Should I first cut or bulk? And why

[agolee]

Hey guys,

I am pretty new to the fitness world and hope someone can help me out with this:

I am 22 years old, 174cm tall (5"7) and currently weight 70kg (154 lbs).
I definitely want to be smaller in general so I have to lose fat. But I don't just want to be skinny, I want to build muscles and be strong and toned/ have visible abs and build a booty.

I have been working out regularly (3-5 x a week) for the last month, focusing on weight training.

But one thing I still haven't figured out is the order of the cutting and bulking phases:

Should I first be in a caloric deficit, lose the fat and THEN up my calorie intake and concentrate on building muscles until I reach my goal body

OR

Eat in a caloric surplus now and build the muscles, then once I feel strong enough go into a caloric deficit to lose the fat until I reach my goal body

OR

Stay around my maintenance calories and just do a good mix of weight training and cardio until I built the muscles and lost the fat?


Everyone always says that you can only build muscles on a caloric surplus, but does that mean it makes no sense to do weight training while on a caloric deficit?

Hope someone can guide me here! I really want to learn as much as I can about nutrition and fitness. Also, I'll attach a pic of myself and one of my body goals. Thanks!

[hardyboysare]

As a new beginner I would say start with around maintenance or slightly below (around 200-300 calories less then maintenance TDEE) and see how you progress new lifters can generally do both build muscle and cut fat. Although science has yet defined which is method is the faster (bulking/ cutting vs maintenance/ recomp) as a beginner it seems you can reap the benefits of both for a while so this is where you should most likely start IMO.

You should see some visual gains as well being so new to training and not having to wait longer to see results short term (around 2-3 months to see some small progression near enough for both). The importance is going to be getting correct nutrition (especially in higher protein) combined with a well designed progressive weight training program. As long as progressive overload is present this will aid in muscle development and being new linear progression is advised.

For nutrition read this:-

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=173439001

The aim for you is to drop weight slowly (0.25-0.5lb a week is usually the speed of a recomp style training) whilst ensuring progressing at the gym is linearly progressing. Do you know what weight training program you plan to run?

As for cardio you can add that for health benefits and to smooth some of the excess calories most people consume, but remember not to over do it as building muscle is the idea but in a calorie deficit, if you are in a deficit you will lose some fat.

All of this will depend if you have changed body composition wise in the last month? But generally newbie gains last longer then one month especially if nutrition or workout has been sub-par.

[TolerantLactose]

I would keep focusing on weight training and eat at a slight deficit.

There's a subforum where the more experienced women hang out that you should check out.

[BenMcLeodNZ]

Don't do the bulk cut cycle. Do a mild recomposition, lose a little weight while getting used to exercise, in perhaps 6 months you will be at target weight and in great shape then you can just maintain it, add little things but mainly maintain.

That target pic isn't what she looks like day to day by the way, there's special lighting, a twist-post and she probably dehydrated herself.

[Bigdumogre]

Please put a nsfw on second pic. That scared the crap outta me

[hardyboysare]

Please put a nsfw on second pic. That scared the crap outta me

I think you are lost, the misc section is missing you.

[grubman]

That target pic isn't what she looks like day to day by the way, there's special lighting, a twist-post and she probably dehydrated herself.

...not to mention a bit of photoshop. A little trim here, pump there, and all the flaws removed. I’m sure she is in great shape, but all models are on the elite end of the bell curve and have artists to make them look even better.

I’m sure you know this...but we can’t change genetics. We can bust our butts to be the best version of ourselves, but we can’t change skeletal structures and muscle attachments. I probably wouldn’t bother saying all this, but that “goal” is pretty extreme.

[BenMcLeodNZ]

...not to mention a bit of photoshop. A little trim here, pump there, and all the flaws removed. I’m sure she is in great shape, but all models are on the elite end of the bell curve and have artists to make them look even better.

I’m sure you know this...but we can’t change genetics. We can bust our butts to be the best version of ourselves, but we can’t change skeletal structures and muscle attachments. I probably wouldn’t bother saying all this, but that “goal” is pretty extreme.

Dunno how I forgot photoshop, I can't embed this one, but check link out if you're interested, pretty typical I think.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPV9-cUA...ource=ig_embed

Maybe the goal is to learn how to take photos like that.

[Mrpb]

Neither. As a beginner you're a perfect candidate to recomp: lose fat and build muscle at the same time.