Interesting Question by diskey: To Bulk or Cut?

[xcelbeyond]

He posted this in the Member's Photos forum along with his pics http://www.professionalmuscle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8431

I thought it was good question and would get better feedback in this forum:
"I really would like to compete one day. There's one in May next year and one in Oct -05 here in Norway were I live. Do you guys think I could be ready to enroll at one of them ?

I started with roids exactly one year ago. Did first one simple bulk 10weeks, then a cutting cycle in mars this year 8 weeks, and then some dbol in the summer to keep up gains. Started 600mg susta 2 weeks ago and I'm thinking of staying on for a long time now at least if I'm gonna comepte.

what should I work with and should I start doing cardio while bulking?, -I don't do anything now because I wanted to gain as much as possible, but don't wanna turn fat either..

diskey"

 

[xcelbeyond]

There are two schools of thought on this – and I hope Phil chimes in on this one.

One is: In order to gain a lot of muscle, you need to also gain fat. Just eat and gain then worry about losing BF later.

The other is: Keep your BF under control and just gain lean body mass (LBM).

I guess the answer to this depends on what your goals are.

I’m going to give my experiences based on competing or trying to be “Cover Boy” quality.

Right now I look a lot like diskey, which IMHO is WAY too fat for MY goals. I’m not saying you’re fat diskey, far from it! I’m saying you’re quite a ways from the competition stages.

Here’s what happens whenever I try the first method, which I stupidly tried just recently. Sure I gain a boatload of LBM but a lot of BF as well. I carry about 177 lb of LBM and a total bodyweight over 200 pounds. I would think that I would compete at a body weight around 175, given I will still have some BF. But when I cut up, I can maintain my LBM down to around 7% BF (and look REALLY good at that level). But to get down to the competitive 4% BF range, I lose a ton of LBM. The LBM really begins to melt off like butter around 5.5%.

When trying to stay lean and gain LBM, it generally takes longer and gains are slower, but I don’t seem to lose gains as fast.

Here’s what I did on my first AAS cycle. I got very lean – around 7.5%, then started gear. I ate, but watched my intake very closely. At end of 10 weeks, I gained 20 lb LBM and about 5 of BF. I never lost these initial gains!

 

[babygetoboy]

So your saying Diskey is far away from your offseason goals? To me he look to be at a very low bodyfat percentage, and looked as he was cut and wouldn't not need to lose musch to get down to competiotn shape.

 

[xcelbeyond]

So your saying Diskey is far away from your offseason goals?

That wasn't what I was saying at all

I meant that he was a ways off (from what I could tell - very poor quality pics) from competing. And he is, literally - read his question.

To me he's just a bit soft in the middle and legs. That's generally an indicator that his BF is not real low.

All I meant by explaining my experience is don't expect to be real big if you compete - probably be in the mid of middleweights. I entered a contest way too soon and was very disappointed with my size.

Diskey: decide what you're gonna do and go for it with 110% effort. If you decide to compete, focus on conditioning, getting as ripped as you can. If your focus is gonna be on how big you're gonna be you'll probably be big and upset with your results.

 

[xcelbeyond]

^

Anyone else?

 

[Mr Pickels]

its different for everyone.. for me, i wont compete unless i'll come in as a heavy wt or a super heavy..... and i gotta get a shit load bigger for that... i'm liking being leaner than i was last year when i just ate everything.. still gaining, not as fast or dramatic, but more quality... just slower...

just a little more pain in the ass with the nutrition and recovery things...

i dunno.. its up to him... for me, i'd say get bigger first then worry about dieting off crap later

 

[gainingmass]

In my opinion, i think you should consider to bulk up, with most of the hot season out the way it will be getting colder and that means sweaters and heavy clothing, so for me i bulk up and dont mind adding some body fat, its essential if you want to gain the most muscle. Then when you decide its time cut down and you'll lose that bodyfat, just look at your body and estimate if you need to do more than 12 weeks dieting due to the amount of bodyfat youve gained. I would do cardio about twice a week, 20 mins just walking on the treadmill, it will keep your metabolism going and keep the bodyfat at stable levels. Concentrate on eating and more eating. Even during the offseason i still eat pretty clean, but i eat alot more of it, i do 2 days on 1 off, so on the day that i dont train i go for alot more calories than my body is used to, (yeah i eat shitty on this day, pizza, hamburgers, whatever) but i still make sure that im gettin my goal of protein for the day! So in my opinion i would bulk if i was you then cut down when it comes time. GOODLUCK!!

 

[diskey]

thxs for the opinions guys. Yes my plan is to bulk sort of lean up to max 110kg then perhaps join the heavy weigh class - 90-99,9kg. If say my bf is 12-14% at 108-110 kg I could come in rockhard if I dieted down 10kg...

Do you think it could be done, adding like 8-10kg muscles(+ some fat) in say like 6-9 months?

I was sort of thinking doing like BigA suggests going hi/low every 4 weeks with the roids, -have never done anything longer than 3month cycles in the past.. And I'm not sure if I should do HIT or volume to get up to 110kg....I've tried both but can't figure out what's best. I tought I got fat last time I did HIT for some time, but there could have been other factors that caused that too...I duno..

 

[bigbadasian]

Reply

|--[\\\]>---------- From what i have seen, getting fat in the off season is the best way to gain size. now i'm not talking aobut getting obese(sp) where you'd have to drop 60-70 lbs to make your weight class, but carry a bit more bf% on you than you would normally. i am a firm believer that you do have to get 'fat' in order to gain more size. What makes this much easier is if you run some GH with your 'off season' bulking cycle. Eating KFC and McD's is alot easier on you when you got the magic G working for ya...LOL

 

[diskey]

I added like almost 40pounds on my last winter bulk and got up to 18%bf. I can't say I liked it so much. The worst thing was the strech marks. Got them over my arms and in the shoulder pits. The next worst thing was I could not get into any of my old jeans because of my fat ass..But I added some mass for sure, after dieting down I had like 18-20punds mass left.

I was big, bloathed, fat and cardiovascular health was soo bad. Didn't feel well at all....I really don't think it's healthy to add so much weigth in like 3-4 months.