Progress post: my first intentional bulking/cutting cycle

roman1982

New member
I've been debating for a while whether I should make this post because my results are not particularly impressive. But progress can look like this too, so I still want to share it.

General information
  • Bulk: Sept 2023 - middle of Feb 2024.
  • Cut: middle of Feb - end of March.
  • Stats: 27 y.o., 5'5" (165 cm). Starting weight 124.3 lbs, highest weight 132 lbs, current weight 128 lbs (56.5 kg, 60 kg and 58.2 kg, respectively).
  • Weight change from Libra app, calories+TDEE+weight.
Background

I started lifting weights in September 2022 at ~52 kg (114.5 lbs) after 2 years of solely doing BodyPump. During my first year, I gained ~4.5 kg without counting calories (ah, newbie gains). Then, progress stalled, probably because I wasn't eating enough, so I decided to try bulking.

Progress pictures (NSFW)

Back1, back2, front1, front2, side. All the left ones are before (September 2023), the right ones are after (yesterday). There's no drastic difference, but I feel like my body is now denser, a bit better shaped, and there's a bit more muscle everywhere in general. I'm especially happy with delt growth, as delts are very hard for me to grow.

Training routine

I mostly followed an upper/lower split 4x a week. Initially, I trained with periodization (as suggested by a coach): first week 4 sets of 12-15 reps, second week 5 sets of 8-12 reps, third week 6 sets of 3-8 reps, fourth week rest (3 sets of 10-12 reps at low intensity). Then, the cycle would repeat with slightly higher weights. In January, I modified my routine, switching to 2 lower and 3 upper body days over an 8-day "week". I also excluded highest and lowest rep ranges because I enjoy the 6-12 (up to 15 for accessories) rep range the most. When bulking, I didn't do dedicated cardio. During a cut, ~30 min/week. My average step count was about 10k.

Strength gains

I wouldn't say I made any crazy strength gains. My lifts increased, but quite slowly. (Sorry, everything in kg)
  • Squat: 75 kg ×3 → 85 kg ×3
  • RDLs: 60 kg ×10 → 80 kg ×10 (I only started doing them in September, that's why they progressed so much)
  • Hip thrusts: 80 kg ×10 → 90 kg ×10
  • Pull-ups (wide grip): 8 → 10
  • Bench press: 50 kg ×6 → 55 kg ×5
  • Single-arm DB rows: 22 kg ×12 → 28 kg ×12
What I will do differently next time
  • Use an adaptive TDEE calculator!!! (I wasn't using it until January) It's soooo convenient.
  • No ego lifting, quality over quantity - although I was already trying to prioritize this, there's always room for improvement.
  • No periodization in the form I did it. It felt good and relaxing psychologically, but I found it difficult to track my progress when constantly changing rep ranges.
  • Fewer compounds, more experimenting with what actually feels good. I think I shouldn't have focused on squats and bench so much. First of all, I progressed a lot on these lifts during my first year of training and my progress on them had already stalled. Second, I have trouble squatting with good form. Like, my form is good enough, but not perfect and requires a lot of conscious effort. Not optimal for hypertrophy. Now, after the cut, I excluded barbell squats from my routine and my knees and lower back are feeling so good. I think next time, I'd include more stable exercises: cables, machines, the Smith machine.
  • Longer and slower bulk. I only gained 7.7 lbs, partly because COVID threw me back. On the other hand, sometimes I was rushing it because I was impatient and wanted to see the number on the scale grow all the time, so it often felt overwhelming, especially in the end of the bulk.
What now

Now I'm going to maintain my current physique. I'm tired of tracking, so I'm now eating intuitively and only monitoring my weight. I'm going to focus on calisthenics and skill work. Currently, I'm happy with my weight and don't want to be any lighter or heavier. But maybe I'll bulk again sometime in the future.
 
@roman1982 This is super helpful, thanks so much for sharing! We have similar stats - I am 165cm and started my weightlifting journey in Feb 2023 at ~52kg as well 😁 I've been lifting 2-3x/week (I work at minimum 65h/week and it can go up to over 80h so it's been a real effort to stay consistent), but I hope to achieve results like yours over the next year! This is such an inspiration to me 🤩
 
@roman1982 Girl you look great!!! I notice your collarbones look straighter and are popping more, do you know if a specific exercise did this or maybe less body fat? I’m trying to achieve the same thing
 
@tmi11er Didn't even notice it. I think it's just angle/lighting, or maybe my posture is slightly different in the second pic. I doubt that you can change the shape of your collarbones with exercise 😅 But yes, the leaner you are, the more visible they are. I believe pecs affect it as well. My collarbones were popping much more when I had almost no pecs (but I don't think it's a good thing)
 
@ferero I built some muscle, strength, and endurance (I also occasionally did HIIT classes called BodyAttack). I had anorexia before it, so I started from zero. Went from ~48 to ~52 kg. But my nutrition was quite bad, so I surely could've benefited more from it. Also, it wasn't that consistent, unfortunately. I took summer breaks (because that club did them), and my muscles deflated by autumn every time :)) I think BodyPump is a great place to start with physical activity
 
@roman1982 Really good post. I enjoy reading what others have done. I do recomp rather than cut and bulk because I find I simply can't let go of the fear of gaining weight with a bulk and I also struggle with restriction on a cut - too much engrained thinking from old fashioned diet crap from the media.

Your photos look great. You may wish to consider taking measurements as well. I find that better than weighing myself. However, fair warning - measurements and photos may not always show your muscle gains. I've found after a couple of years of strength training that even though I've gained muscle (which also feels denser) I've ended up smaller in size and weight and it's unnoticeable when wearing clothes.
 
@jelynemarie hi could i ask you a few qs? How long did your recomp take till you started seeing noticeable results? What % body fat did you start with and what are you now?
 
@tmi11er First started seeing results about 6 months in. Is very gradual though and at the time thought it was great but the longer you go the better the results. It made me lose interest in all those social media posts/videos etc where people change their bodies in short periods of time.

Fat % went from around 23% to 21% now using body fat scales which of course are not accurate but I would use in a consistent way. Looking at my data (infrequently logged as I've finally learnt to focus beyond numbers) it would seem that I gained muscle but fat amount stayed the same which I'm ok with as I wasn't overweight in the first place.
 
@jelynemarie Thank you! Yeah, bulking was a mental challenge for sure. I've heard that bulking is somewhat therapeutic, and it turned out to be true - I can accept and love my body even at a higher weight with some extra fat. But it still wasn't the most enjoyable thing to do. And cutting as well: I was starving for a couple of weeks. Having an anorexia background, I was worried about how I would tolerate tracking, gaining, and cutting mentally, but I'd say it went quite well. Having an understanding of your goals and how to achieve them helps a ton (as opposed to the anorexia times when I just stopped eating because I thought it was the best way to slim down 🥲).

That's interesting to hear that progress can look like this too!
 
@roman1982 Thanks so much for posting this, it’s really helpful. I just started out a couple months ago and it’s really cool to see your progress in a year. I did a cut for about a month but ended up getting some ED tendencies pretty quick so I reverted back to intuitive eating and am just staying there, hopefully the newbie gains will still come without a conscious bulk lol. I notice the weight I can lift going up but I don’t see it haha. This reminds me I should take my before photos so I can see how much it changes over time. Your post reminds me that it can be hard to see the difference when you’re experiencing it in person, even when the progress is clear in the photos. Thanks for the motivation!
 
@tiptoeloudly I used to have anorexia, and it's not fun. Good you're careful with it. In my case, newbie gains came with intuitive eating, but I made sure to eat enough protein-rich foods. Initial strength gains can mostly be neuromuscular adaptations; muscle growth is very gradual and takes a lot of time to see. Taking before photos is very useful! I wish I had more photos from the time before I started lifting
 
@roman1982 Yeah same here, so I was quick to pull back on the cut lol. That’s pretty much what I’ve done is just add protein to every meal. That’s such an interesting point about adaptations vs muscles, I had no idea. Thanks!
 
@roman1982 The difference is very noticeable, at least to me! Everything is more muscular! Especially your back. Did your posture improve, your back before and after indicate that it might have, there seemed to be less rounding of upper back (not that there was any significant rounding to begin with)!
 
@lorice Thank you! Yes, I think it did improve to some extent. I think it's also not even posture per se, but posing. These before photos are screenshots from one of the first progress videos I took. After that, I took many more. So now I know how to pose for the resulting shots to look better 😅
 
@ch3apshad3s Thank you so much, I'm glad it's noticeable to others! When I showed my progress pictures to my parents and asked whether they see the difference, they were like, "hmm, not really." I guess the fitness people know what to look at 😊
 
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