Bodybuilding Forums

So... in 2010 (before I discovered MuscleHack), I did the standard "bulking up" routine prescribed for ectomorphs (hard gainers)--I ate A LOT & lifted as much as possible. I definitely got bigger--both, muscle & fat. So then I spent 2011 burning off all of the fat (without using cardio) following the basic tenants of MuscleHack. I look good... & maintained most of my strength (but not all), but did lose some muscle while burning off the fat.

Anyway, that brings us to 2012... I'm excited about lifting to gain again, but just want to make sure that I do it the right way... and only eat enough to add muscle, and no fat. Is my understanding correct, that if I follow the MuscleHack rules, that this is possible?

In short, instead of gaining 0.5 pound of muscle per week & 0.5 of fat. I'd be happy to just add 0.25 pound of muscle per week & no fat. This way I'll look cut all year & won't have to go through a cutting phase. This is doable right?

Mark's new system he is working on is promising muscle gain without fat gain. His current programs offer muscle gain with keeping fat gain to a minimum but you will gain fat. All you need to do is diet for a week or two to lose the fat you gained and then go back to adding muscle again. Don't go an entire year of adding muscle and fat before dieting down. Mark is hoping to have his new program available in Feb. Read his latest blog post.

Thanks! I'll stay tuned...

I'm with Vanguard on this one. I agree with everyhing he said in his reply. I would add to it by suggestion that wheather cutting or building carfull observation is what is needed. And never build or cut for too long a period. If we cut for to long we loose some strenght and muscle size and if we build for to long we gain fat. Set targets and stick to them. If you are 20% bf and you wan to get to 10% cut 4 or 5 % off and then build for a month or two (if you build as cleanly as possible yu may not increase your bf%) then cut the next 4 or 5% off. The same with building. If you are building towards a certain size build for a few months and if your bf% starts to then go up, cut for a few weeks to keep the fat off and then build some more. It's a simple system really, it just needs you to keep good records of your training diet, body measuremnts and bf %

Hope this helps.

I agree with Vanguard and Aaron. I am in a bulk phase...about 7 weeks in...I am going to take a week off, then go another 4-5 weeks...then cut. Now that I have gotten my calories right....I have added some fat during this bulk...my best guess is about 3-4 pounds of fat...and 5-6 muscle. Acfter the cut (since my intake was a bit too high for a few weeks) i will maintain 200 calories over maintenance and hope to see a 3-1 ratio of muscle to fat. I have also noticed that at 30 g of carb/day my workouts suffer a bit....I have gone to 50 g a day and things seem to be better. I do a Saturday carb up and that seems to help....just don't go crazy with it (like I did once or twice ). I have not tried a mid week carb up meal yet to see how that impacts workouts later in the week....but may try that next to see what happens. It will be a bit of trial and error the first few weeks for you...but do weekly measurements. Also...I find that monthly photos help me to see if anything is changing also (or not changing)...I went my first 30 days and felt stronger, but did not see much happening....so I changed my workout a bit (tempo and some exercises). I have made plenty of errors....but am learning from each one. Last thought....track everything so you know what is working.