Question about bodyfat % while bulking....

[SemperFi 0321]

I have noticed some increase in bodyfat during the last 6 weeks that I have been on a high cal, high protein bulking diet. Frosty, this isn't the same question I asked a few days ago, but it goes hand in hand with it. My question is how much of an increase do most guys see when bulking, or what is an acceptable increase that one could expect to see? I know it will be different for each person, but I'm just curious. I have added in 45 minutes of cardio on my off days, and hopefully this will help, but I have already increased my bf% by 4 %. From 13 to about 17 in just 6 weeks. Should I adjust the diet? Or up the cardio? Or just deal with it? And if it gets higher? What then? Thanks for all the help.

Semper Fi

 

[Frosty]

Well, it all really depends on how good you are at losing fat. Like some pros blow up in the off season while others stay fairly lean, some people are better able to get rid of excess bodyfat so they can push the limits of a "bulker" more than another person. Lee Priest would be a good example of that.

Usually people say not to go over 15% when bulking, but that is usually assuming you start out with a lower bodyfay percentage (like 10 or lower). Some people will say don't go higher than 12%, but like I said above, this is pretty individual.

While you must put on some fat to pack on the muscle, too much does become counter-productive.

With that said, you may want to cut back on the calories a bit so your increase in fat slows down. Keep gaining muscle for 2-4 more weeks to solidify gains. Then you can jump to a strength training/cutting cycle to shed that excess fat an maintain the muscle you earned.

Hope this helps.

 

[heavymetalhead]

So how many weeks are bulk cycles usually ?