How Long To Cut Before Bulking? (Ideal Cutting Phase Length)

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How To Transition From Cutting To Bulking:

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Video Summary:

How Long Should You Cut Before Bulking?

When it comes to proper cutting phase length, the answer here is pretty simple and straightforward...

Your cutting phase should last as long as it needs to in order for you to get down to approximately 12% body fat give or take. This would be around the body fat percentage where your abs are pretty clearly visible in good lighting. (About 18-20% for females)

A big mistake that many lifters make is in trying to bulk from too high a body fat percentage.

Keep in mind that you'll always gain some fat while eating in a calorie surplus and trying to maximize muscle growth, and any fat you gain during that period will be stuck with you until the end of your bulking phase. You can't lose fat while in a surplus.

Try bulking from much above 12% and usually you'll end up feeling unhappy with how you look which will likely de-motivate you and throw you off track.

Commit to a full cutting cycle and follow it all the way through and you'll be setting yourself up for a much greater chance of long term success rather than "yo-yo'ing" back and forth between constant bulking and cutting like so many people do.

Some lifters will say they don't want to focus on fat loss all the way down to 12% since they'll look "too skinny", but keep in mind that:

A) It's just a temporary stepping stone to your ideal physique and that building a great body takes time and patience.

B) If you're still a relative beginner and structure your cutting diet and cutting workout in a proper manner, you'll likely be able to gain some muscle as you lean down anyway.

So, bottom line on the question of "how long to cut before bulking"?

Your fat loss phase should last as long as it needs to in order for you to reach about 12% body fat. From there you can transition between cutting and bulking, and the link above will direct you to a previous post I did that outlines how to do that properly.

P.S. If you found these fitness tips helpful, make sure to get your personalized training, nutrition and supplement plans using my interactive video presentation below:

[Sean_Nalewanyj]

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[Growingtogetya]

Definitely listen to this guy
I spent years trying to bulk up with high body fat and your never truly happy I know it sucks going on a cut when you want to be bigger and you just feel small but getting lean first is definitely the first stepping stone to your dream body.

[juliogomez]

sean i just want to say, you are one of the very few people i take seriously to seek fitness advice. i love how you are very straight foward and explain things very easily. it bothers me how you are underrated on youtube, because you trully are one of the best guys on youtube. thanks for all the info you share, i am one happy subscriber.

[edmundwoolliams]

What he says rings so true for me. When I started lifting I was 17% body fat, but didn't realise that I was gonna put on much fat while gaining muscle. I still maintained around 17-18% during my bulk, and I was happy with my muscles getting bigger, but I didn't like it that my belly kept getting bigger too... Lost motivation, then lost all my muscle gains over the holiday.

I almost gave up completely, but after doing some research, I've been cutting for the past 2 months and went from 18.5% to 15.5% AND gained muscle/got stronger! I feel like I know what I'm doing now, and feel so much better, and SO glad I didn't give up! These videos consolidate that what I'm doing is right and should continue with it

[ChicagoJ]

Body fat pct doesn’t mean much since it’s so hard to determine accurately. But, abs showing is something that’s doable.

[SWOL]

Watching in 2024. Even 7 years ago, your content was point 💪🏼

[MrFootballer]

This is the best channel for fitness advice on YouTube. You deserve way more subs

[jaydaj]

One of the realist, most honest and knowledgeable fitness guys period! 👏🏾

[nomad]

Solid, smart, sensible advice Sean. I'm reigning in on the 12% mark and am very close and am very happy with how I look already. Strength has taken a bit of a dip. I used to want to be 8% bodyfat - but now I realize just how lean that is now that I'm approaching it. Not sure if it's realistic. What really grinds my gears about cutting naturally though is the massive drop in testosterone. I have never experienced such a massive decline and dieting over a year has also made me borderline hypothyroid. Would be interested to hear your experience in this area, Sean. I've been to the doctor after losing 24kg and my testosterone level was abysmally low to the point where I'm now considering 250mg of test enanthate a week to combat the drop!

[abrahamlincoln]

Wow, thank you! This finally made clear to me what I wasn't understanding for years in my bodybuilding journey. I've always been skinny fat. Even at the times I was working out my hardest. I was feeling like I would never be cut, but now I understand why I never shifted to that phase.

[Sebastian-qode]

You are just a master, Sean. Concrete info with no skipoing points. Every lifter should watch your content. Its really no bs

[DhaOneandOnly]

I truly needed this video for motivation. I'm 6ft around 145lbs . Ive been doing a slow cut for about 8 months eating around 2600 -2750 cals/ day. It has been a pain in the ass and I look small af in clothes but I can almost see every muscle in my body and i cant wait to watch them grow. Im about month away from that 10% mark . Around the beginning of November I plan on going on my first lean buk. I will ne tuning into plenty of your videos for tips. 💪🏾

[Olejowy]

Great video! I was this skinny guy that was tired of being skinny and started working out but then, after gaining over 40 lbs over 2 years realised that I just look like a very disappointing bigger version of myself and decided to start my first cut ever 2 months ago.

[tiagodutra]

I'm at 13.5% bf and you answered all my questions, I decided to keep cutting thinking for the long term, but I'm going to increase my calorie intake because I'm feeling weak.

[JamesBermingham]

Great Information. Instant Subscribe!!

[bengravel]

Awesome stuff 👍🏻 answered every question I had, when I started lifting I was skinny fat and thought bulking was the answer, got stronger but there were parts of my body that just started looking worse, between your videos and Mike mentzers clips I’ve created a program that’s finally yielding good results! Thank you 🙏🏻

[ahmedsherif]

Thank you Sean! I've been wondering what I've been doing wrong for a long time until I watched this video.
Best fitness channel hands down.

[mitchellmulcahy]

Keep putting out these quality videos, Sean. They are beyond helpful. Thanks.

[lukemazzey]

Perfect video covered everything i need! Been cutting for 3 months, down from 23% to 17% BF, will keep going

[BrandonWest]

Legit stuff Sean. I'm loving your no nonsense and honest approach to this. "There is no magic bullet" is probably the least sexy term in today's fitness lexicon, but it's the honest truth. Keep up what you're doing.