Introduction

[forumlurker]

Hi guys,

21M here, been a lurker here for a minute here - just made this account so I don't get limited by the guest viewing limit haha.

Been lifting since I was 17, never made any crazy gains as I've spent most of my time lifting in a deficit. Don't really one rep max anymore but lifts are 130kg/287lbs bench, 195kg/430lbs squat and 200kg/440lbs deadlift at around 6foot 83kg/183lbs.

Have never taken any anabolics myself and probably wouldn't in the foreseeable future as my testosterone production at this age is relatively high and wouldn't be sure if my future self would appreciate it. However, currently on some reta to shred some last bit of weight before entering a proper bulk for the first time finally.

Intrigued by the amount of knowledge and wisdom on these forums on anabolics and peptides as pharmacology is something that I have always found fascinating.

Always happy to learn from the community

 

[Elektrobot]

currently on some reta to shred some last bit of weight before entering a proper bulk for the first time finally.

Dive into really learning and understanding nutrition so you don't waste your "bulk" on just getting fat.

Are you weighing your food with a food scale and tracking the macros of everything you eat in an app?

If not, now is the time to start that habit

 

[forumlurker]

Dive into really learning and understanding nutrition so you don't waste your "bulk" on just getting fat.

Are you weighing your food with a food scale and tracking the macros of everything you eat in an app?

If not, now is the time to start that habit

Currently I do track everything quite religiously. For the nutrition part, I definitely could improve on choosing more nutritious foods with more of a micronutrient profile as I basically just prioritize low calorie, high protein foods at the moment, also a lot of the times ignoring fat and carbohydrate intake which I know serve their own purposes.

I see a lot of advice online about bulking at a surplus of around 200 - 300 calories above maintenance max to minimize fat loss, I wonder if this advice is practical in reality and is something I should follow.

 

[Elektrobot]

Currently I do track everything quite religiously. For the nutrition part, I definitely could improve on choosing more nutritious foods with more of a micronutrient profile as I basically just prioritize low calorie, high protein foods at the moment, also a lot of the times ignoring fat and carbohydrate intake which I know serve their own purposes.

I see a lot of advice online about bulking at a surplus of around 200 - 300 calories above maintenance max to minimize fat loss, I wonder if this advice is practical in reality and is something I should follow.

If you are only doing 200-300 calories worth of effort in the gym, fix that.

I’m not talking about just energy expenditure during the workout.

If you are only causing a minuscule amount of stimulus, then sure, a minuscule surplus is all you need.

Don’t worry about “bulking” until you are training at a level that demands it.