That's great thanks again Scott, always helpful as ever, cheers

No problem @Tomo_1! Keep it up man!! 💪 

Scott I have just re-read my post and what I meant was a bulk for a couple of months then maybe mini cut if bf was getting too high for maybe a couple of weeks then lean bulk again and so on. Would that make more sense?

I know what you mean.. but it's still not ideal. You're still taking two weeks or three weeks away from being in a surplus. You're halting your progress. To see the best progress, like I said, you need more consistent time in a surplus. Especially when you're not a newbie and won't see gains as quickly. Besides, if you set things up right, you will make lean gains anyway and won't have much fat to worry about cutting off, even after 4-6 months.

Thanks again Scott and here was I thinking that I was a newbie! Eventhough I have been in the gym doing circuit traing twice a week since 1992 I have only been doing resistance training since September 2017! Can I expect newbie gains ..... please? Haha...kind regards, Steve.

Well if you started in September last year.. you are about 8 months in.. so yes you are still in the newbie phase! Which makes it even more important to stay in a surplus phase for longer! 💪 

Hi Scott,

since your last advice I increased my calories slowly up to 2500. My weight was 170 pounds when I started (after a long cut and eventual stall), it is now 176! I am losing definition and my jeans are definately tighter around the waist. It feels that I am losing my hard won gains and turning into a blob! I know its early days but this feels very counter intuitive! I am training as hard as ever. Should I stop the bulk for now and get some fat off (as it's nearly time to get the shirt off weather wise) and wait until winter hits before doing a bulk? I was feeling great until I started putting on weight. I dont feel that I am increasing muscle wise. I know it's a marathon not a sprint but this feels wrong...... please advise. (be gentle with me...haha). Thanks.

It's up to you really @Tomo_1. If you prefer to be lean and cut, then it makes sense for you to get ready for summer. But if you want to be focusing on building muscle, this newbie phase is the best time to do it, which is why I suggested staying in a surplus.

If it doesn't make you happy though, you don't have to do it, and you shouldn't. So you have to choose your main goal at this point (keep in mind that even though you weren't resistance training, the circuits you have been doing for 25 years will have taken away the chance for massive newbie gains with fat loss and muscle gain at the same time now).

Muscle gain = surplus. Fat loss = deficit. Your ultimate goal decides which path you choose. Sounds like you want to go with the deficit and that's fine, you have to be doing this whole fitness lifestyle for yourself, so get on the cut! And hey, maybe if you drop down the body fat percentage enough, you will be better when you go back into a bulk, because you actually build muscle better/tend to have better testosterone levels at a lower body fat percentage!

Once again, clear concise advice. Thank you.

My pleasure @Tomo_1! Look forward to seeing you RIPPED really soon 😁 ðŸ’ª