Bulk vs cut is a very common question if you’re new in the lifting game. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard about bulking vs cutting in bodybuilding circles because these are very common terms. But if you wonder whether you should bulk or cut, you’ve come to the right place.
Knowing when to cut and when to bulk is an important question for hitting your body goals. That’s why, we should take a closer look at whenever you need to cut or bulk first. Let’s analyze the pros for each.
Bulk vs Cut: How To
When you know what you’re aiming for it is just knowing how to achieve it. But when you’re just starting out, it can be confusing knowing when to cut and when to bulk. If you’re wondering how to do it the right way, I recommend you learn more by clicking on the links. You’re going to get a lot of valuable information regarding bulking and cutting. But when it comes to bulk vs cut, you first need to understand whether you aim to gain muscle or burn fat. We should dig a bit deeper into when to bulk and when to cut.
When Should I Bulk?
In case you’re new to lifting, there’s a high chance that you’re not full of muscle just yet. If your aim is to gain muscle and strength, this is where bulking comes in handy.
When you just start out, bulking is the most important phase that helps you gain a lot of muscle and strength. You do it through a combination and perfect balance of dieting, training, and resting. But that’s only as long as you’re pretty skinny or just “normal”. As long as your body fat percentage tends to go beyond 15-20%, then you may need to cut first. So, if you’re overweight, then you may need to cut first.
So, when it comes to deciding whether you should bulk vs cut, it greatly depends on your goals and on your current physique. Let’s assume that you want to grow muscle and need to gain weight while you’re either skinny, fit, or normal. You should bulk. You can do it either through dirty bulk or clean bulk.
Dirty Bulking vs Clean Bulking
To many people, the dirty bulk sounds like a dream come true because you can eat pretty much whatever you like, as much as you like. Dirty bulking focuses on training as much and as intensively as you can, while getting a lot of rest and a lot of food. This is not always the best idea because while you pack a lot of strength and muscle, you are also very likely to gain a lot of fat. Moreover, the huge calorie surplus with high sugar and high fat foods is likely to lead to health issues, especially with all the fat gains.
That’s why I would always recommend a clean bulk. Whereas it could lead to slower muscle gains, high quality foods, with a controlled calorie surplus diet from vegetables and whole foods won’t only cost your health but will minimize fat gains. Both methods, however, focus on lifting heavy, regularly, and intensively, while getting enough rest. The main and pretty much only (but huge) difference is the amount and especially types of foods you eat.
When Should I Cut?
If you’re following, I guess it is pretty clear the answer to when you should cut when it comes to bulk vs cut. Getting the answer when to cut is far easier when you know how bulking works and when you should bulk up.
When it comes to bulk vs cut, the two are not miles apart either. You still need to train regularly, hard, and intensively, still need to eat healthy, whole foods, with a balanced diet, and still need to rest. The main difference is in the amount of food (calories) that you consume.
While you can make some changes in your macronutrients and a few differences in the type of workouts, training, and exercises, the biggest difference is the calorie surplus (bulking) vs calorie deficiency (cutting).
In terms of when should you cut, the answer could be one of the two:
- You’ve gone through a bulk. You gained muscle and strength, but you also gained some fat too (it is normal during bulking). Now you want to get muscle definition by maintaining muscle mass and lower body fat percentage.
- You are starting your lifting journey, but you’re starting on the heavier end of the scale and body fat percentage. This is why you should first lose a decent amount of fat first.
During bulk, you have a daily calorie surplus of 200 – 1,000 calories. That’s why it is natural to gain some fat. But if you are following a dirty bulk, you’re surely gaining even more than just “some” fat. In order to cut, you need to do the opposite. You still work out, but you eat far fewer calories than your usual daily intake. This way you lose fat.
Correctly Cutting
You shouldn’t aim to lose too much fat or weight, because you are at risk of losing muscle along the way. But you should focus on calorie deficiencies if you want to get rid of that fat. Unless you’re starting your fitness journey and need to lose A LOT of weight, when you cut after a bulk, you should focus on about 0.5 to 1 pound loss per week.
- But, in order to start eating in a deficit (or in surplus when bulking), you need to first know your daily calorie needs. You could also calculate your body fat percentage to have a more accurate fat loss goal measurement.
Keep in mind that in case you’re following a cutting cycle and you notice very little weight loss over the course of 1-2 weeks, then it could be the right time for you to revisit the number of calories that you consume. Or add even more cardio (in case you already do) to your routine. On the other hand, if you notice that you start losing way too fast, then stop cardio or up the calorie intake. That’s because losing too much is likely going to make you lose lean muscle mass too.
So, you aim to cut when you are on the heavier end of the scale, or you want to bring out muscle definition. That’s why knowing when to cut is mostly determined by your body fat percentage and your goal.
You may need to start cutting in case you have a high body fat percentage. Or need to cut if you have a normal body fat percentage, but you need to bring it even lower.
Bulk Vs Cut Similarities
In terms of diet, they are different. At least, in the amount of food that you eat. For example, if you’re bulking and you seem to add too fast, then it is time for you to bring calories down because you may gain unwanted excess fat. Similar to cutting, you need to bring calories down if you do not seem to lose any or increase the calories if you lose too fast.
Also, both cycles require you to eat healthy and whole foods, with similar macros. During a dirty bulk, you do not need to worry about it, but that’s not healthy. During both, you need to watch out for your calories and macros. If you start to eat in a deficit for cutting or surplus for bulking, you need to know your daily calorie needs and your goals. It is important to calculate your macros to make sure that you get enough fat, carbs, and protein in order to sustain muscle growth or at least muscle preservation (during cutting cycles). That’s why a bit of macro changes can be done when talking about bulk vs cut cycle. This is especially important during a cut because depriving your body of crucial nutrition will hinder your results. But it is still imperative for bulking.
In terms of your workouts, they can remain pretty much the same as long as you’re keeping a good form. While you can still make a bit of change, such as not attempting PRs during a cut, and adding a bit more cardio, for example, they are still very similar, if not the same. During a cut, you continue to lose fat and gain strength with the combination of regular and intense training and a healthy diet. The most important is regular, intense workouts with good form.
What is a good form for working out during bulk vs cut?
The good or proper form during strength training is defined as a full range of motion, with slow, controlled reps that are really getting you that feeling of working your muscles. You should work your target muscles, without putting pressure or stress on joints or ligaments, without swinging or momentum motions towards your body when you lift.
When you add weight and reps to your workout will help you quickly move up in your lifting ability. For example, starting light on the bench press with five reps could be a great starting point. Then you add five pounds to the next time. This is a progressive overload using weights. But you could also progressive overload using reps. In this scenario you bench press for as many reps as you can.
In the end, the progressive overload is what your body needs in order to grow. As the weight becomes more difficult, your body will build up strength and muscle to lift the weight that you couldn’t lift before. That’s because, during lifts, you’re creating stress for the muscles. To defend themselves from this stress, they grow up bigger and stronger. Muscle growth is basically a defense mechanism of your body.
So, if you want to bulk then you need to eat a lot (more than maintenance). If you want to cut then you need to eat less (less than your maintenance). But in both cases, you should eat well and lift heavy. You should consistently add weight and reps to your workout (usually weight during bulking, and reps during cutting). So, this way, you build strength, increase muscle gains, and burn fat too. High reps can be helpful too, but during bulking (hypertrophy), heavy compound lifts are essential!
Movements to Consider
I just mentioned heavy compound lifts. Compound movements are those that target multiple muscles during lifts. They allow you to add bigger weights, working out multiple muscles, leading to big muscle growth. You need to incorporate these movements into your workouts: deadlift, bent over row, bench press, back squat, and others. But these are some of the key compound lifts for your gains.
Dieting is essential too. You do not only grow muscles from the foods you eat, but they also fuel your exercises. So, bulk vs cut is all about getting heavy in the gym AND paying attention to what you eat. You can’t burn fat or gain muscle without eating correctly. Otherwise, you simply will fail to go heavy weights during your compound movements. And without this, you will fail to grow muscle!
Bulk Vs Cut: Conclusion
It is a fairly common question to ask: “Should I bulk or cut first” considering that bulk vs cut first is a long time debate in gyms across the world. But the answer is that it totally depends. It depends on whether you’re starting at the heavier end of the scale with a higher body fat percentage or the opposite. If you’re skinny without muscle and fat, then you definitely need to bulk up first. But in case you’re overweight or even obese, then you definitely should be cutting first.
But in case you’re no newbie to lifting weights and bulking up, then you already know when you should be bulking and when to cut. Lots of people with huge amounts of muscles and low body fat percentage can choose to bulk vs cut depending on their goals: even bigger gains or even lower body fat percentage. But as a beginner, I would recommend you consider your starting point. In case you’re somewhere in the middle, then you can consider your goals. I would recommend taking into consideration your current weight, body fat percentage, and calorie intake. It helps a lot in determining whether you need to bulk or cut.
Now you know what you should be aiming for.
Here are key points:
- If you’re below 15-20% body fat, you may need to bulk first.
- If you’re above 15-25% body fat, you may need to cut first.
- In case you’re within this range, understand your goals.
- Make sure you are training with good form, lifting heavy, with progressive overload.
- Training is similar, it doesn’t drastically differ between cutting and bulking.
- Work out your macros for both bulking and cutting. There are a few differences between them.
- Make sure that in whatever diet (bulk or cut) you have the right calories and nutrients.
- Keep a close eye on what you’re eating (regardless if you bulk or cut).
- In case you bulk, there’s the dirty bulk that seems like a dream come true. But a clean bulk is always a healthier approach and the one I would always recommend.
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