Okay to take a bulk cycle to 20%BF?
GGDaddy
Posts: 289 Member
A question just to solicit general thoughts/discussion...
I joined mfp April 2013, and went from 240 to 180lbs, finishing at just about 10%BF in March 2014.
Then I started a bulk cycle, going from 180 to 205, where I am now, just coming up on 15%BF.
I know most folks recommend keeping bulk/cut cycles between 10 and 15%. But this bulk is going very well for a number of reasons. I'm thinking of continuing until I get to 20%, then a longer cut back to 10%.
Any reasons you can think of this might be a bad plan?
Many thanks for all of your outstanding advice!
Cheers,
Ken
I joined mfp April 2013, and went from 240 to 180lbs, finishing at just about 10%BF in March 2014.
Then I started a bulk cycle, going from 180 to 205, where I am now, just coming up on 15%BF.
I know most folks recommend keeping bulk/cut cycles between 10 and 15%. But this bulk is going very well for a number of reasons. I'm thinking of continuing until I get to 20%, then a longer cut back to 10%.
Any reasons you can think of this might be a bad plan?
Many thanks for all of your outstanding advice!
Cheers,
Ken
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Replies
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You would have to cut for longer which could have performance implications.
You might get slightly worse partitioning, but I'll leave that to Lyle to explain:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/calorie-partitioning-part-1.html0 -
Fantastic info SideSteel, many thanks!0
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Old article but you might find this of interest too.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_truth_about_bulking0 -
Pros
You will get good strength gains adding that much body weight, if you diet down slowly and carefully you should be able to keep a good proportion of that
Cons
As mentioned it will take quite some time to cut from 20% back down to 10%
You will probably look quite fat for a while0 -
Great stuff gang, many thanks.
It seems like cutting 20% back to 10% is a pretty long haul and risks performance loss. I'm thinking instead of continuing the bulk up to 17%, then down to 12% instead of 10%, since my last cut the P-ratio was a lot worse under 12%.
For now I'll probably do a couple-few cycles between 12-17%, then back to 10% when ready.
Appreciate it again!0 -
Maybe consider figure out what maintenance is at 15% for a bit and slowing your bulk to 17%
Is my math right, 25 pounds gained in 4 months?0 -
Yep, ~25 lbs in ~17 weeks.
9 lbs of water and glycogen in wk 1, and pretty much 1 lb a week after. Have been calibrating TDEE to dial in 1 lb/wk.
It's been an average p-ratio of 65%. I figure not too bad considering my age (46). Back in my 20's did a 35 lb gain with p-ratio in the 80-90% range, but this ain't then.
Planning to keep at 1 lb/wk then slowing to hit 17%, will maintain at 17% while converting from isolation exercises 6x/wk to strong lifts. Then when lifting heavy enough to help with p-ratio will start to cut. I figure that timing works out pretty well to aim for 12% BF next summer...0
