The Poliquin Principles
Charles Poliquin
Charles is one of the most accomplished strength coaches in the world. He has designed workouts for Olympic medalists, world-record holders and pro athletes.
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SHOULD I GET CUT BEFORE BULKING?
QUESTION: I’m 25 years old, 6-feet-2, 218 pounds, with 17 percent body fat. I’ve been bodybuilding for one year and I’m caught up in a dilemma: Should I cut up now to a single-digit body fat percentage, or not worry about a little flab and just go on and get massive? I plan to compete at about 235-240 at 5 percent body fat.
ANSWER: Lose the fat first, and then worry about gaining quality muscle. The practice of bulking up first may in fact increase the number of fat cells; and once you develop fat cells, you can never really get rid of them, only shrink them. I would strongly suggest you get below 10 percent body fat first. If you train properly, you can do it in about seven weeks. Losing a few pounds of body fat in that time period is quite realistic, especially if you increase your intake of good fats such as fish oil, flax and borage oil.
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