Cut to bulk??

[jimmywst]

Afternoon guys,

I'm new to the weight/body building way of life and after being informed about the importance of nutrition I did some more research, along my travels around the www I found an article(s) claiming the best results are from cutting to 10% BF the clean bulking from there....

I'm sitting around the 181lbs and still soft with it, I've addressed dietary needs and on the 1800cal a day mark whilst trying to keep the proteins as high as possible.


My question: is this the best way of approaching bulking up eventually ??

be yourself- everyone else is taken

[Docmattic]

After trial and error i no longer bulk as in eat everything i can. When i do bulk i only up my calores by 300-500 (depending on gym workload) over maintenance. I dont want to get too fat and just have to loose it again.

However if you have been cutting for a while you can use the cut as a priming stage and bulk up quickly for a short period of time. This is because your body is being deprived of calories so it is primed to absorb nutrients. Essentially you can eat 700-1000 calories over maintenance for two-three weeks with little fat gain. I wish i had utilized this better after my last cut. From my research i wold cut carbs the week before i did this. You could probably gain about 2 clean pounds. I plan to try this after my cut.

[jimmywst]

So it really is trial and error once I get to a starting point for the build up, thanks for your reply... Sounds like a good chance to learn where my maintenance and gain calories are gonna be...

be yourself- everyone else is taken

[masonmarin18]

Yeah you basically have to find your maintenance level and eat a calorie surplus. 3-500 works best to keep fat gain to a minimum. Lift weights at least 3x a week, all these people dirty bulk cuz they think they can put on 5 lbs of muscle in a month, when in reality they gained 1.5 lbs of muscle and 3.5lbs of fat.

[ITW]

Yeah you basically have to find your maintenance level and eat a calorie surplus. 3-500 works best to keep fat gain to a minimum. Lift weights at least 3x a week, all these people dirty bulk cuz they think they can put on 5 lbs of muscle in a month, when in reality they gained 1.5 lbs of muscle and 3.5lbs of fat.

Yeah I'm a fan of keeping it all in control. Too many calories over maintenance just packs on the fat. Of course more muscle too but then you have to be so careful while cutting that you don't lose that mass. Just too much to worry about imo. And another thing I don't trust those calorie calculators online. You have to go by trial and error to find your true maintenance because everyone is different.

[masonmarin18]

Yeah I'm a fan of keeping it all in control. Too many calories over maintenance just packs on the fat. Of course more muscle too but then you have to be so careful while cutting that you don't lose that mass. Just too much to worry about imo. And another thing I don't trust those calorie calculators online. You have to go by trial and error to find your true maintenance because everyone is different.

More cals doesn't mean more muscle. You can only gain so much muscle in a month naturally and the average is 1.5-2lbs a month of LBM if you aren't near your natural limit.

[jimmywst]

Nice... Thanks guys, answers a few of my newbie questions

be yourself- everyone else is taken

[masonmarin18]

Nice... Thanks guys, answers a few of my newbie questions

be yourself- everyone else is taken

Np man that's what we're here for.

[ITW]

More cals doesn't mean more muscle. You can only gain so much muscle in a month naturally and the average is 1.5-2lbs a month of LBM if you aren't near your natural limit.

Good point