Bulk and cut question

You're over-thinking this.

You're probably over-thinking it, especially if your bulk went as you planned it to I have never done a bulk/cut cycle, but my understanding is that you continue to lift as you have been to maintain your muscle, while eating at a bit of a deficit. You probably won't progress on your lifts, but if you cut back on the lifting you'll lose more muscle than you want to.

if you looking to cut you need to keep lifting heavy and ensure your getting enough protein to maintain the muscle you gained. you will need around 1g per 1lb of muscle to sustain it.

For the cut you need a calorie deficit (around 500 cals) but maintain the protein intake at 1g per 1lb.

so if you say 203lb and have 28% BF then you muscle weight would be around 147lb with 56lb of fat / water etc..

So you would need at least 147g of protein a day..

on a bulk i normally do a ration 60% carbs 30% protein 10% fats
on a cut I change to around 45% carbs 40% protein and 15% fats

Chaskavitch wrote: »

You're probably over-thinking it, especially if your bulk went as you planned it to I have never done a bulk/cut cycle, but my understanding is that you continue to lift as you have been to maintain your muscle, while eating at a bit of a deficit. You probably won't progress on your lifts, but if you cut back on the lifting you'll lose more muscle than you want to.

Actually, it's possible that she could continue to gain even on a deficit since she is a newbie and newbie gains can be made even in a deficit. New strength gains are due more to improvement in muscle efficiencies rather than growth.

caesar164 wrote: »

Wheelhouse15 wrote: »

Chaskavitch wrote: »

You're probably over-thinking it, especially if your bulk went as you planned it to I have never done a bulk/cut cycle, but my understanding is that you continue to lift as you have been to maintain your muscle, while eating at a bit of a deficit. You probably won't progress on your lifts, but if you cut back on the lifting you'll lose more muscle than you want to.

Actually, it's possible that she could continue to gain even on a deficit since she is a newbie and newbie gains can be made even in a deficit. New strength gains are due more to improvement in muscle efficiencies rather than growth.

She would recomp on a deficit, if she indeed is still making noob gains; she shouldn't gain any weight on a true deficit..

True, you don't gain weight on a deficit, I was just referring to strength gains, which can be independent of muscle mass gain.

Can you guys explain this noobs gain? I am a month in and am gaining and loosing the same 5#, over and over. On a heavy lift leg day I gain 2# immediately. Im at 1300-1500 calories. I am seeing definate change in my body and inches. What gives? Does it balance out in due time?

caesar164 wrote: »

You didn't specify that in your post.. Strength gains will also be minimal on a deficit...

I thought I was clearer but I noticed I missed a few key words, so it's the difference between my head and keyboard sometimes. Yes, for most people that's true, for me it was different since I was on regain (was off for over a year) while I was losing weight I gained over 50% on bench and over 100% on deads and squats but that's still far below my PBs. Regains are a whole other topic though...

I'm just finishing up my first bulk. I gained 7lbs in 18 weeks (I purposely did it *very* slowly to minimise fat gain). I'm small at 5'2" and have gone from 102.5lbs to 109.5lbs. I've obviously gained some fat, but it can't be all that much as my waist measurement has only increased by a tiny amount, I have abs which are visible in the right light (!), and I haven't outgrown any of my clothes ... though my jeans are tight round my thighs and bum because deadlifts and squats have worked their magic! I'll be taking final measurements tomorrow.
From next week I intend to move to maintenance for a couple of weeks to let some of the bloat go down and then I'll decide whether or not to do a very small cut to get rid of any remaining fluff. I certainly won't be doing a 500 calories deficit though as I like eating too much and will only have a few pounds to lose, it'll probably be more like 150-200 calories below maintenance for me. This should help retain as much muscle as possible as the more aggressive your deficit the more muscle you'll lose along with the fat.
I pretty much hate cardio, so I don't intend to add too much to my schedule. I'm going to continue lifting three times a week, and circuit training twice a week (which I did all through my bulk) and will add some extra 15-20 minute HIIT sessions a couple of times a week if I don't do so well losing with such a small deficit alone!

Many people gain strength in a calorie deficit, especially beginners.

thanks OP and those replying; this answered my own questions about cutting as well

alva831cali wrote: »

Good responses. I've been looking for a thread that better explains the cutting process. Stevehawkins99 mentioned above that for a cut you want to eat at a deficit of 500 Cals. Can anyone second this? or have different experiences? Also, should I increase my cardio during the cut to speed up the fat loss? or will I just loose the muscle?

Right now I've been "bulking" for 35 days. so far I've gained about 4lbs or so. I plan on continuing eating at a surplus until I gain about 20 lbs or so. Then consider cutting down at that point. I just want to make sure I do the cutting process correctly.

The 500 calories is more a rule of thumb, but in general, there is nothing wrong with it. I prefer to look at it as a % of body weight - ranging from 0.5% if you are lean to 1.5% if very overweight.

Cardio is fine to do - but I would suggest sticking to moderate amounts of LISS. HIIT is also fine to do, but you need to balance the recovery time for this with your lifting.