Can bulking make you look more muscular/slimmer?

lucyholdcroft363
lucyholdcroft363 Posts: 124 Member
edited November 21 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Okay so I'm super interested in bulk/cut cycles (can I be Nikki Blackketter?) and I've seen a few stories regarding bulking where people have started out skinny fat with love handles and chunky thighs etc, gainedlike 8kg and ended up with lovely muscled etc. Is this achieved just by bulking or have these people been through cycles? What is your story?

Replies

  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    edited July 2015
    It's usually done through cycles of cutting and bulking (although it can be done through a recomp but that tends to be a less efficient method in my opinion.)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    yes, but it is going to take a few bulk/cut cycles, a progressive lifting regimen, and hitting micros/macros..

    you are not just going to do bulk cycle and be ripped….
  • Unknown
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  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Yes- but it's going to take you years to make substantial progress.

    2-3 to make a significant dent.
  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,382 Member
    Nikki Blackketter no..... She's more than likely using hormones to stay as lean as she does. Her hubby Christian definitely uses them. I know you're midly joking but majority of fitness models are on something to get them as trim and cut as they look.

    Bulk cut cycles in my opinion are the quickest results. Recomp is "easier" but takes much longer to achieve similar results.
  • Brolympus
    Brolympus Posts: 360 Member
    Cutting/dropping bodyfat (note I said fat and not weight, you want to keep the muscle) is typically what produces the biggest, noticaeble aesthetic change. However, you might need to bulk first if you don't have much muscle to begin with; you need something to fill out your shape before you burn off the "fluff"
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I had success with recomp (1 year) but more success with a bulk/cut cycle even though I didn't follow it for as long as I should have. I only did a 12 week "mini" bulk/3 week cut. It definitely takes time to build muscle, especially if this is your first go at it. 4-8 weeks for ANY noticeable results, and 6-12 months for a proper cycle.

    But yes, you could look similar to her (all other variables aside) with a bulking/cutting cycle. I don't think she's on hormones aside from BCAA's and other OTC supps.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I googled... she's not that big - you could probably get there without doing real bulk cut cycles. just lift for a year- then cut down to the appropriate size. Probably a year or two to get like that.

    PS- unless she's taking things she doesn't look stage ready 265 days a year. Odds are she looks like a normal thin person out side the gym on her off season. If she does look like that year round- well then she's probably on something.
  • jmule24
    jmule24 Posts: 1,382 Member
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I googled... she's not that big - you could probably get there without doing real bulk cut cycles. just lift for a year- then cut down to the appropriate size. Probably a year or two to get like that.

    PS- unless she's taking things she doesn't look stage ready 265 days a year. Odds are she looks like a normal thin person out side the gym on her off season. If she does look like that year round- well then she's probably on something.

    Most physique competitors 'cycle' only during the season. Stuffs expensive. People often times think steriods/hormones etc...mean BIG BIG muscles....negative...they also are FANTASTIC at getting you shredded beyond shreds!
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    Last 6 month bulk had me looking puffier/fatter and middle aged, not cut or muscular. Okay I am middle aged, but prior to that, I was leaner after a cut.

    Cut and bulk cycles are mutually exclusive states I'm afraid.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    jmule24 wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I googled... she's not that big - you could probably get there without doing real bulk cut cycles. just lift for a year- then cut down to the appropriate size. Probably a year or two to get like that.

    PS- unless she's taking things she doesn't look stage ready 265 days a year. Odds are she looks like a normal thin person out side the gym on her off season. If she does look like that year round- well then she's probably on something.

    Most physique competitors 'cycle' only during the season. Stuffs expensive. People often times think steriods/hormones etc...mean BIG BIG muscles....negative...they also are FANTASTIC at getting you shredded beyond shreds!
    well the only way she realistically COULD look like that year round would be with that kind of help- it's just to much work. I hadn't considered the cost of gear as well!
    But yeah maintaining that level of shredded-ness is just hard- and difficult and impacts your life quiet a bit- most people assume that rock star fitness models/athletes look like that all the time and the reality is- she doesn't.
  • ohmscheeks
    ohmscheeks Posts: 840 Member
    lucyholdcroft363 wrote: »
    Okay so I'm super interested in bulk/cut cycles (can I be Nikki Blackketter?) and I've seen a few stories regarding bulking where people have started out skinny fat with love handles and chunky thighs etc, gainedlike 8kg and ended up with lovely muscled etc. Is this achieved just by bulking or have these people been through cycles? What is your story?

    I had no idea who that was and I have now seen her buns. :/

    Also, note that "bulking" is a highly generic term. Maybe look into a specific food/exercise program, and see if anyone here has feedback on it.
  • misslisaaahh
    misslisaaahh Posts: 10 Member
    edited July 2015
    I've been doing a bulk (first one ever) for about the last 7 weeks and it seems to be working pretty well for me. I'm gaining about a pound a week or so and losing inches everywhere.
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    yes, but it is going to take a few bulk/cut cycles, a progressive lifting regimen, and hitting micros/macros..

    you are not just going to do bulk cycle and be ripped….

    Exactly this OP.

    For me, my goal is 215 and 10% bf. After last years 6 month bulk, I added 10 lbs, about half LBM and BF. At this rate, I am at the very least looking at another 2 years of bulking/cutting -- if I want to be lean for summer.

    Currently I am holding in recomp mode because feeds.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    misslisaaahh wrote: »
    I've been doing a bulk (first one ever) for about the last 7 weeks and it seems to be working pretty well for me. I'm gaining about a pound a week or so and losing inches everywhere.

    Bulking... that's not how that works.
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