 eggs in my case) within 30 minutes I had the sweats and a high HR. Sauna/sprints helped me out. When I started suffering from insomnia, I'd do some touch sprints.

For me it was run a 110 ladder (given your foot ball knowledge your probably familiar). After I'd roast in a hot bath or sauna.

The bath/sauna lowers your HR by forcing blood to extremities when you get out. Made me drowsy as shite.

Week 2 update



Seems like I have stalled a bit on weight gain and LBM gain. Waist size still consistent at 31 inches. This past Wednesday and Friday I did not eat my full 4775 calories that I had been eating the whole time. While I still met my eggs & beef requirements those 2 days on Wednesday I was so tired from not sleeping the night before I went to bed only having ate about 4000 calories that day. Friday I simply ran out of food and didnt have time to go to the store until Saturday

I think I figured out my insomnia issues though. Yesterday I ate all my carbs for the day before my workout and slept a full 8 hours for the first time on a workout day since starting the program.

I was dreading the first day of Week 3 yesterday because I read week 3 is the hardest week, but I didn't think it was too bad. Probably because at least I am getting stronger and though the weights were the highest they have been, my strength gains helped make up for it. 100 chins I did 20 sets of 5 which is my best performance so far, compared to having to do 1 rep sets Week 1 and sets of 3 toward the end last week. I also pounded out my dips in sets of 10, compared to having to end with sets of 7 last week and sets of 5 week 1.

10 40 yard prowlers today in 12:49 which is 50 seconds better than last week plus had 2.5 more pounds on today

Took 60 seconds rest on all but 1 rep where I took a 90 second rest after 6 reps. Last week was 60 seconds first 5 and 75 seconds last 5. Didn't have as good leg drive this week compared to last toward the end but I chalk it up to going heavier on squat yesterday and shorter rest periods

What's up lsu777 thanks for checking in.

It's been an eventful past week. I haven't posted on TD since last Tuesday. Anyway last Tuesday I had really bad insomnia only this time I was sweating really bad when trying to sleep despite having my AC on full blast and my heart rate was super high. So the next day I went to a clinic to get checked on. They drew my blood and I passed out after that and wound up in a hospital with an IV in my arm. I passed out because I had high blood sugar and taking that blood out of my system dropped my blood sugar to lower levels than my body was acustomed to. Doctors told me my fasting blood sugar was high.

I don't know if I have diabetes but the doctors think there is a chance. I don't have a primary care doc though having just moved to Kentucky and the out of pocket cost to test for diabetes is just too much. One theory the doctors had is that I don't have diabetes but the days I have been eating high protein + high carbs, the excess protein simply was converted to glucose and that is what caused me to have high blood sugar and keeping me up at night. This probably explains why my insomnia only happened on workout days.

Anyway the doctors told me to take it easy diet wise and take some time off from the gym. So for the past week I haven't gone to the gym at all and have eaten a low protein diet(mainly salads, eggs, cereal, sandwiches) and honestly I haven't slept this well in years. I go to bed as soon as I fall asleep and stay asleep. It's only been a week but I feel fine

Not really sure what to do. It sucks to see all the progress I have made being wiped away by the second(I am down 7 pounds from a week ago on the scale), but at the same time I don't want to rush back to the gym until I know I am good to go and healthy. Also when I do return the gym I have no idea what to do diet wise. Weight lifting is part of who I am and it sucks to see it being taken away from me right now. Kind of at a crossroads here. I am afraid to go back to the gym but at the same time wanting to go back now in order to stop the losses.

Can you do maintenance workouts? It doesn't seem like it really takes that much energy to do maintenance workouts.

I always think a safe, easy diet is to eat stuff that rots quickly, like veggies and meats. I'm suspect of that food that lasts a long time like grains

You may just have to be the turtle and go slow n steady for your gains. Patience is a virtue platitude.

quote:

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Weight lifting is part of who I am and it sucks to see it being taken away from me right now.

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Life would not be worth living if there were not difficulties to overcome. Your character is always made through your hard times. You may have time now to improve yourself in a new way.

I was going to post this earlier in the thread but the main thing while adding mass is keeping your insulin sensitivity high and holding inflammation at bay. Even enhanced guys struggle with this. There's a reason why your best gains come whenever you're lean...the leaner the better. Next time try to make small increments in calories once you stall, I would consider a stall, two weeks time frame. Place a good portion of your carbs around your work out. Stay on top of cardio, especially if your daily activity doesn't add up to much. Take fish oil and tumeric for anti-inflammation properties. That's all I got. Heil Gains.