This article is part of my broader nutrition setup guide. 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.
“Should I bulk or cut?” is probably the most commonly fretted over question people have. This is for a good reason.
The answer to this question depends on more than just your current body composition.
It’s not as simple as saying: cut if you are high in body fat, gain if you are not. There is also an interaction with how much training experience (and muscle mass) you have.
There are three paths you can choose from here:
- A cut (fat loss phase)
- A bulk (muscle gain phase)
- A slow body recomposition phase (simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss)
Bulking vs Cutting
WHEN TO Cut — A Fat Loss Phase
The goal of a cut — fat loss phase — is to maximize lean mass retention while dropping off body fat. It requires a calorie deficit and so you will lose weight overall. This is known as cutting.
You may be able to gain some muscle during a cutting phase; however, your ability to do so decreases the leaner you get, the more advanced of a trainee you are, and the size of that calorie deficit. Any muscle gain achieved while cutting may not be obvious.
To put it another way, the fatter you are, and the less training experience you have, the more likely you are able to achieve a degree of both. Technically you could call this body recomposition, but as weight is still lost, I still like to call it a cut to make explanations easier.
» Choose to cut if you are overweight or carry a large amount of body fat, regardless of your level of training experience.
For those who are reading The Nutrition Setup Guide, Thicc Thelma and Fat Freddie will choose to cut.
You can use my macro calculator to calculate your calorie needs for a cut. For a more nuanced look at the weight loss recommendations, see my nutrition setup guide.
WHEN TO Bulk — A Muscle Gain Phase
The primary goal of a bulk is to gain muscle at a steady rate without gaining an unnecessary amount of fat. This is known as bulking.
I used the word “bulk” because that’s probably what you Googled. But the term implies rapid weight gain likely to put on unnecessary body fat, leaving you frustrated and forcing you to cut your gaining phase short. Thus, I prefer the term “gaining”.
Gaining muscle requires the building of new tissue, so bulk phases take more time and require patience. Fortunately, the less advanced of a trainee you are, the faster your muscle growth rate.
» Choose a bulk if you are underweight or are already lean enough to see your abs and wish to get bigger.
For those who are reading The Nutrition Setup Guide, Shredded Sam will choose to bulk.
You can use my macro calculator to calculate your calorie needs for a bulk. The nutrition setup guide covers recommended rates of appropriate weight gain based on your training level.
WHEN TO CHOOSE A BODY RECOMPOSITION GOAL
A body recomposition phase (often referred to as “body recomp”) is generally typified by simultaneous muscle growth and fat loss, while weight remains stable.
Everybody wants simultaneous muscle growth and fat loss. However, the rate at which we can achieve this diminishes with training experience, so, I would only recommend this to relatively newer trainees and those coming back from a relatively long training layoff.
I do not recommend a body recomp to anyone who is underweight or overweight.
- If you are underweight, you should bulk.
- 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).
The cutoff for the level of training experience where a recomp is unlikely to work is impossible to clearly define. If in doubt, consider giving it a shot for a couple of months. You can decide based on the outcome.
Further, 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.
» Choose a body recomp if you are relatively new to training or are coming back after a long layoff.
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.
For those who are reading The Nutrition Setup Guide, Noobie Natalie will shoot for a body recomposition goal.
Use my macro calculator to calculate your calorie needs for a body recomp.
ADVICE IF YOU CAN’T DECIDE WHETHER TO CUT OR BULK
If you are a novice trainee, and not really under or overweight (which is obviously a subjective judgment), consider the body recomp.
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 can still make consistent, linear progress in your training loads session to session, consider yourself a novice.
For everyone else, I have created the guidelines below, and that necessitates giving body-fat percentages. 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.
Advice for non-novice trainees
» Cut–bulk phases are typically best kept in the 10–20% body fat range (add 8% for women).
» 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. — You want enough uninterrupted time to gain a meaningful amount of muscle before you need to cut. If this is you, get leaner first.
» 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. 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. — The body doesn’t want to be exceptionally lean, as it is a threat to survival.
» 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. 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. You will not make progress if you attempt to stay shredded lean all year round.
ADVICE FOR OBESE INDIVIDUALS
If you have obesity and are just starting a weight training program, I wouldn’t necessarily advise you to purposely start tracking and weighing to achieve a targeted amount of energy restriction.
It’s fine to adopt healthier eating habits (such as consuming more fruits, vegetables, protein, and water), but know that just becoming more active alone can give someone who was previously sedentary more finely tuned hunger signals 1, and body-fat percentage will go down even if muscle is gained without fat mass losses. Also, metabolic health will improve purely from resistance training without dieting.
Still, if you want some ideas on how to create a calorie deficit without counting, check out my guide: What to do before you start counting calories and macros.
Advice For ‘SKINNY FAT’ Individuals
Skinny fat means someone of “healthy” body weight, but who is muscularly under-developed.
Sometimes you might describe this person as ‘skinny, with a potbelly.’ But most often, the appearance is not that different from someone who is lean, but not muscled to the point where it’s noticeable that they lift, yet.
How do you know the difference?
Well, sometimes you don’t know just by looking. But if you’re weak and soft to the touch (despite tensing your muscles), you’re skinny fat. This happens due to inactivity, and it’s not uncommon for people to be lean down below and skinny-fat up top, depending on their hobbies (hikers, cyclists, runners, for example).
I’m not a fan of the term, but I hope it helps you understand what I’m referring to.
If this is you, I’d recommend that you shoot for a body recomp phase. (So, hold your calorie intake at maintenance level.) You’re in a great position and should be able to make some excellent changes to your physique, strength, and feeling of wellbeing, over the course of the coming year.
If you’re on the skinnier side of the skinny-fat spectrum, consider a slight calorie surplus, where you gain around 1% of your body weight per month.
If you’re on the fatter side of the skinny-fat spectrum, consider cutting slowly. (A little slower than 0.5% of your body weight per week.)
Just calculate for a body recomp, then adjust your calorie intake based on the outcome to do this. Here’s the macro calculator. You’ll see the instructions for adjusting there.
Advice For When To switch between Bulking and Cutting phases
Everybody reading this aspires to be jacked and lean. The way you will do that is by building and then carving your physique over back-to-back bulk and cut phases.
The drive for self-improvement is universal. Training becomes a habit for life. Even if you don’t realize it now, this is the way it will be.
So the natural next question is then when we should switch from bulking to cutting, and vice-versa.
In short, I recommend we keep these phases in the ~10–18% body fat range. There are a few reasons for this, but first, take a look at the sketch below, showing what I mean by repeating back-to-back bulk and cut phases.
When To Stop Cutting And Start Bulking
It’s best to avoid getting ridiculously shredded lean if the goal is to just switch to a bulking phase. You’ll be so hungry that you’ll gain weight too quickly, and you’ll be more primed for fat storage.
Stop when you get to the point where you are feeling exceptionally food-deprived and hungry. This often around 8–10% for men and 16–18% for women.
I recommend you give yourself a minimum of 5 months for each bulk phase so that you don’t interrupt the anabolic process. You need to be lean enough when you start bulking that you aren’t unhappy with your body shortly after starting it.
It was previously thought that if we aren’t reasonably lean when starting to bulk, we’ll gain a disproportionate amount of fat and little in the way of muscle. This concept is called your ‘P-ratio,’ which is simply defined as the proportion of fat to muscle you put on when gaining weight.
Indeed, there is research showing that very lean people—who are naturally lean, not who dieted—gain more lean body mass during periods of overfeeding, and people with obesity gain more body fat during periods of overfeeding 2.
However, what two things that are frequently misunderstood are: 1) putting on more lean body mass when overfeeding occurs in naturally lean people who walk around lean. If you dieted to get really lean, your body if anything, is actually a bit more primed for fat storage. Also; 2) that this relationship is based on observations of individuals who aren’t resistance training.
If you start lifting weights this drastically changes the game. Nutrient partitioning in your now highly active skeletal muscle is much more favorable for muscle gain as you are providing a stimulus for growth and regularly depleting your muscle of energy and pushing them to become energy efficient and adapt.
If it was true that individuals with a high body fat couldn’t gain muscle mass effectively, sumo wrestlers wouldn’t have the highest recorded lean body masses of any athlete…but they do 3. Likewise, super heavyweight powerlifters would be weaker than weight classes below them, but they aren’t.
When To Stop Bulking And Start Cutting
There probably should be some limit to how high your body fat is before you decide it would be better to cut versus bulk, but it’s for logistical reasons, not “anabolic resistance”.
I would recommend that don’t go beyond 20% body fat, as past this point, and there are increased health risks. Many people will want to stop sooner than this, but I’d advise you do not make the mistake of trying to stay lean all the time because this will limit your ability to grow. This is why I recommend a 5-month minimum.
SUMMARY GUIDELINES ON HOW TO CHOOSE TO CUT, BULK, OR RECOMP
| CATEGORY OF TRAINEE | RECOMMENDATION |
|---|---|
| Overweight | Cut |
| Underweight | Bulk |
| Inexperienced trainee in the 13–18% body-fat range | Recomp |
| Experienced trainee over 16% body fat | Cut |
| Experienced trainee under 16% body fat | Cut or bulk, as per preference |
| When bulking, suggested upper body fat limit to switch to a cut | 20% |
| When cutting, suggested lower body fat limit to switch to a bulk | 9–10% |
Bulk vs Cut (or Recomp) FAQ
If you are underweight, you should bulk. 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 simultaneously as you lean out (though you’ll lose weight overall). I’ve explained the distinctions so you know what you can expect to achieve in this guide.
Cutting means to lose weight with a focus on fat loss. Bulking meals to gain weight with a focus on muscle growth. So, it is not possible to cut and bulk simultaneously, but it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time under certain circumstances, which I explain in this guide.
If you currently have a lot of fat to lose, cutting is better than bulking, because it will improve your physique and improve your health. Also, as fat loss can happen faster than muscle can be gained, cutting is easier to stay motivated for. For some people, it can be tricky to choose between cutting or bulking first. This is where this guide comes in.
I recommend that people bulk for a minimum of five months before cutting so that the muscle-building process isn’t interrupted before a measurable amount of progress is made. There is no maximum time frame, but I recommend people don’t exceed 20% body fat for health reasons. Most physique-focussed trainees will choose to stop bulking before this.
Final Words
Lastly, regardless of what I say here if you feel strongly pulled towards doing something different, do it. Don’t let some guy on the internet tell you that you’re too fat to bulk or too skinny to cut if that’s what you really want to do. These are guidelines, not rules.
Thank you for reading. If you found this useful, you’re sure to get a lot out of my Nutrition Setup Guide also. Download it by entering your email address in the box below.
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Hi Andy, first of all I just want to say that I’m a fan of both Muscle and Strength Pyramid books. I’m going back to the gym after 4 months break from lifting, following a nationwide lockdown. As an early intermediate gymgoer, for how long would you suggest that I ‘recomp’?
Hi Mike, thanks for the question.
A recomp is just a case of holding your calories at maintenance level. Whether that is appropriate depends on how much muscle you think you lost and how much fat you gained.
Hi Andy, Just want to double check my understanding. My question is around calories burnt exercising. Once you have used the macro calculator to determine your daily calorie requirements, do you only add calories burnt doing cardio onto your daily allowances and ignore anything burnt strength training because strength training has already been taken into account based on the activity levels chosen in the macro calculator? And if you do not add on calories burnt doing strength training, do you also ignore calories burnt doing body weight exercises even where these exercises are in the form of circuits and/or timed sets? Thanks in advance, Jo.
Hi Jo,
Actually, the cardio will have been taken into account in the calculator’s “activity levels” step too. This is an estimation, but it’s good enough as a start point.
I do not recommend that people get into the habit of adjusting their calorie intake each day, based on their activity levels for that day.
I realize that some online nutrition calculators, like My Fitness Pal, have features that connect with calorie expenditure trackers and encourage users to eat back the calories they burned each day. This is a very bad idea and I recommend people ignore this function.
1. The calorie expenditure trackers we have available to us are all shit. All the tools regular people have for estimating calorie expenditure — smartwatches, phones, online calculators — have inaccuracies. The research data shows that people consistently overestimate calorie expenditure. (My buddy Ben Carpenter has a great video covering the research data on this here.)
2. Micromanagement can lead to obsessive behavior. This not only stresses relationships but leads to eating disorders.
3. It’s hard to sustain and anything that can’t be sustained doesn’t lead to lasting change. Successful people have consistent food habits. One of these habits is planning their meals in advance. This helps with shopping and is less of a mental burden. If you can’t plan your meals in advance, it’s not a sustainable strategy, and most likely, you’ll feel that you’re on a kind of food hunt each day.
4. It’s unnecessary. Not a single client you see on the results page did this (and you can’t deny that the way I do things works well).
So just to be absolutely clear, after you have calculated things, I don’t recommend you adjust your intake on any individual day based on the activity you did that day.
Yes, activity levels will vary a little from day to day, but even if we could get an accurate estimate of calorie expenditure, we don’t need to try to perfectly compensate for it.
Yes, this means that the calorie surplus or deficit you have will vary a little from day to day. This is fine.
Weigh yourself each day and track your average rate of weight change over several weeks. If you aren’t on track with your target, adjust each day by the same calorie amount needed to get yourself on track. Point 7 on the macro calculator has that method covered. For a deeper look, see here: How To Adjust Macros As You Diet To Keep Progressing
Hey Andy, thanks for the great article.
Is it possible to do a body recomp just by sticking to the maintenance calories (and macros) without strength training? (Since gyms are closed, I still do basic bodyweight exercises but not sure if they can be as effective.
FYI, I consider myself a beginner with a very limited weight training experience)
Thanks in advance!
Hi Fahad, thank you for the question.
First, bodyweight exercises are strength training, so what you’re asking is whether bodyweight exercises can be effective for any of the three goals covered. The answer to that is a categorical yes, when done correctly.
I say “when done correctly” because there are even more ways for someone with limited training experience to cheat themselves out of the proper training effect with bodyweight exercises.
So, don’t bounce, don’t do half-reps, don’t rush, and don’t allow yourself to use shitty form. Try to approach your training with a mindset of “practicing the movements” rather than ego lifting, and you’re less likely to go wrong.
Here’s my guide to training from home.
Thanks for the reply and the home workout guide.
Was just wondering — in a situation where someone doesn’t workout at all as it’s not as fun like in the gym, would they still be able to see any body recomp progress by just hitting the recomp macros?
Thanks again!
No. Diet alone will not be an adaptive stimulus.
Hi Andy, I found your website about two years ago and it has made a HUGE difference in my life. Just wanted to express my gratitude for the fine work you do. This site has become my go-to for all fitness related information and I’ve recommended it to friends and family.
You mentioned above the optimal rate for body weight loss during a cut is 0.5% per week. Would you mind elaborating a bit more as to the reason this is the target? On my current cut I’m dropping ~ 1% per week.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Jeff, very happy to read that. Thank you for taking the time to let me know.
To your question, sure, it’s covered more in the Nutrition Setup Guide (< click that link to download the full thing), or here's what I have in the calorie setting chapter:
When your goal is primarily to lose fat, we call this a cut. I recommend a weight loss rate between 0.5–0.75% of body weight per week.
The fat-loss rate sweet spot for most people is around 0.5% of body weight per week.
High rates of weight loss are motivating, but they are hard to sustain. The leaner we are, the higher the chances of muscle mass losses.
Slow rates of weight loss are easier to sustain, but hard to stay motivated for, difficult to track, and they can become an increasing mental burden.
For busy individuals who can’t afford the lethargy and brain fog, 0.5% seems to be the sweet spot per week. I’m basing this on my years of client work.
You can go up to 1% if you have a lot of fat to lose, but most clients didn’t find this to be sustainable. Above 1%, your diet will be very hard to sustain and muscle loss is likely.
As you close in on seeing your abs for the first time, I would recommend you stay closer to 0.5%. If you get into the single digits of body fat %, the whole curve shifts to the left and you want to lose at or slightly under a rate of 0.5% to maximize your chances of holding onto muscle mass.
Thank you Andy! I appreciate your time!
When bulking, how do you know the difference between weight gain being muscle glycogen uptake as opposed to lean tissue and or fat?
How do you tell when to cut again if you’ve no access to body fat % measuring?
Is it better to keep fat intake at a minimum required amount as my understanding is that the calorie surplus is easier to store as fat when those extra calories come from fat so eat the excess as protein and or carbs? Thanks
Hi Tracy, thank you for the questions.
1. As the main changes from glycogen and gut content will happen in the first couple of weeks after the bump in calorie and carbohydrate intake when starting the bulk, I just ignore that data and use the data after.
2. Visually.
3. That’s only the short term (the course of a day or a few days). I recommend the 20-30% range. There’s no evidence that going lower than this in the long term will lead to more a favorable outcome.
If you haven’t seen it already, here’s my guide to bulking without getting fat.
Brilliant thanks so much Andy 👍
Hello Andy,
I am a competitive cyclist just getting into weightlifting but I have one question regarding daily caloric intake. I was thinking about doing recomp and eating at maintenance calories. I train cycling everyday and burn anything from 800-3000kcal. I understand that maintenance calories is defined as: basal metabolic rate + calories burnt from activities and exercise. I understand I shouldn’t be on a deficit as this would negatively impact muscle gains, specially coupled with the training demands of cycling but I was asking you if I really have to eat all that much food. Take for example this week in which I burnt about 2000kcal a day. Do I really have to eat back 2000 kcal extra?
Hi Adrian,
Yes, there’s no getting around the energy equation.
Hi Andy After reading your detailed articles, I am still torn between if I should be cutting or aim for body-re-composition . My gut feeling from your articles is to aim for body re-composition BUT My past self of yo-yo dieting tells me to CUT. I need an objective viewpoint because of my tendency to under /overestimate my body fat % even with the examples you gave
Here are my stats: FEMALE Age: 35 Years 5FT 1.5 inches @119lbs. Waist: 64.5 CM Hips: 95CM Belly 76CM. Unsure if I’m Mostly Sedentary or Lightly Active. lift 3 days, 150 mins Mod. Cardio per week, Office Job, Avg TDEE 1700, Avg 7000
There are certain cases in this comment section where someone has asked me to help them decide, the answer is absolutely obvious, so I have given my opinion. However, that’s not the case here.
I don’t have experience working with women and so I don’t feel comfortable giving an opinion deciding this for you, but I hope the framework shared in the article is helpful.
I value your honesty. My conclusion is try recomp and after 8-12 weeks if I am significantly unhappy with how I look and measurements keep going up, then I will cut. I took your free course and feel that I can apply the principles with patience and see the outcome. You have done enough as I am so grateful. I gave you a reveiw via email about the free course. Thanks Bro
Thank you!
Hi Andy, I’m just getting stressed about what direction to go in at the moment. I’m 23, 5’8, weigh 62kg. I’ve been working out for 3 years, always done lots of cardio and some dumbbell work. My top 4 abs show in good lighting but I’ve never been able to get ripped or be happy with my muscle size. Over lockdown with a home gym I’ve introduced compound lifts for the first time. I’ve been lean bulking for 2 months with my upper body/arms looking bigger etc. Ive calculated around 14% body fat and I’ve started a mini-cut (for 2 weeks). Do I go back to lean bulking or should I cut to 10% for summer and then continue with the lean bulk in Winter? Thanks!
There is no ‘correct’ answer at this point, it comes down to your personal preference, Adam.
Okay, thank you! Will have a think
Hi Andy, i am a guy who is 172cm and 110kg. I have lost 10kg in the past but the weight loss stalls eventually after i started working and couldn’t commit to exercise (about one year ago). I am currently eating below 2000 calories (around 1800 cal) and wanted to start losing weight again but the problem is that i don’t think cutting another 500 calories is realistic for me as i am already eating less. Have you encountered any cases like me before and do you have any suggestions on how i can plan my cut?
Hi Yau, absolutely. See here: How To Adjust Macros As You Diet To Keep Progressing
Thank you! I will definitely read this
Hey Andy,
I love the article and I really appreciate you for writing it. To get to the point I am like Skinny Simon. I am 138 lbs, 6 foot 2 and I am currently 16 years old. I want to Bulk up, but I wasn’t sure if I should gain weight and fat then go on a cut or if I should only eat enough to gain mainly muscle. In other words, I have the choice to eat around 3500 – 4,000 calories daily (It’s high because I walk every day and also train 5 days a week). I also have the option to eat around 2,700 calories so the weight I gain will be limited to muscle. I am fairly new to training and I am around 1 to 2% body fat. I know I should bulk but to what degree. Thanks
Hi David,
Take a read of my How to Bulk Without Getting Fat. Do the controlled bulk.
Hi Andy,
Just to check with you that can I still build muscles while bulking by hitting the calories need but not the protein intake? As I have a liver problem and my doctor suggest me to eat everything in moderation and keep protein level low.
This sums it up:
Hi Andy,
I have been following all the guide in this site and used your macro calculator for cutting.I managed to cut from 66kg(skinny fat kinda body even though I been lifting for two years doing powerlifitng) to currently 60kg(I’m able to see my 2 pack abs definition and I’m in my fittest body ever but I feel like I look small).I’m planning to take a diet break for 2 weeks as per mentioned in the guide from your site.After that I’m thinking of continue cutting.What make me struggle is that I wouldn’t want to be too light but I want to keep my body fat low.Should continue to cut till shredded then bulk or I should eat in recomp after my diet break?Waiting for gym to open
Hi Khoo. You will gain fat when you bulk. So you need to consider that when choosing how lean to get. Often, that means getting to a point where we feel smaller than we prefer.
Hi Andy,
I have been training for a few years now however not really done much since the gyms closed on the 23rd March. I was in the middle of a cutting phase when lockdown started and sitting around 14% bodyfat which I haven’t strayed too far from now. Prior to lockdown I was training 5 days per week.
My question is how should I look to tackle training when I return? Should I continue cutting and eating in a deficit or begin training whilst eating at maintenance and hope this enables me to re-comp as you mentioned within the article above?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Kind regards,
Andrew
Quite a few clients are heading back to the gym right around now and they are finding that their strength is down.
This can be quite alarming because the immediate and natural thing to worry about is that muscle mass has been lost. But this is just something that happens when you don’t practice the lifts for a while.
The gut reaction of many is to push as hard as they can in a big to “reclaim their losses.”
This would be a mistake because you’ll be sore for days and that will interfere with your subsequent training sessions.
It’s best to work your way in slowly for the first week (or two) you get back. A lower training volume overall and a lower intensity of effort is what I’d recommend.
1. Go back to your previous session frequency but choose just 2–3 of the main lifts. (Ditch any accessory work.)
2. Don’t try to plan what loads you will lift in advance, because you simply don’t know. Just perform a few warm-up sets, find a weight that you think will able to perform comfortably for your target rep range. Do the same number of sets you usually would, but hold two more reps in the tank than you usually would. (That’s your usual target RPE minus 2.)
3. If the soreness wasn’t too bad in the first week, add back in a lift or two in the second week and this time, hold just one more rep in the tank for your sets than you usually would. (That’s your usual target RPE minus 1.)
4. Repeat in steps until you’re back to your regular training plan.
The same steps apply if you’ve had the time off completely, but you may have lost a little muscle mass. Fortunately, muscle regain can happen more quickly than new muscle growth.
I hope that helps!
What would you consider as an inexperienced trainee and therefore should recomp? And when does the inexperienced trainee have to stop recomping and switch to a proper bulk and cut cycle?
Hi Otto, thank you for asking.
It’s impossible to clearly define — it’s not suited to “years of training experience” nor “rate of current progression” as those factors have caveats.
A good rule of thumb: if in doubt, try the recomp for a couple of months. You can decide based on the outcome.
In conclusion I just wanted to say that the question of whether to cut/bulk etc is putting the cart before the horse if you haven’t actually considered what your goal. As this site is rippedbody.com Im assuming most folks are here for one reason. Even within the general goal of ‘getting ripped’ there are possibilities that might inform decisions on diet intervention. If your goal is to get ripped by summer then the traditional cut/bulk might be a good plan. If you are in this for the long haul, someone who expects to be lifting and looking good for the rest of their lives then a longer term view would be more appropriate regarding diet, rather yo-yo cycles of bulk/cut.
The point I’m making in the article is that a recomp can only work for so long, and purposeful cut and bulk cycles are necessary to make measurable progress past a certain point. I wouldn’t describe that as yo-yoing, but you may have in mind more extreme versions of this than I do.
I only advise carefully controlled bulks and modest rate cuts. Not the far looser styles where people would gain and lose 30–40 lbs over a year like we used to see in the past.
More on this here: How to Bulk Without Getting Fat
I’ve been training ‘seriously’ since about 2015 but I’ve not got that much to show for my efforts in terms of an impressive physique. I can put that down to several factors but mostly sub-optimal training in the first few years. I realised I needed more stimulus to get a training response, whether because of genetics or my age. The health advantages though, even for less than ideal strength or hypertrophy outcomes, far outweigh the disadvantages from a health standpoint.
The same applies to diet regimes to achieve that ‘ideal’ physique. Even with closely monitored calories and macro adjustments over several years my results have been mediocre using controlled bulk cycles. I think there is case to be made for lean bulking as being a good option for some people. I know you argue against that approach as its harder to gauge results by either weight changes or physical appearance over the short term which can lead to compliance issues. There are other ways of judging progress though, which is essentially what advanced trainees would have to do.
Thank you for the reply, Alex. Glad you enjoyed the books and article.
I think you missed the first thing anyone needs to ask themselves before any diet intervention and that is: why? That answer depends on what the individual‘s goal is. For populations that are either overweight or underweight the main consideration should be from a health standpoint. For competitive athletes such as powerlifting or bodybuilding the answer will depend on timing / seasonal/ competitive and constraints. For other sports it depends on its utility to increase performance in that particular sport. For the recreational bodybuilder (which is the where the paradigm of cut/bulk is most often seen in fitness culture ) it is driven partly by personal preference of an ideal body image.
Hi Alex, thank you for the comment.
It’s covered here: A Guide to Finding Your ‘Why’
That was a interesting read Andy.
I’m not just here to give you a hard time (well maybe little just because there are so many ‘experts’ in the fitness industry these days).
By the way I did invest in The Muscle & Strength Pyramids books, which I’m enjoying and slowly digesting.
Hey Andy; great great article, it really helped alot, i had a question, i was considered fat 3 months ago, started dieting and training and now i would describe my self as a bit skinny but still very little muscle definition, and no abs, should i kee cutting or start to bulk, as I’m now under weight, 173 cm and 63 kg
Hi Ahmad, sounds like you fit into the third line of the table there and should consider a recomp.
PS: I see your email address. I was in AIESEC too. 🙂
I can see my ribs when i suck my belly in,yet i cant see abs. Should i cut till i can see abs,aka a low bf% for optimal bulking or should i just bulk now?
Hi Otto,
The table at the end of the article explains when I recommend bulking. Use my visual guide to body-fat percentage and the US Navy method of estimating body-fat percentage that I mentioned to gauge body fat.
Talk about and impossible subject to tackle. I’ve read many articles about this topic, and this one – along with your article with the 9 categories – have been the most helpful.
I would challenge your definition of skinny fat (although you did point out the term is problematic). I would argue skinny fat doesn’t refer to body fat (I mean, if they are “higher in body fat than average”, they aren’t skinny, right?). I think skinny fat refers to people who tend to be more naturally skinny while maintaining an unhealthy lifestyle. They may show signs of disease seen more often in overweight people. Essentially, it’s a way of saying ‘just because you’re skinny doesn’t make you healthy’.
I think many people who consider themselves skinny fat are really just ‘not lean, not overweight, and at a low level of fitness’. In fact, not only do these people not fit into the ‘overweight’ or ‘underweight’ (aka ecto/endomorph), but they make up a large percentage of the population. Which is why I think it’s important to understand the term.
Hi Aaron, good point. Here’s a second crack at defining it concisely:
“The term ‘skinny fat’ refers to someone of a “regular” healthy weight, but who is muscularly under-developed and high in body fat.
The appearance can sometimes be described as ‘skinny, with a potbelly,’ but most often the appearance is not that different from someone who is lean with a bit more muscle.
How do you know the difference?
Well, sometimes you don’t know just by looking at someone. But if you’re weak and soft to the touch (despite tensing your muscles), you’re skinny fat.
This happens due to inactivity, and it’s not uncommon for people to be lean down below and skinny-fat up top, depending on their hobbies (hikers, for example).
I’m not a fan of the term skinny fat, but I hope this helps you understand what I’m referring to. And if this is you, you’re in a great position to make a change.”
I’ll get my iPad out later today and have a crack at drawing this.
Done. Take a look at and let me know what you think, Aaron.
I think that’s great! I especially like the point about some people, despite being somewhat active (cyclists are a really good example in my opinion) can still be found in this category. And the picture showing the difference in fat percentage illustrates it well.
For me personally, my experience with being skinny fat was how weak some parts of my body were, and how those led to some aches and pains as I got older (weak glutes causing back pain, weak forearms causing elbow or shoulder pain). Weight training helped me realize that even though I looked ok in the mirror, my body was in rough shape.
Great. Glad to hear that and thank you again for the feedback, Aaron.
Hi Andy, hope you’re well and thanks for the great content as always.
Does the stimulus it takes to grow muscle in a surplus roughly correspond with the stimulus it takes to retain it in a deficit?
I have followed your bulking guide with success and am now looking to cut – but slightly anxious to do so without access to a gym! As far as I can tell I have made okay progress with the stuff I have at home (bands and adjustable dumbbell) whilst in a surplus. I’d be happy to maintain for a month or so but there’s a possibility gyms in the UK will be closed for significantly longer than that, and my BF is too high to continue gaining.
Thanks in advance, much appreciated.
Hi Will, thank you and most welcome!
A calorie deficit is an energy deficit, so it would be natural if you need to reduce the number of sets (or loading a little) to keep recovering. If you keep training hard, you don’t need to fear muscle loss. All clients are currently training at home and I haven’t seen anything unusual.
• How To Adapt Your Training Program For Home
• What is Realistic Progress While Cutting?
• Stress: In The Gym, Out of The Gym, and How it Affects Your Program and Progress