Experts: Why separate bulking up and cutting up cycles?

[LoneTree]

I have always wondered about this question:
Why can't you do both at the same time? What is the theory behinds it?

If you eat enough protein, but moderately cut back on rest of the calories, with the help of AAS, you should built muscle and lose fat.

I know that timing is very important for professional body builders because of competition shedules.
But for other aerage Joes, does it do any good to run separate bulking and cutting cycles? Will it also work better for them in terms of overall gains?

 

[*The_West*]

it can be done, especially if you have quite a high bodyfat to begin with. but for most, you are just asking too much of your body to burn fat and build muscle at the same time.
the thing is, when you are trying to build serious muscle, you also need high carbs and fat to help with this, its not enough just to eat high protein. so yes, it does workout better for average joe to bulk and then cut. you will get a lot more out of your bulk if you are prepared to put on a little bit of fat. if you have your diet and cardio sorted it will fly off afterwards anyway.
im not liking the term "cutting cycle" though. imo this is the domain of very serious/competitve bodybuilders.

 

[LoneTree]

it can be done, especially if you have quite a high bodyfat to begin with. but for most, you are just asking too much of your body to burn fat and build muscle at the same time.
the thing is, when you are trying to build serious muscle, you also need high carbs and fat to help with this, its not enough just to eat high protein. so yes, it does workout better for average joe to bulk and then cut. you will get a lot more out of your bulk if you are prepared to put on a little bit of fat. if you have your diet and cardio sorted it will fly off afterwards anyway.
im not liking the term "cutting cycle" though. imo this is the domain of very serious/competitve bodybuilders.

Why would you not lose that muscle when you try to cut?
With all due respect, I don't want 'theoretical' opinions from newbies. I have read all of them.
I have requested opinion from experts who actually have the experience of doing it both ways (or have seen people doing it).

 

[Tatyana]

Personally, I think all this bulking and cutting stuff is rubbish, yo-yo dieting for the lads.

Unless you are a hardcore ectomorph, you are more likely to put on more muscle if you keep your bodyfat in check, so not more that 15% max, and I think that is even pushing it for men, probably between 9-12% would be ideal.

I also don't think that eating anything more than 500-800 kcals above your maintenance each day is very sensible either.

Most of the time, 'bulking' is just an excuse for 85% of the lads to eat rubbbish and get fat.

 

[*The_West*]

Why would you not lose that muscle when you try to cut?
With all due respect, I don't want 'theoretical' opinions from newbies. I have read all of them.
I have requested opinion from experts who actually have the experience of doing it both ways (or have seen people doing it).

"with all due respect" yes, placing yourself in a calorific deficit in the absence of anabolics, you probably will lose a very small (probably insignificant) amount of muscle mass along with the bodyfat. which if you are a competitive bodybuilder, is unnacceptable. however, for the average gym rat, who cares? you will have just come off a bulker, so (putting numbers in for arguments sake) lets say you have gained 10 lbs of lean muscle/ cutting after wards you lose 2lbs of lean muscle. so out of all of it, you have netted 8 lean lbs. which is pretty good, considering you can just bulk up again afterwards and do the same.
some people manage to stay lean while they bulk, i am one of them. i never put on much fat while i am building muscle, but that is mainly due to my metabolism and clean diet, as opposed to anabolics. which also is one of the reasons why building muscle is a slower process for me.
im currently taking a break from fighting and working my way up to light heavy for when i come back. its going to take quite a while, but i will not put on much fat while doing so.
my previous statement stands-for the average gym rat, sumer human gentics aside, a mix between mesomorph and ectomorph, it is aasking too much of the body to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. the copious amounts of food needed to build large amounts of quality mass will come with some fat gain. shed it later. if you are trying to bulk and cut at the same time, imo, you will be short changing yourself in terms of muscular gains.

 

[timtim]

Personally, I think all this bulking and cutting stuff is rubbish, yo-yo dieting for the lads.

Unless you are a hardcore ectomorph, you are more likely to put on more muscle if you keep your bodyfat in check, so not more that 15% max, and I think that is even pushing it for men, probably between 9-12% would be ideal.

I also don't think that eating anything more than 500-800 kcals above your maintenance each day is very sensible either.

Most of the time, 'bulking' is just an excuse for 85% of the lads to eat rubbbish and get fat.

truth.

bulking is a thing of the past or a necessary evil for serious competitive bbers. no reason gym rats need to bulk and cut. should be consistently refining, not going up and down.

 

[cobracock1979]

I just completed 2nd cycle so by no means a vet, but I have just hit a keto diet the carb cycle. My body fat dropped from 15% to < 10 and I have gained about 10lbs muscle.

Can be done but a bulk then a cut overall will yield much more gains

 

[bobbie]

Personally, I think all this bulking and cutting stuff is rubbish, yo-yo dieting for the lads.

Unless you are a hardcore ectomorph, you are more likely to put on more muscle if you keep your bodyfat in check, so not more that 15% max, and I think that is even pushing it for men, probably between 9-12% would be ideal.

I also don't think that eating anything more than 500-800 kcals above your maintenance each day is very sensible either.

Most of the time, 'bulking' is just an excuse for 85% of the lads to eat rubbbish and get fat.

+1
I just try to stay lean and add muscle al year round

 

[Burpees]

Personally, I think all this bulking and cutting stuff is rubbish, yo-yo dieting for the lads.

Unless you are a hardcore ectomorph, you are more likely to put on more muscle if you keep your bodyfat in check, so not more that 15% max, and I think that is even pushing it for men, probably between 9-12% would be ideal.

I also don't think that eating anything more than 500-800 kcals above your maintenance each day is very sensible either.

Most of the time, 'bulking' is just an excuse for 85% of the lads to eat rubbbish and get fat.

im lean everywhere but on my stomach, and my love handles, a little on the inner thighs. I mean you can see shoulder striations, obliques, quad separation..but my mid section looks like somone who is fat and untrained. I assume I'm an Endo Meso.. What has been working for me, but seems to be THAT efficient is just putting weight on. I eat a lot, but try to avoid crap. I'm still as lean as I was when I started this cycle at 198lbs but I'm now 225lbs. I'm wondering if I should just work at a controlled pace to keep recompositioning (i dont think thats a word), or if I should cut down after my cycle, or maybe even during my cycle? Your advice is appreciated.

 

[needtogetaas]

Personally, I think all this bulking and cutting stuff is rubbish, yo-yo dieting for the lads.

Unless you are a hardcore ectomorph, you are more likely to put on more muscle if you keep your bodyfat in check, so not more that 15% max, and I think that is even pushing it for men, probably between 9-12% would be ideal.

I also don't think that eating anything more than 500-800 kcals above your maintenance each day is very sensible either.

Most of the time, 'bulking' is just an excuse for 85% of the lads to eat rubbbish and get fat.

In the sport of power lifting?