[vantagesc]

If you have good nutrition, you don't need to eat at a severe excess to gain muscle at a good rate. Just 10-20% over daily expenditure.

Putting on fat cannot be avoided when bulking. But at an average rate of 1.5-2 pounds per week as you suggest, you are gaining 6-8 pounds a month. If you bulk for 4 months, you gain 24-32 pounds in that time alone. At least half of that is going to be fat. Why? In your first year of serious weight lifting, you might be able to gain 25 pounds in lean muscle at most, but in the second year it will be less, and in the third year even less than that. I think people severely underestimate how long it takes to put on lean body mass.

So at your proposed rate of weight gain, you will have gained a large amount of fat at the end of your bulk. You will have gained MORE fat than muscle. Eventually you will have to go on a prolonged cut period because you are putting on too much fat too quickly, whereas if you went on a SLOW bulk, you'd be able to bulk longer (getting stronger and stronger) and look good for more of the year, rather than getting fat and having to spend half your time cutting. If you are starting off very skinny, then it doesn't hurt to put on some fat to look more full, but I personally don't want to spend that much time cutting. I'd rather bulk more slowly.

With your suggestion, after four months, you have gained 24-32 pounds of weight, but only 10 pounds of muscle (at most if your a normal adult, no steroids, beginner weightlifter). Now you have 14-22 pounds of fat to lose. If you try to lose the fat too quickly, you will end up losing muscle too, which is counter-productive, so you have to take it slow (unless of course you are severely over weight, then the fat can come off faster). You've now spent four months bulking and four months cutting for a net gain of 10 pounds of muscle. Bulking slower you can gain the same mount of muscle in four months, but now you only have to cut for two months. The slower bulk comes out ahead over the course of a year.

Everyone is a little different of course, so do what works best for you. Just consider how much weight a non-steroid person can gain in a year, how long you want to spend cutting, and whether you care about being at a higher body fat percentage. My advice applies to someone who wants to be in the 10-15% range year round, which means a fairly flat stomach and even some visible abs at the lower end of the range. Obviously power lifters tolerate some extra fat to completely prioritize strength.

Good discussion.