How long to bulk for?

So I'm going to say I'm not 100% certain when it comes to girls but I know that for guys the general rule is bulk until you hit 15% body fat then cut down to 10%, then repeat this cycle until you are happy with your physique, then you can maintain. So I'm guessing for women those numbers would be maybe from 17% to 23%? Be ready that you might need to do more than one cycle of bulking-cutting. Also with bulking, try to make it take as long as possible, a huge calorie surplus doesn't build more muscle than a slight one, but it will make you put on more fat quicker. A good starting point would probably be 10% over TDEE and making sure you get around 1g of protein per pound of body weight. But as I said this is based on my knowledge for how to do this for guys, so if anyone has anything to add please do.

Last point: what drives muscles to grow is when you force then to get stronger. Make sure your training is focused on this. Me personally I do all my lifts in rep ranges between 4-8 reps per set going as heavy as I can and aiming to increase my strength every week. Me and my gym buddies have seen amazing progress using this approach over the last 6 months.

Hope this helps.

/r/xxfitness Thread