How long do I bulk for?
blopmiyers
Posts: 195 Member
I'm currently 19 yrs old, 5'8", 139 lbs with a body fat % of about 13-14%. I've lost over 100 lbs because I wanted to change. I now find myself way too small and I started lifting and bulking. My question is what bodyweight should I start to cut on?
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I'd say cycle your goals. Hypertrophy for 4 to 6 weeks and then either strength at maintenance calories or fat loss at a slight deficit for the same time frame.2
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You bulk until people start asking where you get your steroids from. Only then you can start cutting.10
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Good question...I wanna know the answer haha. I have the same stats (21, 138, 5'8) and bulking at 2750 cals...what're you bulking at?0
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Bulk until you hate yourself.5
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Bulk until you hate yourself.
Maybe this works for some people, but this would never work for me. I'd never want to do anything to the point where I hate myself or don't like the way I look; I don't want to be miserable, I want to be happy with myself year-round! I'm bulking until I've reached my goal weight and/or my body fat gets to a point where it makes me want to adjust my main goal to losing some of it.2 -
gymrat04mf wrote: »Bulk until you hate yourself.
Maybe this works for some people, but this would never work for me. I'd never want to do anything to the point where I hate myself or don't like the way I look; I don't want to be miserable, I want to be happy with myself year-round! I'm bulking until I've reached my goal weight and/or my body fat gets to a point where it makes me want to adjust my main goal to losing some of it.
So you bulked until you weren't so happy with how you looked and now will cut?
Also, i was being a bit facetious. But most people bulk until they don't like their look and want to get lean again.2 -
dubrovin1012 wrote: »You bulk until people start asking where you get your steroids from. Only then you can start cutting.
haha.. love it.
OP at your age your testosterone levels should be sufficient to (with appropriate food input and exercise stimulus) add muscle well- maybe even easily (compared to us older guys). Do not squander this time with worry of excess fat - use it wisely and get that muscle packed on!
Time frame - Anything under 3 months is IMHO too short. As to when to stop, either:- Pick a target weight (assuming 50% muscle 50% fat gain would seem prudent, although you may find that you add more muscle and less fat due to testosterone, will give you a weight to cut back to return to your current fat levels).
- Work visually (hence the bulk until you hate yourself type comments)
- Plan bulks around specific events - So you may decide to bulk until 8 weeks before a beach holiday and then cut for the 8 weeks before)
I do the third of these so, I'm currently shedding a bit of fat ready for an August holiday and will then revert back to bulking until Early November when I will cut again before my family holiday in January.
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I dirty bulked until I hated myself, now I think I've cut as far as I can go as I'm starting to hate myself.
I think I'll start a slow bulk now0 -
I am in a clean weight gain cycle. The more weight you put on the more you need to eat simply for maintenance. For example. I have plateaued at 80kg at around 3300 calories which is now my maintenance level (13500kj) and during this bulking phase have lifted my calories to 4000 calories or (16715kj). You just have to play with the energy numbers per day and when you are sure of your maintenance level cut it under maintenance and you will be on the road to a cut. You will know when it feels right to start the cutting cycle. Good luck.0
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If you are new to lifting, you will gain strength and size very quick without too much tinkering of your diet. Enjoy your food, ask mom for seconds, your 19, don't restrict(or overindulge) your food/lifestyle.4
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gymrat04mf wrote: »Bulk until you hate yourself.
Maybe this works for some people, but this would never work for me. I'd never want to do anything to the point where I hate myself or don't like the way I look; I don't want to be miserable, I want to be happy with myself year-round! I'm bulking until I've reached my goal weight and/or my body fat gets to a point where it makes me want to adjust my main goal to losing some of it.
So you bulked until you weren't so happy with how you looked and now will cut?
Also, i was being a bit facetious. But most people bulk until they don't like their look and want to get lean again.
This is actually what I do and it works for me
Bulk times are not set in stone. Everyone will have a different answer to this type of question .
For me, I bulk until I can't stand it anymore .1 -
Bulk for a year then cut0
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I would consider bulking until you get to about 20% BF, then cut back, repeat.0
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Packerjohn wrote: »I would consider bulking until you get to about 20% BF, then cut back, repeat.
From experience, I would not get that high. I spent 5+ years bulking and ended up about 23% and have regretted it now that I am trying to diet down.1 -
I cut back when I was told that I was going to have to start having my cloths tailored if I did not cut back. I had to wear a suit to work. Sweatshirts did not cut it. SO much for the shrugs.0
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From the /misc/: Bulk until you're tired of being fat; cut until you're tired of being weak.2
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I used to say I was always on a bulk...to others points there is no real "set" amount of time. As ;lifts go up yu want to continue that progress until your unhappy with appearance...you than cut and in that event lose strength unfortunately...its a vicious cycle. I have been dealing with if for about a decade. I started way later than you so your results should be much better.0
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xmichaelyx wrote: »From the /misc/: Bulk until you're tired of being fat; cut until you're tired of being weak.
Bulk until you hate yourself!0 -
I bulk from Ocober to March and cut March to October.0
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Most of the people I know who are into bodybuilding bulk for about six months...many of them go as long as nine months...but it will be variable...there's really not a set amount of time save for you want to do it long enough as to be efficient.
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chrismwpcs wrote: »I am in a clean weight gain cycle. The more weight you put on the more you need to eat simply for maintenance. For example. I have plateaued at 80kg at around 3300 calories which is now my maintenance level (13500kj) and during this bulking phase have lifted my calories to 4000 calories or (16715kj). You just have to play with the energy numbers per day and when you are sure of your maintenance level cut it under maintenance and you will be on the road to a cut. You will know when it feels right to start the cutting cycle. Good luck.
A clean bulk is usually considered a 250-500 surplus. You seem to have a 700 calorie surplus so a dirty bulk.0 -
"Clean" and "dirty" are awful, ambiguous terms and are perceived differently by everyone. Just don't get fat and you're probably good.0
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