When to bulk or cult?

[steveT95]

Edit: Cut*

 

Ectomorph that started weight training a few months ago. I have made some good gains.

At what point do I stop bulking and start cutting? I have really strong abdominals but they don't show.. I want to lower my body fat percentage but not lose any weight. Preferably, I'd continue to gain muscle.

 

Newbie.

Edited October 7, 2013 by steveT95

[steveT95]

Buump please

[KatZee]

You do weight training--- are you coupling that with cardio? Also, post your diet. Being cut is 85% diet, 15% workout. You could be doing all this work and killing it with your diet, and not doing anything other than weight lifting. Are you using any kind of whey protein shake?

[dichotomy]

Depends on your current goals.

 

Recently I went through a year of really trying to push as much iron as I could lift - focusing on getting really strong, building core, and developing underlying muscle. More power lifter than body builder or PSX'er. And I ate - not crap - but ate alot. Well it worked I am stronger than ever and bigger too. But I have kind of entered "bear" look territory.

 

Actually many old school bodybuilders first started with power lifting/strength gaining before switching to cutting/bodybuilding/fat burning focus. A good underlying mass foundation is what was needed.

 

So now I feel I need to cut - and that means cut calories - cleaner eating - and add in more HITT. That’s my goal in 2014 - trim it down and lean out a bit - basically drop back on full pant size. While its fun - I don't need any more bulk/szie or stregth hard enough to find shirts anymore that fit.

Edited October 9, 2013 by dichotomy

[steveT95]

Well my goals are weight gain and strength building. With bodybuilding aims rather than anything else.

 

I don't eat strictly clean, but I don't eat pure sh*t. I drink whey protein with water and oats after a workout or just before bed if I don't workout that day.

 

I was thinking of cutting out fats and going to the nuts and fruit sort of diet, BUT I feel like I'm losing weight already haha I don't want to lose weight, I want to lose fat. I have a little pot belly, mainly because I have strong abdominals but they are covered with a layer of fat. My abs would be killer if it wasn't for the fat!!!

 

Could I throw in cardio (I don't do any) to lose the fat? I don't want to lose ANY muscle though. Just need to burn some calories to drop the fat.

[dichotomy]

I get the abs thing completly. Fats are not the issue generally - its bad carbs - sugars, soft drinks, candy, cakes, chips, crackers, breads, beer, wine, etc. Some cardio is good - when I say HIIT I mean interval training and not long steady durations. so sprinting back and forth (slow fast slow fast) vs jogging 10 miles.

 

If you want big growth - 0.7 to 1 gram of protein for your ideal weight - and go heavy low reps on weights.

[steveT95]

Ideally I would be able to throw in the extra exercise so I didn't have to be to strict with my eating. Obviously I would still watch it a bit.

 

I left heavy with low reps and short rest periods at the minute.

For cardio I was thinking of sprinting up and down a field by my house and at the end of each length do press-ups. Thoughts?

[Skyraider829]

Losing the fat will involve monitoring your caloric budget. Determine what your BMR is, factor in your TDEE (with cardio and weight lifting) and drop it back a bit. As long as you keep your protein intake up, and get adequate rest you aren't going to lose any muscle mass. If you eat above your TDEE, you will have excess energy that isn't being expended so its stored. Do take note it takes a lot of excess calories to gain one pound of fat, 3,600 calories on top of your TDEE.

 

Loss of fat is all about calories in versus calories out.

[steveT95]

Okay thanks. So I guess it comes down to eating a bit cleaner and throwing in some cardio into my workout?

[Skyraider829]

That would be the best resort.

[Emilia]

I find that lowering carbs, cleaner eating, throwing in sprints/interval training and heavy lifting makes weight fall off me fast.

[tman666]

Steve, you've only been lifting a few months, right?

 

Now is the prime-time to capitalize on newbie gains. By cutting down too early, you run the risk of becoming one of those guys that ends up unable to ever achieve their genetic potential for muscle growth or strength because they're too scared to lose sight of their abs.

 

If you're going for a "Brad Pitt in Fight Club" look, you might be just fine restricting calories and leaning out sooner, but if you want to look more like a bodybuilder or achieve any notable strength goals, you'd do better bulking for another year or two (with hard training) at least. By bulking, I mean eating in a caloric surplus with mostly "clean" foods and training your ass off.

 

You don't have to get fat to bulk up. Hell, you might even get leaner in the process since you're new, BUT, you still need to be in a caloric surplus to support muscle growth. My experience is that a person needs plenty of carbs for clean bulking, with my preferred sources being potatoes, yams, and rice.

[Emilia]

My experience is that a person needs plenty of carbs for clean bulking, with my preferred sources being potatoes, yams, and rice.

Certainly happy to hear that.

[tman666]

Certainly happy to hear that.

 

Mmmmm taters...

 

On a side note, a couple of months back, I started eating WAY more carbs than I had been (went from around 100-150 grams per day to 250-300 grams per day). All of my lifts shot up within a couple of weeks, my muscles look bigger, and I actually lost fat.

 

Weird (though in hindsight, not overly surprising)

 

WARNING: BRO-SCIENCE AHEAD:

 

My pseudo-scientific opinion is that "slow carbs" (rice, potatoes, yams, oats) should make up the bulk of carb intake if one's goal is muscle/strength gain while minimizing fat gain. Conversely, I believe that "fast carbs" (candy, fruit, sweets, soda, etc.) are less conducive to this goal. While they are able to be absorbed faster (and therefore, theoretically more quickly available for use), they are also stored as fat more quickly once glycogen stores are full.

[Emilia]

Mmmmm taters...

 

On a side note, a couple of months back, I started eating WAY more carbs than I had been (went from around 100-150 grams per day to 250-300 grams per day). All of my lifts shot up within a couple of weeks, my muscles look bigger, and I actually lost fat.

 

Weird (though in hindsight, not overly surprising)

 

WARNING: BRO-SCIENCE AHEAD:

 

My pseudo-scientific opinion is that "slow carbs" (rice, potatoes, yams, oats) should make up the bulk of carb intake if one's goal is muscle/strength gain while minimizing fat gain. Conversely, I believe that "fast carbs" (candy, fruit, sweets, soda, etc.) are less conducive to this goal. While they are able to be absorbed faster (and therefore, theoretically more quickly available for use), they are also stored as fat more quickly once glycogen stores are full.

 

haha bro-science, makes sense. I try to avoid 'fast carbs' mainly because they sit on my belly more than 'slow carbs' do.

 

It's all good though, those slow carbs are my preferred options too thank god. Of course I question my intake at times but I think I need to be a little braver. Going to push the boat out a bit and experiment.

[steveT95]

Thanks Tman that's a great bit of advice that I'll definitely be using!