Bulk or Cut?

[youngN]

Im 18, 180lbs, im 5'8 and id guess around 14%BF (i honestly cant tell sometimes if its fat or water). Ive been training right for 2 years. My overall goal is to be 180-190 @ 4-8%BF. I dont wanna gain any more bodyfat than 15%. Right now i bench 320max, squat 405x6, and everything else is proportianlly strong. My arms are over 16in. so my question is do i bulk or cut. Ive also heard of clean bulking as well, but im not exactly sure how to do that. Ive been bulking for 2 and a half months. I have a training split and i know how to diet, the question is if i should keep bulking, start cutting, or keep cals relatively high and incorporate cardio 3 times a week?

[BICEPBULG]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

I would say keep bulking bro, If you want to drop some BF just step up your cardio. Do cardio everyday for 30-45 min. Good Luck, keep us posted

[O2BESOHUGE]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

WHAT ARE YOU TAKING? THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH HOW YOU GAIN ALSO.
GOOD LUCK

O2

[geesler]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

keep cals relatively high and incorporate cardio 3 times a week?

That sounds the best option, low intesnity cardio in the am will increase your hunger throughout the day amking it easier for you to get the cals you need to continue to add mass, while at the same time keep burning fat. Low instesity will spare muscle more than high intesity will.

[Shiner22nd]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

All good points.....Bro, in my opinion, I'd keep bulking and enjoy that metabolism of your's until you hit 22/23. Once you get there, then I might start thinking of cutting up. But remeber, as you add quality mass, your "%" of bodyfat WILL be dropping as you're adding muscle to your frame, dropping the "%" of fat you have. Also, this will help increase your metabolism, making it EVEN EASIER to drop fat once the time comes. Just remember, unless you have a GREAT metabolism, then don't overeat on your bulking diet. I did that and it was killer getting rid of the fat. Just eat LOTS OF CLEAN FOOD FOR THE NEXT 5+ yr. this is the key your are looking for!!! Good luck bro

[Skarhead]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

http://www.fitnessgeared.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48689

refer to this

[HungarianBeast]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

Bulk= eat clean, and eat a LOT!

[Skarhead]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

Bulk= eat clean, and eat a LOT!

yup

[tnert55]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

id keep bulking...

[tnert55]

id say keep bulkin

[youngN]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

o2 - im not taking anything is there something i should be taking?
skarhead - i refered to ur page about cutter bulker cutter bulker, but what i meant by my post is that i have been bulking for a while, then ate regular for a while as well, how long after a bulk should one wait till they cut?
OH yea and i htink i decided im gonna eat clean and eat alot, low intesity cardio in the am 3 times per week, any other suggestions?

[geesler]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

o2 - im not taking anything is there something i should be taking?

Not to steal o2's answer, but just make sure you got your daily vits and protein shakes, and a LOT of clean foods. At 18 your test levels are already/still high b/c your age.

[muscle_n_blood]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

It's all about the food. You train to condition and strengthen your body. you control how your body looks with your diet. The cool thing is that YOU get to decide where you want to go from here. Do you want to compete? As what? Bodybuilder? Powerlifter? Olympic Lifter? Pursue a particular sport? Just having a general idea of what size you want to be is too vague. It's too subjective. Refine and define your shot and long term goals. Another thing is that you might as well forget what your bodyfat % is.(4-8% is too low to maintain and stay healthy and strong, by the way.) It is the most worthless number a trainee could ever concern themselves with. Judges at competitons don't carry calipers. Neither do girls on beaches. When you weigh in at a powerlifting meet, they aren't interested in your body composition, just your weight. If you feel your best, look your best, and perform your best, your bodyfat % will be just fine.

[myseone]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

I suggest that you continue to add muscle mass at the exclusion of adding excessive amounts of body fat. Basically keep your body fat no higher than where it currently is. Why add unnecessary fat when you will probably want to get rid of it anyway. From my understanding of fat cells, they can be created from excessive eating but can only gotten rid of via surgery (not entirely sure if I beleive this but that's what I have read). A good bodyfat level to hold offseason is around 10% for most bodybuilders (those interested in physique enhancement). It's also healthier for a male to be somewhere around this number (once again what I have read).

If your bodyfat remains the same as you gain weight you will be gaining muscle as well as fat.

If your bodyfat goes down while you gain weight, you will be gaining muscle mass at a higher ratio than fat.

I would include 2 sets of 20 rep squats to get your metabolism into anabolic and fat burning mode (yes you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time), do these no more than twice a week on days that are as far apart as possible. pick a weight that you can typically do 12 reps with and force yourself to get 20 reps. rest 1 minute (60 seconds) and do another 20 reps with about 20% less weight. Though a very simple method this one produces huge results if you have the toughness to get through it.

Aim for a weekly 10lbs added to your squat, so after 10 weeks you should have increased your squating poundage by 100lbs.

[HungarianBeast]

Re: Bulk or Cut?

Aim for a weekly 10lbs added to your squat, so after 10 weeks you should have increased your squating poundage by 100lbs.

This is pretty ambitious depending on training experience. An intermediate/advanced person may not reap such results... Would probably be more likely with a beginner/intermediate person.