Always bulk if you are close to or below 8% or 17% body fat for men or women, respectively. Always cut if you are close to or above 18% or 28% body fat for men or women, respectively. If between 8-18% (men) or 17-28% (women), you can choose either, depending on how lean you want to be in 2-3 months' time.
While 15% is a good guideline for many, a range of 10-20% is generally considered acceptable for bulking, with 10-15% often considered the sweet spot.
Generally, men should aim for around 10-15% body fat before bulking, while women should target around 18-25%. Personal Goals: Consider your fitness goals. If your aim is to build muscle, transitioning to a bulk phase while maintaining a healthy body fat percentage is advisable. Key Considerations:
If you're flirting with the upper end of that range, you might want to burn a bit of fat before bulking. If you're above 20% body fat, cutting is usually the best path. If you're skinny-fat and eager to bulk up, that's okay. You can build muscle just as leanly as anyone else, and perhaps more so.
Ideally, men should start their bulk around 8-10% BF and end it around 15-17%. Women should start at around 18-20% BF and end at around 25%. This, of course, maybe very slight, but there is little benefit to bulking once you are already toward the higher end of those ranges (and in fact, your body is less primed to bui.
25% body fat: There is almost no separation of muscles, no noticeable veins and no muscle striations. The man's waist begins to increase and he may have a little neck fat.
You should aim for a body fat percentage of around 10-15% for males and 23-30% for females to maximize muscle growth while minimizing fat gain. Staying within this range allows for the most efficient bulking without compromising strength or energy levels.
At 10% body fat, a man is just above his essential body fat level. At this body composition you will see muscle striations and definition, six pack abs, and look athletic and fit. However, you may not see as much vascularity as you would in single digit body fat levels.
There are other terms for this, such as build mode, but bulking is a common term for this caloric surplus. Dirty bulking is when an individual is in a caloric surplus to build muscle (build mode). However, the individual is eating foods that are carb dense, unhealthy, and ultra-processed out of convenience.
More challenging: Cutting can be more difficult than bulking since maintaining a low-calorie diet takes more self-control and willpower. Increased hunger: Because you are eating fewer calories when you are cutting, you could feel more hungry. Maintaining your diet and fitness routine may be difficult as a result.
The body fat percentage needed to see your pack of abdominal muscles falls somewhere around 14 to 20% for women and 6 to 13% for men. However, the ideal body fat percentage for abs can look slightly different per person, depending on how you carry weight, where you typically store fat, and your fitness routine.
Bulking is good for people who need to gain weight and for people who are in fact too low in bodyfat for optimal hormonal milieu for gaining muscle. Cutting is good for people who need to lose weight. And recomping is good for people who need simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss.
Clean bulking is when you set a relatively small calorie surplus and build muscle slower and in amore controlled way. You're less likely to gain body fat that way. Dirty bulking, on the other hand, is when you pay less attention to the size of your calorie surplus.
Another way to calculate your fat intake when bulking is using your bodyweight. The general recommendations are 0.5 – 2g of fats per kg of bodyweight. For our 80kg example, that would be anywhere from 40 – 160g of fats. Essentially, you wouldn't want to go below or above that range.
Underneath 20% would be the point you would no longer be able to visually see extra fat around the hip region. To give a exact percentage would be hard as everyone is different and we all store fat differently. Somewhere between 15 and 20 % depending on the person will ensure love handles are not visible in men.
Research shows the ideal fat percentage for men and women to gain muscle is 8-12% and 18-24%, respectively. The p-ratio describes what proportion of body weight gain is muscle.
Lean muscle is all about that shredded, sculpted look, while muscle bulk is more about sheer size and power. It's like the difference between a sleek race car and a hulking tank. Both have their advantages, so it all comes down to personal preference.
What does “skinny fat” look like? Phenotypically, they look lean and healthy, but when we check them out they have high levels of body fat and inflammation. This ectomorph body build has hidden high levels of body fat. They appear thin and flabby.
Now, for the age-old question: should you do cardio during bulking? The answer is yes, but with a balanced approach. Too much cardio can counteract the calorie surplus you need for muscle growth, making it harder to see progress.
18 – 20% Body Fat
At 18 – 20%, you can still see strong ab muscles, but the six pack may not be as defined. While there's usually a small amount fat on the hips, thighs and butt, it's not very noticeable. Some women reaching for higher levels of fitness prefer this look because it retains some curves.
🤔From 30% To 15% Body Fat | How Much Time? 🔑Short answer: Between 20-40 weeks (5 to 10 months) for most people that fully commit. The exact timeframe depends on your goals and past experiences with fat loss. If you just want to maintain muscle, you can push a bit harder and realistically get it done in 5-6 months.
Vascularity is enhanced by extremely low body fat (usually below 10%) and low retained water, as well as the muscle engorgement ("pump") and venous distension accentuated by the vigorous flexing and potentially hazardous Valsalva effect which characterize competitive posing.
👉 Here's the answer: Cut first: If your body fat percentage is above 20-25%. Bulk first: If you look lean but lack muscle size. But remember, bulking doesn't mean eating junk food, and cutting doesn't mean starving yourself!
While the number will be unique for you, most people can expect to gain between a half-pound to two pounds of muscle in a month with a targeted resistance training program and correct nutrition, usually including a surplus of calories. Gaining weight involves more than just adding muscle mass.
Male Body Fat Percentage: 15% – 19%
This is more of a lean look, with less muscle striations and vascularity. The definition on muscles goes down and there is not a clear separation between them. Most vascularity is gone, but some can still be seen on the arms.