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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Hey Andy,
This is such a well written article!
I’m at 144lbs, 16.9% fat (via dxa)
my goal is to get back to 150-155lbs at around 14-16% body fat.
. What’s a non- novice? I’m familiar with barbells and weight training – but never approached this methodically
So I’m still a novice (and should do a 5 month bulk) ?
. I’m keeping my protein at about 177 grams – not sure about how to distribute carbs vs fats. 2100 – 2300 during training days: ~240 mins / week + ~ 100 mins cardio
– should I just go on a maintenance phase till I can get back to gym – I currently only have access to 50lb dumbbells, pull up bar/rings
– how should I plan my nom trading day nutrition.
Hi Abhijit, try the recomp for a few months. If you don’t see the level of progress you are after, choose to cut or bulk.
You’ll see guides for home training, nutrition setup, and cardio in the nutrition and training menu pages.
Hi Andy ! I was a lot heavier earlier but I’ve lost a lot of fat and I’m finally lean enough to just show my upper two sets of abs. I’ve been lifting since 4 months now & eating almost at maintenance, my weight is also almost the same, but I wanna gain muscle and that’s why considering a bulk, but I’m a little hesitant because I don’t wanna gain the same amount of fat as I had earlier… also since the last 4 months, I’ve just gained around 150g of weight but I look a lot different now… my question is should I start bulking or continue with what I’m doing right now… the problem is that the muscles have started to show but the measurements are roughly the same ?
Hi Trishant,
If you bulk, you’ll regain some fat. Based on what you have said, it’d be better for you to cut further or you’ll stop the bulk too early due to the unhappiness with the fat gain.
But I think I’m already lean enough to see my upper abs and I’m at 15% body fat and I’ve been cutting for too long to lose weight, I think it’s a little less psychologically pleasing to enter a cut again…
So bulk.
Okay Andy, thanks a lot, and just wanna say your macro calculator really gave me a GOOD starting point, and I’ve been seeing results !!
You’re doing amazing work !!
Thank you. You’re most welcome, Trishant.
Hi Andy, I’m 16 years old, 6ft 1; around 77-83Kg. I have an approximated body mass of 16% (using the US navy method) and im not sure whether to cut or recomp.
I tend to go to the gym a few times a week with two different days (back biceps and chest shoulders triceps) does this make me an experienced or inexperiened trainee as I have never solely trained abs in depth?
Hi Naryan, thank you for the question.
Inexperienced. This comment has nothing to do with your abs, everything to do with your age and the way you described your programming.
Take a read through the list of articles under the How To Train and How To Progress heading in the training articles page.
Let’s say an experienced lifter stopped training for a long time and lost a lot of muscle mass and strength. In a maintenance phase, is it possible to gain back all of the lost gains or just some of the loss gains?
If the answer is the latter, does that mean the lifter needs to eat in a surplus to gain back the rest of the loss gains?
Hi Jamie, thank you for the question.
Some, but not all. If you’re in the right bf% range per the guide for a recomp, I’d consider that first, then switch to a bulk phase when it stops working in a way that delivers consistent, measurable progress.
Hey Andy, Im 5’6, 69.5kg and around 27% body fat….i m inexperienced skinny fat. should i cut or bulk?
Please read the article.
Hi Andy, thanks very much for the article, really informative
I’m a 6’5 90kg 23%BF 24y/o male
I’ve not lifted for a while,
Would you recommend i cut down to ~18% BF and then do a recomp until 13%?
And then onto bulk/cut phases?
Thanks,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Sure, it’s worth a shot.
Hi Andy, my name is James. I’m a well built guy, 6 1 218 16% bf and am just starting to train. I noticed a body recomp has been pretty successful for me and have a pretty hard time sticking to a lean cut because of the amount of protein I need to consume for such a small calorie number. Do you suggest sticking to a recomp or just trying to cut fat and being ok if I don’t build muscle?im trying to get my abs to show.
Thanks
James
Hi James, if a recomp is working and you’re happy, stick with it!
Noting your comment about protein, this guide may help. It’ll teach you how to count macros and make meals out of them. It can be as simple as eating two chicken large chicken breasts and a double-scoop protein shake. This is what I do many days, though not always chicken.
Best of luck!
Hi, I am 40, 6’2″ and 180 lbs and 19.6% fat. I have been trying to cut for 5 months but sadly hardly got to 19% fat from perhaps 21-22%. After 5 months of deficit I am leaner but not enough. Should I continue to be deficit till get 15% or try to gain some muscles for a month or two to jack up metabolism. I read somewhere too long of deficit also not good?
Hi Haris, you need to continue cutting, but consider a diet break.
i can see my muscle and im not skinny fat either but i still have fat on abs but when i pull it down i can see my abs, should i cut or lean bulk
Entirely up to you, Andrew.
Hi Andy,
Your articles have been super helpful since I’m a newbie. I’m in a reverse and trying to decide whether to move into a cut or bulk. Can you recommend a reliable weight chart for females?
Hi Kiree, glad you have found the articles helpful.
What do you mean by “in a reverse” and what do you mean by “a reliable weight chart”?
Hi Andy,
I went straight from a cut to reverse diet, about 200 calories under my maintenance and watching weight and measurements to see if I should increase calories. I’m trying to figure out which way to go from here.
I googled weight charts but recommendations seem to vary.
I don’t know what you mean by weight charts, or what it is you want to find out when you search for that, but here’s my approach to finding maintenance calorie intake after dieting. This may differ from what you have read about reverse dieting.
Hi there. My body fat is around 23%. 170cm for 65kg. My upper body is skinny fat with lower back fat and lower belly fat. My lower body is pretty huge with big hips thighs and I stock some fatt under the buttocks. What should I do first? Bulk my upper body eat normally maintain then cut after a few months? I was told I have a good body and a good lower base. Please help am completely lost with what to begin first and which diets.
Hi Shawn,
Make your decision based on your overall body fat levels, not which part is better developed. Given that you’re 23% body fat, it sounds to me like you should cut.
Hi Andy,
Would being able to add a rep here and there to most exercises on a weekly basis classify me as a novice? You mention “linear progress in your training loads“, so I’m a little confused as to whether or not this includes increases in reps.
Hi Alex,
Loads.
Andy,
New to training. If I skip an exercise that trains legs and only work out my arms for couple years for instance, will that mean that the muscle gain rate will change overtime for my legs also? Assuming that the muscle gain rate does change after years of working out.
Hi James,
The less trained a body part is (the further away it is from its genetic potential), the faster it will respond to training.
So when some say that “if in the first two years a person doesn’t work out properly they will miss out on gains” is bullshit. Good to know.
Most welcome.
In order to maximize noob gains, is it better to do recomp or bulk?
Hi Ben,
Muscle growth will only be maximized with a calorie surplus. So, a bulk.
I’m 31, 6ft 208lbs. Lightly to moderately active. 21% body fat. 96.3 lbs of skeletal muscle mass.
I’m lean bulking to maximize my gains…I started strong lifts 2-3 months ago and am essentially a beginner lifter.
I started lean bulking because I didn’t want to miss out on any noob gains, but after reading your articles. It seems that you’d recommend cutting.
What would you recommend?
Am I missing out on too much muscle by not bulking while starting out lifting?
What’s most beneficial for me? Any thoughts?
Thank you so much.
Hi Seth, you read correctly. I’d recommend that you cut. You’ll experience muscle growth while you do, and still experience good muscle growth after.
Thank you sir.
Just started today, actually.
I’m 5’7, 128 lbs, with 23% bodyfat (29 lbs bodyfat) according to Dexa. I recently lost 6.5 lbs bodyfat on a sub-1000 calorie, 90g protein/day crash diet, but also lost 4 lbs of lean muscle (plus 4 lbs of water weight, which I put back). I’d like to lose 10 lbs more bodyfat and gain 25 lbs muscle, resulting in an overall 143 lbs with 13% bodyfat. I want to start lifting weights and doing cardio, what is my best strategy? Should I bulk, cut, or re-comp? I have insulin resistance issue so want to reduce bodyfat, although I don’t really look fat at all in the mirror(I’m afraid the fat might be visceral), though abs still don’t show too much (what little fat one can see is on the stomach)
Hi Brandon,
I don’t have anything further to say than what is in the article. It’s up to you to decide, not me.
I’d put a little less faith in DEXA scans and start tracking your progress with a tape and scales.
I have bulked up to 180 and I want to stay around the same weight but lose some fat and I don’t know what to do any suggestions.
Hi Tomas, after reading the above, is a recomp likely to work? If yes, go for it. If no, you gotta cut or you’ll just spin your wheels.
(We all want to bulk and then just recomp, but that’s only something that only happens for a very underweight/skinny/noob trainee.)
Hi Andy!
2 questions for you. I am trying to find more resources on how to decide the length of your bulk. Besides this article do you recommend any other resources on this topic?
I have the the Strength and nutrition pyramids and adjustment guide. Did you ever release the updated adjustment e-book with the new bulking section (I couldn’t seem to find an email or post about this).
Hi Juan, thank you for the questions.
5 months at the minimum, and not past 20% body fat. Here’s my guide on how to bulk. I haven’t written the third edition yet, no. 🙂
Hello, there, Andy.
i just have a little doubt. It’s been a year since I’m under a powerlifting training. I used to do many things through my life.
I’m in a doubt if I should cut, bulk or recomp. I’m about 20-25% fat (85kg, 30yo, 173cm) and I don’t really know where to aim, since every goal fits (in my mind)
I hope this doesn’t bothers you, but i could use an advice, since I struggle with anxiety sometimes.
Hi Roderik,
Refer to the guidelines in the table at the end.
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
Thanks Andy, that is incredibly helpful.
Most welcome, Jo. I turned this answer into an answer for my email list. 🙂