Skinny-fat dudes often reach a fork in the road. You need to build muscle. You need to lose fat. According to conventional wisdom, these are two separate (and opposite) physiological pursuits. So which road do you take first? Do you build muscle (bulk)? Do you lose fat (cut?) You don’t know. The decision paralyses you. What if [...]
Skinny-fat dudes often reach a fork in the road. You need to build muscle. You need to lose fat. According to conventional wisdom, these are two separate (and opposite) physiological pursuits.
So which road do you take first?
- Do you build muscle (bulk)?
- Do you lose fat (cut?)
You don’t know. The decision paralyses you. What if I make the wrong choice? What if I waste my time? I don’t want to do the wrong thing and lose muscle (or gain fat).
These are all valid concerns, but what if you didn’t have to make the choice in the first place? Enter: Commandments.
Prolonging the fork
You want your body functioning a certain way regardless of your end goal. Treat fat cells like Steve Jobs treated his children; treat muscle cells like Angelina Jolie treats her children. In other words, you want your body to
- Neglect and obliterate the fat
- Caress and support the muscle
Always. You want this when you’re trying to build muscle. You want this when you’re trying to lose fat. If you see the world through this lens, you can prolong the bulk-or-cut fork in the road. Of course, “prolong” isn’t as good as “eliminate,” but it beats the alternative: paralysis by analysis and getting no where.
Commandments
Given that you want your body to function a certain way regardless of whether or not you’re bulking or cutting, you should be following these five Commandments religiously.
If you’re familiar with my writing, these Commandments won’t be surprising. I decided to compile them into one place for easy reference.
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
Thou shalt resistance train with progressive intent.
But know this: there isn’t one program to rule them all. I stopped selling a skinny-fat specific strength training program because people thought that my program was the only program that’d work for them.
I fall back onto barbell and/or bodyweight training, and I use exercises that are likely to build an x-physique. Want an example program? See: Farting Strength.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
Thou shalt eat mostly Mother Nature’s food.
But know this: Mother Nature’s food isn’t always natural. If you don’t know what Mother Nature’s food is, then read this.
Food is energy. Calories. But food is more than energy it’s also nutrients. The pirates crossing the Atlantic for the first time died of scurvy, not starvation. Mother Nature’s food tends to be a nice package of both nutrients and energy.
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
Thou shalt drink mostly water and no-calorie beverages.
There’s not much else to this one. You don’t need fancy sports drinks, or sugary workout drinks. Ditch those. Quick. Also, smoothies and even “healthy” drinks can backfire. If you wanna know why, then read this.
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Thou shalt eat plenty of protein.
You can see how much protein I recommend via Noobtrition. Protein is generally considered the staple muscle building macronutrient. If you’re a vegetarian, vegan, or vwhatever, you have to consume protein any way you can. Vegetarians, eat cottage cheese. Vegans, eat split peas and quinoa.
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
Thou shalt eat vegetables.
To me, vegetables (non-starchy carbohydrates) are a separate “macronutrient.” It’s not enough to say, “Eat this many carbs.” You have to divide total carbs into non-starchy carbs and “other” carbs. This is what I do in Calorie Counting Cheat Codes.
The non-technical breakdown, however, is this: eat more vegetables. Get a bowl the size of your head. When you wake up, fill that sucker with vegetables. Eat them all by the end of the day.
Conclusion
If you’re wondering whether you should bulk or cut, you should already have the Commandments above locked and loaded. Okay? OKAY? PROMISE ME THAT’S IT’S OKAY. If you aren’t following these Commandments, then don’t worry about bulking or cutting. Get these five things under control, first.