Is it possible to gain muscle without doing a bulk? Topic


Right now I guess you can say I'm "cutting". I've cut my calories and have started doing intense cardio 3-4 days a week to drop fat and inches. I'm going to be getting back to lifting at the gym as well. My goal is to lose 10-12 more pounds and add back another 5-10 pounds in muscle. I've read articles (and seen posts from people who claim to "know it all") that the ONLY way to put on muscle is to do a bulk after you do a cut which basically means you eat a ton of calories to put fat back on and then you put the muscle on. The thing is I don't want to put fat back on. I'd rather just be able to lift and add some "definition" (for lack of a better term).

Is this even possible?


I know from my own experience that I have continued to lose fat and gain muscle by cardio 3-6 days a week and weights 3 days a week. The closer I got to my weight goal the harder it was (hungry from the exercise). By really focusing on my nutrition I have done just fine! I have followed my workouts with good protein and carbs and have tried to not have junk calories during the day. Key is to fuel well after your workout. I have experimented with alternating really low carb days with regular days - that mostly helps me be really focused and disciplined - the really low carb days end up being low cal because when I do eat I don't want to do too much protein at once. I am still working on the last 5 lbs. It takes a while but eventually you'll get there!!


Just thought of this too...I associate the bulking/cutting with body builders prepping for an event not women who just want to be really fit all of the time (ME!). Because I have lost so much weight, there is no way I would gamble going back to over eating intentionally for a while (like offering a recovering alcoholic a drink!!). Slow and steady wins this one - at least for me that's true.


There was a recent study that showed IN MEN, greater lean mass gain and greater fat mass loss during energy deficit when dietary protein intake was 2.4 g protein/kg body weight + high intensity interval training combined with weight resisistance exercise for 6 days/week. The study sounds grueling in terms of the workouts but it worked.

Justjennie, we don't know if that works for women though. The study only looked at men.

Instead of losing and then gaining, why not get your body fat tested and base your weight loss on changing composition to lower body fat? Keep cardio+regular weight reiststance in place AND keep protein high AND create a calories deficit. You can shift your body comp without a huge weight change. That's just another approach.


I can try that. I know I have to make an appointment for my physical and the doctor was going to use a Dexa scanner to gather all that info.


HIIT is known through many clinical studies to protect muscle loss during "cutting". I would do that right now or your goal of how much muscle to gain may be off. All that cardio + low cal will remove muscle right now.
During the bulking phase you still need controlled calories (more of them but don't go crazy-this is the trickiest number to figure out!) and you need to eat CLEAN! You can't reach for the pizza and soda and think you will gain only muscle due to weight training. Also you need significantly more protein in the diet.


Yes hiit is just the best ..!! You can search it on YouTube and there are a bunch of good workouts . My favourite is the 20min hiit workout ??????


I have found through trail and error with my body that it works best for me to cut first. Get BF where I want to be. Then add 100-200 cals to my daily meals and gain very slowly. Only add more cals when good gains have been plateaued for 2 weeks. Once again, at that point, add another 100-200 calories. If you gain it slow and workout hard, it won't be fat. Remember also, you need protein to build muscle so have some protein in every meal.


I found above information very helpful. Thanks for sharing


If you are cutting with a caloric deficit and eating a lot of protein, you'll get to the same point without all the cardio. The diet is the driving point.

Is it possible to gain muscle without doing a bulk?