cutting to get abs will kill my gains?

[bbtorres23]

Hi there I am new in body building I starter working out 3 months ago so far so good I gained 23 lbs in 3 month from 140 to 163 pounds. Am happy with my results other than my arms specially biceps 13.5 in pretty lame and my abs . I have pretty flat stomach but no abs definition . I want to have abs so bad but i read that I need to decrease my calorie intake but am scare too loose my hard earned muscle. Also dont wanna lose weight since my goal is 170 pounds with defined abs. What do you recommend me to do. ?
If matters am doing mostly heavy compound movements. Bench press, squats etc. And I haven't work out my abs directly ever. Sorry for the bad English have a good day

[Mncdk]

I'd suggest you slow down your bulk, 23 lbs in 3 months is a lot.
Aim for 0.5-1 lb per week, or 2-4 lbs per month.

[OT2000]

24 lbs in 3 months is unheard of naturally. Most of that should be water/fat and not pure muscle. Don't rush to your goals, take it slower to keep your gains and not yoyo.

[bbtorres23]

I'd suggest you slow down your bulk, 23 lbs in 3 months is a lot.
Aim for 0.5-1 lb per week, or 2-4 lbs per month.

thanks, i do too think is too much, fun fact i gained like 13 in the first month i know is crazy, then 10 in the following 2 months so probably most of my gain is fat, . but my waist size is pretty much the same now than when i was 140, 30.5 inches now 30 inches back then,

[AFC96]

The higher the calories you subtract(deficit) the more muscle you will lose.

Aim to lose 1lbs per week.

[Lowpala]

thanks, i do too think is too much, fun fact i gained like 13 in the first month i know is crazy, then 10 in the following 2 months so probably most of my gain is fat, . but my waist size is pretty much the same now than when i was 140, 30.5 inches now 30 inches back then,

Look in the mirror, does it look like you gained a ton of fat? Or muscle? There is your answer.

If you want to keep gaining weight and lose BF, start doing HIIT cardio and keep your daily intake at a surplus.

Especially being a beginner you can take advantage of this time to easily gain muscle and lose fat.

[chrichards]

It could be a under developed core man. I would stick with your bulk and hit your core hard, heavy squats and deadlifts do a good job. Try that for a few months and see what happens.

Also, you can't gain muscle and loose body fat at the same time. unless you're on gear.

[magician27]

you need to bulk at about 1/3 of that speed . same principle applies to cutting .both cutting and bulking needs to be slow. your body cant change that fast without consequences

[ErikTheElectric]

Heavy compounds > all.


If you're doing enough squatting and deadlifting (and OHP) I don't really see any reason to worry about abs.

Some additional core work is beneficial though.