Need to understand how long to cycle

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MDL1418
MDL1418 Posts: 50 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Ok guys (and girls), I would like some help with something. I understand to get decent gains you have to eat a surplus of calories. Right now I am in a deficit to lose and have about 10 more pounds to go. When I begin to eat a surplus, is there a length of time you stay on that? Example 8 weeks deficit, 10 weeks gaining muscle, back to 4 weeks deficit. I know the idea is to build the muscle and not gain weight during strength time, but I am not sure time frames because if you do gain some poundage while strengthening, when and after how long do you go before you cycle the two?

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    My understanding is that you should bulk till you feel too fat, then cut till you feel too small...
  • MDL1418
    MDL1418 Posts: 50 Member
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    Well that’s well said and simple. I like it. Keep it real and simple. That’s a good point. Thanks man
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    I've seen it put two ways:

    1) Bulk to around 15% bodyfat, cut to around 10% bodyfat.

    2) Bulk until you hate yourself, cut until you can't stand it anymore.
  • jdog022
    jdog022 Posts: 693 Member
    edited October 2018
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    Way more then 10 weeks to add any appreciable muscle mass. Think in terms of several months. If you bulk ten and cut 4 you will make absolutely no real progress
  • MDL1418
    MDL1418 Posts: 50 Member
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    jdog022 wrote: »
    Way more then 10 weeks to add any appreciable muscle mass. Think in terms of several months. If you bulk ten and cut 4 you will make absolutely no real progress
    That makes sense. I get that - I just don’t want to gain a lot of weight (fat) back. So I didn’t know if there was a method to stabilize or reduce the risk of that. Can you tell me when you are gaining (during your months of building) how much weight you add on?
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I typically bulk for at least 5 months or more. Any shorter than that and your progress may not be significant enough (depending on your goals and experience level ). Many people bulk for 8 months+, with a mini-cut when their bodyfat gets high (for men around 15% and above generally). If you want to reduce fat gain, take the bulk slow, don't gain too fast and consider a mini-cut if you get too uncomfortable but still aren't as big as you want to get that cycle.
  • CowboySar
    CowboySar Posts: 404 Member
    edited October 2018
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    MDL1418 wrote: »
    jdog022 wrote: »
    Way more then 10 weeks to add any appreciable muscle mass. Think in terms of several months. If you bulk ten and cut 4 you will make absolutely no real progress
    That makes sense. I get that - I just don’t want to gain a lot of weight (fat) back. So I didn’t know if there was a method to stabilize or reduce the risk of that. Can you tell me when you are gaining (during your months of building) how much weight you add on?

    I have been bulking since May of this year after losing 130ish lbs. I have added 30lbs in this time and happy with the results. If you want to minimize (not eliminate) fat gain, make your gains slower. Find you maintenance calories currently, add 250-500 cals to it and monitor. If your gaining and not gaining much fat then keep at it, if your gains stop you can increase your calories in small increments. If you start putting on more fat than you want scale back on the calories. A note I will make is as you gain keep rechecking your maintenance calorie levels as it will go up, and adjust as needed. I actually dropped 2 lbs a month ago on 3300 cals per day, which I found out recalculating my TDEE was just under my maintenance level. So I added more food to make up the differences.

    As for when to stop the bulk that's on you and your preference based on how you feel. I am going to start lowering my calories in Decemeber by 250 cals a day, and every week do the same drop until I am about 200 cals under maintenance to be able to do a longer slower cut.

    I will also after being in a deficit so long and expecting the number on the scale to drop it was a bit of a mind fnck to be eating so much and seeing the scale numbers going up. As long as you have your goals and are working towards them, stay the plan.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    This is a great guide for what to expect and how to bulk while gaining a minimum of fat.
    https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-gain-math.html/
  • MDL1418
    MDL1418 Posts: 50 Member
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    Thanks man, I really appreciate this.
    mmapags wrote: »
    This is a great guide for what to expect and how to bulk while gaining a minimum of fat.
    https://bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-gain-math.html/

  • latestarter75
    latestarter75 Posts: 50 Member
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    Just bulk until your happy with what you have gained unless your competing then obviously your working to a time frame I personally bulk eating clean foods and don’t let body fat get over 16-17% then go into show prep which time wise last time was a 20 week prep.when bulking don’t just whack loads of surplus calories in from the off work your way up 300-500 extra calories at a time

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