Mini cut before bulk?

charlieaulert

Guys,

I came back from a holiday in early September and have rarely been to the gym since, maybe once a week, no diet etc...

Today I'm back to it. I want to gain some muscle over the next 4-5 months.

At the moment I've lost a lot of definition, so I'm not sure if I should cut for 2-4 weeks, before I begin adding some size? Suppose it wouldn't hurt to do so.

Any thoughts?

skymningen

For your question: It is hard to say anything about that without knowing your stats.

LiftHeavyThings27105

And, generally speaking....if we want to be 'somewhat technical' you want to ensure that you are something close to the below:

Before embarking on a bulk, a man should be somewhere in the 12% - 13% body fat stage. Or, as someone way smarter than I suggested, look in the mirror and if you feel good about what you see then go for it.

For a woman, she should cut down to roughly 20% body fat before starting the bulk. Or, feel really good about the way she looks and feels ready to start.

Why?

Because when you bulk you are in a caloric surplus. That, by definition, means that you are going to be taking in more than you burn. That - for most, anyway - results in additional body fat. If you are a dude and you are at 20% body fat when you start the bulk, you are possibly not going to like the results (read: maybe more body fat than you care to have).

But, what really matters is what you want.

And, yes - stats would be nice. "Nutritional History" would also be great to know. Why? Because the more you "diet" (yep, I really did use that word....) the more difficult (whatever that might mean) the 'next diet' will be. And, from the training perspective, the more seasoned you are in the gym them more challenging it is for results. And, those results take a lot longer - timewise - to happen. For most, anyway. There are some blessed with amaznig genetics........