BULKING/CUTTING MUSCLES?

Ok so here is a question that might be totally idiotic but here goes...

When on bulking cycle the aim is to put on as much muscle weight as possible..in other words make the muscle as big as possible...

When cutting the aim is to lose as much body fat as possible..in other words make the muscles more visible and defined...

Now my question is...Does a bulking or cutting exercise program shape the muscles differently?Or is it just the fact that when you bulk the muscles go bigger and when you cut the muscles become more visible????

Exercise will definitly have it's place but the main thing will be your diet. Calories in vs. out.

Diet is much more important in my opinion. The training program's effects are minimal, because if you want to cut you stick with your normal routine but just throw in some cardio and drop calories.

i cut and bulk on the same program and almost the same weights.it all DIET related and cardio.The main difference would be the amount of calories you eat each day.

Cutting will definitely consist of more cardio and a very lean and clean diet, Im lucky tho i just look at a treadmill and i start cutting haha

Ok..I understand the diet thing....I agree....

Maybe my question should have been:

Does bulking exercise routines and cutting exercise routines shape the muscle differently???

To an extent - yes. If you are going to do extremely high reps you won't get much muscle size but more endurance type muscle.

Your weight training routines should always stay the same. Train heavy when bulking to put on as much muscle as possible and train heavy while cutting to ensure your body has a reason to keep the muscle on a calorie deficit. Doing higher reps on a cut is just a poor form of cardio IMO

I agree totally, I always tried pushing as heavy as possible whilst cutting. I mean to get big you have to push heavy, it was pushing heavy that got you big in the first place, why change that.
Diet and cardio get you ripped thats all there is to it.

HIGHER REPS in terms of bulking 6-8 reps and contest prep 8-12 reps with a slight decrease in weight does mean that you will still burn extra calories, but this doing 15-20 reps will burn calories and endurance but doesnt seem to keep the muscle bellies full... low reps and heavy weight is very intense but taxing on the joints, so when it comes to contest prep u slightly drop weight 10-20% but u increase the volume in using higher reps such as 8-12 reps,it will carry on being intense but also help with additional calorie burning but make sure u are failing in the 11-12th rep and cannot do more than this... that way u are pushing the muscle to the limit.

Thought i'd add to what the guys are saying. Taken from my calorie calculating source:

The calorie deficit can be created through diet, exercise or preferably, with a combination of both. Because we already factored in the exercise deficit by using an activity multiplier, the deficit we are concerned with here is the dietary deficit. - Suggesting you've used a calorie calculator.

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit by reducing your calories slightly below your maintenance level (or keeping your calories the same and increasing your activity above your current level). To gain weight you need to increase your calories above your maintenance level. The only difference between weight gain programs and weight loss programs is the total number of calories required.

And with regard to the question itself, i would assume a persons masculinity or body/muscle shape boils down to genetics...how it is built is up to you.

MrMuscle wrote: Thought i'd add to what the guys are saying. Taken from my calorie calculating source:

The calorie deficit can be created through diet, exercise or preferably, with a combination of both. Because we already factored in the exercise deficit by using an activity multiplier, the deficit we are concerned with here is the dietary deficit. - Suggesting you've used a calorie calculator.

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit by reducing your calories slightly below your maintenance level (or keeping your calories the same and increasing your activity above your current level). To gain weight you need to increase your calories above your maintenance level. The only difference between weight gain programs and weight loss programs is the total number of calories required.

And with regard to the question itself, i would assume a persons masculinity or body/muscle shape boils down to genetics...how it is built is up to you.

i know this might be a very stupid question,but how do i know how many calories i have burned during weight training?

@yster the only way you will know is a heart rate monitor.

For what purpose do you want to know how many calories you burn during your workout?