Mass gain, SS, and "clean bulking"
Hey all,
First post, so patience is appreciated if my post covers things have been rehashed, I have done some searching before posting.
Anyway, I've been doing an SS-like program(Stronglifts 5x5) and then SS since the start of April. When I first started lifting I changed my diet to eat clean, essentially paleo with legumes and the occasional dairy, and tried to bulk that way. I added GOMAD (or as best I can; I'm deployed, and chow hall resupply occasionally leaves us without milk) when I started standard SS about seven weeks ago. Currently my lifting numbers are:
Squat - 215
Press - 125
Bench - 145
Deadlift - 255
Generally speaking, I'm fine with my progress under the bar, but have been disappointed with body composition. My weight has moved up ~20 lbs, from around 195 to just over 215, but comparing pictures from April and now, I can see or feel minimal changes only, mostly in my legs. I'm unchanged at 20-21% BF at both stages as measured by calipers. My goal with all of this was to build muscle mass from which to have a good base to lean out later, when I plan to move to Crossfitting.
Basically, my concern is that my current diet isn't doing a lot to build muscle mass, and I'm just kind of gaining a little muscle and mostly weight. Is "clean bulking" of the type I'm trying to do really even feasible? Would I be better off just eating a whole ton of food and GOMADing, or would I be gaining too much fat in that case? If anyone has comments on how I can change my diet to optimize mass gain (again, I'm aware I'll be gaining fat either way, just want to gain as little as possible), it would be greatly appreciated.
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