When it comes to CrossFit, you can achieve various different outcomes depending on your box’s programming, your goals, and your nutrition. Many people fear the possibility of becoming “bulky” because that’s what they see at the CrossFit Games, but those athletes are fueling and training in a much different way than the majority of us attending CrossFit classes for general fitness.
A common question I get is how someone should be eating while participating in CrossFit, but my follow up question is always, “What are your goals?”
Let’s break down what is involved in a cut and bulk and whether either of those options are right for you.
MAINTENANCE
Maintenance means you are not gaining or losing weight; your energy input matches your energy output.
Maintenance is great for those who are happy with their existing body composition and simply want to feel fueled and energized in the gym and in their day-to-day life. In maintenance it is possible for someone to build muscle through CrossFit training and progress in their fitness based on their training routine. Maintenance is also used between cuts and bulks to help reset the metabolism or take a break from either plan.
You don’t NEED to be on a cut or bulk to see results in the gym, but you do at a minimum need to be eating at maintenance – a balanced diet that fuels you for your activity – in order to feel your best, reduce risk of illness or injury, and recover properly from your training.
CUTTING
Cutting means you are in a weight loss phase; your energy output exceeds your energy input leading to fat loss.
A safe rate of weight loss is 0.5-1.5lbs/week, anything more than that can be too aggressive and cause fatigue or loss of fitness in the gym. While balancing weight loss while participating in fitness, it’s important to note you do not want to eliminate carbs, but simply reduce them enough to see consistent weight loss week to week. When you do eat carbs, you’ll want to ideally eat quality whole food sources such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes at a minimum of 80% of the time, with the other 20% of the time giving you room for mindfully eating foods that might not be as nutrient-dense.
Cutting should be done gradually – only reduce your calories until you see adequate loss week to week, and continue at that rate until you plateau (I consider a plateau to be 2 weeks of 0 lbs lost). It should also not be done for long periods of time as it puts stress on the body; every 6 months it can help to spend a month at maintenance to reset your metabolism before continuing to cut, especially if you find yourself at a plateau.
Also note cutting and increasing strength are often two conflicting goals. Most on a cut plan will see their progress slow or plateau in terms of strength, but not all. Regardless, it’s good to be realistic that these goals don’t always go hand in hand. When cutting, it’s best to keep your exercise moderate – about 4-5 hours per week max – to reduce overall stress on your body with adequate stretching and recovery work done outside workouts.
BULKING / MASSING
Bulking – also called massing – is for those who are looking to increase size and/or strength; your energy input exceeds your energy output.
Many people fear bulking because of the idea that it will cause them to gain weight, but when done carefully bulking can result in only some fat gain but mostly muscle gain. Increasing overall food intake can help fuel you to lift heavier and take on higher training volumes.
You may not need to increase your overall volume to bulk. If you’re looking to put on mass and size gradually you can continue to attend CrossFit classes 4-5 days per week on a bulk meal plan and still see results gradually over time. If you have more aggressive goals, it can be helpful to incorporate additional sessions or hypertrophy accessory work in addition to your standard classes. Just remember, with increased workouts you must increase your calories.
For many, bulking involves eating past the point of fullness. It requires you to eat enough food that might be beyond what feels comfortable. To help increase calories without increasing discomfort, it can help to utilize nutrient and calorie dense shakes as a supplement.
Bulking can also be complemented with mini cuts after the fact. Since bulking involves some fat gain, some will bulk for a period of time and then cut for a small period of time to shed off some of the excess fat but maintain muscle mass. If this is a method you’re looking to implement, start with gradually moving to a maintenance prior to cutting.
IN CONCLUSION
You can achieve whatever your goals are through tweaking your nutrition, but it’s important you also address how much time and energy you can give to these goals. Cutting and bulking in both their own ways require a level of diligence with meeting your nutrition needs which can require meal prepping, navigating social events and situations, and strategizing for periods of travel. I cannot stress this enough – to reach your goals you need to be consistent for a long period of time, and for most people this means over 6 months.
If you’re looking to get personalized nutrition plans and support for shifting to a cut or bulk – or even finding your maintenance – and seeing results, working with a coach can help. Having someone looking at your nutrition with an outside perspective can take some of the emotion out of not seeing progress one week or feeling overwhelmed by stressful moments in life. For more details on my 1:1 nutrition coaching, you can check out my site.
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Coach Diana Leigh is a Precision Nutrition certified coach who uses habit-based coaching to help her clients get stronger and feel amazing in their bodies without the restriction and overwhelm of dieting. For more helpful tips, follow her on Instagram @coachdianaleigh.