Is it necessary to maintain my weight for a while after finishing a bulk or can I go right into cutting? I know that for hard gainers they might risk losing a lot of the muscle they gained, but what about for those who do not have trouble gaining?
Sorry if these questions are obvious and stupid, but I have read many bulking/cutting articles and none have really touched upon the necessity to maintain before going onto the next phase.
Personally, I think it’s best for everyone to maintain for at least a few weeks before they move onto a new physique goal.
[quote]sloh wrote:
Is it necessary to maintain my weight for a while after finishing a bulk or can I go right into cutting? [/quote]
Yes. Two months at least.
Maintain it untill it’s no longer a challenge to maintain the weight. If you DO NOT have to check the scale every morning to know what your weight is, to be able to identify weight gain/loss, then you’re ready. Just take it slow, don’t rush into it with quick drops in calories. I wouldn’t go over a hundred calorie drop every 3 weeks.
if i were to jump right into cutting but do it gradually (start cut by lowering 150-200 calories) a week instead of drastically cutting calories, would i still risk losing a lot of muscle?
[quote]sloh wrote:
if i were to jump right into cutting but do it gradually (start cut by lowering 150-200 calories) a week instead of drastically cutting calories, would i still risk losing a lot of muscle?[/quote]
Yes.
[quote]sloh wrote:
if i were to jump right into cutting but do it gradually (start cut by lowering 150-200 calories) a week instead of drastically cutting calories, would i still risk losing a lot of muscle?[/quote]
What’s your rush? There’s no guarantee that you’d lose muscle if you began cutting right away. But, yes, you are more likely to maintain what you’ve gained if you let your body adjust to comfortably being that weight for awhile.
i keep hearing that you can’t make any significant progress by staying at the same weight. either gain weight and build muscle, or lose weight and lose fat. so i feel like 2 months of staying at the same weight will get me nowhere.
[quote]sloh wrote:
i keep hearing that you can’t make any significant progress by staying at the same weight. either gain weight and build muscle, or lose weight and lose fat. so i feel like 2 months of staying at the same weight will get me nowhere.[/quote]
You are making no sense. If your goal is to be much bigger, why would you rush to go BACKWARDS? Jumping up in weight and then rushing back down in weight is what will get you nowhere. Gradually increasing weight and allowing your body to adjust at that heavier weight will get you SOMEWHERE.
Beyond that, unless you are close to your goal, why the hell are you dieting down now in the first place? If I had approached my training like that, I would still be 150lbs. I didn’t attempt any sort of diet for the first 4 years of serious training. How long have you even been lifting?
You sound like the same newbies we always get in here who think they will look like magazine cover models in 6 short weeks.