Bulking And Cutting For Women
Jul 20th, 2024 - 25 mins
The method of bulking and cutting is most commonly used in bodybuilding, and for good reason, it is a tried, tested and proven method to help female bodybuilders build muscle and cut body fat in time for show day.
If you’ve heard the term bulking and cutting around the fitness industry, and you’ve got questions, keep reading. In this guide we’re going to cover a lot of detail, from the fundamentals to the finer details of women bulking and cutting.
If you have the female urge to just get straight into bulking and cutting, check out The Fat Loss Formula, this will guide you through the entire process from start to finish.
Bulking And Cutting Contents
While women bulking (aka, gaining weight) may seem like an alien concept to some, it is an ever increasing trend as more women are turning to weightlifting in a bid to alter their physique. You don’t have to be a seasoned bodybuilder to reap the benefits of bulking and cutting, you just have to know how to do it.
Proceed with the information in this article and an open mind to keep learning.
Understanding The Bulking And Cutting Cycle
At Lipstick Lifters we get a lot of questions about bulking and cutting, mostly the cutting phase, which is understandable since many women want to reduce their body fat.
However, what we need you to understand is that there is no use in cutting if you haven’t been bulking.
The entire purpose of the cut is to reveal the lean muscle you build in your bulking phase, no amount of cutting will reveal lean muscle you haven’t built. It’s a cycle, first you bulk, THEN you cut.
As mentioned above, you don’t have to be a competitive bodybuilder to use this method. Women in weightlifting have a number of reasons for their interest and active role in the sport. These include, but are not limited to:
Strength
Power
Aesthetics
Skill
Functional strength
Lose fat
Gain muscle
Feel empowered
Look after their mental health
Any one of the above reasons can benefit from this cycle. However, bulking and cutting is most commonly used for the purpose of aesthetics and mostly in bodybuilding.
Is Bulking And Cutting Suitable For Women?
Absolutely it is. Bulking and cutting for women needs more attention than it is currently getting. This is not just a method for seasoned bodybuilders, anyone can use the bulk and cut method to build and reveal a lean, well defined physique. If that’s your goal, you are the perfect candidate for adopting this method.
What Is Bulking?
What does bulking mean in gym terms?
Bulking means gaining muscle with the primary objective of adding size to your physique.
This is the part where you lift heavy and eat in a calorie surplus with the intention of packing on as much muscle mass as possible. The calorie surplus gives you the energy to lift more and recover faster, allowing you to build muscle as fast as possible.
Understand that naturally during this process, there will be some fat gain too. This is generally not a concern during the bulking phase, because the extra unwanted fat will easily be taken care of in the cutting phase; more on that later.
For women who are actively trying to gain weight, this is a good way to go about it, because you can bulk confidently knowing that the weight you are gaining is mostly of the powerful and strong kind.
Bulking can be a bit of a mind fu#k for some women, since we are conditioned to desire a smaller – lighter frame. However, once you understand how this entire process works, you will see that it is essential for long term aesthetic success.
The bulking process has been covered in more detail in this article: Bulking For Women - The Ultimate Guide
For a quick bulking workout see: The Mass Builder or our Intermediate Bodybuilding Workout Pack or consider our Muscle Growth Workout Plans.
What Is Cutting?
Cutting for women is probably one of the most highly searched terms. The female desire to cut once they find out what it is seems to be a natural reflex.
What many don’t always pay attention to is that the bulking must come first, so here is how to cut after bulking for women.
Cutting is the process of burning ‘cutting’ fat. And this is done primarily through your diet.
When you enter your cutting phase, you switch into a calorie deficit. Here you also focus your training on more direct fat burning exercises; i.e. lower weights with higher reps and more cardio. Although excessive cardio is not necessary.
Take note! The most important part of the cutting phase is your diet. See Macros Explained.
Keep in mind that this is a slow and steady process, nothing will change overnight, and there is a process of trial and error. But when you find the right balance the results will speak for themselves.
The cutting process has been covered in more detail in this article: Cutting For Women - The Ultimate Guide
For a cutting workout see: Fat Loss For Beginners, the 7 Day Cut, or consider our Fat Blaster Workout Plans.
Does Bulking And Cutting Actually Work?
When done properly, bulking and cutting does indeed work. That’s why bodybuilders do it. But the harsh reality is that most people don’t have the long term discipline and dedication to their sport in the same way as a pro bodybuilder does.
That’s why you should only adopt this method if you plan to commit to it. There are other ways to achieve all kinds of goals that some may find more sustainable and easier to stick with long term.
If you have a goal that you need support with, we can help through our learn as you lift portal.
How To Bulk And Cut
When you bulk; consume a calorie surplus and keep your workouts heavy and intense. The additional calories you consume are what give you the power to build as much lean muscle as possible in this phase. So don’t try to cheat the system by eating less, it won’t serve you.
When you cut; consume a calorie deficit and pull back on the heavy lifting. Don’t stop lifting, just pull back on the intensity. If you’re doing this properly, your reduced caloric intake won’t be sufficient enough to sustain lifting as much as you were in your bulking phase.
Our Fat Loss Formula Pack takes you through the entire process, from bulking, cutting, reverse dieting and maintenance.
Can I Bulk And Cut At The Same Time?
No, the process of bulking and cutting require your body to be in two completely opposite states. You can’t be in a calorie surplus and a calorie deficit at the same time, and if you’re thinking you’ll just aim for the middle you’ll pretty much just stay the same.
This process works when you do it properly.
Should I Bulk Or Cut First?
You should bulk first.
Unless you have a strong history of building muscle behind you already, you won’t do yourself any favours if you cut first.
The reason it is necessary to bulk first is because the entire point of bulking and cutting is to build and reveal a physique. You won’t reveal lean muscle you haven’t built if you cut first.
Again, don’t try to cheat this system. If you’re not going to commit to it in its entirety, it’s not going to deliver optimum results.
During your cutting phase you will lose some of the lean muscle you’ve built, it’s a natural part of the process, so if you cut first, you’ll set yourself back from the start.
Bulking and Cutting For Female Bodybuilders
The process of bulking and cutting for competitive female bodybuilders is strategically timed to make sure they are at the very peak of their cut when it’s time to get on stage and show off all their hard work. For this reason it is necessary to plan backwards from the show date to ensure there is enough time.
Everyone's bulking and cutting phase needs a different amount of time, when you have a competition ahead of you it’s advisable to work with a coach who can work this out with you, otherwise you risk not being stage ready when you need to be.
Bulking And Cutting For Beginners
Whether you intend to get into pro bodybuilding or not, you can use this method.
If you have never worked this cycle before, nobody will be able to predict how your body will respond to the process.
We can all perform the exact same workout, follow the exact same diet, for the exact same amount of time and have very different outcomes.
So you need to pay very close attention to how your body responds in each phase. Tracking is essential because this will help you to make more informed decisions in the future.
Allow yourself a roughly estimated amount of time for each phase. Keep it simple, say something like 3-6 months bulking and then into a 3-6 month cut. Monitor your progress in both phases and pay attention to how your body responds.
This is not a “one and done” process, so don’t be concerned if after a 4 month cut you’re still some way from your desired outcome. It is advisable at this point to go into a maintenance phase for some time, this will help you avoid quickly putting back all the fat you lost in your cut.
You could try reverse dieting, or if you want a clear guide of how to manage the entire process, check out the Fat Loss Formula.
After you have been in your maintenance phase for some time, you can start bulking again in preparation for your next cut. The goal is to repeatedly make progress each time you complete this cycle.
What progress are you making? You’re building more muscle in all the places you want it to be built.
Don’t just blindly follow random workouts, you must base your workouts around the target muscles you want to grow. And that includes building surrounding muscle groups so that you get stronger in the exercises that build your target muscles.
Common Misconceptions About Bulking And Cutting For Women
You’ll get bulky
Building lean muscle, particularly for women, is no easy feat, Most women who have been conditioned to eat few calories and perform excessive cardio will be coming into this on the back foot. Diet culture has women eating and exercising in such a way that promotes muscle wastage. It takes time to bounce back from this, but it is possible.
The point is; you’re not going to get too bulky by accident. It is very difficult to get to that stage, it takes time and consistent effort. Since you will be working this in cycles and paying close attention to your outcomes, you are in complete control in terms of how far you take this.
You need someone to write you a nutrition plan
Be very careful about who you take diet advice from, there are many personal trainers and coaches, online and in person, handing out some very questionable meal plans and diet advice when they are not qualified or informed enough to do so. Please note that this is not about passing criticism on anyone, the majority do believe that they are doing the right thing. But here is what we want to bring to your attention…
Just because a particular eating plan worked for them and a few of their clients, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you or even be good for you.
What you put in your body doesn’t just impact weight loss or weight gain, it impacts your long term physical and mental health, which is far more important than losing a few pounds of fat. This is why qualifications on this matter are required. Would you consume medicine given to you from an unqualified pharmacist? We hope not.
For that reason, Lipstick Lifters does not provide meal plans, nor do we give any personalised diet advice. We will never tell you what to eat, we will only ever make suggestions and provide as much information as we can to help you make the right decisions for you.
We suggest that you build 80-90% of your diet around real whole foods. Eliminate all pre packaged foods from your everyday diet, you can still have them occasionally, but on a day to day basis you should be consuming foods prepared from fresh whole ingredients.
You can use our Macro Calculator as a guide for your daily caloric requirements, but remember it is just a guide. What we want you to be able to see when following the Macro Diet for a short period is how to balance your meals. When you follow this process, using whole food ingredients for every meal, you will quickly see that you can still enjoy wholesome meals.
Not to mention how much better you will feel physically and mentally when you eat better.
You must starve yourself and do excessive cardio to cut
This is not true, and as mentioned above, when you prioritise the quality of your daily calories you will soon see that you can eat more food and still lose fat.
Whole foods are more satiating, so by default you will find yourself consuming less calories in the long run.
On the matter of cardio, yes it’s an excellent “calorie burner”, but that doesn’t always mean “fat burning”.
When you use the method of bulking and cutting, fat loss comes from a combination of the increased metabolism you gain from having the additional lean muscle, your diet and your workout efforts.
Bulking makes you gain fat
This is actually somewhat true, but when you understand the process in its entirety, you will see that it’s not a bad thing.
To build muscle at a faster rate you need to lift heavy, to lift heavy you need to eat a calorie surplus in order to fuel your lifts and recover faster. During this process some excess fat will be gained.
Cutting makes you lose muscle
To lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit and include more cardio; which can lead to some muscle wastage. This is expected and part of the process.
What you need to keep in mind is that any excess fat you gain in your bulk will be taken care of in your cut and any muscle lost through your cut will be taken care of in your next bulk.
Bulking is just lifting weights
Bulking and simply lifting weights are not the same. Lifting weights alone won’t make you bulk. Bulking is strategic.
When you are bulking you are training and eating in such a way that you want to gain mass fast. You achieve this by lifting much heavier and with a more strategic rep/set range than you would normally.
It is not recommended to lift with bulking intensity all the time, you should do this in phases. The same applies to your diet, you are eating in a surplus during your bulking phase because that’s what gives you the strength to lift more. When you’re not exerting yourself so much, you don’t need as much of a calorie surplus.
Assuming you only need to do this once
This is not a “one and done” process. It’s a cyclical process and that’s what makes it such a powerful method. Because the more you understand and work this process, the more likely you will be able to sustain your results.
You are 100% in control of how far you take this. Consider each phase a building block… you build as much muscle as you can, then you diet back a bit to see what you’re left with.
Now you can learn from what you just did. Notice any muscle groups you need to work on some more, notice how your diet went, decide what you want to do differently and then start the cycle again at a later date.
Excess body weight is a bad thing
First of all, weight and body fat are not the same thing. How much a person weighs is not necessarily a reflection of how much body fat they carry. Pound for pound, lean muscle takes up less space in the body than the same weight in body fat.
But let’s say, on the flip side, that you are someone with excess body weight and a considerable amount of that is fat. Is that a bad thing? When it comes to weightlifting; not necessarily.
An individual with a higher body weight will generally be able to lift/move more overall weight.
And by lifting heavier, she builds muscle faster. When she builds muscle faster she is speeding up her metabolism preparing it for more efficient fat loss in her cut.
So in some ways, the bigger woman is at a slight advantage.
Some smaller women just can’t get any bigger
For women on the smaller side, less interested in fat loss and more interested in building muscle, you may find yourself thinking you just can’t get any bigger. That’s not true.
Bodybuilding is an entire sport committed to building a physique. Once you understand the fundamentals of bodybuilding, you will understand that most people who commit to this process do get bigger. This is achieved through bulking; a calorie surplus and lifting heavy.
Like all things worth having, it takes time and consistent effort. If you fit this description, start your bulking process asap.
Workout Plans For Your Bulking And Cutting Phases
The way you lift when you bulk is not the same as when you cut. So you need to be able to adapt your training method accordingly. There isn’t one single workout or even method that will get you from where you are now to where you want to be.
Your workouts will evolve through this process and it’s necessary that they do to avoid plateaus.
As a general rule of thumb;
In your bulking phase you want to lift high volume with fewer reps. And in your cutting phase you should aim for lower volume and higher reps.
The above is a very general overview, as mentioned, there are many ways to approach each phase, they all come with experience and experience comes from doing.
Our primary goal at Lipstick Lifters is to teach women how to build their own workouts, so we have a number of both free and paid resources to help you. These are linked below:
Sign Up For Free Workout Plans
Bodybuilding Exercises For Women
Beginners Bodybuilding Workout
Intermediate Bodybuilding Workout
Bulking and Cutting Diet Tips
The fundamentals of your bulking and cutting diet is that you are in a surplus when you bulk and a deficit when you cut.
Counting and tracking calories is essential, unless you’re a seasoned pro and you’ve had enough experience to know what your body needs in each phase.
As a general diet rule when bulking and cutting:
Eat whole foods 80-90% of the time
Prioritise protein and good fat sources
Don’t demonise carbs, but don’t base your entire meal around a carb source
Try to eat the bulk of your carbs before your workouts or immediately after
Get your protein from real whole foods mostly animal protein (if you eat meat)
If you don’t eat meat, make sure you get enough plant protein to reach your goals
Fat is not the enemy, eat good fats these include animal fats
Never drop your caloric intake below 1200 calories, use our Macro Calculator as a guideline to how many daily calories you should be aiming for in each phase
Monitor and adjust your diet regularly so you can understand how your body responds
Don’t stop working on this, if you want long term results you need to take long term, consistent action
How Your Body Composition Changes When You Bulk and Cut
The purpose of bulking and cutting is not just to “lose weight” or even just to lose body fat. This is about changing your entire body composition. You do that by adding lean muscle and taking away excess body fat.
What you’re aiming for with this method, whether you know it or not, is to build a physique that is strong, resilient and efficient. You will also benefit from a faster metabolism. Think of it as your body running like a freshly oiled machine.
In order to achieve this you need to have more lean muscle and less body fat.
You do not turn one into the other, you build more muscle and you burn body fat, they are two different things.
Even if you go the other way, you do not turn the muscle to fat, you gain fat and your muscle starts to waste away and become seemingly softer because it’s not being utilised in the same way.
Maintenance
At some point in the process you will want to maintain your current weight/physique. For most, this isn’t necessarily the end point, it’s usually a midpoint. In bodybuilding, where this method is used the most, there is always more “building” to do. For that reason, we still consider maintenance a “phase” even if this particular phase goes on for an extended period of time.
When you are in maintenance you are eating according to your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and you are lifting in your mid range.
The purpose of the maintenance phase isn’t just to maintain your current body composition, it also helps to stabilise your metabolism. It is an opportunity for your body to recover from the extremities of bulking and cutting, this phase is crucial for recovery and long term sustainable results.
Reverse Dieting
People who are worried about gaining weight too quickly after their cut, or anyone who has been cutting for an extended period, may want to consider reverse dieting.
This has been covered in detail on our reverse diet calculator page. Which, as the name suggests, also includes a calculator.
The Fat Loss Formula
If you're looking for full guidance through this process so that you can handle bulking and cutting in a sustainable way that prevents muscle wastage and excess fat gain in your bulk, check out the Fat Loss Formula.
Bulking and Cutting FAQ’s
How Long Should I Bulk For?
This really depends on where you are starting from.
For an absolute beginner we recommend you start with a 6 month bulk as a minimum before you consider going into a cutting phase.
If you’re a more experienced lifter, you can bulk in shorter cycles, 2-3 months. Do you cut and then come back to the bulking phase if you want to build more muscle.
How Long Should I Cut For?
When it’s time to cut, plan for 3-6 months, but also play it by ear because this too depends on your starting point.
If you don’t have much body fat to lose you may not need to be in the cutting phase for very long, it will just be a matter of trimming back the additional fat you gained in your bulk.
On the flipside, if you have a lot of body fat to lose, you may need to stay in the cutting phase for longer, but not necessarily until you lose all the fat you want to lose, it may benefit you to drop a bit, maintain, and then go back into the bulking and cutting cycle.
Why? Because the more lean muscle you build the more efficiently your body will burn fat longer term.
Is Bulking And Cutting yo-yo Dieting?
No. yo-yo dieting is going on a diet and then coming off the diet, on repeat, with no real direction.
Bulking and cutting is a strategic method used by seasoned bodybuilders.
With bulking and cutting you have clear direction, you now know from reading this article that it is a process that needs to be followed in its entirety, including maintenance.
What Is Clean Bulking?
You may see or hear terms such as ‘dirty bulk’, ‘clean bulk’ or ‘lean bulk’.
The ‘clean’ and ‘lean bulking’ terms are referring to the idea of bulking on healthy foods, in a bid to bulk without gaining too much additional body fat.
Women bulking tend to be attracted to the idea of clean bulking, but be mindful that this concept of not gaining any fat in a bulk is extremely difficult to achieve. Because it all boils down to calories, and the fact remains that in order to ‘bulk’, you need to be in a calorie surplus, in order to ‘cut’, you need to be in a deficit. You can’t be in both at the same time!!
You could set your calories somewhere in between and mix up your workouts, but understand that this isn’t ideal and will heavily delay your results.
The bulking and cutting method exists as it does because it has been tried, tested and proven to be the most efficient way to get results.
This isn't something we invented, bodybuilders have been using this method for decades. We are just here to share this information with you.
What Is Dirty Bulking?
‘Dirty bulking’ refers to consuming a calorie surplus in highly calorific (usually unhealthy) foods.
Dirty bulking is a very laid back approach to bulking, so not as much tracking and not paying as much attention to the quality of the calories you consume.
It’s not ideal and not really a healthy approach to bulking, but it can and does work for some people. Mostly men.
Should Women Dirty Bulk?
Women in their bulking phase need to be mindful when ‘dirty bulking’ (assuming of course, that it is the intention is to cut afterwards).
The fact remains; men have an easier time cutting body fat than women do, they also have an easier time building muscle.
Genetics are a douche for that, but we must work with what we have.
‘Dirty bulking’ is used as a method to gain weight fast. From a man’s perspective, or a woman seeking fast weight gain, this is ideal. A woman who intends to cut afterwards should proceed with caution.
How Long Is A Dirty Bulk?
If you do decide to go ahead with dirty bulking, how long you dirty bulk for is crucial. It’s easy to get carried away and bouncing back from a dirty bulk isn’t going to be as easy as bouncing back from a clean bulk.
We suggest that you don’t do a dirty bulk for longer than 2-3 months. If you want to bulk for longer, switch to a clean bulk.
Should I Lose Weight First And Then Build Muscle?
No.
Too many women are adopting this very outdated advice. If anyone tells you to ‘lose weight and then tone’ block your ears, scream and run away!
This is the kind of advice that makes things harder for women.
Let’s be real; the odds are already against you, since you don’t produce enough testosterone to build muscle thick and fast, and as a woman you will naturally hold more body fat.
The fact is; it is easier to build muscle when you are carrying extra weight. Those additional pounds are extremely precious in the bulking world.
You can lose as much ‘weight’ as you want, but if you haven’t done the ‘building’ work prior to the weight loss, you won’t have much lean muscle to show for it and it will be harder for you to build it from that point. Not impossible, just harder.
Weightlifting is the only way to alter your physique and body composition. Yes. The only way.
These traditional weight loss methods (restrictive diet and excessive cardio), will eat into the muscle stores you already have. So by adopting the ‘lose weight and then tone’ method, you actually cause muscle wastage and you will go backwards.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Can I Lose Fat While Bulking?
When you are bulking you are altering your body composition by building more lean muscle so that you can burn fat more efficiently when you cut.
You shouldn’t expect or be concerned about losing fat in your bulking phase, because bulking is not about fat loss, it’s about preparing you for more efficient fat loss later.
Will I Gain Fat If I Bulk?
It’s not uncommon to gain some excess body fat when you bulk, but it’s important to understand the entire point of the bulking phase. That is to build more muscle so that your overall body composition changes. With more muscle you will burn fat more easily further down the line.
Any fat you gain during your bulk will be taken care of in your cut. That’s why it’s important to follow the entire bulking and cutting cycle.
Should I Bulk Or Cut First If I Am Skinny Fat?
If you are skinny fat you should still bulk first. Your current body composition suggests that you don’t have enough lean muscle to reveal even though you are not overweight.
In this case, you should bulk for an extended period of time, because you need to build more muscle in order to balance out your body composition.
Bulking And Cutting Summary
As previously mentioned; the reason bulking and cutting are used together in a cycle is because it has proven to be one of the most efficient methods to achieve aesthetic results.
Get your head around the idea that you’re in this for the long haul, and that you’ll use this method more than once. Chances are, you’ll use this method multiple times.
And remember, the bulking must come first.
Once you have bulked for your desired length of time; drop back on the heavy lifting, reduce your calories and up the cardio to ‘trim the fat’.
What you are left with after the cutting phase, is all the beautiful lean muscle that you built during your bulking phase.
The best and simplest way to approach your diet in this process, if you don’t have anyone giving you a good meal plan, is to track your calories and macro-nutrients. Use our Macro Calculator to get your numbers and see; Macros Explained.
Remember that all the cutting in the world won’t reveal a physique you haven’t built, therefore it is necessary to use workout plans that build lean muscle first and fast.
Get Help With Bulking And Cutting
If you need support with this process you can join over 6000 women who have trusted Lipstick Lifters to help support their long term goals. Our team of female lifters have a collective 20 years of experience in the lifting space and can support you with a wide range of personal goals related to lifting.
Check out the details of our membership option here.
If you want to go straight into your bulking and cutting cycle, consider the Fat Loss Formula, it will guide you through the entire process.
This article was originally published in 2021 most recently updated in May 2025.
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