Q: Generally speaking, what bodyfat percentage do you allow your bodybuilders to reach before beginning a lean out phase?

A: This question carries the implication that all bodybuilders must undergo separate phases. This really only applies to my clients in formal competition, where specific phases are unavoidable. For non-competitors, and even competitors to a modified degree, I prefer the “culking” approach. This is a tongue-in-cheek term I coined which basically fuses the whole cutting & bulking cycle in to one slow, steady, refinement of the physique in terms of both size AND leanness. This is entirely possible to achieve, but the timeline is generally a period of years rather than months. In the purest sense, culking is a perpetual process that’s linear for the most part. The typical cycle scenario is spending half the year looking like a bloated mess, and the other half looking decent to drawn. At fleeting points for only a few weeks (or days) at a time, they look great. That doesn’t sit too well with me.

Back to the question, which I’ll apply strictly to competitors. I’ll speak from the perspective of calipers since that’s my preferred instrument. Given that, I’m a huge proponent of the slow approach to competition prep. I don’t like to see much more than 1% BF drop per month, and even less than that is warranted (closer to 0.5% a month) as mid single digits approach. It stands to reason that for a 3-6 month dieting phase (depends on the individual), I don’t recommend that guys go more than appx 3-4% above their competition level, which again varies with the individual. With calipers, some guys look good enough to hit the stage in the 3’s, younger folks with tighter/less collapsible skin often look good enough in the 4-5’s. Keep in mind that ultimately, the mirror beats the calipers.

I'd like to clarify that "culking" is often assumed to be a methodology or program that I thought up, but it's not. It's a set of default effects. I find it amusing how a catchy word like "culking" can conjure up all kinds of assumptions (I also coined the term "fulking" - short for fat-bulking - but somehow it wasn't as attractive). Culking is merely a set of effects (simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss) that are seen in beginning and some intermediate-level trainees. It's also seen in formerly fit trainees who have been sedentary for a long period and have slipped into a deconditioned state. These populations don't need to necessarily focus on simultaneous effects because they'll happen regardless, by virtue of being relatively far from their potential.

Other populations who don't necessarily need dedicated cutting and bulking phases are those who don't compete in Bodybuilding and do not necessarily want to push the extremes. These folks often do better - psychologically and otherwise - on a more simplistic and linear path, plodding along like the turtle that beat the rabbit. The first time I mentioned culking it was most likely addressing newbies on the forums who had barely been training for 3 months yet they were agonizing over whether they should bulk or cut. In my private practice, programs for actors and other such people in the entertainment business (as well as certain non-bodybuilding athletes) sometimes are precluded from dedicated bulking and cutting phases due to the nature of their roles (or sports). In these cases, a more linear and subtle trend in whatever direction is needed and sometimes is the only option.
With that said, dedicated bulking and cutting phases are almost always the necessary resort once trainees make it past the beginning and intermediate stages and still want to push the envelope. The direction taken has to be very specific, whether it's gaining muscle or losing fat.