pancakemouse said:
Why intentionally gain fat and then have to waste future time burning it off later?
pancakemouse said:
But the more I read about how much genetics are a factor, the more I've realized that I'm just a typical "hard gainer" with a lot of slow twitch muscle fibers (I was a cross country runner in high school). As a naturally skinny and lean guy, I'm guessing you have similar genetics to me.
I don't think I've seriously bulked + worked out for a consistent and long enough period of time to know that I'm a "hard-gainer", nor do I know how many calories is excess and being stored as extra fat. The main "hard-gainer" aspect for me is that I literally can't keep up with a bulk diet. I'm perfectly happy eating 1500 calories a day and maybe an occasional binge.
For context, from January 2019-June 2019, I did stronglifts 5x5 from never lifting a weight in my life at 128lbs skinnyfat to around 145lbs. I gained up to 140lbs within 2 months and then the next 3-4 were slow. But I went from the barbell to 255/135/335 squat/bench/deadlift for 1 rep. I never really tracked my calories though and spent some days not eating much and other days literally 3+ hours trying to eat a single meal. I started brickwalling too because I was too focused on my stats and lost motivation to stay consistent. Likely the brickwall was from not eating enough.
Then I got a brief neck injury squatting 240 for 5 one day, and pretty much quit lifting. I switched to rock climbing 1-3x a week with friends and went from 145lbs to 137lbs. In that time, I also went from 7ish pullups to 15.
Pandemic hit and I started doing calisthenics at home. Didn't track what I ate again, but went from 15 to 26 pullups over 2 months. Maybe 137lbs to 140lbs.
Then I moved to Tennessee and didn't do jack shit for 6 months. Stayed at 140 but I think I was losing muscle and gaining fat.
Housemate was doing keto so I decided to do it for the lolz over 4 months. I actually enjoyed it somehow. Went from 140lbs to really cut at 128. I was also running 3-4 miles in the mountains everyday and eventually was biking 15-20 miles 3x a week up and down lots of hills. I was like damn. But one day I went whitewater rafting and some big guy brushed me aside to help pull up people from the water like "let me have some room to pull up people because I have more strength" This unleashed a huge insecurity in me and I realized it didn't matter how much my abs were popping and how defined I looked, I am tiny. So I quit keto and hit the gym again. I think when I joined the forums I was at 137lbs again.
Leading into my move to Nashville, I was pretty regular with the gym (you can see my old logs). I had a simple diet that allowed me to eat around 3000 calories a day. I managed to get my max bench from 135 to 185 over a few months (after also fixing my technique). Right when I left Nashville, I peaked around 147 lbs.
Then for some reason, when I moved to Austin I didn't go to the gym. By the time I started half-assing it again, I'd already dipped to 140. I specifically remember visiting Austin in October and doing 17 pullups but then it declined to like 12.
I don't really have a specific weight and time goal anymore because I don't know my body well enough to know what's realistic. But I haven't seriously put in lifting effort for a sustained period of time since I did stronglifts in college. I do know whatever I was doing in Aug-Oct was likely on the right track because I felt I was gaining a good amount of mass and strength. So I want to put that to the test and see what happens.
EDIT: Also based on the feedback I'd received here, I lowered my goal to 2500+. My BMR is 1900-2100 depending on how much I'm walking around approaching and working out so I think 400+ is a reasonable surplus.
