Constant Bulking up, good? READ please!

[SSAlexSS]

Hello all!

You know how there are two periods in bodybuilding - bulking up and cutting up.

People usually bulk up in winter and cut up in summer.

Now, is it possible to be bulking up for years until you genetic potential for muscle size is reached? Or do you have to have cutting up periods?

The reason I ask this question is that I want to reach my genetic limit as fast as possible without the use of anabolics. If I incorporate cutting periods then I am sacrificing much more muscle growth that is only attainable through bulking up. But bulking up all year long might not be all that good for the body because of all the hard exercises and lots of eating. Again, what is the reson for cutting up - other than loosing some fat? Does it serve some othe purpose? Reply please!
Thanx!

 

[strengthmonster]

I feel like I've been bulking forever. Naturally being a hard gainer I have nearly always bulked for my 13 years of lifting. It will not do you any harm as long as you ensure you are fit and be careful with joints etc. I enter my first show this year so I will be cutting properly for the first time ever. The only other times I have tried to get cut has been for a fight, when I was actually working more towards fitness than an actual look. I do tend to eat fairly clean all year round though - just a hell of a lot.

 

[Cube]

Cutting up for the summer or for competition are basic times to do this. One of the physiological basis for cutting up is to prime the body (optimize) for the bulking phase. Have a look at the ABCDE diet (anabolic burst cycling) by Torbjorn Akerfeldt, which is backed up by research and may be the ultimate method of gaining lean muscle mass. You basically manipulate the endocrine system to promote lean muscle mass. As far as my own diet, it depends on the phase of training within the macrocycle, as to whether I am bulking or cutting.

 

[HeavyDutyGuy]

I havent "bulked up" in 5 years, and I just hit 271 yesterday for the first time in over 4 years, but in much better condition.

 

[Yll]

I want to add to what CUBE said about ABCDE diet.I been doing it.The first two week diat cycles i did didnt work out to good because the 2 week calorie restriction was too low for me so i lost what i gained.I tried my own variation of it.I bulked for 2 weeks but then the next two weeks i didnt go below mainatanence.Instead i went above maintanence about 300-500 calories with lots of cardio 4 days a week in the morning with ECA stack.It worked great.I kept the same weight but my body fat went down fast.I maintained good muscle too.This is what I do from now on.Works for me.

 

[Belial]

Yeah, a lot of BBers like the whole "two steps forward, one step back" idea. I prefer one step forward, half a step back. For me, the first two pounds of fat have always been the easiest to lose, and I really can't stand dieting more than a month. The last year I've been bulking two months, cutting one, etc.

This time last year: 151 pounds, 4.5% bf.

Right now: 170 pounds, 5% bf (Just finished cutting. I naturally have very, very low bf%, and this figure may be slightly off because I carry fat in kind of non-traditional areas for a guy. but I'm still pretty ripped right now)

So yeah, it's worked pretty well.