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Any point in bulking and cutting?

Hi guys,

I went gym for a whole year and saw amazing results. During that time, i saw a vast amount of changes and i also increased my food intake. However, back then i simply was not going with any direction of course and was just hoping to put muscle. Anyways, i haven't been going for 3 months now and now want to resume my gym training. However, i am not unsure whether i need t bulk or cut.I would say that i am slim but with muscle (no abs atm though). I want to get bigger and i do find he cut look, aesthetically attractive. I wouldn't mind obtaining that cut look. The thing is, i am unsure where to go. And also,m what is the point in bulking and cutting, if i am just going to constantly yo- yo between the two. - gain muscle and then lose it? Or is there a way, to obtain that cut look and just keep it all year round/ And i don't mean, absolutely shredded look but just cut enough to where the muscles and abs look pretty defined.

Also, i have heard that the fat cells you lose during bulking, don''t actually go after you cut, so what is the actual point?

Someone please help me out

Thanks!

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anyone?
There's a reason why people bulk. Bulking is the easiest and quickest way to get stronger, lift heavier and put on muscle. So, you eat thousands of calories each day and a huge amount of protein, your lifts go up, your muscle goes up...but you're inevitably going to gain weight, there's no stopping that. You won't get obese/fat obviously, but you'll gain muscle and fat together at the same time. I've never understood the obsession with getting defined abs, for me it's always been about getting stronger and lifting heavier, not interested in what my abs look like. But anyway...if you want to go for that look, then first you need to put on weight (muscle + fat) and then after a certain period of time, you need to control your diet and be very strict with what you eat so that you shed as much of the fat as you can. Low body fat percentage is what gives you 'defined' abs.
Well, once you've been training for a year, the only way to gain muscle mass is to eat in a caloric surplus. Thing is, a lot of people overdo it. You only need to eat a few hundred calories over maintenance, there's only a certain amount of muscle you can gain in a certain time frame and eating more and more food isn't going to force any more mass gains. A few hundred over maintenance will do the trick, and the fat gain will be slow. You shouldn't lose a great deal of muscle mass if you train efficiently and eat a lot of protein during your cutting phases, and due to muscle memory that mass will spring right back once you raise your calories again and continue training.

My way of doing it/recommending it would be as follows:

If you need to lose fat before you start lifting, do it and get lean, have a perfect starting base.

Once lean, start lifting, eat at maintenance. You'll gain a lot of mass within the first few months.

Keep recalculating your maintenance as you gain weight. You could continue to eat at maintenance and still gain muscle for anywhere up to your first year, and shouldn't put on any fat.

Once you stop gaining at maintenance, time to go a few hundred over maintenance and maybe switch up training a bit.

Keep up this bulking until you've hit the two year mark. You might be at about 15% bodyfat by then give or take, at which point you can decide to cut. The reason it's ideal to bulk for the first 2 years is because these are when you'll make the most gains, so it makes sense to eat to gain all the way through it.
Original post by WoodyMKC
Well, once you've been training for a year, the only way to gain muscle mass is to eat in a caloric surplus. Thing is, a lot of people overdo it. You only need to eat a few hundred calories over maintenance, there's only a certain amount of muscle you can gain in a certain time frame and eating more and more food isn't going to force any more mass gains. A few hundred over maintenance will do the trick, and the fat gain will be slow. You shouldn't lose a great deal of muscle mass if you train efficiently and eat a lot of protein during your cutting phases, and due to muscle memory that mass will spring right back once you raise your calories again and continue training.

My way of doing it/recommending it would be as follows:

If you need to lose fat before you start lifting, do it and get lean, have a perfect starting base.

Once lean, start lifting, eat at maintenance. You'll gain a lot of mass within the first few months.

Keep recalculating your maintenance as you gain weight. You could continue to eat at maintenance and still gain muscle for anywhere up to your first year, and shouldn't put on any fat.

Once you stop gaining at maintenance, time to go a few hundred over maintenance and maybe switch up training a bit.

Keep up this bulking until you've hit the two year mark. You might be at about 15% bodyfat by then give or take, at which point you can decide to cut. The reason it's ideal to bulk for the first 2 years is because these are when you'll make the most gains, so it makes sense to eat to gain all the way through it.


Thanks for the reply. Like i would say, i am just currently slim but with no abs. So, would you say that i should contuine just eating my usual amount and going gym and then maybe later on, bulk? I'm just not planning on getting too big. I want to have a decent amount of muscle as well as abs
Original post by rurounikenji
Hi guys,

I went gym for a whole year and saw amazing results. During that time, i saw a vast amount of changes and i also increased my food intake. However, back then i simply was not going with any direction of course and was just hoping to put muscle. Anyways, i haven't been going for 3 months now and now want to resume my gym training. However, i am not unsure whether i need t bulk or cut.I would say that i am slim but with muscle (no abs atm though). I want to get bigger and i do find he cut look, aesthetically attractive. I wouldn't mind obtaining that cut look. The thing is, i am unsure where to go. And also,m what is the point in bulking and cutting, if i am just going to constantly yo- yo between the two. - gain muscle and then lose it? Or is there a way, to obtain that cut look and just keep it all year round/ And i don't mean, absolutely shredded look but just cut enough to where the muscles and abs look pretty defined.


This depends entirely on how skinny/ skinny fat you are. Nearly always I recommend to bulk and cut later, but it's person dependant.

Get your diet sorted, have a good routine - all this can be found in the new FAQ http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3014757


Also, i have heard that the fat cells you lose during bulking, don''t actually go after you cut, so what is the actual point?


No just no :smile:
Original post by Angry cucumber
This depends entirely on how skinny/ skinny fat you are. Nearly always I recommend to bulk and cut later, but it's person dependant.

Get your diet sorted, have a good routine - all this can be found in the new FAQ http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3014757



No just no :smile:


Yeah, i am currently following the starting strength 5 x5. I am honestly was just average skinny fat when i joined gym. Now a year later, i am just pretty much toned . My point is, if your bulk and then cut, the cut appearance doesn't last long and then your back into the bulk round again and cut after etc. So, whats th actual point of the whole thing? Or does the muscle you gain from your first bulk and cut session, still stay after that first cut? Or does the efffects of the first cut session, still reside with you (providing you don't mess up your diet) and possibliy still stays with you, if you were to go on another bulk?

I am so sorry, if i sound like a newb :smile:
Original post by rurounikenji
Thanks for the reply. Like i would say, i am just currently slim but with no abs. So, would you say that i should contuine just eating my usual amount and going gym and then maybe later on, bulk? I'm just not planning on getting too big. I want to have a decent amount of muscle as well as abs


As I said mate, if you wanna get bigger you need to bulk. But as I also said, it needn't be overdone, just a few hundred calories over maintenance. Don't worry about getting too big, it will never happen - never just gonna wake up one day and realise you got too big overnight :lol:
Reply 8
Dream bulk for a year.
Original post by KingGym
Dream bulk for a year.


dream bulk?
Reply 10
Original post by rurounikenji
dream bulk?


Yes, bulk for a year, yes you'll look like obese bear, but your strength will increase amazingly over the year and aesthetics can occur within a 4-7 month period once you can actually lift decent weight.
Original post by Angry cucumber
This depends entirely on how skinny/ skinny fat you are. Nearly always I recommend to bulk and cut later, but it's person dependant.

Get your diet sorted, have a good routine - all this can be found in the new FAQ http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3014757



No just no :smile:


Original post by rurounikenji
Hi guys,

I went gym for a whole year and saw amazing results. During that time, i saw a vast amount of changes and i also increased my food intake. However, back then i simply was not going with any direction of course and was just hoping to put muscle. Anyways, i haven't been going for 3 months now and now want to resume my gym training. However, i am not unsure whether i need t bulk or cut.I would say that i am slim but with muscle (no abs atm though). I want to get bigger and i do find he cut look, aesthetically attractive. I wouldn't mind obtaining that cut look. The thing is, i am unsure where to go. And also,m what is the point in bulking and cutting, if i am just going to constantly yo- yo between the two. - gain muscle and then lose it? Or is there a way, to obtain that cut look and just keep it all year round/ And i don't mean, absolutely shredded look but just cut enough to where the muscles and abs look pretty defined.

Also, i have heard that the fat cells you lose during bulking, don''t actually go after you cut, so what is the actual point?

Someone please help me out

Thanks!


I wouldn't listen to angry cucumber if you want to be lean and muscly, if you want to be big and fat and lift heavy weights then listen to him.

Also cucumber science suggests fat cells do remain pretty much constant in your life :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7378349.stm

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/how-to-get-rid-of-fat-cells-from-your-body

The number of fat cells in your body will remain the same but the amount of fat they store varies.
Being a section mod and all cucumber I thought you wouldn't state ''fact'' without evidence, but then again you do like your pseudo science :mmm:
Original post by Schrödingers Cat
I wouldn't listen to angry cucumber if you want to be lean and muscly, if you want to be big and fat and lift heavy weights then listen to him.

Also cucumber science suggests fat cells do remain pretty much constant in your life :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7378349.stm

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/how-to-get-rid-of-fat-cells-from-your-body

The number of fat cells in your body will remain the same but the amount of fat they store varies.
Being a section mod and all cucumber I thought you wouldn't state ''fact'' without evidence, but then again you do like your pseudo science :mmm:


So,, what do you suggest i do?
If you're cutting how much cardio should you be doing per week?
Original post by rurounikenji
So,, what do you suggest i do?


Gain weight by gaining muscle not fat, this way you bulk and get a nice cut look at the same time
Original post by Schrödingers Cat
Gain weight by gaining muscle not fat, this way you bulk and get a nice cut look at the same time


So i bulk and cut, then repeat straight after and continue? Or can i just simply bulk and get a cut look at the same time without having to enter the cycle of bulk and cut, constantly every year?
Tbh my best strength gains after a few years have come from periods when I'm maintaining my weight or losing slightly.

But if you want to get fat then go ahead.

I'd hit around maintenance calories personally. You'll lose some fat and gain muscle.
Original post by Motorbiker
Tbh my best strength gains after a few years have come from periods when I'm maintaining my weight or losing slightly.

But if you want to get fat then go ahead.

I'd hit around maintenance calories personally. You'll lose some fat and gain muscle.


Thats what i have been doing for the past year - maintaining. I'm just not to sure if i can go about calculating macros etc everyday. I mean, i follow the basics ; nutriition wise
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by rurounikenji
So i bulk and cut, then repeat straight after and continue? Or can i just simply bulk and get a cut look at the same time without having to enter the cycle of bulk and cut, constantly every year?


It really depends on what your definition of bulking is, do you want to be really big or just heavier?
Original post by Schrödingers Cat
It really depends on what your definition of bulking is, do you want to be really big or just heavier?


Just want to put on more muscle but still remain lean

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