Bulk, lean, rinse, repeat: Call me in the AM!
I have systemically read many times over the past few days the question:
-Can I build muscle and lean out, all at the same time?
Folks, for many reasons, the answer is a resounding, No! Save for the following situational exceptions:
1. You have decided that taking steroids/GH is an acceptable (all be it non natural) mechanism for assisting you with your appearance or short term physical goals.
NOTE: I mention appearance and short term physical goals, as for the most part, steroids and even GH have (at this point anyway) been determined to produce several unwanted side effects (sometimes, years later) in addition to the one or two desired effects you most likely are seeking as a result of their usage.
2. You are that genetic freak that all of us has either known, or we currently do know. The type of individual who does the following:
-Eats doughnuts, candy, pizza and generally crap all day, all the time.
-May work out once in awhile, and when they do, they can lift twice as much as you can even though you workout all the time.
All that and they still carry that shredded muscular appearance, all the time….
NOTE: These people are really aliens…don’t be fooled!
3. You are a retired person with really nothing else to do in your life, except for eat, workout and collect your stool and blood samples in order to meticulously analyze the contents and subsequently apply your findings back into your diet and workout routine, then re-analyze, re-apply, re-analyze, etc. etc. etc. (terminal loop, with diminishing gains)
NOTE: This analysis is necessary in order to determine your uniquely perfect anabolic scenario (the ever changing and allusive state at which your body has the perfect amount of nutrients, stimulation and rest in order to achieve muscle hypertrophy).
So in conclusion…
If you are looking to build muscle:
-Bulk during the winter months when you’re showing off all of those new sweaters you spent your entire life savings on, anyway.
If you are looking to lean out:
-Cut out the carbs and processed foods all while increasing your protein and healthy fat(s) intake leading up to Summer.
NOTE: I’ve followed this type of cycling for the last twenty years of my life and it has resulted in an additional fifty pounds of lean muscle. Additionally, I’ve watched many folks toil away in mediocrity year-after-year, trying to build lean muscle only without gaining an ounce of fat, all while losing muscle and ultimately burning out completely.
Parting shot: Lift big, eat big, stretch the shirtsleeves……then eat small, lift a lot and take the shirt off!! Rinse, repeat, and enjoy the extra muscle. Great things, take time…enjoy the ride.
Remember: If you’re not helping, you’re part of the problem!
Bodyauditor out………
May 19, 2009 at 1:59 pm
After being fooled for a long time thinking both were possible I’ve come to the realization that it’s really not. It’s nice to see someone finally be blunt about it.
May 19, 2009 at 2:40 pm
hmm….I have to disagree…based on the women on this site (including myself) who have done it or are currently doing it…some real life profiles of this are: Making_A_change, Oceanblue149, and DianaChaloux to name a few..
May 19, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Ahhh, excellent….controversy a brewing! Thanks for your input: However, I would suspect that the muscle you feel may actually be increasing in size, is actually just becoming more refined. The example would be, while I have 19" arms during a bulk and only 17.5" arms during a cutting phase, my arms actually look bigger during the cutting phase, solely because they are more refined.
May 19, 2009 at 3:49 pm
did you check out the profiles I mentioned…I think they did more than "refine" while cutting fat/building muscle simultaneously…as long as you are taking in adequate protein + calories (and doing cardio) to get the balance right, it is possible to build muscle while losing fat..it takes longer than doing one or the other solely at one time, but it can be done..
May 19, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I did check out the profiles and let me just say, each of the ladies (including yourself) that you mentioned have made amazing progress: Congrats to them and to you for sure! However, without knowing their (or yours) specific goals, it appears as though all of you are refining and losing fat, as opposed to looking to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. So going forward, if one is trying to build muscle and lean out at the same time, you make my point for me: "As long as the balance is right." After twenty years of bodybuilding, I again suggest that spending any time trying to find that elusive golden elixir, as opposed to just bulking, then cutting (in my opinion), will most likely end as a lesson in futility.
May 20, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Good job.
May 24, 2009 at 1:36 am
lol love it…I always suspected those candy bar toting, model thin, weight lifting b**ches were aliens…
Thanks for the verification there…
Hows the Starbucks treating you? Did you try the Vivanno…WARNING: I had one yesterday, and almost crashed my car, closing my eyes to savor the taste…
Moral: Dont drink and drive…
May 25, 2009 at 6:06 am
Personally, 1) I’m convinced that it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time although the physiology of it is beyond me. But I know it because I did it. However, that was about 6 years ago when I was just getting back into bodybulding and it may be easier to do with a beginners body. 2) I can’t stomach the "gain twenty pounds of fat to gain 2 pounds of muscle" approach to bodybuilding; never could. Eating healthy and being lean are just too much a part of my lifestyle to be ditched for 6 months out of 12, and becoming a blimp in the "offseason" probably isn’t so great for a person’s health, either.