Man, do I ever get this question a lot.
It’ll usually go something like this…
“Mark, I’m at XX% body fat and XXlbs. I’m not sure whether I should cut or focus more on gains for another while before cutting.”
For me, it’s all about what body fat percentage bracket you are in.
MuscleHack promotes a muscular-but-lean look. It’s about aesthetics as well as being strong. That’s my opinion and my preference.
With that said, being lean is important. So it’s your body fat percentage that is key to whether you should bulk or cut right now.
So I’ll now answer your question, diving people into 3 groups:
(1) At or under 10% body fat (17% for women)
(2) Between 11% and 15% (18% to 22% for women)
(3) Over 15% (22% for women)
You Are 10% Body Fat or Lower (females 17% or lower)
You should focus on…Lean Gains Only.
Keep that look. It can be difficult enough to cut to below 10% body fat. Keep it. You’ll look even better as you pack on mass.
How To Do It
Despite what anyone says, you don’t need a huge caloric surplus to build muscle. That’s why people get fat on a “bulk”.
You need to eat around 200-300 Calories above maintenance, while getting your daily protein requirement.
What You Need
(1) Use my free calculator here to figure out your daily calorie and protein needs.
(2) Use my free M.A.N.S. Bodybuilding Diet (carb cycling) or my free G.L.A.D. Bodybuilding Diet. They are equally effective. You pick which one you like based on your preferred food choices. If you like low-carb, go for MANS. If you love carbs, go for GLAD.
(3) Download my hypertrophy/growth routine by inputting your details below and start with my 3-day per week full body routine in the 8-12 rep range. That’s your training covered!
You Are 11 – 15% Body Fat or Lower (females 18%-22%)
You’ve 2 options here. The first….
You should focus on…Lean Gains Only.
But keep this as your priority for only for a maximum of 6 months (2 x THT training cycles). Then cut down to under 10% body fat.
How To Do It
Despite what anyone says, you don’t need a huge caloric surplus to build muscle. That’s why people get fat on a “bulk”.
You need to eat around 200-300 Calories above maintenance and get all your daily protein needs.
What You Need
(1) Use my free calculator here to figure out your daily calorie and protein needs.
(2) Use my free M.A.N.S. Bodybuilding Diet (carb cycling) or my free G.L.A.D. Bodybuilding Diet. They are equally effective. You pick which one you like based on your preferred food choices. If you like low-carb, go for MANS. If you love carbs, go for GLAD.
(3) Download my hypertrophy/growth routine by inputting your details below and start with my 3-day per week full body routine in the 8-12 rep range. That’s your training covered!
Your second option: cut first…
Cut now to under 10% body fat, then focus on lean gains only by implementing the 3 steps above.
How To Do It
Without a shadow of a doubt, a reduced-carb, reduced-calorie diet coupled with weight training is the single best way to remove body fat. Remember, we are not talking about “weight loss”. We are talking about body composition. We want to keep our lean mass and lose fat mass only.
Science has proven that a combo of diet & weight training is the single best way to lose fat Share on X
So if you want to cut now I highly recommend you get my Total Six Pack Abs program, which takes all of this into account. With your calories, macros, and training all dialed in 100% correctly, it’s simply a matter of time.
Please note that T.S.P.A. has its own hypertrophy-style training. You will not stop making gains in the gym just because you are cutting.
I have so much confidence in this product that TSPA comes with a 100% no-quibble money-back guarantee. You get your six-pack or you get your money back.
You Are Over 15% Body Fat (females over 22%)
Simple: You should focus on…Cutting.
If you let your fat levels increase further, it’s just going to make it that much harder and longer to get rid of it in the future. Do it now!
If you took a wrong turn when driving somewhere, you’ll know that the longer it took you to realise your mistake, the worse the problem became. It’s the same principle. Cut now, or just make life so much harder sometime down the line.
How To Do It
At the risk of repeating myself, the best way is with a reduced-carb, reduced-calorie diet coupled with weight training. We do not necessarily want “weight loss”, but a positive change in our body composition. We want to keep our lean mass and lose fat mass only.
My Total Six Pack Abs program takes all of this into account and works out the correct calories and macros based on your individual stats.
Another Option: Body Recomposition
You could do a “recomp” cycle.
A recomp or recomposition cycle is where you both lose fat and build muscle over the same period of time.
In doing this, you have to settle for a slower rate of fat loss to make it work. But it can absolutely be done. I cracked the “build and burn” code in 2012 and packaged it up in my Jacked ‘N’ Ripped program. At present, I am taking new clients on for this program…but only for another 24 hours [as of Nov 4th 2015]. Get details here.
If you have any questions about your training, get in touch with me below.
And also add me on social media here…
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JUST NEED TO START BUILDING MUSCLE?
Everything you need to start packing on muscle fast is taken care of in my powerful and FREE THT training.
Whether you need to know how many sets to do, how often to train a body, the best exercises to use, it’s all covered here!
You can download the full and free THT training program right now and start packing on mass like these guys did. You don’t have to go to your email to confirm anything. Once you click the button, you’ll be taken straight to the download page 😀 I operate a ‘Strictly Zero Spam‘ policy.
Train With Intensity!
Mark
This is why I love this site. I’ve been training for 5 years and always wanted a clear cut answer to this question. I could never get one.
I’m currently at 13%. So it’s cutting time for me until I hit 9%, then lean gains only from then on.
Mark, you’re a life-saver!! Thank you!!
Aaron.
Hi I’ve followed you for some time and love reading your emails, blogs etc. I have only just started training again after 4 months and I’m doing the level two Arni routine from his encyclopaedia, two day split to failure, training six times per week, although as I’ve lost my fitness, strength etc only doing four days per week.
I love your programmes but do tweak them slightly but wanted your opinion on the latest scientific research on timing of carbs. From what I understand if you consume fast digesting carbs using the fomular of 1g of Carbs to 1kg of bodyweight per hour at 30 minute intervals for 4 or even upto 6 hours after training (appreciate different countries may differ and I’m in the UK) that the carbs go directly into the muscle as opposed to storing as fat. Obviously with a whey shake after training also. If you could tell me what your thoughts are on this? Would you use this formula? Or do you only use the method of steady gains and what would be your preferred method and why?
I would appreciate your reply as I followed you for a while and respect your views
Thanks
Mike
Mark I have to completely agree with you here. Lean gains is the way to go when it comes to building muscle.
I for one have experienced all aspects of gaining muscle. From not gaining enough to gaining a heap of unneeded fat. People are ill-educated on the basics behind building muscle. They believe everything they read. Particularly: Eat big, get big.
No. Eat big, get fat.
Your Jack N’ Ripped looks interesting. It’s not something I’d want to follow now but are you able to share more about it?
Hi Mark, I Am using your systemamg getting an incredible body shape! However,my face is getting so thin that my bones are too obvious and people are telling me it doesn’t look nice. Is this inevitable? My body fat is 12% now!