Cutting & Bulking

Cutting or bulking is generally not determined by what sets and reps you do (as many seem to believe). Everyone has a basic caloric intake that will maintain their bodyweight. It is different for everyone and it changes over time depending on:

-lean muscle mass
-strength level
-male/female (hopefully this doesn't change over time lol)
- activity level (do you do cardio? do you have an intense job? do you sit at a desk all day?)

There are few other factors but those are the primary ones. There are several caloric needs calculators out there and if you search you will find them... If you give me your age/height/weight, how active you are, and what your max lifts are I can probably give you a good estimate to start at in terms of calories.

Set yourself up a meal plan that you eat every day. Lets use 2500 cals per day as an example starting point. If you follow that meal plan for a week or two (and you also follow your weight lifting routine) and you find at the end of the week (or two) that you have not gained or lost any weight ...

If you want to GAIN weight then INCREASE the cals by 250 per day or so.

If you want to LOSE weight then DECREASE the cals by 250 per day or so.

Then monitor your weight for another week or 2 and see if you have lost or gained. If still nothing has happened then increase or decrease another 250.

The more consistent you stay with your meal plan (and exercise routine) the easier it will be to determine how many cals to add or subtract. It's all about finding your BALANCE POINT of calories and then adjusting your calories ever so slightly to suit your goals.

IW