About a year ago I lost 70 lbs and started The 5/3/1 program. I’ve been eating at about a 250 cal surplus for about 6 months and have completed my 10th cycle. I’ve picked up about 8-9 lbs and am curious how long to stay on a bulking cycle? Any advice? I’ve been using FSL and BBB as my assistance work. My goal is to increase both strength and mass, but I’m also interested in dropping body fat % at some point
That’s up to your own goals. If you are happy getting stronger and don’t mind (or like) having the extra weight, keep at it. If you are starting to feel a bit flabby and aren’t willing to sacrifice gaining weight for more strength gains, start to reduce your calories. If it’s just a small amount of weight, or dropping a bit of fat, you might just consider cutting carbs back except for a window before/after workouts.
I don’t think anyone here can help you out with that answer unless you have clearly defined goals that you want to reach.
That is pretty general. I think the majority of people here want to increase those things. Do you have any specific goals? For example do you want to deadlift 600 pounds and add 25 lbs of muscle? Or are you more of a bodybuilder with physique goals? Are you training for a sport? Or are you just into general health and fitness?
You will need to define your goals in a quantifiable manner before anyone on here can give you advice on how to reach them.
I personally have never been into bulking and cutting, and I personally am more of a fata** then I would like to admit, but I currently care more about the numbers on the bar rather than how I look in the mirror. But from what I know about lifting and nutrition, 5/3/1 functions much the same whether you are bulking or cutting, with some minor adjustments. Generally speaking if you getting lots to eat you can do more work to put on strength and mass (ie. BBB) but if your on reduced calories perhaps you could increase the intensity but reduce the overall work. Run a 90%TM with PR sets and only do 3x5 @ FSL with some more assistance to increase muscle retention.
In summary, define your goals specifically first then see where you are and where you want to be. If you can do that first, you will likely find someone who has done it before and can show you the path. In general if you just stretch, lift, and sprint while eating good quality food you will probably be in pretty good shape.