SuppVersity - Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone: Intermittent Thoughts on Intermittent Fasting - Pr...: Image 1: Arnold does the "double bicep" + vacuums. If you want to look like a bodybuilder, muscle alone is not enough. First, ...
The metabolic factor: By reducing your body fat levels
first (leaning out vs. just losing weight) you decrease the risk that (superfluous) carbohydrates (and other nutrients) get stored as body fat.
My definition of a clean bulk: You may now be shocked to hear that even a "clean bulk" will necessarily also increase the amount of body fat you are carrying. That, and this is a very important point, does yet not mean that your body fat % must necessarily increase. A "clean bulk" by (my) definition is a bulk where you add more muscle than fat tissue to your frame. Now, even if you you were an absolute zero in math, you should recognize that this implies that your body fat percentage would actually drop, although your overall body fat levels may increase. Keep that in mind, whenever you are trying to gain muscle.
Your goal should never be to cut fat (reduce overall fat mass) and build muscle (increase lean muscle tissue) at the same time - if you try that you program stagnancy, not progress!
Now, the unfortunate truth is that it is pretty easy to "empty" those cells again (you can do this in weeks), yet uncertain on which time-scales (if at all) and by which means (other than surgery) you can get rid of newly acquired adipocytes ever again.
