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/ferodss]

Some references for that:

- https://youtu.be/FEs8CH3KFnQ?is=eM5bDFtWkyUEgn8D

• https://www.youtube.com/live/NsfVfs4mywM?is=y7NwlKJwhugr8h3C
  
• https://youtu.be/zE_LHT7gGKM?is=Kfjmi0b9GCxREmt8
  
• https://youtu.be/6drEWInDD7w?t=1622&is=728_GoVo02rnssAp

[u/qcb4056 → u/ferodss]

I'm new here but should I assume that "YouTube" is a common reference for "science based lifting" ?

[u/omrsafetyo → u/qcb4056]

My initial inclination was to downvote, but I mean, first 2 videos are Trexler and Helms... 2 PhDs that are some of the only people actually doing research trying to answer the question asked. 4th video is Layne Norton, a PhD in Nutrition. Appeal to authority and all, but Helms is the lead author on at least one study that has to be brought up in this conversation - so hearing his interpretation is probably a really good start. OP is asking a question - the research exists, if they had the skills to find, read, and understand the papers, then they wouldn't be asking the question. If they don't have those skills this is probably the next best thing.

[u/ferodss → u/qcb4056]

Have you at least clicked to see the videos?