How long does one stay lean before bulking?

alondrakayy
alondrakayy Posts: 304 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been at maintenance (recomp?) for a little over a month. It was a nice break from a very very very slow 6 month cut but it's helped me realized that I'd rather go the bulk/cut cycle route.

Anyways, I'm about to start an intense 12 week cut where I lose 1 pound per week. I want to have everything planned as best as I can, so my question is this: Once I get to my goal of 135 lbs, how long do I stay at that weight before I start a lean bulk? With a lean bulk, is gaining .5lb per week a good goal?

Stats:
146 lbs
5ft 7in
Mostly stationary - office job
Strength train 3-4x a week. (I'm on Strong Curves week 4)
Cardio (30 min session soon to be longer) 2-3 x a week.
Current intake of 1900 cals per week

All thoughts/advice/critiques welcomed.

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I am just on the tail end of a 16 week cut (uch I know right) then planning a bulk... @RAD_Fitness summed it up exactly how I would recommend it. I am going to keep my bulk very lean, so 1lb per month gain.

    If you want to "enjoy your leanness" once you hit maintenance you can stay there a while or head into a bulk. Up to you. No need to stay lean for any other particular reason.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    Once i hit my weight loss goals in about 2-3 months time, i plan to switch to bulk routine immediately to add muscle.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    alondrakayy wrote: »
    I have been at maintenance (recomp?) for a little over a month. It was a nice break from a very very very slow 6 month cut but it's helped me realized that I'd rather go the bulk/cut cycle route.

    Anyways, I'm about to start an intense 12 week cut where I lose 1 pound per week. I want to have everything planned as best as I can, so my question is this: Once I get to my goal of 135 lbs, how long do I stay at that weight before I start a lean bulk? With a lean bulk, is gaining .5lb per week a good goal?

    Stats:
    146 lbs
    5ft 7in
    Mostly stationary - office job
    Strength train 3-4x a week. (I'm on Strong Curves week 4)
    Cardio (30 min session soon to be longer) 2-3 x a week.
    Current intake of 1900 cals per week

    All thoughts/advice/critiques welcomed.

    My initial thoughts (and you're not going to like this) is that a 1lb per week cut is too aggressive @ your current starting point (147lb @ 5'7").
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I forgot to add one more point now that I think about it...

    It's fine to have a goal weight range, but for cutting before a bulk, I would aim more for a goal bodyfat % or leanness. You might get to 138lbs and feel super lean and ready to start, or you may get to 135lbs and still not be as not be as lean as you would like. I typically will lean out even further than my goal before starting a bulk because having too much stubborn fat only gets worse once the bulk starts (even if you keep the surplus small).
  • alondrakayy
    alondrakayy Posts: 304 Member
    RAD_Fitness wrote: »
    Once you finish your 12 week cut you don't necessarily need to stay at that weight for any specific amount of time. Just increase calories a bit (about 10% calorie increase) when you get in the 136-138 range and this will help get you starting to do a reverse diet towards your maintenance calories. You'll still continue to lose some weight over the last couple weeks but it will be a bit slower and get you closer to maintenance. You would then continue to increase calories (roughly same amount) every 2 weeks until your weight stagnates for the 2-4 weeks and that will be your maintenance and do one more little bump in calories to put you in your lean bulk calories. As a women if you really want to do a lean/clean bulk, I would keep your weight gain to 1-1.5 pounds a month, which would be something like 100-200 calories over maintenance a month. If you are trying to maximize your muscle gain over bulk with a bit more fat gain, you should probably shoot more towards the 200-300 daily increase and about 1.5-2.5 pounds a month.

    Anything more than that, you are likely just putting on additional fat rather than muscle.

    This is incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking the time to explain this. I'm going to refer back to it if/when my weight begins to stall.
    StealthHealth wrote: »

    My initial thoughts (and you're not going to like this) is that a 1lb per week cut is too aggressive @ your current starting point (147lb @ 5'7").

    Nah I get the plan is super aggressive. That's why it's only for 12 weeks, if that! I have a certain level of leanness in mind. If I can get to it before I hit 135 lbs then I'll stop and start the bulk. Thank you though for looking out :)


    sardelsa wrote: »
    I forgot to add one more point now that I think about it...

    It's fine to have a goal weight range, but for cutting before a bulk, I would aim more for a goal bodyfat % or leanness. You might get to 138lbs and feel super lean and ready to start, or you may get to 135lbs and still not be as not be as lean as you would like. I typically will lean out even further than my goal before starting a bulk because having too much stubborn fat only gets worse once the bulk starts (even if you keep the surplus small).

    Yup! That is also something I'm keeping in mind. The 135 lbs in simply a goal but I'll be documenting everything and that number may changed based on how I look.


    You all are awesome. Thank you so much!

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