Should You Bulk Or Cut?

“Should I Bulk or Cut” is a very common question among beginners who just started or are thinking about starting lifting. In bodybuilding circles, you’ve surely heard about bulking and cutting, but what do they actually mean? Veteran lifters know very well whether they need to bulk or cut based on various factors such as their goals and stats. Nevertheless, this may not be such an easy answer for beginners.

However, it shouldn’t be hard. In this post we’re going to simplify it for you, explaining the differences so you can make an informed decision. Knowing when to cut and when to bulk is important for hitting your body goals. That being said, let’s have a closer look at whether you should bulk or cut first. We will also share the advantages of each.

Bulking vs Cutting

You may know that it can be extremely hard (for some it may be impossible) to burn fat while you gain lean muscle. While this is possible, it is very hard because it involves an extremely strict regimen, both in the gym and outside the gym, with a very well planned schedule, having absolutely everyone on point. Even this way, you’re not going to achieve as fast results as you would when trying to bulk or cut. It would be much faster to gain muscle with a bit of fat, then burn fat while preserving the hard earned lean muscle.

• Basically, bulking means that you eat in calorie surplus while training for hypertrophy to trigger muscle growth. Cutting means that you eat with calorie deficiency while training similarly (with a bit of difference) to preserve lean muscle. However, during bulking, a bit of fat gain is acceptable, whereas during cutting, a bit of muscle and strength loss is acceptable (as you eat in surplus and deficiency, respectively).

As said, everyone would love to burn fat and gain muscle concomitantly, but veteran lifters know that this is extremely hard, without as fast results, and sometimes even impossible. Based on this, when you’re just starting working out, it can be confusing to understand when you need to cut. Or if you need to cut at all. To do so, you need to better understand your goal. You should decide whether you want to gain muscle or burn fat, and then you’ll get a better idea of whether you need to bulk or cut.

Bulk or Cut: Similarities

It is important to understand that there are also lots of similarities between bulking and cutting. Whether you bulk or cut, you need to follow a certain workout plan and a diet plan, despite the fact that they may be different. Moreover, you also need to complete your workouts with proper form to see results. In both phases, you should have intense strength training (programs may change a bit), but proper form is everything to see results.

A proper form during strength training (then again, strength training is essential in both phases) involves a full range of motion, with slow, controlled reps that are really feeling that you’re working your muscles. You should not have any swinging or momentum motions towards the body to lift. You’re not just lifting for the purpose of lifting as much or as fast as possible. Through lifting you try to cause micro-tears of muscle fibers, so when they heal, to grow bigger and stronger via enough rest and the correct diet.

Adding reps and weights to your workout is essential, but only when you do it correctly. Lifting weights should lead to those tears, that’s what you’re aiming for. Swinging the weight around won’t cause any muscle tears, hence, no gains.

There are lots of similarities in terms of diet. For example, in both phases, whether you bulk or cut, you should eat healthy, balanced, and varied. You must ensure that you eat a correct balance of macronutrients and enough micronutrients, with a correct amount of calories (despite the fact that it may be different depending on your goals).

Should I Bulk?

In case you’re just starting weightlifting, there’s a chance that you’re not packed with muscle just yet. This is where the bulking cycle is so helpful. As earlier said, bulking is the phase where you gain a lot of muscle strength. You do so via the combination of correct diet and training. As said, you need to eat in surplus. Nevertheless, when you already carry a large amount of fat, then bulking may not be the best option as you’re likely to gain even more fat. Therefore, if your body fat percentage is about 20% or especially higher, then you may need to cut first.

But when you’re not really overweight (especially true if you’re skinny) and you plan to pack on some size with lean muscle and lots of strength, then you are very likely to need a bulking cycle. You need to be ready to lift heavy and eat well. During bulking, you consistently add weight and/or reps to your workout to build strength and increase muscle gains. When you bulk, you usually go for heavy compound lifts, heavier weights, and lower reps. High reps do have their advantage in the hypertrophy program, but you aim for heavy compound lifts such as deadlifts, bench presses, bent-over rows, back squats, and others.

Yet, training is just one part of the plan. Your diet is extremely important for muscle growth and to fuel your exercise. You must go heavy in the gym, but you also must pay attention to what you’re eating. There are usually two bulking diets:

Dirty bulk vs Clean bulk

A lot of people assume that the dirty bulking plan is the way to go considering that you eat as much as possible every day of whatever foods. That’s a huge mistake because it often involves a too-large calorie surplus, especially because it often comes from high-sugar and high-fat foods. This may fuel your heavy-weight workouts, help you recover, and add weight. However, it will add a lot of fat and make you feel fatigued from all that overload of calories, especially from unhealthy foods that can lead to health issues in the long run. It is rarely the way to go.

On the other hand, the clean bulk also focuses on a calorie surplus, but in a controlled manner. However, the biggest difference is the type of food you are eating. A clean bulk focuses on high-quality foods such as lean meat, fruits, vegetables, and whole foods. You avoid high-fat and high sugary foods. You also reduce to zero (or very little) processed foods such as candies, cookies, processed meats, and others. The clean bulk provides your body with the calorie surplus it requires in order to gain weight in the form of lean muscle. It will help you recover fast and fuel your workouts efficiently.

Should I Cut?

When talking about whether you should bulk or cut, it is important to understand that it very much depends on your goals and your current starts. As earlier said, if you’re over 20% of body fat, then you are very likely to need to cut. If you’re anywhere between 10-20% of body fat, then whether you should bulk or cut depends on your goal. Want muscle definition? Then you should cut. However, what if you’re not that muscular, and cutting won’t really bring much definition? Go bulking to grow that lean muscle!

Once you’re going through bulking and you’re packing on a good amount of lean muscle and strength, you’re going to go through cutting. It is not uncommon to gain some fat during bulking, especially if you plan to go through the dirty bulking plan. That’s why cutting comes in so handy – it helps you reduce the fat you’ve gained during the bulk. That is why a lot of people start with bulking, then they’re cutting. So, based on this, if you plan to cut, then the answer to the question “When should I cut?” may be one of the two scenarios: you’ve just completed a bulking cycle where you’ve gained a bit too much fat along the way. Or you’re just starting your lifting journey and need to lose a decent amount of fat first.

In whichever case, you are cutting when you want to lower the body fat percentage. Either you want to see further muscle definition (there are people with single body fat digits and are still cutting) or you simply need to lower your body fat percentage as you’ve already got too much of it.

How to Cut?

During a bulking plan, it is not anything unusual to have a daily surplus of calories anywhere between 200 and 1,000 calories. So, due to this surplus, gaining some fat is natural. You’ve surely gained fat if you went through a dirty bulking plan. So, how do you cut? You’re doing the opposite. I mean, instead of eating in a calorie surplus, you’re eating in a calorie deficit in order to lose the excess fat. The deficit is also usually anywhere between 200 to 1,000 calories per day.

Eating correctly is even more important during a cutting cycle (there’s no such thing as dirty cutting). You need to ensure that you eat the right types of food and you eat the right amount. Usually, when you’re cutting after a bulk, you would aim to lose about 0.5 to 1 pound a week. You may aim for even faster weight loss if you’re just starting your fitness journey and there’s a lot of fat to burn.

In both phases, you’re working out regularly and intensively, with little differences in weights and reps. In both cases, you’re eating healthy with a balance of macronutrients. You need to calculate your macros ensuring you get enough fat, carbs, and protein to sustain muscle growth. You should ensure you do not deprive your body of crucial nutrition when dropping the calorie intake for a cut. Also, you need to calculate your calories to know whether you eat in deficit (for cutting) or surplus (for bulking). In short, you need to train and have a healthy diet. The biggest difference between these two goals – is the amount of food you eat (calories).

When to Cut and When to Bulk?

So, the answer to this argument is a long time debated in gyms across the world. However, the answer is that it totally depends. If you start with a larger body fat amount, then you’re likely to need to cut first. However, if you want to gain more muscle and strength without being really overweight, then you may need to bulk up as a beginner. It will help you gain muscle and strength.

Remember that you need to take into consideration your current weight, calorie intake, and body fat percentage to determine whether you need to bulk or cut. In both cases, you should calculate your calories, and get enough protein and other crucial nutrients into your diet, while you get enough rest after working out regularly and intensively with proper form and progressive overload.

Getting Help

Here are some key points for you to remember:

• Start bulking if you’re under 20% body fat and want to gain muscle and strength
• Make sure you are training consistently with good form, lifting heavy
• Work your macros and calories, ensuring you get enough
• Keep track of what you’re eating. Regardless of whether you bulk or cut
• The training schedule is not very different between bulking vs cutting
• Try getting help

Body-Gear.to is here to help you out. Whether you choose to bulk or cut first, Body Gear can support your goals. We provide bulking compounds and cutting compounds that will definitely help reach your goals like never before. They cut through fat and build lean muscle and strength fast.

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