After one bulk and one cut: now what?

[Shmackey]

I've done one bulk cycle and one cut cycle. I'm now at about 138 lbs and 12.5% bf. Used to be about 129 and 13% bf.

I think I'm really starting to lose muscle though--and definitely some strength--so it's time to stop cutting and go back to really building. (I know you're supposed to lose some muscle, but I don't like it--not any more than I liked putting on fat while bulking.)

So, going back to bulking after building a solid foundation, what would you change up from last time around? For one thing, I'm definitely doing heavier deadlifts, reps be damned. I think it's the super-exercise.

[DaRkAnGel]

Originally Posted by Shmackey

I've done one bulk cycle and one cut cycle. I'm now at about 138 lbs and 12.5% bf. Used to be about 129 and 13% bf.

I think I'm really starting to lose muscle though--and definitely some strength--so it's time to stop cutting and go back to really building. (I know you're supposed to lose some muscle, but I don't like it--not any more than I liked putting on fat while bulking.)

So, going back to bulking after building a solid foundation, what would you change up from last time around? For one thing, I'm definitely doing heavier deadlifts, reps be damned. I think it's the super-exercise.

I would suggest for you to attempt to find a medium, one in which you can put on muscle and keep your some fat percent, it may sound hard but its possible i kept tabs on cursor's progress when he was doing it.

[TsiTalon]

you slim down with 12% BF ?!

[Shmackey]

you slim down with 12% BF ?!

My goal, eventually, is 7 or 8, but I know I'm not going to get there with one bulk and one cut. Could I get down to 7 or 8 now? Yeah, probably in a couple of months. But I'd also lose too much muscle.

When I was bulking, I was up to 16%. I wasn't happy about that--and it sounds like you'd be horrified--but lots of guys go higher. And lots of guys would kill to get down to 12.

So If I go from 13 to 16 to 12 (done so far) to 15 to 10 to 15 to 8 to 14, etc... I figure I'm doing OK.

[jay`]

your LBM before was 112.23lbs
and now is 120.75lbs

your definitely doing something right, good work......i say cut and bulk as you feel, just do each whole heartedly and things will fall into place, you can always change your mind along the way (damn, i do about a 1000 times a day).
the muscle your losing in your cut i swear will come back fast once you eat more and drink more water.

best luck on reaching your overall goals.

[plexus]

I know a lot of people on here are going to scream and yell and say it's impossible, but I don't think the yo-yo bulk/cut cycle is the way to go. It doesn't make much sense to me to stuff yourself silly for 6 weeks gaining lots of fat then starving yourself and losing LBM for a net gain of 5lbs of muscle. If you get your diet dialed in there is no reason you can't lose fat and gain LBM at the same time. It's slow and takes some planning with your diet and workouts but it can be done. At the end of your yo-yo cycles do you end up gaining much more than a 1/4 of LBM a week and lose more than a pound of fat a week (averaged out between your bulk/cut)? I do, in the last 7 weeks I've gained 3lbs of LBM and lost 6lbs of fat. If you track your calories and the macro breakdowns you will quickly see what works for you personally and then you can get off the roller coaster. Good luck.


BTW what part of Colorado are you in?

[DaRkAnGel]

Originally Posted by plexus

I know a lot of people on here are going to scream and yell and say it's impossible, but I don't think the yo-yo bulk/cut cycle is the way to go. It doesn't make much sense to me to stuff yourself silly for 6 weeks gaining lots of fat then starving yourself and losing LBM for a net gain of 5lbs of muscle. If you get your diet dialed in there is no reason you can't lose fat and gain LBM at the same time. It's slow and takes some planning with your diet and workouts but it can be done. At the end of your yo-yo cycles do you end up gaining much more than a 1/4 of LBM a week and lose more than a pound of fat a week (averaged out between your bulk/cut)? I do, in the last 7 weeks I've gained 3lbs of LBM and lost 6lbs of fat. If you track your calories and the macro breakdowns you will quickly see what works for you personally and then you can get off the roller coaster. Good luck.


BTW what part of Colorado are you in?

If you scroll up that is basically what i said, retaining your body fat and gaining muscle is difficult but doing what you did is near impossible unless you have a proper diet and good motivation.

[TsiTalon]

Originally Posted by plexus

I know a lot of people on here are going to scream and yell and say it's impossible, but I don't think the yo-yo bulk/cut cycle is the way to go. It doesn't make much sense to me to stuff yourself silly for 6 weeks gaining lots of fat then starving yourself and losing LBM for a net gain of 5lbs of muscle. If you get your diet dialed in there is no reason you can't lose fat and gain LBM at the same time. It's slow and takes some planning with your diet and workouts but it can be done. At the end of your yo-yo cycles do you end up gaining much more than a 1/4 of LBM a week and lose more than a pound of fat a week (averaged out between your bulk/cut)? I do, in the last 7 weeks I've gained 3lbs of LBM and lost 6lbs of fat. If you track your calories and the macro breakdowns you will quickly see what works for you personally and then you can get off the roller coaster. Good luck.


BTW what part of Colorado are you in?

everyone is different just do whats works for you.

[kpb66]

plexus,

I'm not going to jump on you. If what you do works for you, then that's cool.

It doesn't work for me though.

Oh.. and if you're "starving" yourself during cutting, you're doing it wrong.

[TheBigness]

how tall are you that you want to weigh 120something pounds

[ebon00]

Originally Posted by Darkangel5

If you scroll up that is basically what i said, retaining your body fat and gaining muscle is difficult but doing what you did is near impossible unless you have a proper diet and good motivation.

Well, retaining body fat is not really a concern fro most of us. Keeping our bodyfat-% low is another matter. I personally like the cutting and bulking cycles as long as you don't let them go out of hand either way. I find that shorter cycles work better in the long run and allow me to stay closer to my "home" bf%. Cutting/bulking cycles aren't the same thing as yo-yo dieting. The caloric cuts/increases are much smaller and the macronutrient ratios are usually altered slightly between cycles.

[Shmackey]

I'm 5'7" and when I was 129, I was about as atrophied as humanly possible. My "normal" weight before I ever started working out was 138.

I'm in Boulder, btw.