Bulking up without getting too fat?

man I am in the same boat - keen to hear ideas on this too

every person is different as far as calories and weight gain go. personally, i have an ok metabolism, but this winter have eaten crap and done little physical exercise. good calories exist in all the usual BB foods, but for the real weight gain i find that any dish with rice or pasta are the go. and get ur self a good high calorie high carb protien powder.

what i found worked well was cutting carbs after about 7pm and getting outside in the morn before brekky 3-4 days a week for cardio, i actually lose 5kgs doing that while bulking up, give it a go. I gain fat quite easily aswell. 🙁

Increase your calories a little at a time, don;t go all out! i learned my lesson after the last bulker. I was eating like crazy but with good clean foods but was also using maltodextrin to up the calories, and went way too high. Can u imagine putting 2kg of fats + maybe water in 3 days!!! It shows in the mirror too! And that was towards the end of the cycle where the gain was slowing down, so its not the water from the Dbol either. The next one, i'm just gonna increase the cals a little at a time. Fuk the eat like crazy for max gain shit! Not worth the fats!!! 😀 But hey everyones diff maybe eating like crazy does good for some but its definitely not for me 🙂

I am in the same boat, i cant seem to gain any more weight without my waist getting bigger. I am interested in opinions.

Watch the carbs that will chuck on the fat pretty quick. I'm currently pounding down just protein and fat all day long and some carbs pre and post training and that's really it. Strength is going up rather fast and i do look like i'm getting bigger. I find with the scales i'll seem to sit at the same weight for ages then suddenly BAM the scales say i'm 1kg heavier. They don't really measure slight increases very well, carb depletion, hydration levels can vary quit a bit day to day so if you are trying to go up in weight just spread it out to weighing each Monday or something. I find if my strength isn't going anywhere in the gym, i'm not getting bigger nor putting on weight.

Your question has been answered pretty much with some of the above posts. But I'll have a go. Do a little cardio so as to keep your bodyfat under control but not too much so as to slow recovery and muscle growth. No more than 30mins at a time, maybe 4 days a week, see how you go, you might need more or less. Eat lots of good clean food but add in some not so clean food here and there to keep the calories up. Like add a slice of pizza or muffin for eg to a normal clean meal. Protein drinks are very helpful. You might not need a weight gain one if your taking in enough calories from your meals, because if you are taking in enough calories a weight gain shake will start to add fat to your body. Remember muscle is made of protein. Make sure you eat some every 2-3 hours. Opinions vary but I personally think 3-3.5g of protein is a good guide. You might need a little more (doubt it) you might need a little less (doubt it). The best way is to keep a very close monitor on your body. Check your skinfold regularly by a simple pinch test with your fingers. If it is going up pretty quick you're eating more fat or more calories than you need. It should stay about the same or go up ever so slightly. Check your weight weekly at least. If your weight is going up but skinfold is staying the same things are good. If your weight is going up but so is your fat at a fast rate your gaining fat too fast, etc etc. Check the mirror for visual signs. And keep a close eye on your strength levels. If you do the above 4 things you get a real good idea of what is going on. That way you can adjust your calories as to how things are going. It's a pretty accurate way of keeping things going right.

Stay away from the processed carbs such as white bread and white rice. Stick with oats brown rice etc etc.

I don't know whatg rice prrodge is though I could guess however as for the rice bread/crqackers I would avoid these thay have an extremely high GI and are crap carbs.

Good point soccer.... carb choice is very important, i use oats and potato

Thankyou for all your replies and suggestions. Good to have competitor input too. Don't have to worry about cardio now, as I got my motorbike pinched at the weekend, and now spend about an extra 1 1/2 hours a day walking. Unless my bike is recovered, it will be a long time before I have transport again, as I won't have enough money to get a new one for a while. Rice flakes and rice flour for bread are made from the whole grain and are not processed the way rice crackers and puffed rice are, so hopefully they will be much more nutritious and have a lower GI. They are very good for people with a wheat/gluten/yeast intolerance. The rice bread I buy is horrible and the only way I can eat it is toasted, but it does make for an adequate substitute for ordinary bread. I've lost my calorie counter with all the protein, calorie values, etc and am having difficulty in finding another one as comprehensive. I guess you really lhave to weigh everything you eat during the week and work out whether you need to increase or decrease intake dependent on how you measure up on the scales. Can anyone in the know or who has competed tell me how you work out what weight you bulk up to and what you plan to cut back to for competition purposes? As I mentioned, I started at about 80kg, am now about 85. Do I aim for 90-95 , say, by Christmas, and if I planned to compete in april, what weight should I aim to get down to? I'm sure that my question would be of interest to would-be competitors, and I'm just giving my statistics as a gauge.

It is good to aim for a weight but I have no idea what BF% you are. Personally I wouldn't go above 12% in the offseason, it's too hard getting into comp shape as it is. I think if you've never competed before it's no use aiming for a weight as you have no idea where you will end up. Aim to be shredded. Do everything you can to save muscle while getting shredded. You will then be able to aim for a weight gain for your next comp. You will also learn much your first comp which will make it a little easier next time, not physically but less hit and miss.

Take drugs.

It is not so much weight but your bodyfat %. What is it at present?