Question about bulking and Aero jacket size

[Graemsay]

Looking good there @ton312!

I've heard that a realistic expectation is that a drug free (or natural) lifter can expect to add 20 to 30 lbs over their career. I went from about 85 kg (185 lbs) to 95 kg (210 lbs), and maybe a bit leaner over ten or fifteen years. I probably went up a jacket size in the process.

The Hooch Hauler looks as though it's got a bit of space in the chest and shoulders. You've got space to bulk.

As others have said, a lot of natural or steroid free bodybuilders, especially on Instagram, aren't. There are a couple of PTs at my local gym who're carrying a bunch more muscle than me, yet compete in what are allegedly drug free competitions...

 

[Monitor]

Interesting read this thread is.

 

[Carlos840]

I have gone from 185lb down to 165lb and then back up to 175lb following a change in training routine and weight cuts, and all my jackets still fit me well.
There is definitely a bit more room in the chest and shoulders, but they don't feel too large.
I think putting on or losing weight in an "athletic way" isn't as dramatic as gaining or losing weight in fat storage. If you gain 10lbs of muscle it's probably going to be spread out over your entire body, if you gain 10lbs of fat, it's probably going to be mostly stored on your stomach or in a specific area of your body.

Unless you are planning to go on steroid cycles and double your body weight, i would not worry about it.
(IMO the whole bulking period following by dieting periods is mega overkill for 99% of people! Just train hard and eat well!)

 

[Jejupe]

+1 for don't bulk unless you're using chemicals. One of the good reasons is that bulking should be followed with hard training combined with hard diet to lose the extra fat but to maintain(most of) the muscle mass. Hard training + hard diet is a combination that might cause many problems, for example one's testosterone levels might crash.

In my opinion bulking should be done only if

a) you want to get stronger and don't mind getting fat
b) you're prepared to use performance enhancing drugs to maintain test levels and help with fat burning

on topic: without drugs you will not gain so much muscle mass that you will need a bigger jacket. Unfortunately only sky is the limit how much fat one can put on while "bulking". That might force you to change jacket from Hooch Hauler to Highwayman.

 

[navetsea]

don't look too cool without the jacket if you like wearing the jacket, otherwise the jacket never get worn...