Bulk / Cut Cycling

LittleOneLoveLife
LittleOneLoveLife Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

I Think I've done things the wrong way round. Bulked in the summer, Cut for the winter haha. Really happy with how I am now but would like to increase muscle mass in the future as I don't want to become a twig.

My question is would a 4 week Bulk, 2 Week Cut cycle be sufficient for the foreseeable future?

So 4 weeks of heavier weights, reduced cardio and Calorie Surplus, Bulking Macros, then on to 2 Weeks of Cutting, Increased cardio, Lighter weights and Calorie deficit, Cutting Macros.

I want to keep the Cardio capacity I have now after months of hard work.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    I think that maybe it is the terminology that is putting me off but, 4 weeks doesn't seem long enough for an effective bulk and usually you would expect the cut to last a similar length of time as the bulk - since it would take about that amount of time to reduce the fat at a sufficiently gradual rate to not strip off muscle.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    In your situation I wold look at either:
    • 10 weeks bulk followed by 10 weeks cut (this takes you to 1st week in May ready for the spring).
    • Re-comp between now and May, then hold tight for the summer and bulk in Autumn.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    My opinion would be based on what your goals are and at what bodyfat % are you currently rather than trying to tie anything per say to "seasons". But here is Lyle McDonald's practical recommendations which will give you some guidance. You can deduce from there on how long the cycles are based on your intended goals and bodyfat %.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html/
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    I agree that 4/2 week bulk/cut won't achieve much if anything. As a woman you could hope to gain 1lb of muscle a month if training and nutrition are optimum.

    I would get to a good level of leaness with a calorie deficit, move to maintenance for 2 weeks then slowly add calories into a small surplus. Bulk/cut cycles are more useful for men as they can gain muscle comparatively quicker.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    edited December 2016
    The best bulks are a few Months not a few weeks but heavier weights with a surplus will help with muscle mass. I typically bulk Oct till Feb- March then raise the Cardio but keep my calories the same then May depending on my progress adjust calories and it seems to work pretty good.

    My Bulks are pretty weak compared to a lot people I read about I rarely gain more than 15 lbs and I see some people gain 50 lbs for a bulk..
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    The best bulks are a few Months not a few weeks but heavier weights with a surplus will help with muscle mass. I typically bulk Oct till Feb- March then raise the Cardio but keep my calories the same then May depending on my progress adjust calories and it seems to work pretty good.

    My Bulks are pretty weak compared to a lot people I read about I rarely gain more than 15 lbs and I see some people gain 50 lbs for a bulk..

    My last bulk was 6 years and gained around 85lbs. I do not advise this.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I think you'd be slightly better off going for longer duration bulks at a slower rate of weight gain.

    Also, an important point -- I wouldn't intentionally start lifting lighter weights during a dieting phase.

    IF your training needs to be modified it's due to the inability to recover from the volume of training and so if that happens, I'd probably leave weight on the bar and reduce volume by reducing the number of sets you do unless you have goals that are strictly work capacity based but I suspect not.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    SideSteel wrote: »
    I think you'd be slightly better off going for longer duration bulks at a slower rate of weight gain.

    Also, an important point -- I wouldn't intentionally start lifting lighter weights during a dieting phase.

    IF your training needs to be modified it's due to the inability to recover from the volume of training and so if that happens, I'd probably leave weight on the bar and reduce volume by reducing the number of sets you do unless you have goals that are strictly work capacity based but I suspect not.

    I would definitely agree with this. Intensity is the last thing you want to sacrifice in a cut.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I was going to ask if the goal would be to maintain lifts during the cut.. so I guess the answer would be to keep them heavy and only decrease if you can't keep up because if deficit...
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    I also agree with the above stated. Generally a good lean bulk will last for 3-6-12 months depending on the fat gained, then a cut cycle will be 8-16 weeks depending on how much fat you're looking to lose. Though if you opt for a longer bulk, you are capable of doing mini 2-4 week cuts every 3 months or so just to stay ontop of the fat gain. I've been on a bulk for over 3 months and I've only gained 6lbs so, take your time. It takes a lot of practice and experience to get your calories just right.
  • LittleOneLoveLife
    LittleOneLoveLife Posts: 47 Member
    Thank you everyone for your help! :) I had a 3 month bulk in the summer. I went from around 44/45kg - 47kg, But as I am a petite build it was quite a significant change for me. I am now back to 45kg. I guess I need to have a think about what I want to achieve. I'm thinking as suggested I will go on a steady bulk, maybe eat around 200 surplus calories and continue with my training as I am and just see from there, I may not even need to cut and manage to gain a good amount of muscle while staying lean (ish) lol. Why cant it just be a simple, easy and straight forward as weight gain and weight loss haha!
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    edited December 2016
    LittleOneLoveLife wrote: »
    Thank you everyone for your help! :) I had a 3 month bulk in the summer. I went from around 44/45kg - 47kg, But as I am a petite build it was quite a significant change for me. I am now back to 45kg. I guess I need to have a think about what I want to achieve. I'm thinking as suggested I will go on a steady bulk, maybe eat around 200 surplus calories and continue with my training as I am and just see from there, I may not even need to cut and manage to gain a good amount of muscle while staying lean (ish) lol. Why cant it just be a simple, easy and straight forward as weight gain and weight loss haha!

    You gained 2kg in 3 months and then cut back to your start weight? Did your body composition change much during this time because that is well within daily/weekly water weight fluctuations? The numbers would suggest that at best, you could have gained 1kg of Lean Body Mass, which includes water.
  • LittleOneLoveLife
    LittleOneLoveLife Posts: 47 Member
    My body composition has definitely changed. That's the main thing I wanted to achieve and continue to. Not the number on the scales.

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