If you're continually bulking/cutting, you're doing it wrong

[blumnblam]

For all 6 other misc'ers out there who lift, I was thinking about something the other day...

*If you are not competing in bodybuilding or powerlifting (and you only need to look good one day/season)
*If you are not brand new to lifting with a specific goal in mind (i.e. get from 120 lbs --> 180 ASAP)


Then why bulk then cut then bulk then cut ad infinitum?

Workout out is a healthy lifestyle. Eating 4000+ calories per day to bulk up ASAP is unhealthy and not even fun, imo. Going keto sucks.
Eating above maintenence (~3100 cals/day for me) is fun AND easy.

Why not clean bulk from now til you die, looking good (<10% bf) so you're always ready to take your shirt off?
When ladies ask you, "oh, you work out?" you, at any point during the year can lift up your shirt and BAM! -- very visible abs, cut pecs, etc. Or else you'd be like beezy minus his ONE upcoming powerlifting meet, with people saying "lol wut you lift?" btw, I love beezy's stories (going to pool, Olympia, etc.)

Granted linear progress is slower, but what's the rush?

amirite?

[sportsarelife7]

Oh lawd not this again.

[Kharig]

i bulk so i can gain muscle, then i cut so i can show off that muscle, that's really it

edit: and if i perma bulked, i would never have abs..

[Dysfunqtional]

because I weigh 155 lbs so I think a nice long bulk is in order.

[matty_b_bop]

i've been this way forever. i'm clean bulking. not looking to get fat, just eating above maintenance.

[bhujerban]

Originally Posted by Kharig

i bulk so i can gain muscle, then i cut so i can show off that muscle, that's really it

edit: and if i perma bulked, i would never have abs..

Yeah, that's pretty much it in this sport/lifestyle. Either you do it or you don't. Or you quit.

[Zoupa]

either way I gain fat and have to cut. I can't stay around 10% for long while bulking. But I do count my calories and make sure I'm not gaining more than 2.5-3 lbs a month. Right now I'm gaining less than that and I'm eating 3800 cals per day.

[shoobey]

Why is cutting/bulking stupid for everyone? What about endo's that put on fat basically no matter what? I'd rather eat enough to gain the most muscle in the shortest possible time and cut the fat later, then take forever bulking because im worried about fat and not eating enough? Some people can't gain muscle w/o putting on fat without it taking 10x as long as a bulk cycle, so what is your solution there?

People who are anti-cutting/bulking are just like that because they don't have control over their bodies yet. Anyone who does knows how stupidly easy cutting fat is, so why wouldn't you try to put on the most mass in the shortest time possible if you are confident in your cutting ability and realize that cutting only takes a few months?

The people that permabulk are NOT endos, because endos put on fat no matter what. If an endo isn't raising bodyfat consistently, then that means they are not gaining muscle either most likely. Only ectos/meso's can perma bulk

Me personally, I can't get below 15% bodyfat unless I do an absurd amount of HIIT and low carb dieting. So how exactly can I get sub 15% bodyfat without cutting then? Not gonna be able to put on muscle doing low carb + 4 days of HIIT a week, but I'm also not gonna have sub 15% bodyfat without doing regular HIIT and watching carbs.

[blumnblam]

Originally Posted by Kharig

i bulk so i can gain muscle, then i cut so i can show off that muscle, that's really it

edit: and if i perma bulked, i would never have abs..

Perma...clean bulk?
(seeing as showing off your muscles are important to you, and rightfully so)
Say you're bulking and all of a sudden this saturday there's a pool party...you look like a fat lard and your body is even beat by the kid who's 6'0", 140 lbs who doesn't lift.

Originally Posted by Dysfunqtional

because I weigh 155 lbs so I think a nice long bulk is in order.

Bodybuilding is a marathon, not a sprint. Say your goal is 180. Instead of getting dirtily up to 190 (insert picture of dude on this site who looks like a toad "you're doing it wrong") then cutting why not just look sexy throughout the whole process?

Originally Posted by matty_b_bop

i've been this way forever. i'm clean bulking. not looking to get fat, just eating above maintenance.

...and hence you hook up with girls with nice asses off PoF. Badabing.
+ you appreciate the 90s. I remember that. Good on you, matey.

[209manny]

because I put on weight easily, so if I were to start my clean bulk at 10%bf and continue for 2 years I'd be around 20% body fat.

and I'm not at a low enough body fat percentage right now to stay lean year long.

I started my clean bulk around 14% body fat I'm trying to keep the bf% under 17% during the 6 months of clean bulking

[shoobey]

Originally Posted by matty_b_bop

i've been this way forever. i'm clean bulking. not looking to get fat, just eating above maintenance.

u are not an endo then sir. I am an endo. My options are either eat slightly above maintenance and gain a minimal but constant amount of bodyfat per week, or eat less than that and not put on any weight/mass other than a minimal amount.

[shoobey]

BTW OP you clearly have no concept of proper bulking. Once you get to or above 15% you are supposed to cut down and then re-bulk. Anyone who is bulking above 15% has no clue what they are doing or just doesn't wanna do small bulk/cut cycles and wants to bulk up for a long time and then cut much down the road w/ a ton of mass


I stopped cutting and I was 140 lbs at like 8% bodyfat. I'm currently 160 lbs and I dunno what my bodyfat is but I can still see 4 of my abs. Trick is to get to a super low bodyfat FIRST, then bulk. If you are skinny fat, just keep cutting till you lose the skinny fat look as long as you have a minimal amount of muscle, and THEN you are in the right starting phase to bulk.

<----- Former epitome of skinny -fat

[Zoupa]

Originally Posted by shoobey

u are not an endo then sir. I am an endo. My options are either eat slightly above maintenance and gain a minimal but constant amount of bodyfat per week, or eat less than that and not put on any weight/mass other than a minimal amount.

I don't think you're an endo. I've seen your pics. Putting on fat easily doesn't automatically make you an endo.

[pats55583]

what is this "lifting" you are referring to? You mean like moving stuff?

[AFdave]

Totally agree.

[Dysfunqtional]

Originally Posted by blumnblam

Bodybuilding is a marathon, not a sprint. Say your goal is 180. Instead of getting dirtily up to 190 (insert picture of dude on this site who looks like a toad "you're doing it wrong") then cutting why not just look sexy throughout the whole process?

It is hard to look sexy at a cut 135 lbs...

[Slavich]

Thank god for being meso

[blumnblam]

Originally Posted by 209manny

because I put on weight easily, so if I were to start my clean bulk at 10%bf and continue for 2 years I'd be around 20% body fat.

Clean, brah. Clean.

Also, what's worked for me (because it's hard to keep diet steady with all the life-variables thrown at you) is on 4 lifting days, eat a sh*t ton.
On 3 off days, reduce overall caloric intake as if I'm semi-cutting/maintenence.

If I don't want to do it on a weekly basis as described above, I also can go 2 weeks bulk, 1 week cut (though lasting any more than one day at less than 2500 cals makes me grumpy).

Regardless, 6 pack is everpresent and the weight I'm pushing in they gym goes up each week.

[Krique]

Originally Posted by shoobey

The people that permabulk are NOT endos, because endos put on fat no matter what. If an endo isn't raising bodyfat consistently, then that means they are not gaining muscle either most likely. Only ectos/meso's can perma bulk

Me personally, I can't get below 15% bodyfat unless I do an absurd amount of HIIT and low carb dieting. So how exactly can I get sub 15% bodyfat without cutting then? Not gonna be able to put on muscle doing low carb + 4 days of HIIT a week, but I'm also not gonna have sub 15% bodyfat without doing regular HIIT and watching carbs.

Yeah but no. Endo's may put on fat like crazy but, unless they have horrible genes, they also put on muscle easily too. I struggled like hell to cut from 205 to 155 (where I'm at now) but I managed to consistently make gains during my cut.

If an endo needs to put on bodyfat to gain muscle, they are doing it wrong.

[cncman]

Originally Posted by matty_b_bop

i've been this way forever. i'm clean bulking. not looking to get fat, just eating above maintenance.

=the best way if you're not competing. Just do one bulk, one cut, then do what matty here does. simple

[bajaboy]

bc its easier for me to do them seperatly. esp during the seasons. spring summer cut... fall winter bulk.

works for me.. and theres never really a point where you would think i didnt lift from "bulking"

[shoobey]

Originally Posted by Zoupa

I don't think you're an endo. I've seen your pics. Putting on fat easily doesn't automatically make you an endo.

my metabolism is pure endo though, if I stopped lifting and regular cardio I'd get fat as heck because I have a super slow metabolism. But I also don't have to eat all that much to put on serious weight, but some of the weight is fat.

I dunno what I am generally, all I know is I was always skinny fat for most of my life and then got fat-fat once i got older.

[Croatian_Lifter]

I durty bulk for 6 months or more at a time and never put on more then 1-2% body fat. Its called being a mesomorph. Put on muscle at a medium rate and almost never gain fat. Plus ive trained to eat huge. I can eat massive meals all day and never really be stuffed. Only reason I try to not eat all dirty food is because I dont want my heart to explode when im 40

[Stevebb89]

Eh, whatever works. Everyone is different in their goals but I would rather be leaner overall. My metabolism is so fast it's really hard for me to gain fat at all but also hard to gain muscle as well. I mean, 4k cals is pretty much maintenance for me, but I'm not gonna complain because its nice to have it easier staying lean. I'm pretty much bulking on 5k+ calories and that is really hard to me unless I center my life around eating

[209manny]

Only part that I agree with OP is going with a clean bulk over a dirty bulk. I still have no idea why some people eat 2x over maintenance when naturally your body can't utilize all those excess calories for muscle building and instead stores it as fat.

[Zoupa]

Originally Posted by Croatian_Lifter

I durty bulk for 6 months or more at a time and never put on more then 1-2% body fat. Its called being a mesomorph. Put on muscle at a medium rate and almost never gain fat. Plus ive trained to eat huge. I can eat massive meals all day and never really be stuffed. Only reason I try to not eat all dirty food is because I dont want my heart to explode when im 40

it doesn't matter if you're meso, ecto, whatever. if you're eating too much over maintenance you're going to gain fat quickly. I'm fairly meso myself and this happened to me when eating a ridiculous amount. I count my calories now instead of just stuffing my face all day.

[WarChant]

It's tough to track calories when bulking. I'm in college, and I find that a bulking/cutting cycle is much more practical for me.

[shoobey]

Originally Posted by Krique

Yeah but no. Endo's may put on fat like crazy but, unless they have horrible genes, they also put on muscle easily too. I struggled like hell to cut from 205 to 155 (where I'm at now) but I managed to consistently make gains during my cut.

If an endo needs to put on bodyfat to gain muscle, they are doing it wrong.

what if I was like 8% bodyfat which is absolutely not my normal bodyfat level, after months and months of doing HIIT 4-5x a week? How in the world am I gonna not raise my bodyfat levels once I start bulking? Even eating the same as I did on my cut and stopping the 4-5x HIIT would raise my bodyfat level. You guys don't seem to understand the difference between bodyfat increase and EXCESSIVE bodyfat increase.

So you are saying, an endo who cut to like 6% bf and now needs to bulk, is doing it wrong if they raise their bodyfat to like 10-12% by the time they are done bulking? I don't think that's right at all nor makes any sense.

[shoobey]

Originally Posted by Croatian_Lifter

I durty bulk for 6 months or more at a time and never put on more then 1-2% body fat. Its called being a mesomorph. Put on muscle at a medium rate and almost never gain fat. Plus ive trained to eat huge. I can eat massive meals all day and never really be stuffed. Only reason I try to not eat all dirty food is because I dont want my heart to explode when im 40

I've put on like 20 lbs of bodyweight in about 7 months but I can still see 4 of my abs and I still have very vascular arms (not naturally vascular but got very vascular near the end of my cut). Do you think I'm an meso or endo? I don't really dirty bulk, just eat a lot of wheat rolls, low fat cheese, lean red meat, and natty pb, but I wouldn't call eating wheat rolls and cheese a purely clean bulk though.

[Croatian_Lifter]

Originally Posted by Zoupa

it doesn't matter if you're meso, ecto, whatever. if you're eating too much over maintenance you're going to gain fat quickly. I'm fairly meso myself and this happened to me when eating a ridiculous amount. I count my calories now instead of just stuffing my face all day.

I maintain at 9.5%. always have even before I lifted. When I bulk I eat around 4000 calories a day. Ive had a few ridiculous ones were i ate more and realized it wasn't necessary. I'm not saying I don't gain fat when eating over maintenance It just happens very slowly. When cut back to my 9.5% after bluking it only take about 4 weeks of half assed dieting a mild cardio.