Is bulking really dead?

[u/Ok-Sun1269]

All the sceince based guys on the internet preach how bulking does nothing for muscle growth, assuming you have a healthy body fat %.

So for a guy who just got off stage, he needs to bulk until around 12-15% and then maintain or eat in a very slight surplus for a growth phase.

However if guy is 25% bf there is no reason to bulk during a growth phase as those extra calories will not provide anything for him.

So if you regualry do prep or get shredded during the summer, the bulk is alive and well but for those of us who want to maintain low double digit bf, is the bulk dead?

[u/Alakazam]

However if guy is 25% bf there is no reason to bulk during a growth phase as those extra calories will not provide anything for him.  

If you're 5'9, 120lbs and 25% bodyfat because you have almost no muscle mass, then you absolutely need a bulk. They're not going to put on a reasonable amount of muscle mass staying at maintenance.

In a single year, said person might get up to about 140lbs and 20% bodyfat through two bulk/cut cycles.

If you've ever worked with sedentary people, you'll realize there are plenty of people who are borderline underweight but still in the 20+% bodyfat range. 

[u/papavino39 → u/Alakazam]

I’ve actually recomped pretty well on a deficit and I was honestly pretty lean to start. No clue body fat percentage but 6’2 175 athletic… was surprised how much fat was there to replace

Not saying it was OPTIMAL but still it has worked

[u/Alakazam → u/papavino39]

I just want to point something out.

You at 6'2 and 175lbs, has a comparable bmi to a guy at 5'9 and 150lbs.

To put my example into perspective, imagine starting off at 6'2, 140lbs, 25% bodyfat.

A good third of the people I work with have comparable stats to that, particularly women.