I'm brand new here. I am a 37-year-old female, 5'2", 150 lbs. Endomorph. Two years ago, I decided I needed to make regular exercise as much of a priority as eating and sleeping, until I die of old age. Now I've been working out consistently for two years. This summer I realized I didn't know what I really wanted to do, fitness-wise, and really, old age is a long time to fill with directionless fitness. Up until then, my idea of fitness was cardio plus zoning out with audiobooks to pass the hour. I didn't have a "sport" or anything I really LIKED to do. My gym suggested that I try its crossfit workouts to see if that sparked a new interest. It has; I love them. Now I'm doing 3 crossfit workouts a week plus another workout or two on the weekend. And I think I've found what I want to do next: heavy lifting, a la Spezzy. I'll never be a real runner, although I'm learning to make friends with running through the short distances in the Crossfit workouts. I'm currently test-driving a Paleo diet, I've got my copy of Starting Strength (3rd edition) and I've been consistently losing weight in the last few months. I'd like to start a lifting program in the spring, once I'm super solid on form, with all the right muscles firing. But I'm concerned about the bulking/cutting stuff that everyone talks about. What is the point of bulking/cutting from a strength standpoint? I get that it affects your appearance and body composition of muscle/fat, but what if I'm only concerned about strength? The weight I've lost I have lost VERY slowly, without starving myself, and I'm not into crash-dieting. I am not eager to have my weight cycle up and down in bulking/cutting; I don't know that that's a very good thing. When I start a lifting program, I know my weight might go up because of muscle gains. That's okay. I'd rather gain strength steadily and slowly, eat healthily, mix in other fitness if I want, and let my body be a consequence of this, till I die of old age. Can't I just gain strength, eat more to support the strength, and then when it seems I can't gain anymore, just maintain that strength until old age, without the bulking and cutting? Thanks for your help.
