Gaining muscle - how much?

How much lean mass gain is likely in a say... 6 week "bulking" period?  And how much fat is likely to jump on for the ride?

Is bulking/ cutting even worthwhile for the "average" gym guy?

I've been working out regularly for about 15 months now, and while I'm generally pleased with the results, my measurements are pretty stagnant - and I don't feel like I've seen any real change for quite awhile.

BF is at 16% (caliper method (13% bioimpedance - yeah, right)) - I know that's still higher than where bulking/ cutting usually comes into play, but it's been around that for so long that I'm kind of at a loss for any other ideas than to try to build up a little more muscle and then cut back again.

So any thoughts/ ideas/ input on the questions or the plan appreciated. 

Original Post by st_rider:

How much lean mass gain is likely in a say... 6 week "bulking" period Depends on how much your eating?  And how much fat is likely to jump on for the ride also depends on how much your eating?

John Berardi had an article recently about a guy who put on 20lbs in 20 weeks and his diet, it might give you a point of reference.

oh yeah, duh.

6'2, 197 ish now, maintenance is 2400, trying to get to 2900 w/ 1 gm/pound protein daily.

Is that 2400 for maintenance if you're sedentary?  it seems pretty low if you're working out.

I'm 6'1 and only working out 3 days a week and my weight is holding steady right around 200 on a 2800-3500 cal/day diet.

Yeah, that's sedentary maintenance - but it seems pretty accurate for me at workout maintenance - I've been at 195 ish for a YEAR - (is there some kind of prize for longest plateau?) - Granted, theres been plenty of days over & under - but average probably right around 2400. 

Doing weights 3 x weekly, cardio at least 3 x weekly, but backing off cardio some while trying to build.

From what I hear, you should find your maintainence, then add 300 cals to it. You should gain about .5 lbs a week. Most will be muscle if you lift hard and often (without overtraining). Try not to do cardio, as that will make it harder to build muscle, although it still is possible if you eat enough. Some people like to eat WAY more like 1000cals extra, and they gain like a 2lbs a week but a lot of it is fat that you will have to cut later. Your body can only synthesize a set amount of muscle from the protein calories...any extra will be stored as fat. so if you wanna gain mostly muscle, just eat a little bit above maintainence.

Also, some people add cardio in (not too much) and that helps with keeping the fat down. Just make sure u still have a calorie surplus when doing cardio.