I'm about halfway through my second twelve-week circuit of a revamped 'Reformation' wherein I put focus on gaining strength and caring not too much about what my weight looks like (within reason). I'm doing a 'clean bulk,' pushing the weights hard 3-4 times a week and consuming on average about 250 calories over my TDEE. On my first 12-week circuit I ate right around Maintenance at 2000 average calories a day; for the past five weeks I've been consuming around 2250 a day. On the first circuit I went from 159.5 to 160.5#; right now, five weeks in to the clean bulk, I have gone from 160.5# to 163.5#, for a total of three pounds gained; in a clean bulk you want to gain anywhere between .5-1 pound a week, so I'm right in the sweet spot, gaining around .75 pounds each week.
In my last Reformation post, the plan laid out was to continue eating around Maintenance and continue slowly gaining muscle without putting on any fat. After much consideration, I decided to scrap that and do a clean bulk. One of my concerns was putting on more fat around my waistline; I've always had a belly thanks to bullheaded Prussian genetics, and I was afraid about that getting more severe. Eventually I came to the conclusion that abs are for high school boys, and the wife likes my belly, so what's the big deal? I'll continue the clean bulk for a while, with the aim of not going over 175#. Once I hit 175# (at this rate that would be another 13 weeks, around the end of February and beginning of March), I'll engage a slow cutting phase at 1750-1850 calories a day leading into the summer.
