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It may come as a surprise to some people but in order to make efficient progress, bodybuilders generally choose to go through a phase of intentionally gaining weight to allow their bodies to build muscle mass and strength more quickly. ‘Bulking’ is another phase in dieting and is very important. This will generally result in low energy levels though as your body is expending more energy than you are feeding it so it can be tough to keep up your training to the same level. To cut, you must be in a calorie deficit which means consuming fewer calories than you are burning daily over a consistent period of time. However, cutting can be more complex than it first seems as you must ensure that you lose fat without losing too much muscle mass or strength in order to continue your progress. To many people, this may seem like an obvious thing for bodybuilders to do as you always see bodybuilders in their leanest, most ripped state when modelling or posing. Cutting or being on a cut means you are trying to shed excess fat in order to become more lean. So let’s get down to it and chat about what each one means. One constant which almost every single bodybuilder agrees on is that cutting, bulking and maintaining are key to efficient progress. When it comes to nutrition there is so much information out there and so many contradictions as to what is the best approach. If you are passionate about fitness or are looking to embark on your natural bodybuilding journey, then you will probably come across the terms ‘cutting’, ‘bulking’ and ‘maintaining’ quite a lot.
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