Once weight is sorted - then what?

[boltsmidgets]

Just a general question more than anything. I'm working to put on 3-4kg within the next month or two by eating more calories and having 4x1hour gym sessions a week. So far so good! Im eating in excess of 2500 calories and the gyms going great.

The question i have is, once i've gained that 3-4 kg is this when you get into what i assume is the "cutting" phase? Ive only seen people talking about it without really knowing what it is.

If so, im assuming my calorie intake gets reduced and maybe introduce cardio?

Does your weight training change? heavier weights? more reps? etc

Im looking at getting as trim a stomach as possible, as quick as possible but also greatly increase chest and arm size. This is sounding like a bit of a girl post aint it? lol

At the moment im quite small and weak for my frame ( 6ft, 73kg ) so really need to make as much gains and then 'cuts' as quickly as possible.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

what sort of over all time frame do you have to shred the fat & bulk up?

did you get your body fat % checked yet?

3-4kg in the 1 month is very unlikely to be pure muscle mass

if at these beginning stages you bulk up for only a month at a time then cut again then you're gonna be cursed as one of those guys who never gets results. the way to bulk up if you want it fast is to accept that fat will come with it and keep bulking for a while until you've reached a decent amount of muscle gains (monitor this using body measurements/bodyfat %). once that goal has been acheived, then you cut down.

since you're just starting, over the next few months as long as you work out hard and keep a good eye on those calories (don't let them be too low or too high over target) then there's nothing stopping you from both gaining a bit of muscle as well as losing fat over that period. that's the usual way but you do need to give it some time for your body to stabilise in the most muscular state it can be in given the calories you're feeding it.

if your primary focus is to be lean quickly then another approach is to just go on a full cut phase until you've reached a very lean state and then go through a lean bulk. ©lean bulking is where you don't eat too high above your maintenance calories therefore gain minimal fat. the weight gains will come slowly purely because muscle takes a while to build but pretty much all of your gains will be coming in from muscle in this phase. it's also a common approach if you're looking to keep the 'cuts' all year long.

[boltsmidgets]

Thanks Ron. Im getting my body fat checked this arvo so can post my results then.

The time frame i gave myself for bulking up 3kg and then cutting is 12 weeks but im going to continue doing what im doing now for the next 6+ months and see what changes occur in regards to physique.

But im kind of liking the idea of the 'cut phase' and lean bulk. If this is still going to give me the definition in my chest, arms and stomach then why not?

Damn, now im caught between a rock and a hard place.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Thanks Ron. Im getting my body fat checked this arvo so can post my results then.

The time frame i gave myself for bulking up 3kg and then cutting is 12 weeks but im going to continue doing what im doing now for the next 6+ months and see what changes occur in regards to physique.

But im kind of liking the idea of the 'cut phase' and lean bulk. If this is still going to give me the definition in my chest, arms and stomach then why not?

Damn, now im caught between a rock and a hard place.

sounds good then, at least you are not trying to be arnold mode by xmas and willing to give yourself some time to do it properly.

if i may make a suggestion to help fix that confusion i caused:

when people start working out, their body is feeling a bit shocked from suddenly using these muscles which it didn't really use before.

during this time (roughly first 3~4 months) the body works really hard to try build as much muscle as possible... if you want to take maximum advantage of this phase then you should be feeding it the nutrients it needs to grow rather than waste away any cutting down (cutting = caloric deficit = not optimal situation for taking advantage of accelerated muscle growth period). in other words, bulk for now and cut later (since 6ft ~70kg you aren't exactly very fat to begin with)

[boltsmidgets]

Thanks Ron - appreciate it.

Will post my BF shortly

[severe]

I found that as I got to a goal, I wanted more. You may find yourself continuing to gain an elusive level of strength or size.

Like tattoos...

The reality is that you may just continue forever. True life.

[Pabs]

Like tattoos...

The reality is that you may just continue forever. True life.

Agreed. I only ever wanted one tattoo and that was over 20 years ago. I now have 19. It would help though if they were visible under all my body hair. :doh:

[Grover]

Like tattoos...

The reality is that you may just continue forever. True life.

Agreed. I only ever wanted one tattoo and that was over 20 years ago. I now have 19. It would help though if they were visible under all my body hair. :doh:

To misquote a line from a movie

Wax on, Wax off

You will probably be surprised how much more definition of what you have achieved results.

[boltsmidgets]

BF = 13.9%

This was measured today at the gym. Not sure if this is good, bad or just ok?

So where to from here, keep doing what im doing or change it up a little?

[Pseudonym]

Yep, that's not bad. 14% is about average - possibly on the athletic side of average.