[boatbuilder]

Can I add size to my muscle( arms and chest mainly) while cutting and on a strict diet

[Eileen G]

Yes, if you pay very strict attention to your diet. A lot of bodybuillders use a technique called Cyclical ketogenic diet to increase muscle and lose fat at the same time.

The basic idea is that for six days out of seven, you eat a very low carb diet at below maintenance calories while lifting hard. Compound lifts like squats, deads, bench press, military press, pull-ups etc are best. Then on the seventh day when you have thrashed very muscle group and feel like a slug with hair, you switch things round and eat a high carb, low fat diet at above maintenance calories. This produces an anabolic flood of insulin which helps to channel the protein and carbs into your muscles so you get bigger and stronger muscles, while still eating at an overall calorie deficit.

It does work, but only if you do it right. No cheat meals.

[Rookeek]

Yes, if you pay very strict attention to your diet. A lot of bodybuillders use a technique called Cyclical ketogenic diet to increase muscle and lose fat at the same time.

The basic idea is that for six days out of seven, you eat a very low carb diet at below maintenance calories while lifting hard. Compound lifts like squats, deads, bench press, military press, pull-ups etc are best. Then on the seventh day when you have thrashed very muscle group and feel like a slug with hair, you switch things round and eat a high carb, low fat diet at above maintenance calories. This produces an anabolic flood of insulin which helps to channel the protein and carbs into your muscles so you get bigger and stronger muscles, while still eating at an overall calorie deficit.

It does work, but only if you do it right. No cheat meals.

Muscles need to be fed more calories that your maintenance level constantly to be growing, not one day per week. I doubt this works. Simple:

To grow muscle you eat more then your BMR.
To loose weight you eat less then your BMR.

Now doing both at the same time looks impossible according to these.. Or possible only in commercials... Plus you talk mostly about low carb diet which means that muscle will be using proteins to get energy from not to grow.. This diet is best for fat loss and minimizing losses of muscle, not to gain muscle...

[Eileen G]

Please do some research. On a low carb diet, fat is used for energy, not protein. On the refeed days, it is possible to increase muscle size. It's not the most effective way to do this, a straightforward high carb bulk is, but it's a good compromise between losing fat and gaining muscle.

[Rookeek]

Please do some research. On a low carb diet, fat is used for energy, not protein. On the refeed days, it is possible to increase muscle size. It's not the most effective way to do this, a straightforward high carb bulk is, but it's a good compromise between losing fat and gaining muscle.

I did, read article by Lyle McDonald here:
Carbing Up on the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald

Skimmed through it and it doesn't mention gaining muscle.. just keeping them or keeping losses to a minimum. If this was true then you wouldn't need to be constantly eating above the maintenance level to gain muscle. You could just slack off and have one day of like 6000 cals and then gain something.. and that's not going to happen. This diet is good for those pre-contest bodybuilders but not for ones who are gaining muscle. Muscles need nutrients constantly to grow not once a week...

[Eileen G]

Go to some of the bodybuilding forums and you'll find a lot of people who do use CKD to gain muscle while losing fat. My niece is a champion power lifter and she uses it to keep in her weight class.

[Rookeek]

Go to some of the bodybuilding forums and you'll find a lot of people who do use CKD to gain muscle while losing fat. My neice is a champion power lifter and she uses it to keep in her weight class.

Trust me I am on bodybuilding forums. This denies the logic of how muscle grow, I am a skinny guy and if this was true that one day was enough to gain muscle then I'd be big big already..

[Eileen G]

If you are a skinny guy, then why are you on a cutting diet?

[Rookeek]

If you are a skinny guy, then why are you on a cutting diet?

Who said I'm on cutting diet, I know what is bulking/cutting because it's popular between people. I am all for clean bulking though. Plus it's really basic information to know that you need to eat more then your BMR constantly, not once per week...

[Eileen G]

You did.

The question you asked was "Can I add size to my muscle while cuting and on a strict diet"?

If you are a hard gainer, by all means, eat brown rice till it comes out your ears.

[Rookeek]

You did.

The question you asked was "Can I add size to my muscle while cuting and on a strict diet"?

If you are a hard gainer, by all means, eat brown rice till it comes out your ears.

No I didn't and you CAN'T add muscle on cutting diet, that's why it's cutting because it's designed to loose weight while keeping as much muscle as possible...

I like rice, even though I don't care if it's brown or not.

[ironclad04]

No I didn't and you CAN'T add muscle on cutting diet, that's why it's cutting because it's designed to loose weight while keeping as much muscle as possible...

I like rice, even though I don't care if it's brown or not.

These are good ideas on what you can do! There's really no limitations?? Reserch just gos based on someone's physie already! I think anyway?? All I do is eat over the recommended daily calorie intact, but in portions of small meals, body needs fuel, no fuel no building muscle!? But with this you can burn as much calories at the same time, while working the areas you want and cut muscle at the same time?? Just my opinon?