Many gym-goers and student-athletes go on a cut or a bulk either to make changes in their physique, increase strength, or just feel better overall. A cut is when someone purposefully loses excess body fat, while a bulk is when someone builds muscle. However, there are common misconceptions about cutting and bulking that may lead people astray or hinder their progress. It is vital to cut or bulk properly to ensure proper health and physical performance.
Whether you are embarking on a cut or a bulk, slower is better. The recommended weekly weight gain for bulking is 0.5-1% of your current body weight(Walle Bulking: What it is and how to do it). The muscle-building process is slow, and gaining more weight per week is more likely to result in excessive fat gain, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but if your goal is to train for visual changes, then bulking at a slower rate is better.
You can achieve this rate of weight gain with a 200 to 500 daily calorie surplus, or a weekly surplus of about 1400 to 3500 calories(Walle Bulking: What it is and how to do it). You can achieve this surplus by adding calorie-dense foods to your diet. Some healthy calorie-dense foods include nuts, nut butter, avocado, olive oil, whole milk, dried fruit, dark chocolate, and more(High-calorie food list and Snack Ideas).
You can also supplement your food with liquid calories to make it easier to get in more calories without feeling as full. This can mean making protein shakes or having beverages with your meals. You can also try starting your day of eating earlier so that you give your body more time to digest your meals, so that you can get in more meals.
Suppose you are skinnier, with a lower body weight for your height. In that case, you can go towards the higher end of the surplus because you have more potential to gain muscle faster. If you are at a relatively heavier body weight for your height, you can go towards the lower end of the surplus.
More experienced trainees—people who have been in the gym for a while—should also have a lower caloric surplus because they have already filled out their newbie gains and don’t have as many pounds of muscle to gain; meanwhile, beginners can often get away with a loftier surplus of 500 to 1,000 calories because the new stimulus of weight training is so strong that a majority of calories can initially be used to pack on muscle mass.
When cutting, it is generally okay to cut faster than you bulk, because if you keep a weight training stimulus, you can keep a majority of your muscle mass while losing fat predominantly. This is not to say that you should cut very fast; you should still limit it to 0.5-1% of your bodyweight per week if possible to minimize muscle loss and reduce hunger and cravings. It is also important to note that cutting below around 5-7% body fat for men and 10-12% body fat for women can have severe health consequences and is not recommended for optimal hormone production and physical health.
Individuals who are obese or overweight can get away with faster rates of weight loss because they have more fat to lose; a 500-100 calorie deficit can achieve this. Meanwhile, leaner individuals should lose fat more slowly because they have less fat to lose, and if they lose weight too fast, they will end up losing a lot of muscle. These individuals can commit to a 200-500 daily calorie deficit. You can enter this caloric deficit by focusing on eating low-calorie-dense dense high-volume foods that give you a lot of food for a low number of calories. These include air-popped popcorn, fruits and vegetables, lean meats, nonfat dairy, and more. You can also try to increase your protein intake because protein is the most filling macronutrient, so you can feel full on fewer calories.
Another tip is to do cardio to increase your total daily energy expenditure(TDEE), so that you can put yourself in a bigger caloric deficit without having to lower your food as much(NIH). It is also not recommended that teenagers go on an aggressive cut or attempt to lose a lot of weight unless they are overweight or obese, because teenagers are still growing and must ensure adequate caloric intake to support their needs. However, a smart, safe, and cautious cut is safe for most people as long as they do not drop too much in their mental and physical capabilities(NIH).
People typically execute cutting phases for 8-12 weeks and perform a little more aggressively than a bulking phase because fat is easier to lose than muscle is to gain(Healthline). People typically bulk for 4-6 months because it takes a long time to build a large amount of muscle. Many people cycle between bulking and cutting, cutting at the end of a bulking phase to get rid of excess body fat and bulking after a cut to build more muscle. For those looking to gain muscle long term, they should be looking to get heavier in their peak bulked state and also heavier at their lowest weight because this will signify that they have gained more muscle compared to the last time they were either in that bulked or cut state.
While cutting and bulking have their own nuances, both require patience, proper planning, and an understanding of your body’s needs. The key is that gradual changes, whether gaining or losing weight, are more sustainable in the long run and lead to better health outcomes.