Bulking and cutting ratio
You may find you prefer a higher range because you feel or perform better, but do not think you can do it effectively at a lower range. » The majority of dedicated, physique-focussed clients find the sweet spot to be 10% body fat for the end of their cutting phases and 15% for the end of their bulk phases. The body doesn’t want to be exceptionally lean, as it is a threat to survival. It may even be pointless to start a bulking phase at lower levels of body fat than this as the body is primed for fat regain. » You can cut to any point you wish, but lower than 10% body fat (for visual reference, the majority of the clients on the results page are all 8–10% body fat) doesn’t really offer any advantage for a subsequent bulking phase. You want enough uninterrupted time to gain a meaningful amount of muscle before you need to cut. » Bulking phases are best capped at 20% because past this point, the risk to health increases and I’d advise not bulking if you estimate yourself to be 16% body fat or above. » Cut–bulk phases are typically best kept in the 10–20% body fat range (add 8% for women). Unfortunately, all the means of estimating body fat have accuracy issues, so I recommend you assess your body-fat percentage using a mix of my visual guide to body-fat percentage and the US Navy method of estimating body-fat percentage. If you can still make consistent, linear progress in your training loads session to session, consider yourself a novice.įor everyone else, I have created the guidelines below, and that necessitates giving body-fat percentages. My definition of a novice trainee has nothing to do with the length of time you’ve been hitting the gym and everything to do with how effective your training has been. If you are a novice trainee, and not really under or overweight (which is obviously a subjective judgment), consider the body recomp.
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Use my macro calculator to calculate your calorie needs for a body recomp.ĪDVICE IF YOU CAN’T DECIDE WHETHER TO CUT OR BULK To hold your weight stable and do a body recomp you do not need to make any further adjustment to your calorie calculation after you have estimated your total daily energy expenditure.įor those who are reading The Nutrition Setup Guide, Noobie Natalie will shoot for a body recomposition goal. » Choose a body recomp if you are relatively new to training or are coming back after a long layoff. You can decide based on the outcome.įurther, you are welcome to try a body recomp at any point during your training career, but when progress is hard to measure, it is hard to manage and stay motivated, so I suggest most people build their physiques over time by alternating between fat loss and muscle gain phases. If in doubt, consider giving it a shot for a couple of months. The cutoff for the level of training experience where a recomp is unlikely to work is impossible to clearly define. If you are overweight, you need to cut however, the less training experience you have, the more likely it is that you will gain muscle at the same time as you lean out (though you’ll lose weight overall).If you are underweight, you should bulk.I do not recommend a body recomp to anyone who is underweight or overweight. Slow body recomposition: an equal amount of fat loss and muscle gain. It requires a calorie deficit and so you will lose weight overall. The goal of a cut (a fat loss phase) is to maximize lean mass retention while dropping off body fat.
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Not so easy to say for Steve, right? We’ll get to that.īulking vs Cutting WHEN TO Cut - A Fat Loss Phase A slow body recomposition phase (simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss)īefore you continue reading, take a moment to think which of the three paths - bulk, cut, or recomp - would be best for each of these people right now.There are three paths you can choose from here: There is also an interaction with how much training experience (and muscle mass) you have. It’s not as simple as saying: cut if you are high in body fat, gain if you are not. The answer to this question depends on more than just your current body composition. “Should I bulk or cut?” is probably the most commonly fretted over question people have.
#Bulking and cutting ratio free
You’re welcome to read this across the articles on the site, but I’ve also made it available as a free download, which you can grab at the end. This article is part of my broader nutrition setup guide.