Beginner tips for cutting vs bulk

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vserrato2k17
vserrato2k17 Posts: 11 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I've been working out for awhile now and I'm stuck between what I should do next. I'm pretty petite 4'11 weighing 118.8 lbs. I wanna get lean and build some muscle but I think I should cut before I begin bulking. How do I even start?

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  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    If you want to get lean, you want to lose the fat covering your muscles - this will be eating at a calorie deficit
    If you want to build muscle and gain size/mass, you will want to bulk by eating in a surplus (however if you want to go this route you will want to start off lean as you will gain fat as well).
    If you want to maintain your weight and lose fat and build muscle at the same time, you can eat at maintenance and "recomp" but keep in mind, this can take a lot of time and patience

    What you do will ultimately depend on your goals, comfort level, current bodyfat% etc.

    With all of the above, you will want to follow a progressive lifting program for best results.

  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
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    vserrato2k17 wrote: »
    I've been working out for awhile now and I'm stuck between what I should do next. I'm pretty petite 4'11 weighing 118.8 lbs. I wanna get lean and build some muscle but I think I should cut before I begin bulking. How do I even start?

    The decision to cut before bulk is best answered by an accurate measurement of your BF%. Have you had that done recently?
  • vserrato2k17
    vserrato2k17 Posts: 11 Member
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    richardgavel wrote: »
    vserrato2k17 wrote: »
    I've been working out for awhile now and I'm stuck between what I should do next. I'm pretty petite 4'11 weighing 118.8 lbs. I wanna get lean and build some muscle but I think I should cut before I begin bulking. How do I even start?

    The decision to cut before bulk is best answered by an accurate measurement of your BF%. Have you had that done recently?

    I have not gotten a measurement of my BF% is this something I can do at home?
  • vserrato2k17
    vserrato2k17 Posts: 11 Member
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    sardelsa wrote: »
    If you want to get lean, you want to lose the fat covering your muscles - this will be eating at a calorie deficit
    If you want to build muscle and gain size/mass, you will want to bulk by eating in a surplus (however if you want to go this route you will want to start off lean as you will gain fat as well).
    If you want to maintain your weight and lose fat and build muscle at the same time, you can eat at maintenance and "recomp" but keep in mind, this can take a lot of time and patience

    What you do will ultimately depend on your goals, comfort level, current bodyfat% etc.

    With all of the above, you will want to follow a progressive lifting program for best results.

    How can I calculate the calorie intake for calorie deficit?
  • AlvinZhen
    AlvinZhen Posts: 17 Member
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    Start by finding out your maintenance calories, from there decide whether you want you bulk or cut. If you want to cut, start with a low calorie deficit of around 300-500 then gradually increase. Same thing for bulking .
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    vserrato2k17 wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    If you want to get lean, you want to lose the fat covering your muscles - this will be eating at a calorie deficit
    If you want to build muscle and gain size/mass, you will want to bulk by eating in a surplus (however if you want to go this route you will want to start off lean as you will gain fat as well).
    If you want to maintain your weight and lose fat and build muscle at the same time, you can eat at maintenance and "recomp" but keep in mind, this can take a lot of time and patience

    What you do will ultimately depend on your goals, comfort level, current bodyfat% etc.

    With all of the above, you will want to follow a progressive lifting program for best results.

    How can I calculate the calorie intake for calorie deficit?

    You can enter your stats into MFP and set it for 0.5lb loss per week, eat back a portion of your exercise calories. Alternatively you can use a calorie calculator (like Scoobys or IIFYM) and enter it as your calorie goal which will be your total cals including exercise.
  • karsei01
    karsei01 Posts: 442 Member
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    Just judging by your profile pic, which is not to easy to se clear, you seem pretty lean, so more muscles will make you look even leaner
  • vserrato2k17
    vserrato2k17 Posts: 11 Member
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    AlvinZhen wrote: »
    Start by finding out your maintenance calories, from there decide whether you want you bulk or cut. If you want to cut, start with a low calorie deficit of around 300-500 then gradually increase. Same thing for bulking .

    Thanks!
  • vserrato2k17
    vserrato2k17 Posts: 11 Member
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    sardelsa wrote: »
    vserrato2k17 wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    If you want to get lean, you want to lose the fat covering your muscles - this will be eating at a calorie deficit
    If you want to build muscle and gain size/mass, you will want to bulk by eating in a surplus (however if you want to go this route you will want to start off lean as you will gain fat as well).
    If you want to maintain your weight and lose fat and build muscle at the same time, you can eat at maintenance and "recomp" but keep in mind, this can take a lot of time and patience

    What you do will ultimately depend on your goals, comfort level, current bodyfat% etc.

    With all of the above, you will want to follow a progressive lifting program for best results.

    How can I calculate the calorie intake for calorie deficit?

    You can enter your stats into MFP and set it for 0.5lb loss per week, eat back a portion of your exercise calories. Alternatively you can use a calorie calculator (like Scoobys or IIFYM) and enter it as your calorie goal which will be your total cals including exercise.

    I will do that thank you!
  • vserrato2k17
    vserrato2k17 Posts: 11 Member
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    karsei01 wrote: »
    Just judging by your profile pic, which is not to easy to se clear, you seem pretty lean, so more muscles will make you look even leaner

    I need to update my profile picture lol that's from last year when I was watching what I ate very carefully and doing cardio. I'm looking more into compound exercises and weights
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    You can kind of guestimate your bodyfat using calculators, measurements, comparing to visual photos and some scales.. all together to get an idea.

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