# When to put an end to the bulk?

**URL:** <https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/when-to-put-an-end-to-the-bulk/12950>\
**Category:** Nutrition Q&A \[Moderated\]\
**Created:** [October 28, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/when-to-put-an-end-to-the-bulk/12950 "2022-10-28T16:54:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Blubber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@Blubber](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Blubber)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/when-to-put-an-end-to-the-bulk/12950/1 "2022-10-28T16:54:14Z")

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I’m a 21-year-old male standing at 5’6 inches.

Numbers (last tested a few months ago)  
Squat: 300 lbs  
Bench: 185 lbs  
Deadlift: 300 lbs

Weight: ~147-148 lbs  
I am sitting at about 31 inches on my waist circumference, and I still have 6 weeks to go until I’ve completed this run-through of the hypertrophy 2 template. I’ve been making solid gains on it (noticeable weekly differences), so I was wondering if I should just run the bulk all the way to the end of the program or not.

In other words, what waist circumference should indicate an end to my bulking phase?

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**Author:** ![Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/forum.barbellmedicine.com/jordan_feigenbaum/32/1315_2.png) [@Jordan\_Feigenbaum](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/u/Jordan_Feigenbaum)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/t/when-to-put-an-end-to-the-bulk/12950/2 "2022-10-30T16:29:39Z")

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I think you can continue to gain weight slowly, thought I wouldn’t _try_ to hit a top waist circumference necessarily. Think about a few pounds a month, aiming to keep your waist circumference pretty similar to what it is now over time. That way you can be reasonably confident you’re gaining LBM