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> It's mostly impossible to both gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. This is wrong, I've done this repeatedly and seen dozens of other people do it. Lif

> It's mostly impossible to both gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. This is wrong, I've done this repeatedly and seen dozens of other people do it. Lift heavy, eat at break even or a slight calorie defecit. It is significantly harder to do this if you're close to your frame's natural muscular limits, but most people aren't.

silisili 3y ago
I'm gonna need a source. Because for some odd reason I've known more than one bodybuilder in my life who has explained to me this is the reason behind bulking and cutting. I have trouble believing they were wrong all along and could do it all at once. To be clear, I'm absolutely not a lifter or bodybuilder, so I'm playing a secondary source at this point.
- raverbashing 3y ago
  > more than one bodybuilder... explained this is the reason behind bulking and cutting Yes, this is the reason for them
- reaperman 3y ago
  Bodybuilders are notoriously terrible at knowing why things work for them. They generally know one version of "what" works but the "why" is often rather made-up ex post facto. That said, the "bodybuilding meta" regarding Bulking/Cutting has evolved in the past decade. Now it's widely accepted that bulking/cutting cycles are probably merely the most efficient way to grow big and only need to "look good" for shows 1-3 times per year. It's also becoming accepted that "recomposition" (losing fat and gaining muscle) is real, and a very useful practice for bodybuilders who need to look good year-round (fitness models, instagram models, social influencers). The year-round nature of daily/weekly direct engagement with fans has driven significant changes in the bodybuilding community. These days, it's believed that recomposition is a valid strategy if you can afford the "slow and steady" pace. If you need to get as big as possible in a limited number of months, and only need to look perfect for a specific target time window, then "bulking and cutting" allows the fastest size growth in the available time (actors preparing for a specific upcoming role, bodybuilders who are competing in an upcoming show). Note also that for most bodybuilders, the aggressive cutting phase requires a fairly large amount of steroids to minimize dramatic loss of muscle mass.
- Hermitian909 3y ago
  From my post: > It is significantly harder to do this if you're close to your frame's natural muscular limits, but most people aren't. It is true that bulk/cut cycles are much more efficient at putting on mass and it's absolutely the path that anyone trying to min-max their gains should follow, but that's not the demographic we're talking about. In general I would not assume that every body builder actually knows the science behind muscle growth, many are cargo culting a small number of serious people who do know the science and offer recommendations on the most effective ways to build muscle.

silisili 3y ago

I'm gonna need a source. Because for some odd reason I've known more than one bodybuilder in my life who has explained to me this is the reason behind bulking and cutting. I have trouble believing they were wrong all along and could do it all at once. To be clear, I'm absolutely not a lifter or bodybuilder, so I'm playing a secondary source at this point.

raverbashing 3y ago
> more than one bodybuilder... explained this is the reason behind bulking and cutting Yes, this is the reason for them
reaperman 3y ago
Bodybuilders are notoriously terrible at knowing why things work for them. They generally know one version of "what" works but the "why" is often rather made-up ex post facto. That said, the "bodybuilding meta" regarding Bulking/Cutting has evolved in the past decade. Now it's widely accepted that bulking/cutting cycles are probably merely the most efficient way to grow big and only need to "look good" for shows 1-3 times per year. It's also becoming accepted that "recomposition" (losing fat and gaining muscle) is real, and a very useful practice for bodybuilders who need to look good year-round (fitness models, instagram models, social influencers). The year-round nature of daily/weekly direct engagement with fans has driven significant changes in the bodybuilding community. These days, it's believed that recomposition is a valid strategy if you can afford the "slow and steady" pace. If you need to get as big as possible in a limited number of months, and only need to look perfect for a specific target time window, then "bulking and cutting" allows the fastest size growth in the available time (actors preparing for a specific upcoming role, bodybuilders who are competing in an upcoming show). Note also that for most bodybuilders, the aggressive cutting phase requires a fairly large amount of steroids to minimize dramatic loss of muscle mass.
Hermitian909 3y ago
From my post: > It is significantly harder to do this if you're close to your frame's natural muscular limits, but most people aren't. It is true that bulk/cut cycles are much more efficient at putting on mass and it's absolutely the path that anyone trying to min-max their gains should follow, but that's not the demographic we're talking about. In general I would not assume that every body builder actually knows the science behind muscle growth, many are cargo culting a small number of serious people who do know the science and offer recommendations on the most effective ways to build muscle.