Is "Bulk/Cut becoming an outdated strategy? I may never "cut" again.

[oatmeal69]

I'm an ecto/hardgainer/ thin/ whatever kind of dude.
I just hate running on the hamster wheel of working so hard to gain a pound or two of muscle, then losing it and more with a cutting diet along with cardio.
Has anyone toyed with the idea of eating at or just over TDEE to maintain muscle and then bite the bullet and do enough cardio to burn off that fat - rather than calorie deficit via food intake only?
I'm thinking a lot about it, because the cycle I'm about to conclude has been a success as far as adding muscle, AND leaning. I.E. a re-comp.

I did it by eating just over TDEE, and keeping my diet strict and within Macros.

I'd like to lean up a couple more percents, but NOT lose the muscle I just worked my ass off for.

[kronik420]

I'm an ecto/hardgainer/ thin/ whatever kind of dude.
I just hate running on the hamster wheel of working so hard to gain a pound or two of muscle, then losing it and more with a cutting diet along with cardio.
Has anyone toyed with the idea of eating at or just over TDEE to maintain muscle and then bite the bullet and do enough cardio to burn off that fat - rather than calorie deficit via food intake only?
I'm thinking a lot about it, because the cycle I'm about to conclude has been a success as far as adding muscle, AND leaning. I.E. a re-comp.

I did it by eating just over TDEE, and keeping my diet strict and within Macros.

I'd like to lean up a couple more percents, but NOT lose the muscle I just worked my ass off for.

eat at around maintenance and use cardio and carb cycling to loose bf%

[kelkel]

I've never believed in "bulking" per se. Who wants to build a fat cell. Once you do it's there for life, it just gets smaller.

[JohnnyVegas]

I know a lot of guys start lean and cycle while only eating a few hundred extra calories a day rather than thousand of calories which would just make them fat.

[oatmeal69]

eat at around maintenance and use cardio and carb cycling to loose bf%

That's what I've been doing with this cycle, I'm pretty happy with the results. I think I'll just keep doing it through PCT. I expect to lose a little, but I'll train hard and try to keep it minimal.

I've never believed in "bulking" per se. Who wants to build a fat cell. Once you do it's there for life, it just gets smaller.

Really? For life?? hmmm... Liposuction??

I know a lot of guys start lean and cycle while only eating a few hundred extra calories a day rather than thousand of calories which would just make them fat.

I'm really glad I went this route. I dropped 20 # prior to my cycle starting. Maybe if I can slowly get a bit leaner during PCT, I can focus my next cycle more on lean mass.

[baseline_9]

Just approach cutting in a different way..... Don't suffer..... And you will enjoy it...

Adopt a flexible dieting approach and try to eat as much as possible while loosing small amounts of weight week on week (1lb)...

Keep fats fairly low and carbs as high as possible with protein moderate..... Hit your macros..... And track your cardio via calorie expenditure.... But don't overdo the cardio....


Try this approach and see how you get on..... I'm currently doing it and its great.... I know it's going to be a long and slow process but I know I can stick to this as it is achievable....

[krugerr]

I've never believed in "bulking" per se. Who wants to build a fat cell. Once you do it's there for life, it just gets smaller.

There are a few treatments to kill/remove fat cells, Laser Lipo, Freeze Lipo and I guess actual Liposuction. The first two are non intrusive, you just wear a peice of equipment, Im not sure how effective they are though.

Curious, when you cut down to really low BF%, these cells empty out. If you were heavily overweight before, would they effect any vascularity?

[Java Man]

I remember reading at one time or another that you have a certain amount of fat cells by a certain age and they just expand/shrink accordingly. When you remove them via liposuction or whatever method they are gone forever. You'll have an uneven appearance if you get obese afterwards.

Not.true?

[MR-FQ320]

That FTTP stuff finds, isolates and terminates white fat cells.

[gbrice75]

I don't think it's outdated per se, it's simply the fact that other options are starting to come to the forefront and people are seeing now that the perpetual bulk/cut cycle isn't the only way, and probably isn't the optimal way - for most.

There are those who do well bulking and cutting. Usually, mesomorphs who can build muscle easily, tend not to add much bodyfat and/or have an easy time burning it off while maintaining gains. Genetically gifted. A lot of pro's, if not most, still follow a traditional bulk/cut cycle, so it's definitely not outdated, IMO.

[largerthannormal]

Doing a recomp right now, Im 6 weeks in my cycle. I am down 3% bf and my scale weight is the same as day 1.

I started at maintenance, and adjusted as I seen fit, there were certain weeks fat did not come off. then I implemented a carb cycle had a few low days and once just now adding a double carb day.

Each day I am getting leaner and the scale has not moved more than up and down 2 lbs depending on what type of day I was on.

[RaginCajun]

oatmeal, do yourself a favor and read Marcus's Diary in the lounge from page 1.

you can thank me later!

[gbrice75]

Doing a recomp right now, Im 6 weeks in my cycle. I am down 3% bf and my scale weight is the same as day 1.

I started at maintenance, and adjusted as I seen fit, there were certain weeks fat did not come off. then I implemented a carb cycle had a few low days and once just now adding a double carb day.

Each day I am getting leaner and the scale has not moved more than up and down 2 lbs depending on what type of day I was on.

Very similar to what I'll be implementing next week. 3 days around maintenance (workout days, higher carb, but not HIGH per se), 3 low days (cardio only days, no starchy carbs), and 1 high day (about double the carbs, just like yours). From that baseline, I'll make adjustments as need, and I do expect there'll be a few.

[oatmeal69]

Adopt a flexible dieting approach and try to eat as much as possible while loosing small amounts of weight week on week (1lb)...
Keep fats fairly low and carbs as high as possible with protein moderate..... Hit your macros..... And track your cardio via calorie expenditure.... But don't overdo the cardio....
Try this approach and see how you get on..... I'm currently doing it and its great.... I know it's going to be a long and slow process but I know I can stick to this as it is achievable....

Agreed. It's not "linear" , I.E. it seems with me if I'm doing what you mentioned that I'l drop a pound, then maybe sit there for a week or three, then up a bit, and then down 2 pounds, etc. I think for me to do this right, I have to take a long haul approach. If I see positive changes month to month I'm doing well. But if I start dieting so severely that I'm dropping a pound or more a week, a lot of that will be muscle.

I don't think it's outdated per se, it's simply the fact that other options are starting to come to the forefront and people are seeing now that the perpetual bulk/cut cycle isn't the only way, and probably isn't the optimal way - for most.
There are those who do well bulking and cutting. Usually, mesomorphs who can build muscle easily, tend not to add much bodyfat and/or have an easy time burning it off while maintaining gains. Genetically gifted. A lot of pro's, if not most, still follow a traditional bulk/cut cycle, so it's definitely not outdated, IMO.

You're likely right. I'm learning here that it's CRUCIAL to find what works FOR YOU. And, realize that someone else may havve a totally different way that works for them. There is no "right" way, only the one that produces results.

oatmeal, do yourself a favor and read Marcus's Diary in the lounge from page 1.you can thank me later!

Already did. I'll say it again, I sure with there was a way mods or the OP could edit the junk, redundancy and filler away those huge threads. IT took HOURS to read what I could have got in 15 minutes. I started HIT with this current cycle. Marcus' method totally changed how I work out for the better. I'm excited to see how HIT works for me while I'm not cycling.

Doing a recomp right now, Im 6 weeks in my cycle. I am down 3% bf and my scale weight is the same as day 1.
I started at maintenance, and adjusted as I seen fit, there were certain weeks fat did not come off. then I implemented a carb cycle had a few low days and once just now adding a double carb day.
Each day I am getting leaner and the scale has not moved more than up and down 2 lbs depending on what type of day I was on.

Yeah, again, I think it's important to not get frustrated just because the scale doesn't move for a week, or even goes up once in a while. If the mirror and pictures are telling you the story you want to hear each month then that's what to go with.

[oatmeal69]

Oh, and consistency. Grind it out every day. DOn't cheat in your diet, and keep it up. Consistency over time is what really makes the big changes.