The benefits of cutting in bulking

[shortz]

I am using speak to text to write this but will edit it at a later time.

A topic that I've wanted to discuss for a while now that I never posted about, is about the benefits of cutting and bulking.

In order to make gains in the logical and traditional method, is to simply eat in a surplus of calories and get the amount of carbs and protein that you need to grow. While this is true, it's also slightly misleading to think that you can eat in a surplus forever and continue reaping optimal benefits. The same goes for cutting.

I have been as high as 240 pounds and as low as 192 pounds during my hardest cut. With my first real successful cut, getting down to about 8% body fat, I found that I actually made gains for a good portion of the first part of it. Part of the reason for this was because I actually figured out what I was supposed to be eating both for gaining and for losing. However, another reason for this was that my body was suffering severely from metabolic damage. The first part of a cut or bulk the body will go through changes that are beneficial. During the second part, the body will start to adjust in a way that can be negative. Usually in both cases the metabolism begins to slow.

In order to prevent this, I believe we need to go through phases or implement certain strategies into our diet to prevent and reverse metabolic damage. If you are not a competitor I don't believe it's necessary to cut below a certain percentage relative to where you currently are. I say this because for some cutting to 10% is not realistic for their goals nor is it necessary to get their metabolism back on track. This process can be done in a manner that you only lose a few percentage of body fat then slowly getting back during your balk phase.

Some of these methods can consist of carb cycling, calorie cycling, reverse dieting, or simply doing a straight cut and bulk, with refeeds. If simply doing a straight cut, remember refeeds will be necessary to stave off metabolic damage. Everyone will be a bit different too, based on natural status or not, and what aas and Hgh you might be on currently. I will typically drop to about 10-11% during the peak of the summer, but will get up to about 14% during winter. I am using Hgh at all times, and usually cycle when entering in to the next phase.

 

[1bigun11]

Bulking and cutting used to work better for me than it does now. Now because of my age it seems to be so much harder for me to lose the fat that I gain while bulking that I am not sure it is worth it.

 

[shortz]

Bulking and cutting used to work better for me than it does now. Now because of my age it seems to be so much harder for me to lose the fat that I gain while bulking that I am not sure it is worth it.

Great point. That would def fit into that "relative to an individual" part I mentioned. As we age, our bodies will naturally be at a higher fat %. Do you use any other diet methods to help trigger growth when things get stale?

 

[PillarofBalance]

What is metabolic damage?

 

[shortz]

What is metabolic damage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk&list=PLXByFjF-6RTajrW1PWKxzTOtE_XWhNUYZ

It's a lot of info and talking, but stick with it. He gets in to more of what I am talking about around the 8 mins mark.

 

[1bigun11]

Great point. That would def fit into that "relative to an individual" part I mentioned. As we age, our bodies will naturally be at a higher fat %. Do you use any other diet methods to help trigger growth when things get stale?

My muscles definitely grow bigger at a faster pace when I give them an abundant surplus of nutrient rich foods. That part hasn't changed for me with age. What has changed for me with age is the difficulty in losing the fat after the bulk. So this year I am trying to supply the muscles with the surplus they need to grow on a couple of days a week, while still quasi-dieting the rest of the time to keep the fat gain under control. I say quasi-dieting because I am in the off season mode now and not really watching my diet all that closely.

By way of comparison, last year I let my weight balloon up to about 265-270 in the off season, then dieted down to 205 and competed at 210. I am not going to do that this year. This year I plan to keep my weight in the 220-225 pound range in the off season till I start prep, and in the prep diet I hope to incorporate some type of carb or calorie cycling, exactly for the reasons you mentioned in your original post.

 

[LITTLEMAGS]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk&list=PLXByFjF-6RTajrW1PWKxzTOtE_XWhNUYZ

It's a lot of info and talking, but stick with it. He gets in to more of what I am talking about around the 8 mins mark.

great stuff

 

[woodswise]

I am not able to watch the video (our satellite internet bandwidth is too narrow).

I have been wondering about whether it makes sense to add a small (i.e. couple week long) cut in the middle of my bulks?

 

[shortz]

I am not able to watch the video (our satellite internet bandwidth is too narrow).

I have been wondering about whether it makes sense to add a small (i.e. couple week long) cut in the middle of my bulks?

If it would only be a couple weeks, I would say, it would benefit you only if you haven't caused too much "damage" and your metabolism is still relatively healthy and you're simply trying to kick start it again. If this is the case, I might recommend an attempt at a recomp instead. For instance, rearrange your macros and, perhaps, go higher protein, lower carb, and moderate fat. Adding high intensity cardio during those weeks would help too.

I personally hate cardio. It's hard on my knees and I Just dislike it, but, I still like doing conditioning phases, where I decrease my rest periods to about 30 seconds, and adjust weight to continue doing 10-12 reps. At the end of the workout, I will do a quick 10 min burst of cardio. I don't do this while on cycle either, because aas causes me to be short of breath faster and is a harder work load.