What are everyone's thoughts on alternating cutting and bulking?

stacj27

So I've found a few questions on here and some other sites discussing this but I'd love some responses for my situation. So I was in a car accident that left my right side much smaller and weaker than my left. I even hold less fat on that side. Because I had gotten bigger (fat gain) than I'd like, I focused on losing body fat in the past 5 months and while it's been going well, I've stopped seeing the same results. I've lost a lot of inches but not too much weight, which I'm fine with. But as I've been losing weight, the difference between my 2 sides has stayed the same. So for example my starting right thigh was 24.5 inches and my the left was 27. Now my right is 22 and my left is 24.5. I've been gaining strength in my weaker side, but not mass which I'd like to have more of on that side to even things out. So I've been considering doing a short bulk to see if I can build up that side. I'm mostly doing unilateral movements where I go to failure (or close to) on my weak side, and then do half the reps on my stronger side. I still do deadlifts, pullups, blah, blah, but only do movements where I would use both sides once a week. I workout 6 days a week alternating push/quads + calves (mon, wed, fri) and pull/booty + hamstrings (tues, thur, sun). I would continue that along with my HIIT workouts and hopefully build up my strength and gain minimal fat. I'm willing to sacrifice a little fat gain to build up that muscle. However I still want to lose fat long term, so I thought maybe doing an alternating bulk (+200 calories) and cut (-300 calories) to see if it gives me better results. Any thoughts? Also, what's a good time frame? 2 months per bulk/cut? 3 months? Any why. I'm 30 years old, 5'2", 145lbs, female. Thanks!

LiftHeavyThings27105

Wow! Sorry to hear about the car accident. Life is funny sometimes. Hopefully this time will be well spent learning things about yourself.

I do not have a good answer but am really interested in what the smart folks in this forum have to offer.

For bulking, meaning "adding mass/size" you typically would go for hypertrophy. This means that you are doing things in the 12 - 15 rep range (or so). You are not "gaining strength" - per se - so you are not in the 3 - 6 rep range. Necessarily.

I would actually suggest doing a little bit of both, to be honest. If you are doing the Mon, Wed, Fri thing then maybe one of those days is strength and two of those days are hypertrophy? Same for the Tue, Thur Sun days.

Anyway, interested in what the smart folks have to say!

Lean59man

Bulking and cutting is quite honestly an obsolete method not used anymore by successful bodybuilders.

It fell out of favor late 70s/early 80s when competitive bodybuilders decided it was better to keep within 10 lbs of their competitive weight and avoid strenuous weight loss for a contest. They also decided that frequent bulking and cutting resulted in loss of skin elasticity. By keeping close to their competitive weight they could quickly lean up.

It appears to be a popular method here on MFP but I do not recommend it. Others will disagree with me. I'm not a personal trainer but have been bodybuilding for over 40 years.

To help balance out your legs do a few extra sets of exercise with your smaller leg. For example you could do a few extra sets of single leg extensions, single leg curls, Bulgarian split squats with your smaller leg. I like reps in the range of 8-12. Work up to 3 sets of each exercise.

When you can get 12 good reps add a little weight. If you get less than 8 reps you are working too heavy for size gains. Try to get a good pump in your muscles.

sardelsa

So these articles are aimed at glute imbalances, but I would imagine you can apply them to the lower body so they might help you out.

https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-fix-glute-imbalances/

https://bretcontreras.com/2-1-method-fixing-glute-imbalances/

Honestly I don't want to direct you too much since I am not a trainer or physiotherapist, and maybe you may need more specific intervention for your specific issues.

I would not do alternating bulk/cut cycles as you described, as far as I know, they are not as effective and people end up spinning their wheels more often than not... rather I would eat at maintenance (you can still calorie cycle if you please, but overall you want to be maintaining your weight) and recomp to build muscle and lose fat over time, especially with your stats.

@Lean59man ... what do you define as "bulking/cutting" .. do you mean dirty bulking, because most of us here will agree that lean bulking (smaller surplus) is typically the way to go for most to keep gains controllable. Some people put this under the recomp umbrella because the surplus is small. I gain 1.5-2lbs per month, however I consider that bulking though since I am in a surplus with the aim to gain muscle (with minimal fat gains), then I run a cut cycle. I don't gain too much or let my bodyfat% get too high.

UncelDolan09

Wow, sorry to hear about that accident. I hope you'll be able to achieve your goals!
That said, I agree with the two posts above: Do isolated movements ONLY on your smaller side, adding to the big compound movements - that should help to gain more mass on one side that the other. For those isolated movements I'd also agree with the other two, focus on anything in the 8-12 rep range. For compounds, go for heavy sets of 5 (that's the best way in my opinion to build strength, which will also add to your size).
As for the diet: Rule of thumb is that you can gain and lose about 2 lbs / week without adding too much fat or losing too much muscle. If we combine that with the second post, I'd say aim for a 6 week bulk, and look at results (keyword here is look: what does the mirror say? What does the tape measure say?). If you're satisfied, you can reduce calorie intake to lose fat - if not, keep eating a surplus for another week and check back. I think what Lean59man said makes sense, however, keep in mind that he is talking about professional bodybuilders who have already reached their optimal weight. So for them, it's a matter of fine tuning around that weight. If you feel like you want to add 20lbs first, and then lose 10, you should be fine.
And to reiterate (although it sounds like you know what you're talking about): Make sure to eat at least 1g of Protein / lbs of body weight, maybe more. Keep fat at 0.4g / lbs of body weight. Fill up the rest with carbs. I know there's a lot of discussion around this, but I personally noticed that eating a protein rich meal every 2-3 hrs helped with building size (coming from a "hardgainer").

stacj27

Thanks guys. I've been dealing with the problem for a long time now and haven't really been taking care of it the way I should, so I know it's going to take time. Seems like mostly everyone is pretty much on the same page with the advice so I'll give it all a go and see how I do. If not, I might get a trainer or a physical therapist's help since I know my goal are unique. But hopefully I can do it on my own! Thanks again!

Lean59man

sardelsa wrote: »

So these articles are aimed at glute imbalances, but I would imagine you can apply them to the lower body so they might help you out.

https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-fix-glute-imbalances/

https://bretcontreras.com/2-1-method-fixing-glute-imbalances/

Honestly I don't want to direct you too much since I am not a trainer or physiotherapist, and maybe you may need more specific intervention for your specific issues.

I would not do alternating bulk/cut cycles as you described, as far as I know, they are not as effective and people end up spinning their wheels more often than not... rather I would eat at maintenance (you can still calorie cycle if you please, but overall you want to be maintaining your weight) and recomp to build muscle and lose fat over time, especially with your stats.

@Lean59man ... what do you define as "bulking/cutting" .. do you mean dirty bulking, because most of us here will agree that lean bulking (smaller surplus) is typically the way to go for most to keep gains controllable. Some people put this under the recomp umbrella because the surplus is small. I gain 1.5-2lbs per month, however I consider that bulking though since I am in a surplus with the aim to gain muscle (with minimal fat gains), then I run a cut cycle. I don't gain too much or let my bodyfat% get too high.

I don't think you would have any problem doing what you are doing.

jamesakrobinson

Haha I decided to try an actual bulk for the first time ever starting with Canadian Thanksgiving (I have always just gone lean(ish) bulk then a hard keto cut in the spring)
Apparently I am WAY too good at it. Instead of continuing until the New Year as I had intended I am increasing my cardio and limiting my carbs (not into ketosis but certainly cutting down) already.
I don't think bulk and cut is for me... The cut part would be far too drastic if I kept going. Lean gains and a mini keto session in the spring is what works for me with the least suffering.

stevencloser

Lean59man wrote: »

Bulking and cutting is quite honestly an obsolete method not used anymore by successful bodybuilders.

It fell out of favor late 70s/early 80s when competitive bodybuilders decided it was better to keep within 10 lbs of their competitive weight and avoid strenuous weight loss for a contest. They also decided that frequent bulking and cutting resulted in loss of skin elasticity. By keeping close to their competitive weight they could quickly lean up.

It appears to be a popular method here on MFP but I do not recommend it. Others will disagree with me. I'm not a personal trainer but have been bodybuilding for over 40 years.

To help balance out your legs do a few extra sets of exercise with your smaller leg. For example you could do a few extra sets of single leg extensions, single leg curls, Bulgarian split squats with your smaller leg. I like reps in the range of 8-12. Work up to 3 sets of each exercise.

When you can get 12 good reps add a little weight. If you get less than 8 reps you are working too heavy for size gains. Try to get a good pump in your muscles.

OP is not a competitive bodybuilder I'd assume.
And how do the competitive bodybuilders get to within 10 lbs of competitive weight in the first place? You know, when starting out with the whole "becoming a bodybuilder" business? I don't assume it's getting fat until they're within 10 lbs of the weight they want to be and then recomping to the bf% they desire.

Packerjohn

stacj27 wrote: »

Thanks guys. I've been dealing with the problem for a long time now and haven't really been taking care of it the way I should, so I know it's going to take time. Seems like mostly everyone is pretty much on the same page with the advice so I'll give it all a go and see how I do. If not, I might get a trainer or a physical therapist's help since I know my goal are unique. But hopefully I can do it on my own! Thanks again!

I would get a physical therapist's help vs a trainer given your situation. The vast majority of trainers don't have the education background to be the go to for accident rehab. If after consulting with a therapist you would want a personal trainer to help you with exercises under the guidance of the therapist, that would be fine.

deputy_randolph

Don't bulk at 5'2 145lbs. You won't be happy with the results, and cutting will turn into straight up "fat loss."

I didn't bulk until I got down to 123 (am 5'3). I'm not saying you need to be that low, just at a manageable weight for future cutting.

I knew it was time to switch from cutting to bulking when my weight loss started to effect my lifts.

Have you seen a physical therapist? Bulking isn't going to fix imbalances. Alternating calories per day is not cutting/bulking. If you are over 200 and under 300 the next day, you're still under.

When I did my first bulk, I gained10lbs in a year (mostly muscle). I started out 50 calories a day, would bump up every few weeks, spend a week in maintenance...slow slow slow.

richardgavel

Lean59man wrote: »

Bulking and cutting is quite honestly an obsolete method not used anymore by successful bodybuilders.

It fell out of favor late 70s/early 80s when competitive bodybuilders decided it was better to keep within 10 lbs of their competitive weight and avoid strenuous weight loss for a contest. They also decided that frequent bulking and cutting resulted in loss of skin elasticity. By keeping close to their competitive weight they could quickly lean up.

It appears to be a popular method here on MFP but I do not recommend it. Others will disagree with me. I'm not a personal trainer but have been bodybuilding for over 40 years.

To help balance out your legs do a few extra sets of exercise with your smaller leg. For example you could do a few extra sets of single leg extensions, single leg curls, Bulgarian split squats with your smaller leg. I like reps in the range of 8-12. Work up to 3 sets of each exercise.

When you can get 12 good reps add a little weight. If you get less than 8 reps you are working too heavy for size gains. Try to get a good pump in your muscles.

Context matters. Competition body builders are much closer to their genetic potential than your average person in the weight room. So the advantages of cut bulk cycles (faster muscle gain, for example) don't apply as much.

psuLemon

Packerjohn wrote: »

stacj27 wrote: »

Thanks guys. I've been dealing with the problem for a long time now and haven't really been taking care of it the way I should, so I know it's going to take time. Seems like mostly everyone is pretty much on the same page with the advice so I'll give it all a go and see how I do. If not, I might get a trainer or a physical therapist's help since I know my goal are unique. But hopefully I can do it on my own! Thanks again!

I would get a physical therapist's help vs a trainer given your situation. The vast majority of trainers don't have the education background to be the go to for accident rehab. If after consulting with a therapist you would want a personal trainer to help you with exercises under the guidance of the therapist, that would be fine.

I would definitely agree. Also, it should be noted that people tend to have a rebounding effect from muscle atrophy from accidents.

Ironandwine69

If I was you, I would eat at maintenance, lift for strength on compound lifts and do a lot of single arm/leg work in the 10-15 rep range. Start with your smaller/weaker side and match the exact number of reps on your stronger side. Your strong side will not get much of a workout, but hopefully your smaller side will start catching up.