Fall Bulk Week 3 Review
With 21 days of bulking down, it’s time to review the numbers from week three and determine if any adjustments are necessary.
Week 3 of the bulk was another success in terms of tracking and recording daily calories/macros and energy expenditure. This information should provide a valuable glimpse into what is helping or hurting my muscle gain progress.
Here are the 7-day averages for energy balance.
| Calories | |
|---|---|
| Average Calories Consumed | +2,841 |
| Average Calories Burned | -2,664 |
| Average Calorie Surplus | +177 (7%) |
If you’ve been following along, week three’s energy balance was almost identical to the previous week. So, you would expect my body weight to increase proportionately.
Yet, it looks like my weight gain has slowed down and perhaps started to plateau. This could be due to outside factors like stress, which was higher this week.
However, it’s also likely that my metabolism has adapted and sped up in response to my higher calorie intake and some lean muscle gains. Therefore, it is probably time to aim higher on calories.
Week four of the bulk coincides with Thanksgiving, which seems the perfect way to eat more and break this plateau. But I will travel across the country for this holiday, which presents some unique challenges.
As a result, my goal for this coming week is to at least maintain my current weight. And if I can find ways to stay on track with my diet and workout routine, hopefully, I can continue gaining.
Keep up with my daily check-ins, or follow up with my week four review to see how I do!
