Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below I'm 6'2", 225 lbs, between 10 and 12% body fat. I'm week 2 in my first cycle of test. I'm using sus. I bulk very easily, always have I can put on about a lb or two a week at about 3000 clean calories a day. I can also lose weight pretty rapidly at about 1800 to 2000 calories. I was wondering what everyones thoughts were on trying to bulk for half my cycle then cut the other half to try to retain muscle mass but lose the fat. Is it a waste of test to try to cut while on cycle?
Bulk then Cut in one cycle?
- Thread starter clintj83
- Start date
That is basically what I do every cycle I run, and it works pretty effectively. I see no problem with it at all other than the compounds you run can influence things. For example, if you were running a Test E cycle, the test wouldn't be kicking in until week 3-4, so that would give you little time to add muscle before switching to a cut. If you were running shorter esters or had an oral kickstart then obviously things would kick in quickly and it wouldn't be an issue.
Well, even with the small amount of test P in the sustanon, it wouldn't really kick in and start the real gains until week 3 or 4. My suggestion would be to either extend the cycle a little, start your cut later, or add in an oral.
Not exactly. Maybe when looking at the cycle as a whole, yes. A recomp is generally cutting bodyfat and adding muscle at the same time. That can also be done, but I find doing this method of a muscle gain phase in a caloric surplus followed by a shredding phase in a defecit is much more effective because you can devote several weeks to one goal and really make some significant progress.
Not exactly. Maybe when looking at the cycle as a whole, yes. A recomp is generally cutting bodyfat and adding muscle at the same time. That can also be done, but I find doing this method of a muscle gain phase in a caloric surplus followed by a shredding phase in a defecit is much more effective because you can devote several weeks to one goal and really make some significant progress.
El Hefe
New member
I was told years ago that "You don't own it til you've worn it for a year". Now that's a bit of oversimplified bro science, but there's some truth to it.
It's this theory that has led me away from the traditional bulk then cut strategy.
Now this pertains to me and my experience and may or may not pertain to you. When we add muscle in a cycle, its far from permanent and it literally takes everything we've got to maintain it and stay in an anabolic state, especially after our cycle. Guys brag about how much of their gains they kept during or at the end of pct. But they rarely come back 2 or 3 months after pct and admit that they continued to lose size or weight. Sometimes taking a break for 1 week is enough to lose the edge and the 1/2" gain that we worked so hard to achieve.
Taking into consideration how hard it is to gain actual, real, lean muscle - it seems illogical to immediately follow this achievement by moving toward a caloric deficit. In my mind, this would greatly increase the likelihood of losing some of the newly acquired (or rented) muscle.
So I tend to lean toward a constant focus of clean, lean mass gains and continually tweaking an adjusting things to prevent your body from adapting. I call it an anti-routine.
It's this theory that has led me away from the traditional bulk then cut strategy.
Now this pertains to me and my experience and may or may not pertain to you. When we add muscle in a cycle, its far from permanent and it literally takes everything we've got to maintain it and stay in an anabolic state, especially after our cycle. Guys brag about how much of their gains they kept during or at the end of pct. But they rarely come back 2 or 3 months after pct and admit that they continued to lose size or weight. Sometimes taking a break for 1 week is enough to lose the edge and the 1/2" gain that we worked so hard to achieve.
Taking into consideration how hard it is to gain actual, real, lean muscle - it seems illogical to immediately follow this achievement by moving toward a caloric deficit. In my mind, this would greatly increase the likelihood of losing some of the newly acquired (or rented) muscle.
So I tend to lean toward a constant focus of clean, lean mass gains and continually tweaking an adjusting things to prevent your body from adapting. I call it an anti-routine.
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