When Should I start bulking up?
 

I am 5'11 185lbs.

I want to lose about 8-10lbs of fat still. I also want to start putting on more muscle.
My question is when should I start bulking up?

Should I lose more fat first or should I just start bulking up now with the fat on my body?

When I want to bulk up should I follow the CKD?

Also what are some good books on weight lifting?

Thanks,
Jay

cut-and-bulk
 

I follow the "cut-and-bulk" method too.

I bulk for 8 weeks, then I maintain that for 8 weeks, then I cut for 8 weeks, then I maintain for 8 weeks ... then I repeat until my goal is met (a hard 240 would be nice).

Where you start is up to you, but I generally advise men that are over 15% bodyfat to start with a cut cycle.

CKD is NOT a bulking diet. It is a fat loss diet that allows you to maintain most of your muscle mass.

When I bulk, i eat anything that doesn't scream, kick, or isn't nailed down. I shoot for 1.5 grams of protein per lb. of bodyweight, and as long as I meet that each day, anything goes.

When I maintain after a bulk-up, I begin to clean up the diet for the first 4 weeks, but I keep calories the same, maybe a touch lower.

For the second 4 weeks of maintaining, I follow a Zone-type diet and begin to monitor my AM temperature. Using that as a guide, I make my adjustments and slide gradually into a CKD over the next 4 weeks.

That's just my style. I am not saying you have to do that, but I have found that it works for me.

You know, I must be the only person I know who uses a CKD to gain mass.

I've had alot of success with it. But there are a ton of problems.

For instance, to get 1 gram of protein/lb, you *must* use sources other than protein shakes, otherwise you will always keep getting kicked out of ketosis.

And you had really better like fat. And a lot of it. Since that's the only way to boost your calories into a caloric surplus, which is a must if gaining mass, as Trainer Dan will tell you.

The advantage is this: by dominating the insulin releases, it's one of the few ways to gain mass and pick up almost no body fat. Well, at least it won't rise very much on a percentage basis. But over the long-term, a keto diet is not a good bulking diet. Insulin is just too anabolic a hormone.

PS - Dan, I owe you an email. I tried the Glutamine trick, worked very well.

thanks
 

Thanks for the info Mike ... It is an interesting thought to use a CKD as a mass gainer ... I just did the math on what it would take in terms of fat to use a CKD as a gianer, whoo! That's alot of fat! LOL.

Glad that the glutamine trick worked for you. L-glu is a VERY underrated supplement.