Bulking, cutting, and shredding are popular transformation methods in the fitness industry which go hand in hand. They require great discipline with workouts and diets.
Bulking is a great challenge for ectomorphs (skinny people) since they naturally carry less body fat and muscle mass due to their fast metabolism. Cutting is harder for endomorphs since they naturally carry significantly more body fat than muscle mass, which causes them to look less defined.
Ironically, it would be easier for an ectomorph to get shredded and a mesomorph to bulk and build more muscle mass. But what if a skinny person wanted to bulk and get bigger, or a mesomorph wanted to get shredded and lose body fat?
Although it would be tough, it’s possible. Read on to learn more about these goals, the differences between these 3 approaches and how to attain each target.
What is Bulking?
Bulking is when you aim to gain mass. Although you aim to gain muscle mass, you put on some fat too, and that’s part of bulking, so it’s normal.
Your diet usually consists of more calorie-dense foods which are often unhealthy, but some still are. Your protein is also higher for aiding muscle maintenance and building.
It’s usually paired with muscle building, so when working out (usually in the gym), you aim for hypertrophy. Usually, you’ll use lighter weights for pumps and hypertrophy instead of strength.
Goals
- Increase overall size by increasing overall weight
- Increase muscle-building potential
- Build a solid foundation for cutting and shredding
What is Cutting?
Cutting is the phase of fat loss after you’ve bulked. You aim to retain most of the muscle you gained on the bulk and lose most of the fat you gained on it. So, after you’ve gained all that mass (consisting of more fat and some muscle), you slightly lower your calorie intake to lose some weight (specifically fat).
Your diet may be slightly healthier because you’re reducing your calorie intake, so you’ll be consuming less ultra-processed foods, but still a significant amount.
Your workout routine usually remains the same, but you may see small decreases in strength since you’re losing weight. Because being heavier means you have more strength and muscle potential.
Goals
- Lose body fat to reveal muscle definition.
- Maintain muscle mass during the fat-loss process.
What is Shredding?
Shredding is a more extreme version of cutting, where you aim for very low body fat levels to achieve maximum muscle definition and vascularity. Bodybuilders often use this phase for competitions.
For non-bodybuilders, shredding is still more intense than cutting, and you don’t usually bulk before it. However, some do.
When shredding, your diet usually contains little to no carbs in your diet, and your workout usually consists of lighter weights for hypertrophy.
Overall, you aim to get a little body fat percentage, and muscle building isn’t a main goal.
Goals
- Achieve a lean physique with highlighted muscle separation and vascularity
- Reach the lowest possible body fat percentage while maintaining muscle.
Comparison
Bulking, cutting, and shredding are three different approaches to changing your physique. Bulking is divergent from cutting and shredding, which are both similar. They have different dietary approaches and contrasting effects on your physique.
So here are the comparisons of these three approaches based on the factors affected by them.
Weight
Your goal is to increase your weight when bulking. Two popular approaches are clean and dirty bulking. Clean bulking is when you bulk with healthier, whole foods, but you’ll still include some ultra-processed and calorie-dense foods in your diet, just not too many. In contrast, dirty bulking is when your diet is based on ultra-processed foods and fast foods.
You aim to reduce your weight after a bulk when cutting. You’re not trying to rapidly drop your weight, but you want it to be gradual so you retain as much muscle mass as possible because your aim is to have a defined physique with as much muscle as possible. Your diet will still consist of calorie-dense foods, but you’ll consume fewer calories so you can gradually lose weight. This diet is generally healthier than the bulking diet.
Shredding is the more “extreme” version of cutting; you aim to retain as much muscle as possible, but more focused on lowering your body fat percentage and displaying more vascularity on your body. You don’t bulk before shredding, but if you already have a naturally high metabolism, half of the job has been done for you.
Diet
Since you’re trying to put on mass on a bulk, you’ll consume more calories than usual. But to make it easier, especially for people with fast metabolisms, you consume calorie-dense foods. These foods are often ultra-processed, mainly refined oils and sugars. These foods aren’t heavy and stomach capacity taxing, so it’s easier to eat greater quantities without getting too full. However, it will impact your energy, your mood and your health of course. You may see conditions like acne come.
On a cut, you’re trying to lose fat and retain muscle, so you’ll cut your calories short. Your consumption of junk food may decrease as you’re not aiming to gain weight, and your protein intake will stay high for retaining muscle. So overall, this diet will be healthier than a bulking diet.
The shredding diet is quite similar to the cutting diet; with both, you aim to lose fat and become more defined. But on the shredding diet, you’ll avoid ultra-processed foods as much as possible to avoid gaining unnecessary fat. You may even consume lower carbs, similar to a keto diet, but not to the extent of one. Protein intake will be high to maintain and build as much muscle as possible, and your calories will be cut short.
Strength & muscle
You’ll have the most strength and muscle on a bulk if you strength train properly. Since you have more mass, you have a greater potential to build strength and muscle. This is why powerlifters always aim to maintain a high weight; it’s because they can build the most strength and muscle in that state.
You’ll generally have less strength as you progress on your cut or if you’re shredding than bulking, as you have less mass. You’ll have less muscle mass and strength on a shredding journey than a cut because your shredding workout routine may consist of light weights aimed at hypertrophy, which won’t build as much strength compared to using heavier weights. However, cutting and shredding workout routines are similar, if not the same.
How to progress with each approach
Now you know the necessary details about these three approaches, you must know how to even achieve each one efficiently. So here’s a concise guide on how to attain each goal.
Bulking
The main thing you must do is increase your daily calorie intake.
Diet
To achieve your calorie surplus, you must consume more calories than usual. You can take the trial-and-error approach, link here, or use a calorie calculator to calculate your maintenance calories. Then you should ideally go on a 500-calorie surplus to gain approximately 1-2 pounds weekly.
Avoid consuming too much junk food, but having a decent amount to boost your progress won’t harm you too much. Aim for at least 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight for a start. Fats are the macronutrient with the most calories (9kcal per gram), so include healthy fats like nuts, avocados, and olive oil when you’re cooking
Training
Progressive overloading is vital in any strength training plan. It means increasing the weight after a set time. You could increase the weight a bit frequently or, over a longer time, by a larger weight. Aim to do at least 15 sets per muscle group, and be sure that compound exercises, like the bench press in the gym, are the base of your workout plan, not countless isolation exercises.
Always go close to failure, perhaps stopping 1 – 2 reps short of failure to not fatigue yourself too early in the workout.
Don’t use weights that are too heavy or light, but use weights that give you a rep-max in this rep range: 8 – 15). Rep max means the most reps you can physically do. So when you complete a set, you should be very close, if not to failure between the rep range.
Cutting & shredding
For cutting and shredding, the main thing to do is to maintain your protein intake and decrease your calorie intake by a bit. Especially for shredding, you may want to lower your carb intake. For both, reducing your junk food intake will ensure you don’t gain unnecessary fat.
Diet
Your protein must be high for maintaining muscle mass, and even building some. Have it at 1.5g per kg of body weight for a start, and if you can, gradually increase it. If it’s working well for you, then leave it at that quantity.
You may want to reduce carbs if you see yourself gaining fat or weight, and most of your calories should come from healthy fats and protein. Your consumption of junk food should be reduced to prevent fat gain. However, don’t cut your calories down too low or you’ll lose muscle mass as well as weight.
Training
Your routine should be very similar to your bulking one if you went on a bulk. If you didn’t, remember these tips:
- Minimum 15 sets per week (for example, 5 sets in each session of 3)
- Go very close to failure
- Pick weights that aren’t too heavy or light (ideally your rep-max in the rep range of 8-15)
- Prioritise isolation exercises
Here’s this guide on how to build a workout plan (read it after): How to Build A Workout Plan for Beginners
Takeaway
Bulking is often the route you begin with, followed by a cut or shredding, which are both similar goals for earning a more defined physique.
You must control yourself in front of junk foods, especially when shredding or cutting. Because you’re trying to gain weight in bulk, not focused on definition, junk foods don’t matter. But when shredding or cutting, you must minimise fat gain as much as possible.
Consistency is vital not only with your diet but also with your workouts, whether it’s in the gym or at home. It’s where you will break down your muscles so they can rebuild again, which is why your workouts must be effective. Avoid missing multiple sessions as much as possible.
If you don’t want to build your workout plan, use mine that I used to become more shredded and to earn the most defined physique I’ve ever worked for: Gym workout plan
When bulking, don’t be demotivated if you look more “fluffy” or bigger than usual, because that’s the normal process of bulking. But you don’t want to get too big, so don’t use bulking as an excuse to uncontrollably binge on ultra-processed foods.
