Should You Bulk or Cut? (It's Simple)
Summary
TLDRIn this fitness-focused discussion, John Meadows explores the age-old question of whether to bulk, cut, or attempt both simultaneously. He reminisces about the traditional bulk-and-cut approach from the 80s and 90s, contrasting it with modern strategies. Meadows emphasizes the importance of finding an 'ideal state' of body fat for optimal muscle growth and nutrient partitioning, suggesting a range of 8-15% for men and 15-20% for women. He advises against extreme caloric surpluses, recommending smaller surpluses based on individual training experience and genetic potential. The video concludes with insights on managing body fat through mini-cuts and the impact of external factors like chemical use on body transformation.
Takeaways
- 🏋️♂️ The traditional approach to bodybuilding involved bulking and cutting, but modern strategies focus on finding an 'ideal state' for muscle growth.
- 🍽️ In the past, bulking was done by consuming as many calories as possible, often without regard to the quality of the food.
- 🔍 John Meadows suggests an ideal body fat percentage for muscle growth is around 8-13% for men and 15-20% for women.
- 🚫 Excessive bulking can lead to a loss of muscle definition and is not recommended for long-term muscle growth.
- 💊 The use of performance-enhancing substances can skew the results and is not a typical approach for most individuals.
- 🏃♂️ When body fat percentage exceeds the ideal range, a 'mini cut' is recommended to reduce fat without losing muscle mass.
- 📉 For reducing body fat, a moderate caloric deficit of around 10-15% is suggested to minimize muscle loss.
- 📈 Beginners can benefit from a larger caloric surplus (500 calories), while more advanced lifters may only need a 300-400 calorie surplus.
- 🚹 The optimal caloric surplus varies by individual, including their training experience and proximity to their genetic potential.
- 🏆 Extreme examples, like those of professional athletes, are not representative of the average person's bodybuilding journey.
Q & A
What is the traditional approach to bulking and cutting that was popular in the 80s and 90s?
-In the 80s and 90s, the approach was to bulk up by eating as much as possible, then cut down later. There was no concept of 'clean' or 'dirty' bulking, and people simply focused on gaining weight through excessive calorie intake.
What is the 'power shove' method of bulking that John Meadows mentions?
-The 'power shove' method refers to eating as many calories as possible by force-feeding oneself to bulk up, without concern for how clean or dirty the calories are.
Why did John Meadows struggle to gain weight despite eating large amounts of food?
-John Meadows had a fast metabolism, so even though he was eating a lot of food, he didn’t gain much weight initially. It wasn’t until his later 20s that he started to see significant weight gain.
What lessons did Meadows learn from bulking up to 260 pounds?
-Meadows learned that bulking up to 260 pounds did not improve his muscle mass or overall appearance, and he ended up gaining a lot of fat. After dieting down, he looked worse than when he had bulked to a lower weight. This experience led him to realize that excessive bulking was not effective for him.
What is the 'ideal state' for bulking and gaining muscle, according to Meadows?
-Meadows believes the ideal body fat range for men to grow muscle efficiently is between 8-13% body fat. For women, it's between 15-20%. In this range, nutrient partitioning and insulin sensitivity are optimal, making it easier to gain muscle without excess fat.
Why is staying within the ideal body fat range important for muscle growth?
-Staying within the ideal body fat range helps maintain better insulin sensitivity, which improves nutrient partitioning. This allows muscles to absorb nutrients more effectively, reducing the likelihood of excessive fat gain.
What happens if someone goes into a large caloric surplus beyond their body's ability to grow muscle?
-Going into a large caloric surplus beyond what the body can use for muscle growth will result in excess fat gain. Meadows emphasizes that the body can only grow muscle so fast, so eating more calories doesn’t necessarily lead to more muscle gain.
What caloric surplus does Meadows recommend for beginners versus advanced lifters?
-For beginners, Meadows suggests a caloric surplus of around 500 calories per day. For more advanced lifters who are closer to their genetic potential, a smaller surplus of around 300-400 calories is recommended.
How does Meadows recommend cutting body fat when it exceeds the ideal range?
-Meadows recommends a gradual cut with a 10-15% reduction in calories to avoid losing muscle. He advises against drastic caloric deficits, as they can lead to muscle loss, which is counterproductive.
Why should extreme examples like Kevin Levrone and Lee Priest be viewed cautiously when discussing muscle gain?
-Extreme examples like Kevin Levrone and Lee Priest should be viewed cautiously because they may involve factors like muscle memory or chemical enhancement. These individuals are often regaining muscle they previously had, which is different from building new muscle.
Outlines
💪 The Evolution of Bulking and Cutting in Bodybuilding
John Meadows discusses the traditional approach to bulking and cutting in bodybuilding, which has evolved since the 80s and 90s. He reminisces about the 'power shove' method of eating without concern for diet quality, leading to significant weight gain. Meadows shares his personal experience of struggling to gain weight despite high calorie intake due to a fast metabolism. He also recounts his competitive experiences, highlighting the importance of finding an optimal body fat percentage for muscle growth, which he suggests is around 8-13% for men and 15-20% for women. He emphasizes the need for a balance between bulking and cutting to maximize muscle gain while minimizing fat accumulation.
🍽️ Balancing Caloric Intake for Optimal Muscle Growth
John Meadows delves into the importance of maintaining an ideal body fat percentage for efficient muscle growth and nutrient partitioning. He explains how insulin sensitivity and inflammation can be affected by excessively high body fat, impacting muscle gain. Meadows suggests that a moderate caloric surplus is crucial for muscle growth, but warns against extreme caloric intake, as it can lead to excessive fat gain. He advises on setting a caloric surplus based on individual training experience and genetic potential, with different recommendations for beginners and advanced trainees. Meadows also touches on the challenges of dieting for an extended period and the importance of not being overly aggressive with caloric restriction to preserve muscle mass.
🔄 Adjusting Body Fat Percentages for Continuous Progress
John Meadows addresses the strategy for managing body fat percentages to maintain an ideal state for muscle growth. He advises on how to adjust caloric intake to either increase or decrease body fat percentages effectively. Meadows stresses the importance of not letting body fat get too high or too low, as it can hinder progress and lead to unnecessary complications. He provides guidance on how to perform a 'mini cut' to reduce body fat without losing muscle mass, suggesting a moderate caloric deficit of 10-15%. Meadows also cautions against using extreme examples of bodybuilders who have successfully gained muscle after significant fat gain, as these cases often involve regaining muscle rather than building new muscle, and can be misleading.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bulking
💡Cutting
💡Dirty Bulking
💡Clean Bulking
💡Caloric Surplus
💡Body Fat Percentage
💡Insulin Sensitivity
💡Nutrient Partitioning
💡Genetic Potential
💡Mini Cut
Highlights
Discussion on whether to bulk, cut, or do both in bodybuilding and fitness.
Historical perspective on bulking and cutting methods from the 80s and 90s.
Introduction of terms like 'clean bulk' and 'dirty bulk' in the 2000s.
Personal experience with bulking up using the 'power shove method'.
Challenges faced by individuals with fast metabolisms in gaining weight.
The importance of finding an ideal body fat percentage for optimal muscle growth.
Observations on insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning at different body fat levels.
The impact of high body fat percentages on insulin sensitivity and muscle growth.
Strategies for managing body fat and muscle growth for both men and women.
The concept of 'mini cuts' to maintain an ideal body fat range during muscle growth.
Importance of not exceeding the body's capacity for muscle growth with excessive caloric intake.
Practical advice on setting a caloric surplus for muscle growth based on experience level.
The role of genetics in determining one's muscle growth potential.
Considerations for adjusting caloric intake based on body fat percentage changes.
Advice against aggressive caloric restriction when trying to reduce body fat.
The significance of maintaining an ideal body fat percentage for performance and health.
Discussion on the variability in muscle growth responses among individuals.
Cautionary notes on using extreme examples for general fitness advice.
Final thoughts on achieving and maintaining an optimal body composition for muscle growth.
Transcripts
all right hi everybody john meadows here
and uh today i wanted to talk about
should you bulk or should you cut or can
you do both at the same time
it's a question that comes up all the
time now and i think it's a great
question
it's interesting because back when i
started in the 80s and 90s
you never heard the terms clean block
dirty ball
like those terms didn't even exist there
was only one way to do things
you balked up and then you got cut like
there was no other way to do it
and the way that you bulked up it didn't
really matter
you just ate as much as you could
possibly eat
it's a method that i call the power
shove method you just shove down
calories
until you couldn't eat anymore um in
fact i remember
when i was training growing up at world
gym
over there there it was right across the
street from orion's buffet
so we would train really hard then we
would walk across the street we'd go to
the buffet and we could eat so we
couldn't stand it anymore i mean we
would eat
a lot and that was just the way we did
things now the interesting thing is so
some people
um they eat non-stop but they really
don't gain any weight
you know those people just have fast
metabolisms i was one of those people
so i could say i was dirty bulking but
the reality was i was getting all the
calories that i could and i still
couldn't gain any weight so i don't even
really call that dirty bulking you're
not even
in a caloric surplus and i remember
eating
peanut butter buddy and peanut butter
honey and banana sandwiches
was my go-to for gaining weight and i
remember
drinking the gallon of whole milk every
day i did all that stuff but it wasn't
until i got
deeper into my 20s that i really started
gaining weight so you couldn't really
call that a dirty ball because
even then it still wasn't enough
calories to even grow but anyways i'm
kind of getting off
uh sidetrack here and somewhere around
about 2001
i think is where this stuff started
making more sense to me so
in 2000 i was i i competed in the
mystery usa
out in las vegas and i got eighth place
and i was pretty happy with how i looked
so
i came back the next year in 2001
um so the off season in 2000 i had got
up to about 240 pounds
and really liked the way i looked when i
got to the show which was about i was
around 212 pounds if i remember right 2
11 212.
and then in 2001 i bulked up to 260
and in order to get to 260 i had to eat
non-stop
i mean i remember i had a corporate job
at the time i remember my desk drawer
had boxes of pop-tarts it had
pork rinds i mean everything you can
think of and i ate
non-stop i got up to 260
and i want to try to find a picture so
you can see how fat my head was i had
this
charlie gigantic charlie brown head
and those of you who don't know me from
the old days everybody thinks oh you've
always been cut
no i got really fat so anyways i got the
260
and then i had to dye it down really
hard because i had gained a lot of fat i
was wearing 40 inch
waist pants and i had just gained
a lot of fat so i had to go much lower
in calories much lower in carbs i had to
do more cardio
and what happened was i got down to my i
ended up
weighing about the same that i did the
year before but i actually looked worse
so i had to dye it so hard my body just
had kind of this tiring out
tired out look to it it didn't look good
and i ended up paying the price and i
got
i think i had like 13th place i got my
butt kicked
and then the next year i said to myself
you know going from 240 to 260 did me no
good
it did mean no good so uh the next year
i only got up to 235 or 240
and when i came back down i thought i
looked really good again i placed in a
really tough nationals
it was a very very tough competition i
was in the second call out at that show
back in dallas texas
and i never really did that bulking up
again
and i continued through the years to
increase my body weight particularly
in uh 2011 2012 when i think you guys
have heard the story
my competition weight shot up in the
220's
and my off season weight was only like 2
30 2 32.
so i began to kind of see some things
and maybe that old style of bulking and
cutting
probably wasn't the best and through the
years i've obviously worked with a lot
of people
and what i come to realize is i think
there's this
ideal state that you're in to grow the
fastest
and i think for most guys it's probably
somewhere between eight percent body
found or low end
to maybe 12 or 13 percent maybe 15
but probably more like 12 or 13 i think
when you're in that
um range body fat i think that's when
people kind of
gain muscle the fastest and their
nutrient partitioning
seems to be better i've talked about
insulin sensitivity and things like that
in other videos your ability for your
muscles to kind of suck in nutrition
amino acids and carbs and so forth
and if you start getting like really
really that 15
20 body fat if you start getting that
really really high
you know your insulin sensitivity gets
worse uh
your body gets some inflammation and
those things do have an impact
on your ability to gain muscle so
and i think for a woman it's probably
somewhere around 15 to 20 percent
would be would be what i would observe
in terms of this ideal state
so that's what i like to see i like to
see people in that
ideal state and then they can
get into a little bit of a caloric
surplus and you can continue to try to
gain muscle now if you're in that state
the cool thing is
um you can still gain a little bit of
fat and you're okay
um to a certain point you know
um and then you also aren't really
really really fat
so you don't have to go through this
period where you're really really fat
so it means when you get to the higher
fat you can actually like let's say you
get up to 17 body fat
boom it's time to do a little little
mini cut and then you don't have to diet
as long so
let me that might have been a little
unclear so i like for people to get into
this 8 to 12
body fat range for males maybe 15 to 20
for meat for females
if you can get into this caloric surplus
and you can continue to gain
try to gain muscle and try to gain
weight and then when your fat starts
getting out of that range
like say 15 16 for guys then it's time
to bring it back down into the range
and it shouldn't take too long so
hopefully that makes a little more sense
and then if you're under that range
let's say you're five percent body fat
then you're obviously gonna
you don't wanna be super super super
lean
uh either um because hormonally
it's just not real good for your
endocrine system to be that lean all the
time
and then also your joint integrity if
you're that lean
sometimes you're at risk for injuries
just due to your joints so try to get in
this performance this ideal state of
body fat and get into a little bit of a
surplus
now how big of a surplus well here's the
thing that people miss
muscle can only grow so fast so let's
say you
your maintenance level is at 3000
calories that's what it takes to just
keep you normal
let's say you bump it up to 3 500
calories and you're growing
let's say you bump up to 4 000 calories
and you're still growing
does that mean 4 500 calories you're
still going to grow as much
muscle is fast no you may not grow any
more muscle because you can only grow
so fast that facts we call those are
fats you can only grow so fast
or else we could all just eat ten
thousand calories and be massive
but that's not how the body works you
can only accumulate muscle tissue so
fast
so eating beyond that makes no sense at
all
because all you're going to do is gain
fat so
let's say the person at 3 000 calories
goes up to 3 500 and they're gaining
muscle
um and maybe a little bit of fat so if
they go to 4 000 calories
maybe they'll gain no muscle and it'll
be all fat
so where that caloric surplus is varies
but i can tell you this if you think
that it's just a matter of going to five
thousand
seven thousand nine thousand calories i
think it's a really bad idea because you
can only gain
so much so fast with muscle guess what
has virtually no limit though and
gaining fat
so if you want to just can't gain a ton
of fat then yeah just go to 10 000
calories eat as much as you want
now we all have that friend that eats 7
000 calories and stays lean there's
always these
uh examples but they're not really in a
surplus
you know it sounds like a lot of food
but for them it's normal
so really it just comes down to what's
normal for you
then maybe it's a 500 calorie surplus
now here's the other thing
you can gain a lot more muscle a lot
more quickly when you're kind of newer
to this to nowhere to
training so a 500 calories maybe a 700
calorie surplus for someone who's pretty
noodle lifting might work perfect for
them
but you get someone who's real advanced
and then the 700 cal
they can remember they can only grow so
fast and
as you advance up in a scale in terms of
how uh
you know how close you are to your
genetic potential now it's even harder
to gain muscle
so now that number that was 500 calories
it might be 300
right so so there's a couple factors in
play it's it's
how much how experienced are you in
training how close are you
to your genetic potential because the
higher you are
then the less likely you are to gain
more muscle
so hopefully that makes sense and that
would tell you that these guys that are
you know these bodybuilders that you
know are very advanced for them to get
into a 2 000 calorie surplus is not a
good idea they can you can only
gain weight so fast and then that's even
harder as you get closer to
your genetic potential so
some other considerations so how long
so okay so let me back up a little bit
so then you get up
you know you're in that say you say
you're a god and you get up into that 16
17 percent body fat range
you remember remember i said i want to
get you in that ideal state
so now how do you get back down to the
ideals
to the ideal state so now you do a
little mini cut now this should be easy
because you're not 25 you you kind of
kept
kept everything in check you grew as
fast as you could grow but
but you didn't eat so much that you just
got fat unnecessarily
right so now how do you get down back
into the
well obviously you go into a caloric
deficit it's not rocket science i think
everybody
listening to this probably knows that
the question becomes how do you get back
into the deficit do you get really
aggressive with your caloric restriction
you cut your calories 25 35 well i would
tell you that that's
too aggressive and the reason why is
because the higher that deficit becomes
the more likely you are to lose muscle
and you don't want to lose muscle it's
simply
too hard to build so i would say more
like a 10 to 15
reduction in calories should be what
you're targeting until you get back down
to that
ideal state and then you can bring your
calories back up so now if you've done
that getting back down in that state it
may take two weeks maybe three maybe
four
but it's not bad like anyone who's
dieted can handle three or four weeks
what's hard is like 10 weeks 16 weeks 20
weeks
that's when it becomes really really
difficult so
the thing i want you to take away from
this video is i want you to be in that
ideal state
if you're above it i want you to get
down into it if you're below it i want
you to get up into it
and then once you're into it you can do
your you know 200 300 400 500 calorie
surplus
i think if you're newer to weightlifting
a 500 calorie surplus is is good
i think if you're more advanced i think
maybe a 300 or 400 calorie surplus is
probably good
and then probably half that for women
now
there are certain exceptions you know
you're going to have
oh well i know lee priest did this he
got really fat he was successful
there's always people outside of the
normal range and there's a lot of
factors involved you may have somebody
who's
for example who's taking a break and
they're coming back
like uh kevin lebron for example kevin
was famous for
not training in the offseason and then
all of a sudden gaining a ton of muscle
leading up to a show
well kevin is regaining muscle he
already had
that there's a big difference between
muscle you already have
versus building new muscle there's a
huge difference all right i could quit
training for
for three or four months and lose a lot
of muscle and i could probably get it
all back in a month and then i could put
up some pictures about oh look how i
gained
20 pounds of muscle no that's very very
misleading so you can't use like a kevin
lebron for example
uh you can't use like a lead priest and
these extreme examples
um you just got to be really careful
with those examples and then obviously
and obviously i really want to get into
it but you have the chemical aspect too
people
take a lot of different chemicals and
things like that which skews all the
numbers as well but
most of you aren't in that boat so
anyways i hope that helps
i hope that helps shed light on what you
should do and again it depends kind of
what this
what your state is and you know are you
20 body fat are you 12 or you're five
because my answer is going to depend on
those things before i say you should do
this or this or this
so anyways short video today i hope you
enjoyed it
and we will see you next time
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