Brace Yourselves Bulk Season is Coming!
- Thread starter Slystallion
- Start date
Bulking isn't necessary from what I've researched. You can eat normally and still gain mass as long as you are increasing the weight of your lifts. Bulking is just a FASTER way to gain muscle. I've been cutting for months and I'm close to where I want to be. I'm not losing all this weight just to put fat back on. If I decide to bulk, it will be this time next year. I might be gaining muscle more slowly than I would if I bulked, but I'm good for now. I'm trying to look ripped all times of the year, not just spring and summer.
Majestyx
Duck Season
yeah, that how i feel. after this first bulk, i dont think i'm gonna "bulk" again. and if i do, it'll be the cleanest bulk possible. no fat on the frame damnit
Mr. Somebody
Friend Of A Friend
Its cut the bulk season for me. Sheesh. Im going to have to drop down to 180 and give up on pasta and rice. I had my wife take a photo of me today. Holy smokes friends, its over. 
I'm cutting until MarchMiddle ground my friend. Gaining 10-12 pounds over 12-16 weeks isn't very drastic. If you've been training over a year but less than 3 you could hope that half of that is lean muscle.
For me, I want to stay around 10-14% body fat. Which for me would be staying pretty lean year round but enough wait gain to take advantage of a bulk.
Exiled Martian
Was young I couldn't do good, now I can't do Bad
More power to you breh!...If you are cutting then make sure you have the following in check;
- Consistency
- Patience
- Progression
- Good exercises and
- Proper food intake.
Cutting aside as far as 'muscle building' goes Bulking is VERY necessary.. you seem to have confused the notion of eatin normal vs bulking.... I'm assuming when you say eat normal you mean eating at maintenance (BMR/TDEE figures tweaked)?if so there is no way you will ADD on mass when eating normal...yes you might look bigger at a lower bodyweight depending on your progress with the bar but in a literal sense you won't have put on any mass/muscle (hope that makes sense). Anyways a calorie surplus (BULKING) is pivotal if you want to add/build new muscle. You have to accept the fact that your aesthetics will take a dip during this phase..but the damage can bee asily minimised on the right protocol (look up Clean Bulking +30 -10 protocol).
The trick is to alternate/cycle your food intake to reflect your schedule, I've personally found this style of eating to be very effective regardless of goals (Bulk/Cut/Maintenance). Been using this via trial & error on my CUT & so far its working like clockwork with the fat loss
I'll give you MY example (Cutting in this instance);
- ~2700kcals on TD (Training Day).
- ~1760 on RD (Rest days).
- On TD Macros are - 200/370/55 PCF.
- On RD Macros are - 200/60/78 PCF.
- ON TD I eat 40% of my KCals/Mcaros pre workout & 60% (to fuel the anabolic state) post workout.
- On RD I eat a very heavy 60% of my KCals/Macro during lunch period & dinner is a light 40%.
In simple terms:
- Calorie intake vs expenditure controls whether you gain or lose weight.
- The macronutrient composition of your diet (carbs/fats/protein) controls the ratio of how much fat vs muscle is lost/gained.
- Nutrient timing - All the research so far backs this up (is what I implement & gave you an example of how I conduct my nutrition above).
EDIT: Did I mention that...not a single *insert cardio equipment of your choice* has been used on this CUT so far.... its all been taken care of in kitchen
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More power to you breh!...If you are cutting then make sure you have the following in check;
- Consistency
- Patience
- Progression
- Good exercises and
- Proper food intake.
Cutting aside as far as 'muscle building' goes Bulking is VERY necessary.. you seem to have confused the notion of eatin normal vs bulking.... I'm assuming when you say eat normal you mean eating at maintenance (BMR/TDEE figures tweaked)?if so there is no way you will ADD on mass when eating normal...yes you might look bigger at a lower bodyweight depending on your progress with the bar but in a literal sense you won't have put on any mass/muscle (hope that makes sense). Anyways a calorie surplus (BULKING) is pivotal if you want to add/build new muscle. You have to accept the fact that your aesthetics will take a dip during this phase..but the damage can bee asily minimised on the right protocol (look up Clean Bulking +30 -10 protocol).
The trick is to alternate/cycle your food intake to reflect your schedule, I've personally found this style of eating to be very effective regardless of goals (Bulk/Cut/Maintenance). Been using this via trial & error on my CUT & so far its working like clockwork with the fat loss
I'll give you MY example (Cutting in this instance);
Caloric swings,carb cycling & meal timing frequency (do some research on these & include them in your food regime if possible) personally seem to be working like a charm & also has helped me keep track of the weight loss ( fat loss has been maximal and lean body mass has remained stagnant ) rather conservatively! Macros fluctuate between TD\RD accordingly.
- ~2700kcals on TD (Training Day).
- ~1760 on RD (Rest days).
- On TD Macros are - 200/370/55 PCF.
- On RD Macros are - 200/60/78 PCF.
- ON TD I eat 40% of my KCals/Mcaros pre workout & 60% (to fuel the anabolic state) post workout.
- On RD I eat a very heavy 60% of my KCals/Macro during lunch period & dinner is a light 40%.
In simple terms:
- Calorie intake vs expenditure controls whether you gain or lose weight.
- The macronutrient composition of your diet (carbs/fats/protein) controls the ratio of how much fat vs muscle is lost/gained.
- Nutrient timing - All the research so far backs this up (is what I implement & gave you an example of how I conduct my nutrition above).
EDIT: Did I mention that...not a single *insert cardio equipment of your choice* has been used on this CUT so far.... its all been taken care of in kitchen
Thanks for this post. I'll try and refer to it down the line if I decide to bulk.
I forgot to mention this, but I am what you would would call a rookie. I've read that if someone is new to weightlifting that they can make significant muscle gains without the need of daily recommended calorie/protein intake or even bulking. I vouch for this because I know for a FACT that I am not getting anywhere close to the daily recommended calorie/protein intake to gain muscle, but yet I have gained significant muscle mass since I began. I started really taking it serious in May. That's around 7 months, so I believe if what you're saying about ABSOLUTELY NEEDING to bulk to gain muscle mass is true, then the reason I don't need to bulk yet is because I am still new and have not plateaued. I gained that mass while losing weight for the record, and no, I'm not just thinking I've gained muscle because the fat is gone lololol
With that out the way, if you are saying that once I've plateaued my rookie muscle gains that I must bulk to continue gaining, I'm still a little suspicious. What will happen if I continue to eat at maintenance but progress in my in weightlifting? If I add 100 pounds to my bench press but don't take in the caloric surplus recommended by the bodybuilding community, what will happen? Will I get nothing out of it but some really bad triceps, front delt and chest soreness the next day? Will my quads and hamstrings look the exact same next summer if I don't bulk even if I've progressed from squatting 200 pounds to squatting 400 during that time frame?
I just want to make sure people aren't confusing bulking being "faster and preferred" with bulking being "absolutely, irrefutably necessary." But if It's something that has to be done for me to achieve my goals, then I'm all for it when the time comes. I'll never be that guy bulking for multiple years straight to the point where you can never see my abs though. That ain't for me.
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I think people confuse gaining size with gaining significant size when discussing bulking. Also people are trying to gain a lot of size in a short window.
It's kind of a trap for new lifters. They see pictures of different fitness models and want to get there as quick as possible. Do the research and it takes years, I won't throw in drug use. Like as photo these guys were likely drained out and had great pump. That's not to take away from them but you can't get that in 6 months with no base.
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Exiled Martian
Was young I couldn't do good, now I can't do Bad
.
Ok in that case continue as you are now..... you are still milking novice gain....which come in abundance if done right from the beginning, wait till you get one foot through the intermediate door...then you gon see how tricky shyte can get!
Again... I believe you mixing the wording up...you can't gain mass while you lose weight (they both the same thing)... unless you are distinguishing LBM (lean body mass) Vs FAT levels that make up your whole overall weight/mass ofcourse. to simplify it just remember;
losing fat = losing weight = calorie deficit
gaining muscle = gaining weight = calorie surplus
This will result in an automatic body recomposition taking effect as opposed to you losing mass/gaining mass your body will transcend i.e LOOK much better for as long as you can sustain progression on those lifts whilst keeping your calories static per se...but you won;t GROW
You gotta realise Maintenance calories = Your body has sufficient calories to maintain, no excess calories to go towards building new muscle tissue and no calorie deficit where the body has to look elsewhere for energy (fat stores)....It is possible and it does happen. It's just very slow and inefficient. Do you want results? Then you are going to have to both work hard and adjust your diet accordingly. READ ME(seriously insightful it will answer majority of your questions on fat loss/ muscle gain concerns.... FUKK broscience)
Agree with everything said. I wouldn't go on a bulk until you start struggling with the weights, you've trained for at least 10 months and your squat, deadlift & bench press are at 800pounds combined at least.
I'm almost at that stage. I'm getting leanish now before bulking in late December/January. I'm about 13/14% bf now, want to get to 10-12% before going back up. I see EM is also from the school of Lyle.
I'm almost at that stage. I'm getting leanish now before bulking in late December/January. I'm about 13/14% bf now, want to get to 10-12% before going back up. I see EM is also from the school of Lyle.
You Win Perfect
bow down
.
Ok in that case continue as you are now..... you are still milking novice gain....which come in abundance if done right from the beginning, wait till you get one foot through the intermediate door...then you gon see how tricky shyte can get!
Again... I believe you mixing the wording up...you can't gain mass while you lose weight (they both the same thing)... unless you are distinguishing LBM (lean body mass) Vs FAT levels that make up your whole overall weight/mass ofcourse. to simplify it just remember;
losing fat = losing weight = calorie deficit
gaining muscle = gaining weight = calorie surplus
This will result in an automatic body recomposition taking effect as opposed to you losing mass/gaining mass your body will transcend i.e LOOK much better for as long as you can sustain progression on those lifts whilst keeping your calories static per se...but you won;t GROW
You gotta realise Maintenance calories = Your body has sufficient calories to maintain, no excess calories to go towards building new muscle tissue and no calorie deficit where the body has to look elsewhere for energy (fat stores)....It is possible and it does happen. It's just very slow and inefficient. Do you want results? Then you are going to have to both work hard and adjust your diet accordingly. READ ME(seriously insightful it will answer majority of your questions on fat loss/ muscle gain concerns.... FUKK broscience)
just a sidenote, scientifically, mass and weight are two different things. Your mass will always be the same. Your weight, however, can change depending on gravity.
but in the normal everyday person context....weight and mass are used interchangeably
What I'm saying is that my muscles have increased in size while my body fat levels have dropped. You are using the technical wording for mass which I'm fine with, but I didn't mean it any other way but that. Since cutting + lifting, my muscle = bigger in size and my fat = less. I feel the reason for this success is because despite not getting recommended intakes, I am taking in more protein on the regular than I ever have in my life while lifting heavy and for high volumes.
When would you say my rookie gain window has closed? It's been 7 months. I'd like to stretch it out to at least a year. And once I'm happy with my physique I can stop the bulk phase and just lift/eat for maintenance correct? Would that mean my maintenance at that point will be the same as my last bulk requirement for gain?
People would tell you "newbie" gains could be 2 years worth.
To get a true maintenance you would have to try different cal intakes and monitor weight fluctuations.
