BULKING AND CUTTING FOR A COMPETITION (or not! ;) )
I don’t really believe in the “BULKING” concept that many of the bbers and trainers teach these days. I don’t believe it is necessary to “PIG OUT” and get up to 14% or more BF to put on muscle. Sean, my conditioning coach proved that to me last year! And it worked beautifully this year keeping my BF about 8 to 10% ALL YEAR LONG.
You see these “BULKING” guys put on so much fat during training season, then as early as 21 wks out from their comp, start to diet hard and start “CUTTING” if you will, and OF COURSE the body is going to rebel! It wants to keep all those fat cells fed and swole! So then the guys lose valuable muscle during their “CUT CYCLE” starting about 20 wks out!!! WHAT A WASTE!!
While these “BULKING” guys are “CUTTING” at 21 weeks, I’m still training hard putting on muscle, getting better. I believe it is a much more livable way to train and DANG! I LOOK GOOD TOO! It really helps when you look in the mirror and don’t see a fat belly and man boobs from “bulking up”! It just a better way to live.
Last year my family and friends all noticed how calm and together I was getting ready for my comps, compared to the previous years before. And I was getting ready to compete in the biggest show of my life as well!
Well, bottom line is, when you’re already close to your ideal prep, it only takes about 6 to 8 wks of tweaking to get ready. I’m not saying it isn’t tough! HECK YEA it’s tough. Yet, easier and more sane then the “heavy bulk” and “cut” way.
The concept my coach says, is once you get to a steady BF and LBM ratio, you can live a 90 - 10% clean eating life style for bbing. What that means is, you eat 90% clean and if your at a birthday party you still eat clean for most of it, yet you have a moderate piece of cake and ice cream. If you out with the guys Monday night, you eat clean, yet have 2 pieces of pizza. You have your cheat meals on your birthday, fathers day, Easter etc. I had a cheat meal on Dads day last year just weeks before Nationals, YET I WAS LEAN! So it had no affect on my.
It’s all about having a plan and sticking to it. Once get there to your ideal, and you maintain it for a few years, you learn what works and what doesn’t. We are not all the same, yet it never ceases to amaze me how the fat peeps are always the exception. I know all about it, as I was a fatty too with all the excuses! So …. don’t BS me! 
April 9, 2009 at 1:37 pm
That’s awesome, haha. I have always kind of laughed to myself at people who seem to be in a constant "bulking" phase. Once I get down to as lean as I want, there is no way I’m gonna throw it all out the window and get fat when I can stick to my diet and build muscle without binging.
I like the 90:10 ratio…that means I can cheat every tenth mouthful!
April 9, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Great post…and that is my goal as well. Thanks for sharing.
April 9, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I couldn’t agree more!! Who wants to look like that out of shape 90% of the year and look, lean, tight and swoll….only 10%, not ME! I like to stay about 85% contest ready, so it’s just a 8-12 diet prep phase…..my wife and kids enjoy thier Dad looking "Swoll" to. Besides the obvious strain on the body with dramatic weight swings, training suffers, you seldom time your peak correctly and you tend to do more harm than good……Best of Luck, you look Great!
June 21, 2009 at 12:18 am
Wow thanks so much for this blog! I was actually debating whether I should do this type of dieting by eating a whole bunch while weight training, and then after I got to a certain amount of strength, I would just try to start cutting calories from my diet to shed the body fat. Thanks, I’ll be reading more of your blogs.
June 21, 2009 at 12:21 am
Wow thanks so much for this blog! I was actually debating whether I should do this type of dieting by eating a whole bunch while weight training, and then after I got to a certain amount of strength, I would just try to start cutting calories from my diet to shed the body fat. Thanks, I’ll be reading more of your blogs.
July 6, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I completely agree with you on this. To me a "Buliking Phase" creates more unwanted fat thean muslce gain. To me, eating enormous amounts of whatever, just to gain weight, is no way to ensure pure muscle gain in a specified amount of time.
July 9, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Great blog, clean eating is the way to go why put bad stuff into your body? It’s better to have slower progress to gain mass than gain a bunch of fat and have to cut in my opinion, and much better for your health.
August 8, 2009 at 10:50 am
Thanks for the wisdon. I never understo0od bulking either. I now have a trainier who is sponsoring me for Oct. 17, and we are actually learning together — He how to handle old men,and variations of diet, and me how to pose and stick with it.
August 28, 2009 at 11:42 am
I feel the same way with one exception. I can see in the mirror that I have a bunch of body fat to loose. I could be cutting like crazy and then dial everything in for a contest. I have decided to keep training hard and make monster gains at the same time I loose bf. If I can at least maintain my weight and switch my bf for solid mass, I will be happy. The only thing that is ticking me off is that my arms are taking forever to grow. I am also fighting with sleep patterns that I know are not in my best interests. Thanks for the inspiration!
September 4, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hi there ,
I’m wondering , as I want to go from 205 lbs to 176 lbs , what is the place of cardio into that ? I went from 209 to 205 last month now it’s my second months trying to lose those 3 years of smoking-and-doing nothing-and-being depressed . Now I feel better of course , and I don’t smoke anymore (I prefer green tea) , but I want those 6 pack and there is so many nutrition advices that I don’t even know what to do . I’ve cutted the carbs a little bit , but at least to days a week I eat real white rice and real pastas , but I’m still losing some weight(I train 6 days a week) .
Well to put it in a nutshell , my question is : what I’m supposed to do with all I read ? Because sometimes it scares me , sometimes it makes me lose patience , and sometimes I gives me strength but people comments say that it’s "bull****" . :’(
Thanks for your help
September 21, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Eating a little extra when building more muscle makes sense. "Bulking"? Just seems like making more work for yourself. Thanks for having the guts to come out and say it.
September 25, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Popps this is exactly the philosphy I have come to. I have been reading High def by Frank Zane and it not only seems smarter but you look and feel better all year. I don’t like the looks of bulking bodybuilders they look like fat strong men and this is a lifestyle for me much like my worship, it changes my life 24/7
God Bless
Randy
October 4, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I have no intention to compete, except for against myself and time! The bulking concept was something I’ve been looking into for about a good 2 hours. It seemed to make no sense to me! I’m a construction worker. I’ve never torn down a whole building just to remodel the front porch! Sounds like what bulking is! I’m building muscle to speed up my matabolism, to burn fat and get my bmi down.
Bulking sounds like the opposite! Now I know what to do! Thanks Superman!
October 21, 2009 at 9:42 am
Thanks Ed for sharing your thoughts on this matter. I’ve been wondering and like so many other newbies I got confused. This is where in formation from a trustworthy source is needed to keep us on the right track. I know not to let this confuse me anymore and stick to my plan.