Is phasing bulking and cutting necessary for natural training?

[Wizzle]

I often hear people talking about bulking and cutting cycles while not using steroids. I've looked into it and it seems to me this is not necessary at all. I get that you metabolism speeds up majorly on an AAS cycle and you want to get every gain possible while on, which explains why people bulk up and cut later when off cycle. When training natural, your metabolism is more or less the same all the time, so you'll pretty much know how many calories and protein you need.

I myself train natural and I don't train in cycles. Is there something wrong with my logic or are these people unnecessarily bouncing around their fat percentages?

 

[Binge Artist]

Bulking and Cutting is the traditional way of doing things. The reasoning behind it is that you gain muscle more efficiently in a caloric surplus (bulking), and you lose fat better in a caloric deficit (cutting).

 

[doesntmatter]

some people cut for the summer(like me). when you're bulking heavily, you tend to put on some fat. to gain muscle optimally, you need to be putting yourself in a caloric surplus.

in other words, the easiest way to gain muscle usually results in gaining some fat. you could prevent this, but for most people its extremely hard to do.

cutting removes this fat for aesthetics.

if you're body type allows you to eat enough food gain lots of muscle without gaining fat, then keep doing what you're doing. i do know people that are on a constant bulk and are pretty ripped year round.

 

[Wizzle]

I'm just really strict on my eating... I manage to get 30-35 grams of protein per meal six times a day with about 350-400 calories per meal. I've been quite successful at gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time doing this.

To be honest, I've never had such gains before. What I did read is that your body recovers faster when on a caloric surplus, but I'm on a five day split and do each muscle group only once a week, so that's not an issue.

I can imagine you have a little more energy when on a surplus, but being on a surplus will mean you'll have to cut eventually so shouldn't that even it out?

 

[doesntmatter]

It really is just a case of trying to get your body in the ideal muscle building mode. You want your body to burn everything it has BUT muscle when searching for energy. For some people, this means they need to up the fat intake (and food intake in general). Others don't need it.

Honestly if you are happily gaining and not putting on fat, whatever you're doing sounds great. I have a pretty strict diet myself. I don't count calories, but I know each meal is under 400 easily. I throw down about 6 small meals a day myself. I pay attention to the macro nutrients and keep the carbs coming when I need them and try to lay off when I don't. For me personally, I can pretty much control my weight this way it seems.

What you have to understand is that what works for you may not be what works for a majority of people. So when you see advice given or routines followed that are different from yours you might wonder if what you're doing is wrong. You sound like you're disciplined enough to regulate your diet, and I'd assume you can probably listen to your body in regards to whether or not what you're doing is working.

Cutting/Bulking is the standard because thats what works for a lot of people. Your specific body type has allowed you to deviate from this standard : )

I say enjoy it. Although I love when I get to the bulking phase and eat as much as I can all day long : )

Good luck and God bless