Gaining Muscle While Losing Fat VS. Cutting/Bulking Phase

Definitely add in strength training. It will help preserve/add muscle mass.

Cutting/bulking is a myth, and most body builders using this method are putting on a lot of fat and eating a lot of crap for no good reason. It's certainly not a good idea for long term health.

You can only do both when you first start lifting. After 3-4 months you must choose one or the other. Bulking and cutting is not a myth nor are most people who do it putting on tons of fat or "eating crap." When bulking people who know what they are doing put on a minimal amount of fat, and they only bulk to mid teens or so (men) bf% before cutting back down. People who are scared to gain any fat gain muscle more slowly or not at all.

Oh, also yes absolutely people lift while cutting. They lift exactly the same as when bulking but with the understanding that their ability to add weight to their lifts may stall or even drop a bit. Below is a link to get you started on proper lifting.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners

You can only do both when you first start lifting. After 3-4 months you must choose one or the other. Bulking and cutting is not a myth nor are most people who do it putting on tons of fat or "eating crap." When bulking people who know what they are doing put on a minimal amount of fat, and they only bulk to mid teens or so (men) bf% before cutting back down. People who are scared to gain any fat gain muscle more slowly or not at all.

Oh, also yes absolutely people lift while cutting. They lift exactly the same as when bulking but with the understanding that their ability to add weight to their lifts may stall or even drop a bit. Below is a link to get you started on proper lifting.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners

pretty much. when you start lifting, you will see "noob gains" even while on a calorie deficit. it's very rewarding, however don't get used to the quick results. things will taper off, but if you stick with it, they'll be steady.

Definitely add in strength training. It will help preserve/add muscle mass.

Cutting/bulking is a myth, and most body builders using this method are putting on a lot of fat and eating a lot of crap for no good reason. It's certainly not a good idea for long term health.

Usually upping intake of healthy foods, not so much "crap".

Macronutrients make a difference in body composition. OP, start lifting and make sure you are getting enough protein. If your goal is to lose weight, it is damn near impossible to "build" muscle at the same time. Lifting and upping protein will help you preserve muscle mass while you lose weight.

So I've read a lot of differing opinions on this. I've read you can gain muscle while losing fat at the same time, however why do most bodybuilders and fitness models etc go through cutting/bulking phases? And during their "cutting" phase do they still lift, just not as much?

Right now I'm doing insanity and turbofire and want to start lifting again, obviously I'm doing a LOT of cardio (trying to lose some fat before my brothers wedding in October) and because I'm doing so much cardio I'm concerned with losing muscle. But until my HIIT cardio fest is over should I just try to maintain the muscle I have (maybe 3 days a week/30-45 minutes?) or is it possible to gain while doing this?

I am going to stay away from commenting on the Resistance Cut/Bulk issue because I'm new to resistance training and I'm learning the "theory" now....I am also researching proven results.

Having said that, it of course depends on your goals. Data show (and this is proven) that a combination of cardio and resistance training lead to the best health effects on your body. Doing both at the same time isn't difficult = but it depends on the results you want to see.

Theoretically, if you want glycogen (energy) spent via ATP on MPS (Muscle Protein Synthesis) to see results in significant muscle gains you shouldn't divert that energy for use elsewhere (ie running long distances etc). The more energy and resources your body needs to spend on other activites, the less would go to muscle building.

Again, it's all degrees. I've done both and my weight lifting friends all say "You do too much cardio" to gain significant bulk. MY goal, however, is not to gain significant bulk, but look atheletic and strong. I do competitive dance. I like to remain flexible.

To diet and gain muscle and do aerobic activity takes a very special attention to diet to make sure the numbers (not the percentages) are what you need. I would suggest if that was a goal, then to meet up with a sports nutritionist who can help you with your game plan.

I have only been doing it for about 3 months, bu ti lift 4 days a week and jog 5 days a week and I find that I'm both losing weight and gaining muscle, You can tell just by looking at me, I eat a low calories, low fat, high protein, high fiber diet. I think it's better than cutting/bulking, which I think isn't a myth, i feel it's just he inferior way.

I have only been doing it for about 3 months, bu ti lift 4 days a week and jog 5 days a week and I find that I'm both losing weight and gaining muscle, You can tell just by looking at me, I eat a low calories, low fat, high protein, high fiber diet. I think it's better than cutting/bulking, which I think isn't a myth, i feel it's just he inferior way.

How is it inferior? Wouldn't it be easier to lose most excess fat and then focus more on weight training?

Am I confused about what cutting/bulking is? Cutting is more cardio, higher calorie deficit diet and bulking would be higher calorie, higher protein diet with less cardio and more lifting? Right?

Now I'm conflicted. If I can lift 5 days a week AND get my cardio fix, I would have it that way, I just don't want to spend 5 hours in the gym a week lifting if I'm just wasting my time since I'm losing fat so rapidly.

Cutting is losing fat. Bulking is gaining mostly muscle and a little bit of fat. It is best to cut down to pretty lean before bulking, and then not bulk up to very high bf%. For men a good rule of thumb is cut to 10% bf and bulk to 15% and repeat. Not exactly sure of the numbers for a woman. When you cut you absolutely lift. The same as when bulking. Cardio optional. Srs. Here is a ton of info on all of it. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners

For beginners, don't worry about bulking/cutting. Just Lift heavy and eat when your hungry and you will see good results. However, you will eventually get to a point where that is no longer effective and your results will slow down/stop. At this point in time, in order to put on actual muscle..you must eat alittle more then your maintinance calories (what you were previously eating). As Determined has been saying, you don't need to get fat in order to bulk but you must get slightly more calories then your body needs. You should be gaining only one or two pounds per MONTH. Once the desired amount of muscle is achieved or you BF% gets higher then you like, simply go into a caloric deficit to "cut". Lift the same (heavy) during both the bulk and cut, excluding de-load or rest weeks.

bumpit

My bro is a trainer to the stars and athletes, he says this: lift weights to increase your metabolism and then burn more fat during cardio, and you can't bulk yourself up unless you are actually doing specific things to do this (muscle gainers etc..) Calories in and calories out, that is about as basic as it gets. Also, women should always lift weight for bone density.

Bump for when my head quits spinning awesome info

Definitely add in strength training. It will help preserve/add muscle mass.

Cutting/bulking is a myth, and most body builders using this method are putting on a lot of fat and eating a lot of crap for no good reason. It's certainly not a good idea for long term health.

:laugh: Yes, clearly bodybuilders have no clue how to put on muscle. :noway:

Bulking & Cutting is not a myth. I did one myself and had great results in both strength and muscle gain, that I would not have got through just maintenance.

You need a surplus to gain muscle and a deficit to lose fat which is why people concentrate on one or the other. As a beginner, I would just recommend a small deficit if you have weight/fat you want to lose still and with enough protein and a good lifting program you may gain a little muscle (newbie gains). Even if you don't though, you'll still preserve a lot more muscle than by not lifting.

After a while, you may find bulking/cutting more effective. You don't have to get fat at all, although some of the gain will inevitably be fat. Unless taking some form of help you can't really gain 100% muscle, but by keeping the surplus reasonable you can keep the fat gain to a minimum. I gained 16lbs in 6 months on a fair surplus - BF% said that was around 6lbs muscle, 10lbs fat and water. People eating a ton and getting fat is generally because:
1) They like bulking / extra food and want to enjoy it while they can.
2) They want to ensure the most muscle gain they can.
3) They want to ensure as much strength gains as they can.
4) They find it easy to lose fat after (men have an advantage here, especially with more muscle)

Bump! Great questions