How Quickly Should I Bulk/Cut?

[Elliot22]

I'm currently 80kg, 6 ft 1 and an estimated 14-15% body fat and after having very slow gains over the past year I've finally decided to sort my diet out.

Short term, I'm looking to be in as good shape as possible for my holiday in late August and I'm going to bulk before cutting down for the holiday.

I've been eating 4000 calories a day for the past month and I've gained 3kg. Is 3kg a month too fast?

I'm thinking about gaining 3kg a month up to the end of April when I'd be 88.5kg, then cutting down around 1.5kg a month to be around 83kg in time for the holiday.

I've never properly bulked before and I've always been much too skinny to cut, so I apologise for my lack of experience - would this work/would you recommend it?

Thanks.

[jnbrk]

Yes, 3 kg a month is a bit too much. You should be shooting for 2-3 lbs which makes something around 1 kg... By doing this you will have been minimized your fat absorbtion. So you'll have long time for bulk and less time for cut, that said, more muscle mass.

However, I would not suggest you to cut for summer. You will not build that much muscle in only 2 months or something. To me, any bulking progress shorter than 4-5 months is pointless. I don't know if you finished your noob gains but if you didn't you can gain muscle and burn fat at the same time for like 3-4 months. So if you want to look lean and muscular for summer I think you should do a clean bulk (gain 2 lbs a month).

[gbullock32]

When bulking aim for .5-1 pound a week, when cutting aim to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Bulk until you feel too fat, cut until you feel too skinny (or you reach your goal).

[Elliot22]

Yes, 3 kg a month is a bit too much. You should be shooting for 2-3 lbs which makes something around 1 kg... By doing this you will have been minimized your fat absorbtion. So you'll have long time for bulk and less time for cut, that said, more muscle mass.

However, I would not suggest you to cut for summer. You will not build that much muscle in only 2 months or something. To me, any bulking progress shorter than 4-5 months is pointless. I don't know if you finished your noob gains but if you didn't you can gain muscle and burn fat at the same time for like 3-4 months. So if you want to look lean and muscular for summer I think you should do a clean bulk (gain 2 lbs a month).

Ok, thanks. Yeah, generally I am looking more long term than this summer but I just didn't want to be looking flabby for my holiday!
I think I'll go for 3 lbs a month. I was just gaining on the generous side because I've been going to the gym for about 2 years now and I've only gained around a stone, but now if I carefully monitor my calories with my weight, I don't see why 3 lbs a month should be too difficult.