Fall Bulk Week 1 Review
The first week of the bulk is in the books, and the results are in. In this post, I’ll share what metrics I look at to make decisions about the following week’s diet and training. First and foremost, I track my daily calorie intake and output to ensure I’m staying in an energy surplus for…
The first week of the bulk is in the books, and the results are in. In this post, I’ll share what metrics I look at to make decisions about the following week’s diet and training.
First and foremost, I track my daily calorie intake and output to ensure I’m staying in an energy surplus for the week. There can be daily fluctuation and even days where you’re not in a surplus, as long as you eat more than you burn in the week.
I’ve been using MyFitnessPal for years to track my calorie intake, but I’m sure there are better calorie-counting apps. Then I measure my daily energy expenditure using my Apple watch or Oura ring. Or you can use my TDEE calculator.
| Calories | |
|---|---|
| Average Calories Consumed | +2,816 |
| Average Calories Burned | -2,699 |
| Average Calorie Surplus | +117 (4%) |
For the first week of the bulk, my goal was to be in a 5% cumulative calorie surplus, and I hit 4% on average, so that’s a win.
In addition, I weigh myself first thing in the morning at least three days a week so I can average out any daily fluctuations. This week, I weighed myself every day because the more data points, the better.
My goal for the bulk is to gain around one pound of body weight per week. My average weight this week was 173.2 lbs, which is up 1.3 pounds from the previous week. Another win.
As you can see, I’m on pace to surpass my goal weight of 180 lbs based on this linear trendline. And I’m happy with how I look and feel right now.
The only caveat is that sometimes the first week of a bulk sees a big jump in weight in response to the increased calorie and carb intake. Some of this weight could be glycogen and water, meaning the second week might not see the same increase.
Nevertheless, as the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So, I intend to follow the exact same plan again this week but maybe err on the high side especially if my weight levels off.
