Episode 161 – How Long Should Bulking and Cutting Phases Be?

Key Topics Covered

different body shapes of the same cartoon person.

Today we will be discussing how long our bulking and cutting phases should be and how we can switch between the two and what this process looks like. Firstly, let’s define bulking versus cutting. Bulking is defined as a period spent in a caloric surplus, actively gaining weight, ideally with the outcome of developing lean mass. However, during a bulking phase, there will be some fat mass that comes alongside lean mass. On the other hand, from a cutting perspective, this is defined as a period spent in a caloric deficit wth the aim to reduce weight. Again, it is ideal that this weight loss would be coming from fat mass whilst retaining as much lean mass as possible. Everyone’s individual goals and needs will look different and there is no right or wrong way to approach these phases.

Why Does It Make Sense to Commit to a Goal?

Having a goal reduces the chances of “spinning your wheels.” This means, having a goal will prevent you from expending a lot of effort without making any progress. Many people train consistently and don’t see much progress over time and this can be frustrating.
We don’t see this nearly as often in people who dedicate themselves to extended phases of bulking and cutting.
It’s hard to provide specific evidence as to why bulking and cutting are more efficient than other approaches.
There are no studies that have compared this in large sample sizes.
If we think about this theoretically, an obvious example of engaging in both phases is bodybuilding.
Bodybuilding is a sport dedicated to body composition changes, and almost every single bodybuilder structures their phases based on these principles.

Recomping is possible but it’s less efficient. Otherwise, bodybuilders would just spend most of their offseason trying to recomp.
Recomping is a process of using targeted exercise and diet to transform your body shape or physique by shedding fat and building muscle at the same time.
A lot of research, looking at caloric deficits, individuals appear to maintain lean muscle mass well if they are consuming a high-protein diet and engaging in resistance training.
Physiologically the body does have a hormonal environment that changes in ways that are better suited for either muscle gain or fat loss, but not as much for both at the same time.
Psychologically, it’s also clearer when you have a main goal in your head for an extended period.

How Long Should a Muscle Gain Phase Be?

Muscle gain is a slow process.
Typically, we would set 3 months as the minimum.
Ideally, the rate of gain would be slow enough that you are not gaining excess body fat quickly.
No real maximum but it would be very rare to have somebody in a gaining phase for much longer than ~8 months without any form of a deficit.
The main reasons to end the surplus could be related to health, performance or aesthetics.

How Long Should a General Cutting Phase Be?

There is no right or wrong.
As a general rule we don’t like deficits to be planned to be more than 12 weeks long.
But there are many cases where people significantly exceed that number and still do very well.
If somebody still has good momentum, feels good, and wants to lose more body fat, there is no reason they need to stop at an arbitrary number of weeks.
Fortunately, we can lose body fat a lot more quickly than we can gain muscle. 0.5-1% of body weight loss per week is a great target. We would only go slower if it just happened to fit somebody’s lifestyle preferences.
Engaging in a fast cycle of this comes with more downsides like hunger, restriction, performance and recovery suffering, and potentially more muscle loss, although that is complex.

Thoughts on Aggressive Mini-Cuts

• From a body composition perspective, there is merit in them. Even 1% of body weight per week is arguably aggressive.
• There was one study in elite athletes where they compared 0.7% vs 1.4% weight loss per week while lifting and consuming a good amount of protein. The 0.7% group gained a small amount of muscle while the 1.4% lost a little bit.
• The gaining of muscle is kind of crazy when you think about it. Many people think they are guaranteed to lose muscle in a deficit. But even at a rate of 0.7% these people gained some.
• The other group is often cited as an example of why slower is better. But they got there twice as quickly?
• It’s very common in the bodybuilding world for people to do long off seasons where they bulk for ages, and then do an aggressive mini-cut for 4-6 weeks.
• The other stuff is an issue though as it’s tough to do. It’s restrictive and hunger is often an issue. Performance typically suffers too.
This option would be considered if the individual has a great track record of consistency.

Summary

It’s important to mention that if both bulking and cutting phases are done too quickly, outcomes such as gaining a decent amount of fat rather than muscle while bulking or losing muscle while undergoing a rapid cutting phase can occur.

Relevant Blogs/Resources

Research:

Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite

Podcasts:

Relevant Links:

How To Plan Your Cutting & Bulking Phases: Road Mapping Webinar