Is Bulking Then Cutting A Good Weight Management Strategy For The Average Person?

Photo of Karina at the gym

Body builders eat in a surplus to build muscle tissue then cut calories to shred off the fat to reveal the gained muscle. This strategy of bulking and cutting has made its way into the average gym goer’s concept of what they should be doing to look fit.

As a powerlifter I decided to cut fat in order to make it into a lower weight category. I expected to look lean and muscular. Before the cut my biceps felt pretty big inside my fat covered arms. My abs felt hard and thick. I figured they will protrude and look spectacular once the fat melts. When the fat melted I was shocked how much muscle was not there. My abs did not protrude. When it comes to my arms you couldn’t tell I lift unless I flexed in your face.

Some may say that I didn’t eat right. Wrong. I ate more protein than usual. I focused on getting all my nutrients in. Whether in food or pill form. I took my creatine.

Now I did maintain some muscle. I looked better. Plus I maintained my strength. Which as a powerlifter was the most important thing here. But I was disappointed at how much muscle mass went bye-bye.

So How Do Body Builders Do It?

Most of them take anabolic steroids. Steroids allow more of the food you eat to go towards…