Well this has been a good read. I don't have much to add to the definitions mentioned above but I would like to add to what Eric said about people think fat being some magical anabolic...

I had this attitude when I tried my hand at bulking this fall. I didn't really pay any attention to my macros, I just kept my protein as hig has I could and ate any and every kind of carb out there. I *did* gain mass... quite a bit of it....about 17lbs in ~3months which I was quite proud of. However, now all of a sudden I want to try to get "cut" for the beach so of course I use the cutting diet. (I think it qualifies as cutting and not fat loss as I wasnt' *that* fat lol and I was in pretty good shape as far as my lifting went.

Now that I've been cutting since about Dec 10 I realize that I had put on alot of extra fat during my bulk. My mass gain was probably more like 10-12lbs muscle and the rest fat. So, I can see why people think the fat is the magic anabolic...if you eat like a maniac without paying attention to your macros you will gain mass faster...but its not all muscle.

Now that I've been through one of each cycle properly I realize that a good clean bulk is probably the best solution for me and most everyone. It reduces the amount of effort it will take to get down to "cut" if you want to for some reason and pretty much eliminates the need for the on-going cycling effect. If you're continually cycling, you will slow your overall growth.

So, if you are at a reasonable body fat % then bulk cleanly. It will payoff in the end. However, to get to that reasonable body fat level, some may have to use the "fat loss" as mentioned above.

Thats all I have to say. Feel free to argue any point I made. I'm not *that* experienced but I've tried a few different things and have seen some results.

IronWorker