Updated in October 2023.

Should you cut or bulk first?
 
A dilemma we’ve all faced at least once.
 
You may be wondering, “Am I lean enough to bulk? Or should I cut first and bulk later?”
 
This indecision is holding you back from making any progress at all in either direction.
 
I’ve been there. Three years ago, I spent six months stagnating because I couldn’t commit to a bulk, but I also didn’t want to cut again because I’d just finished one such phase.
 
This article is going to spare you all of that and take you through a thought process to help you make the best decision to attain the physique you want.
 
This thought process includes the following assessments:

1. Which is going to improve your health the most: losing fat or gaining muscle?
2. Which phase can you commit to for at least three months in this stage of your life?

 
If you haven’t already, complete a Kickstart Phase first to prime yourself for either bulking or cutting, then come back to this post and dive in.

​Bulking is the process of building new muscle mass through a combination of training and nutrition. It’s empowering and rewarding, but it can be daunting if you’ve never done it before.
 
In order to arm you with the knowledge you need to approach a bulking, or muscle-building, phase successfully, this article is going to address the following questions:

• What does “bulking” mean?
• Who is it for?
• What are the priorities in a bulking phase?
• How do you structure training?
• How do you structure your diet?

 
To make the most of a bulking phase, I recommend you start with this article and run a Kickstart Phase.
 
When you’re done, come back to this bulking guide and keep reading.
 
It’s time to put some muscle on.

​If you’re relatively new to the pursuit of a leaner and stronger physique, you may be asking yourself: “Should I cut or bulk?”
 
Indeed, it’s a question I get a lot during clients’ initial consultations.
 
To start, let’s get our terms straight. A “cut” is a fat loss phase, focused on body fat reduction. A “bulk” is a muscle-building phase, focused on an increase in muscle mass.
 
So, which one should you do first?
 
My answer to these newbie clients is: Neither.
 
If you’ve never done a properly structured bulk or cut, you may not have the skills to get the most from either just yet. Imagine if your primary school teacher asked you to write a novel before you learnt the alphabet. Would you have been able to do it?
 
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
 
All aspects of training and nutrition require knowledge and skill, so you need practice. 
 
That’s why, before you cut or bulk, you need the Kickstart Phase, an initial stage that I guide all of my newbie clients through in order to boost their future results.
 
In this article, I’ll take you through the answers to these questions:
 

• Who needs a Kickstart Phase?
• Why does it help?
• What results can you expect?
• How long does it last?
• How do you set it up?

 
Let’s kick things off with:

​Are you at the beginning of your fitness journey and want to design your own workouts? Then you’re in the right place. Read this article and learn to apply basic principles of exercise science to create your own full-body training sessions.
 
First of all, I’ll be completely honest with you: A single blog article is no substitute for a personal trainer or coach, who can teach you correct form and draw upon their expertise and experience to craft a training program suited to your current fitness level, skills, and individual body.
 
But not everyone has access to a coach, and some training is better than no training.
 
As a beginner, what you need the most are consistency and practice, so you can get great results for months with a simple, well-structured full-body workout.
 
I trained this way three days a week for six months when I started bodybuilding. I have clients who do the same, even if they’re not beginners anymore, and still get incredible results.
 
Now that I’ve spent long enough singing the praises of full-body training, let’s get into the basics.
 
In order to create a science-based muscle-building workout, you need to understand:
 

• Exercise selection
• Exercise order
• Reps
• Sets
• Rest intervals
• Tempo

 
Ready? Strap in.