M3:D27 On the verge
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 Today I realized that I am on the verge of some very big changes. I was honestly surprised by my measurements today. In a way, it made me a little upset with myself that I hadn't bulked sooner. If you recall, I had originally planned to have a bulk phase in M2 and bypassed it for further cutting. Now I wish I had just gone for it. It has made me think about people who ask "Should I bulk or cut first?" I think if they have to ask that question the answer is obvious—BULK! Carlos De Jesus calls it The Larger Engine Concept. It just makes sense. We all hear about how muscle burns fat and cutting reduces muscle mass, yet we immediately think that every single person trying to hit a weight loss goal is supposed to cut. Have you ever thought that it isn't about weight loss at all, but more about body recomposition? Yes, there are severely obese people who need to cut, but even they need muscle to assist with that. If any of you has ever watched Celebrity Fit Club you'd get my point. They had comedian Ralphie May as one of the contestants. Ralphie weighed in at more than 400 pounds. After the first two weeks, Ralphie had gained a few pounds and was discouraged because he was working the plan as outlined...no cheating. The doctor and the trainer both spoke up and told Ralphie that his body was responding with what was going to help it the most—increased muscle mass. Now I ask you, if a 400 pound comedian's body needs more muscle mass before it will start shedding fat, why do we all assume we need to cut? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Today was a rest day. I took it quite literally and rested...alot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Pain is your friend as long as it is the type of pain we call discomfort. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Your friend is 20 pounds overweight and wants to know if s/he should cut or bulk, what do you advise them to do? Comment this post with your answer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Until tomorrow...GET BACK TO LIFTING! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The answer to CUT or BULK would entirely depend upon the goals. If I wanted to be lean enough to have razor sharp abs popping, I don't think a full out bulk will do it. I'd have to be looking at cutting. take a look at Vince DelMonte's latest blogs where he is preparing for a contest. He ain't bulking to get there!
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No, Mike, but right now he is in the pre-contest stage. What do you think he did prior to that? Do you think he's been cutting for a year now or do you think he spent most of the past year bulking?
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I know the answer. I just read what to do in this really blog a friend of mine name Michael write. The answer is BULK.
I got it right, right?
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Christy, you are so smart
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Very interesting about Ralphie. You have a way of putting things in perspective. So what happened with Ralphie - did he subsequently lose the fat after bulking?
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Lilla, the really interesting thing about Ralphie is that he wasn't TRYING to bulk, his body just reacted to exercise and nutrition that way. In a sense, it knew what was best. If you go to ralphiemay.com you can see that he is still a large guy, but he has lost a TON of weight and looks so much better now.
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Cutting for competition is pretty common. That's why I say you can't just jump on the always BULK bandwagon. The point I was making is that he has been cutting for some weeks (ie not bulking) to get ready for competition. At no point did I say he did not bulk for the rest of the year.
btw - I doubt that Ralphie went on a huge calorie surplus based on his current weight. So was this a real bulk?
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Mike, I think we are saying the same thing. Vince is cutting right now madly preparing for the competition, but I am certain (as are you) that he spent a fair amount of time bulking priro to that. What would you say if I told you that it was possible to do both at the same time? What if I told you I had a way to change your body's hormonal balance to the point that it will put on muscle and burn fat at the same time? What if I told you that you could put on pounds of muscle during a bulk without adding pounds of fat? What if I told you that using this technique, you could go through a cut phase (eliminating the fat) and maintain virtually every single pound of muscle you built during the bulk phase? Would you want something like that? Important: I am NOT talking about steroids or any drug for that matter--this is all natural done with food.
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Hi Michael, I've been following you guys and I personally think that bulking or cutting depends on each person's GOAL!! right now, perhaps you need some muscle to try to cut again and then see that muscle you gain. In Mike's case I can see that he's bringing those muscles to the surface, those legs look very defined, so perhaps he had a bulking fase previous to this cutting one... In case of we women is very hard to bulk unless you're a bodybuilding competitor, if not, it's so hard for us (mentally) to put on weight like crazy when we want to look lean!!! Anyway, I think that you have to admit that Sometimes some people need different things according to each other circumstances.. the ideal thing will be to bulk and cut, bulk and cut, but hey man, some people are trying to do this for a lot of time and not just for a bodybuilding competition... anyway, the goals are different and so are the ways to get to them...
I can see that you are very disciplined, and I can't wait to see your bulking mission results! keep it up and keep giving us really valuable information... (sorry for the english!)
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Celina, welcome to the blog! Thanks for your comment. However, I am going to say that I disagree with you. After the research I've done I have concluded that it is easier to cut fat later if you bulk now. I wish I had done it myself in the beginning. One reason I believe this is so successful is that the food intake during a bulk fixes a damaged metabolism. Most people just do not eat enough food. They didn't get fat by eating a ton of food, they got fat by eating all the wrong things at all the wrong times.
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