drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
"Lean bulking" can help you build more muscle by facilitating anabolic processes [1, 2]. But since you need to be in a slight caloric surplus to achieve these benefits, you will inevitably gain some fat that can add up over the months.
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To control fat gain, it can be useful to have a short fat loss phase in the middle of your bulk. This is known as a "mini-cut." The main objective of a mini-cut is to allow you to continue bulking without having to build up excessive amounts of body fat.
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Since a mini-cut usually lasts around 3-6 weeks, you don't have to worry about excessive "metabolic slowdown" or muscle loss if you stay reasonable with your nutrition. You can drop down to a pretty aggressive caloric deficit of 20-25% right away in a mini-cut.
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A good target rate of weight loss for in your mini-cut is around 1% of total body weight per week, so you can plan for a 3-6% drop in total BW during your mini-cut.
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To control fat gain, it can be useful to have a short fat loss phase in the middle of your bulk. This is known as a "mini-cut." The main objective of a mini-cut is to allow you to continue bulking without having to build up excessive amounts of body fat.
-
Since a mini-cut usually lasts around 3-6 weeks, you don't have to worry about excessive "metabolic slowdown" or muscle loss if you stay reasonable with your nutrition. You can drop down to a pretty aggressive caloric deficit of 20-25% right away in a mini-cut.
-
A good target rate of weight loss for in your mini-cut is around 1% of total body weight per week, so you can plan for a 3-6% drop in total BW during your mini-cut.
