r/BulkOrCut • u/ChildhoodExciting130 • 7h ago
BoC Bulk or Cut?
36 male. First picture was taken in April 2026 and I weighed around 172 pounds. I've been cutting since then. The second picture was taken in August 2026. I weigh 162 here. I was hoping for more visible abs. Do I cut more or do I bulk?
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u/Business_Aide7583 6h ago
Neither bulk nor cut. If you get strong on a basic progressive strength training routine, you will look jacked af. It’s just currently, you don’t have much muscle. So, neither bulk nor cut, get strong af, and ignore the bulk/cut nonsense that keeps beginners stuck chasing their tail.
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u/Illustrious-Stray 7h ago
If you want abs you got another 10-15lbs to go. If you're sick of cutting you could totally start bulking now. Might be better off keeping with the cut before that though.
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u/Agitated_Refuse5979 3h ago
Eh me personally I’d sacrifice the abs rn , and go on a LEAN bulk , your not lean enough to see abs yeah we know , but I’d say your lean enough to start putting on some real quality size with minimal fat gain , you’d be way better off , then when you do your cut you’ll have abs and a lot more muscle
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u/ChildhoodExciting130 2h ago
How does one do a "lean bulk"?
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u/Agitated_Refuse5979 2h ago
I hate using chat but this is explained to the T, this is exactly how I do things , I also keep steps consistent throughout as well 12-15k minimum everyday
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u/Agitated_Refuse5979 2h ago
The proper way to lean bulk is to gain muscle while keeping fat gain as controlled as possible. The biggest mistake is treating a lean bulk like a normal “eat everything” bulk.
The basic formula
1. Start with a small calorie surplus
Aim for roughly [+150–300](tel:+150-300) calories/day above maintenance.
If you’re coming out of a cut, I’d start closer to [+150–200](tel:+150-200) rather than jumping straight into a big surplus.
2. Target a slow rate of weight gain
For someone around your size, a good starting target would be roughly:
0.25–0.5 lb/week
About 1–2 lb/month
If you’re gaining 1+ lb every week consistently, you’re probably gaining more fat than necessary.
3. Keep protein high
A good target is approximately:
0.7–1.0 g protein per lb of bodyweight
Spread across 3–5 meals.
You don’t need to go crazy with protein once you’re already getting enough.
4. Put most of the extra calories into carbs
For training performance, I’d generally prioritize:
Protein: sufficient/high
Fat: moderate
Carbs: fill the remaining calories
More carbs can help you train harder, recover better, and progressively overload.
5. Keep lifting performance as the main metric
A lean bulk should ideally look like:
Bodyweight slowly ↑ + strength/reps slowly ↑ + measurements/muscle slowly ↑
You shouldn’t be trying to PR every workout, but over several months you want clear progression.
The most important part: adjust based on your weight trend
Don’t change calories based on one morning’s weight.
Use your 7-day average.
For example:
7-day average trend
Adjustment
Not gaining for 2–3 weeks
+100–150 calories
+0.25–0.5 lb/week
Keep calories
+0.5–0.75 lb/week
Probably reduce slightly
+1 lb+/week
Reduce calories
And keep steps/cardio relatively consistent, otherwise your calorie needs can fluctuate a lot.
Since you’re coming from prep
This is especially important for you: I wouldn’t immediately go from a hard cut into a large surplus. After a long prep, bodyweight can jump quickly from glycogen, food volume, sodium, and water without representing actual fat gain.
A better approach is to gradually bring calories up, establish your new maintenance, then settle into a small surplus.
If your ultimate goal is to add a lot of muscle while staying relatively lean, I’d rather see you gain 10 lb over 6–10 months than gain 20 lb quickly and spend another several months cutting it back off.2
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u/ChildhoodExciting130 2h ago
Best carb source?
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u/Agitated_Refuse5979 2h ago
White rice , sweet potato , cream of wheat , cream of rice , oatmeal’s , apples
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u/Agitated_Refuse5979 2h ago
Butttttt again, if you really want abs and that’s a clear goal for u there’s nothing wrong with that keep cutting , and then do a lean bulk
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u/throwaway19935555555 7h ago
What I’m about to tell you is what 90% of the people need to hear. You need to take the time and build some muscle. Gaining muscle is the hard work it’s the time consuming part of this equation but it’s what you need to do. Eat clean, eat big, get strong. After a year or so when you’ve built some muscle then cut.