bulking and cutting phases

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I used to think that bulking and cutting is only for competing bodybuilders who need to go to very low BF levels for competitions.

However, now I have accepted the notion that in order to come close to one's natural limit, one has to overfeed at some times (and subsequently, to diet off superfluous BF).

This leads me to the question how bulking an cutting phases should be planned around the year.

Do you think it's realistic to have 4 three-month blocks of bulking/cutting, say
May-July: cutting
August-October: bulking
November-January: cutting
February-April: bulking
If one allows for BF fluctuations in the 3 percent range (e.g. between 10-13 percent), the length of each block should be sufficient

Or do you think it would be better to divide the year in only two blocks and allow for higher BF fluctuation (e. g. between 10 and 15-16 percent)?

Which of the above strategies would yield the greater potential for LBM gains?
 
I think that your first suggestion is the better one. Only allowing for a 3% fluctuation in bf% makes it much easier to drop the fat. This past fall/winter I bulked from August to January and I have just recently brought my BF% down below where it was last year. It sucked. One good theing is that I haven't lost any lean mass while doing it.

From now on, I have decided to forgo the traditional bulk/cut and just slowly try and add muscle with little to no fat for the next year. I know that I probably wont add as much LBM as I could, but I also won't have to spend 6 months trying to lose fat. We'll see how it goes.
 
Thanks for your reply, Steve. I have the notion that for beginners and intermediates, bulking is a great idea. The hypertrophy stimulus from weight training is so great that most of the surplus calories will be turned into muscle. However, as you approach your natural limit, you just won't gain a ton of muscle within a couple of weeks, regardless of calorie intake. Most of the excess calories will inevitably end up in the wrong spot.
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Still, I will allow my BF to rise slightly during fall. As long as there is a slight increase of BF, nobody can accuse me of "not eating enough to create an anabolic environment conducive to hypertrophy". ;)
 
After some consideration, my battle plan looks like this:

First, I'll start with creatine supplementation. Due to water retention, my weight will probably go up a little. After being "loaded", I will take my weight and body composition at that time as a starting point for subsequent bulking.

Then, I'll gradually increase my food intake and lower my cardio slightly. I have computed my bulking needs to be about 2.400-2.800 kcals/day. As I am unwilling to count calories on a meal-to-meal basis, I'll map some "model days", i.e. nutrient breakdown and food quantities at fixed calorie levels. So I should roughly know where I am. (Thanks for telling me this method, Hayai
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From that moment on, I'll just go after weight gain. I'll aim for one pound every one to two weeks. I'll monitor body composition every 2-4 weeks, and when I find that I either get too fat or that I'm gaining mostly fat, I'll terminate bulking.
 
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