To what extent is bulking superior to recomping for an intermediate lifter?
- Thread starter leyanis
- Start date
@needheaven Last few months I’ve had a stress fracture then a slipped disk so wasn’t really consistent with training unfortunately (both lifting & running), had to take several weeks off each time so haven’t gained much.
@leyanis You wont be able to recomp at 12% bodyfat. Even less so with the training load you have from running. You also dont have to lose weight aggressivly. Gain weight slow and lose it slow.
Ither that or periodize your training. This is litterally what its for. Do less running for a few months while you focus on hypertrophy. Then back to running repeat.
Ither that or periodize your training. This is litterally what its for. Do less running for a few months while you focus on hypertrophy. Then back to running repeat.
that’s why I’m asking lol@leyanis If you are 5'9" 150 10-12% bf your FFMI is 19.83-20.28. A 20-21 FFMI at 10-18% bf would put you in the athlete or intermediate lifter category. 20-22 FFMI is above average. 18-20 is average musculature. 20 FFMI puts you in the 75th percentile. So you're more muscular than 25% of men. At best you may look like you lift. Perhaps only shirtless. At worst, you are still skinny. Obviously more muscular than a skinny guy who doesn't lift. But to the untrained eye, they probably might not be able to tell you lift.
You can always post a pic of you shirtless and also one in a short sleeve t-shirt (looking like you lift in clothes is probably more important to women if that's what you're gunning for. lmfao.) If I post a picture of me in a size S/XS short sleeve t-shirt on Tinder, I look like I lift. Revival Fitness has said that the bulking isnt over if you can still fit in Size S especially XS shirts. At my height maybe thats less true. But Im probably not done bulking if I can still fit into a XS. I may have more in the mid section now at 167cm (5'6") 150 lbs compared to when I was 128-133 lbs but my biceps and forearms look nice. Triceps probably help your arm look good from the front still too. And my shirt hugs my chest, delts and traps more now. When I posted shirtless selfies on Tinder at 133 lbs with my six pack abs, women didn't give a shit. Lmfao. The women who I have dated when I was smaller, they have said I look better now at 150 than at 130, 136, 140.
Honestly your best bet is probably to bulk to at least 172 lbs and then cut later. There's not much maingaining potential for you with your stats. Unless you're happy with how you look like right now and wish to stay that way.
You can always post a pic of you shirtless and also one in a short sleeve t-shirt (looking like you lift in clothes is probably more important to women if that's what you're gunning for. lmfao.) If I post a picture of me in a size S/XS short sleeve t-shirt on Tinder, I look like I lift. Revival Fitness has said that the bulking isnt over if you can still fit in Size S especially XS shirts. At my height maybe thats less true. But Im probably not done bulking if I can still fit into a XS. I may have more in the mid section now at 167cm (5'6") 150 lbs compared to when I was 128-133 lbs but my biceps and forearms look nice. Triceps probably help your arm look good from the front still too. And my shirt hugs my chest, delts and traps more now. When I posted shirtless selfies on Tinder at 133 lbs with my six pack abs, women didn't give a shit. Lmfao. The women who I have dated when I was smaller, they have said I look better now at 150 than at 130, 136, 140.
Honestly your best bet is probably to bulk to at least 172 lbs and then cut later. There's not much maingaining potential for you with your stats. Unless you're happy with how you look like right now and wish to stay that way.
@asperd
I think you’re right there. I’m probably too lean right now to consider cutting anyway, so the "recomp vs bulk/cut" doesn’t even apply for now.
So basically, I’ll just clean bulk (at 300cal over maintenance) until I’m 170+ as you say, then cycle between these clean bulks and cutting.
Does that sound right?
Also thanks for the detailed reply, I’m not new to lifting but I’d say I’m no expert at all at this hypertrophy stuff!
edit: also, how much body fat should I be expecting to put on if I clean bulk at 300 over maintenance? I’m quite lean atm (visible abs) and one concern I have is not to get too high BF when bulking either.
I think you’re right there. I’m probably too lean right now to consider cutting anyway, so the "recomp vs bulk/cut" doesn’t even apply for now.
So basically, I’ll just clean bulk (at 300cal over maintenance) until I’m 170+ as you say, then cycle between these clean bulks and cutting.
Does that sound right?
Also thanks for the detailed reply, I’m not new to lifting but I’d say I’m no expert at all at this hypertrophy stuff!
edit: also, how much body fat should I be expecting to put on if I clean bulk at 300 over maintenance? I’m quite lean atm (visible abs) and one concern I have is not to get too high BF when bulking either.
@leyanis Yeah I would bulk at a 300 daily calorie surplus until 172+ lbs (this is going to take awhile. Bulks are supposed to be slow when natural) and then cut later.
Normally lifters who have 3-5 years of experience (intermediate to advanced) would gain more than 1 lb of body fat to 1 lb of muscle during a bulk. But at 5'9" 150 lbs most of your weight gain should be muscle.
Normally lifters who have 3-5 years of experience (intermediate to advanced) would gain more than 1 lb of body fat to 1 lb of muscle during a bulk. But at 5'9" 150 lbs most of your weight gain should be muscle.
@leyanis I don't know anything about running marathons. Is going up in weight going to negatively impact your performance in the marathon? Just like many things in life, there are trade offs. If you try to cut from 10-12% bf, there is a much higher chance of losing gains compared to cutting at 18% bf. If you put on weight, maybe that impacts your endurance in the marathon.
@asperd Well obviously losing weight can shave a few minutes off the marathon, but I was mostly asking in the perspective of bulking after the mini-cut. I just wanted to get rid of a few pounds of fat before clean bulking, but was wondering if I would uselessly lose muscle doing it. Or maybe going from 12% to 8% is not significant enough and I should just start bulking right away? Not a major concern but I was just wondering.
@leyanis At 5'9" 150 lbs it's too risky to attempt cutting to 8% body fat from 12%. The risk of muscle mass loss is high. The reward of being lean at that size isn't that great from a purely bodybuilding perspective as opposed to an endurance running perspective.
If you have been cutting up until now, it might be a good idea to try to eat at calorie maintenance for a little while (at least a couple weeks) before bulking. But if you've been eating at maintenance already for at least a couple weeks, I would start bulking now.
If you have been cutting up until now, it might be a good idea to try to eat at calorie maintenance for a little while (at least a couple weeks) before bulking. But if you've been eating at maintenance already for at least a couple weeks, I would start bulking now.
@leyanis You may like this podcast from Mike Israetel. It’s basically all about the huge benefit of actually being in a surplus compared to maintenance for muscle growth and then doing short mini cuts to shed any fat gained over the longer massing phase.
https://pca.st/episode/cf7a8838-4e70-4940-b7ff-5133be911ef6
https://pca.st/episode/cf7a8838-4e70-4940-b7ff-5133be911ef6