Bulking is Done! - 22 Weeks Bulking Progress

After 22 weeks my bulk is finally over! After the holidays, I honestly couldn't wait because I was tired of being fat and couldn't wait to start cutting! Although it felt good at first to eat "bad" foods again, it got old pretty quick. Foods that I enjoyed while cutting started not to taste as good anymore and it got to be a chore to down it all. 


The end result of my bulk?... 19 lbs gained in 22 weeks. I didn't quite gain the 1 lb per week I set out to do, but I think that was probably a good thing. After 8 weeks, I started to feel like I was gaining a lot of fat so I may have subconsciously started eating less and consciously implemented more no carb/cardio days.


People may think I'm crazy, but I definitely enjoy cutting a lot more than I do bulking. After reaching low bodyfat percentages, it's difficult to be fine with being any fatter. 


Here are my starting and ending measurements:

	Starting	Final	Difference
Weight	164 lbs	183 lbs	+19 lbs
Chest	41.5”	43.5”	+2”
Shoulders	49”	50”	+1”
Arms	15”	15.5”	+.5”
Neck	15”	15”	+0”
Waist	31”	33”	+2”
Hips	37.5”	39.5”	+2”
Thighs	23”	24”	+1”
Calves	16”	16.5”	+.05”

Obviously, I gained inches everywhere on this bulk, but I"m happy with the 2" inches gained in on my chest measurement since I did put an emphasis to improve it. I'm also happy with only gaining 2 inches in my waist, which is down from the 35" inches I was at the same time last year. 


One thing I didn't mention in my previous progress post is that I removed my leg days from my lifting schedule. I felt like my legs and especially my hips/glutes were getting out of proportion, thus ruining my aesthetics :) You can see that I gained 2 inches in my hip measurement despite despite not training hips at all for the last 6 weeks.


Overall, I'm happy with the end result. I have never been this big, strong, or "lean" at this weight before. Below are all my progress pictures that I during this bulk going from from left to right. (The pictures aren't perfectly aligned because I tried to scale the images all to about the same head size...and I got lazy with cropping.)


I'm not sure why the first picture's lighting is totally different but this was taken sometime around August when I was maintaining my lean condition for the summer. As you can see in the pictures as they progress, the cuts and tan decreases and the fat and size increases.

Looking at this picture sure does make me miss being at low bodyfat percentages!


Now that I'm done with bulking, I'm excited to start cutting and have actually been doing so for the past week and a half. It sure has felt great to start shedding the fat and seeing more cuts again! :)

Thanksgiving Fat Gain - How to Prevent It

Thanksgiving is here and now is the time when people really start to pack on the fat! I know I have done it myself in the past and am trying to avoid the fat gain disaster this year. 


Every year my family and relatives all go to my Aunt's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. Although we are Vietnamese, we do partake in eating Turkey and mashed potatoes. Along with this food though will be other Asian foods such egg rolls, fried rice, crab soup, fried noodles, and other various Vietnamese desserts. 

Can't wait to eat this!

It's easy to see how someone could go overboard with all this delicious food! Because of my goal to stay fairly lean while bulking, I am going to utilize the strategy outlined below in an attempt to prevent fat gain.


My strategy to minimize the fat from building:

• Eat low calories and no carbs the day before (about 1500 calories for me)
• Fasted weight training the morning of
• Fast until mealtime (probably around 12 pm for me)
• Eat meats/veggies first before filling up on carbs and desserts
• Do something active after the meal such as taking a walk or throwing football around.

If I still feel like a fatass the day after, I will then have another low carb cardio day on Black Friday. 


I believe the strategy outlined would help anybody prevent fat gain from the Thanksgiving eating and I am damn sure it will help me :) I think I might even take before and after pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving!

10 Week Bulking Progress Pics

It is now 10 weeks into my bulk and after a low carb, cardio day I am sitting at 172.5 lbs.

This is up 4.5 lbs in 5 weeks which is not quite a 1 lb a week gain but it's close enough and I'm happy to be gaining at this slow, steady pace. I never want to go back to where I was before.

As far as the Anabeta goes, I definitely feel a difference and can see a difference in the mirror using this as opposed to when I was using the T2-Xtreme. I've been gaining more strength in the gym so I believe it is having a positive effect. It actually feels like the T2-Xtreme wasn't doing anything compared to this Anabeta!

Staring to look "bulkier" 

Christmas tree still present...but barely :(

Can still see my abs but definitely looking bigger and chunkier

These most recent pics show I'm looking bigger but also less muscular due to the fat gain. I'm okay with the rate of fat gain at this point as I don't look "fat" yet and can still see my abs. As far as body measurements go, I have gained 1 inch on my waist but 2 inches on my chest! I'm very happy with this as I have been prioritizing my chest during this bulk and it's awesome to be seeing results! :)

Keep checking back! I'll continue to keep you guys updated on my bulk! How has everyone else's bulk or cuts been going?