the case against bulking cycles....
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taken from dial tone at elite. A very good read that I aree with 100%
I see alot of people, often newbies, doing so-called bulking cycles followed almost immediately by a cutting cycle. On the bulking cycle they eat everything that doesn't move out of the way in an effort to gain as much mass as possible, only to lose a good portion of it in the post-cycle therapy and cutting cycle that follows. This is, in my opinion, an extremely inefficient use of time, effort, money and anabolic steroids. Let me explain why I think so.
When you gain weight even following a relatively clean diet you can pretty much assume for every 4 lbs of muscle you gain you'll add 1 lb of fat. On an "eat everything I can" diet that ratio that ratio may increase to 4:2. This is before factoring in the additional water weight that certain aromatizing steroids (such as Dbol, Anadrol, Test, to a lesser extent Deca) cause. When you gain fat weight two things happen. The size of your fat cells increases AND the total number of fat cells increases. When you lose weight the size of your fat cells decreases but the total number stays the same. This is fact, not what I simply "think happens". This means when you come off that cutting cycle those extra fat cells you gained during that bulking cycle are still there dying to absorb every single gram of fat you take in. If you want to get rid of those extra fat cells you'll need to plan on liposuction. How many more fat cells do you think you'll end up with after 4-5 bulking cycles? Have you considered how hard it will get to stay lean in the future? You're setting yourself up for a dependancy on fat cutting drugs.
A cutting cycle, even when done by the pros, WILL cost you muscle. Even with anabolic steroids it's very difficult to lose more than a lb a week without costing some muscle. In a recent MD Ahmad Haidar says in the offseason he's 250 lbs at 10% bodyfat. My math tells me at 225 lbs he'd be at 0% bodyfat. In actuality he probably competes around 3% bodyfat which would put him near 229, yet in the same article he says he competes at 218. What happened to the extra 10-12 lbs? It could be water but I think he's factoring in some muscle loss as well. What about Ronnie competing in the Mr. O at 260'ish when Chad says he could've weighed 285 if he wanted to? He's losing muscle there too, albeit intentionally.
You regular Joes can rest assured that cutting cycle is costing you some of the hard earned muscle you gained during that last bulking cycle.
Wouldn't you rather do two cycles where you can eat as much as you want rather than one feast cycle and one famine cycle? You'll build much more muscle on the former. If you gain 25 lbs on a bulking cycle offhand I'd estimate it's 12 lbs muscle, 6 lbs fat and 7 lbs of water. In the subsequent cutting cycle you may lose 2 lbs of muscle while trying to ditch that 13 lbs of fat & water. That means a net muscle gain of only 10 lbs. What if you could gain 12 lbs of muscle, 3 lbs of fat and little water? Would you take it? Here's how.
I suggest doing a “Clean bulking” cycle instead. WTF is that? Simple...eat like you're 6-7 weeks out from a contest, only in unlimited amounts. Chicken/turkey breasts, steak, lean cuts of meat, rice, potatoes, pasta, breads. Only allow yourself to eat junkfood on the weekends. That extra fat in your diet isn't helping you build quality muscle and you're consuming enough carbohydrate to fuel your workouts and recovery. Now when this clean bulk cycle ends you don't have 10 lbs of extra fat to deal with. You can do post cycle recovery followed by your time off then go right into another clean bulk cycle, plus you don't have to waste money on weak anabolics like winny. You'll still have nearly all the muscle you gained first time around and you're about to double it on the next cycle. Not to mention it'll be easier to buy clothes because your weight won't fluctuate as much. Trust me on this...I've outgrown a 46-short suit which is the biggest you find off the rack in a short size.
Save the cutting cycles for contest preparation. Maximize the effectiveness of your steroids by using them the way they were intended...to build huge muscles. If you're an ectomorph then the traditional bulk cycle is a good idea, but then an ectomorph shouldn't need a cutting cycle in the first place.
With Bulk/Cut cycles you take 3 steps forward then 1 step back.
With Clean Bulk cycles you simply take 2 steps forward.
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