Is it weird to be reluctant to bulk because I know the time will eventually come round when it’s time for me to cut?? I really don’t like the idea of cutting, and I think I would rather eat a diet which I could maintain pretty much all year (and also keep bodyfat levels in check.) But I need to put on some weight.
Would I really be better off bulking and eventually cutting (so I add some size, muscle and fat) or do it slowly, with smaller muscle gains, but also smaller fat gains??
I had a bad cutting experience in the past, after I realised I was a bit soft round the waist (about 2 years ago, before I got interested in bodybuilding) in which I really under ate and over-exercised, and my bodyfat dropped to 3%-
I’m just worried that if I had to cut after a bulk, then it would be a repeat of this experience…
If you want to gain slabs of man-meat type muscle, you must bulk. If you want to maintain your 5% bodyfat, you will also maintain your 130 lbs. It is very difficult if not impossible to gain much in the way of muscle without also gaining fat.
The idea is to gain the weight (bulk), so that the body is in an anabolic state and will accept muscle growth. You don’t have to get to 20-25% bodyfat, 12-15% will do. Cutting will reduce the bodyfat and some of the gained muscle and show the muscle to its best advantage. But you really should have some muscle before you cut.
To avoid past pitfalls, you must have a plan. A plan to bulk, a plan to cut. The bulk plan is first and foremost. At a buck thirty, I wouldn’t plan on cutting for at least a couple years. Keep a food log. How can you adjust your eating to get better results if you don’t know what you are currently putting in your body?
Try to gain 1-2 lbs per week. If you are not gaining, add calories. Seeing your diet from a past post shows that you are eating right, just eat more.
There are many bulking plans on this site. Use the search button.
[quote]watermelon_2001 wrote:
Is it weird to be reluctant to bulk because I know the time will eventually come round when it’s time for me to cut??[/quote]
Yes its weird. But it happens alot. I recently put off buying something I wanted for over a year because it was a lot of money and all the “what if’s” keeped popping up in my mind. What if I get laid off. What if i need the money for school books. ETc. Eventually you will just hit the point where you want it enough and you will deal with the consequences later. As for my situation, i usually complain about nothing. I have more than enough money to live. I just scare myself for no reason. Which is probably analagous to what you are doing.
Just bulk. Don’t worry about being 500kcal over. Don’t worry about minimizing fat gains or whatever. You will not being a fat ass over night. Seriously, would you rather gain 10lbs in 4 months or in 1 month? 20lbs in 3 months or in 6 months? What is your time worth to you?
Then don’t cut. This is something i learned from Px before he left. Just increase your cardio a bit, exchange water for some of the milk to reduce calories, and add in some veggies. That should be sufficient for a maintenance or slight fat loss.
Try to change out more whole foods for any crap you have in your bulking diet. But the biggest change in my mindset was to find out that cutting really isn’t all that different than bulking. Just less calories and more cardio.
Also, fast food is off limits for cutting. But fair game for bulking(every now and then).