The Classic 5-Month Bulk While running thousands of guys through our bulking progmam, we noticed that 3 months wasn't always long enough. You need to gain around 20 pounds to make a remarkable transformation. If you're gaining at a moderate pace of 1 pound per week, that takes about 5 months.
Most beginners will see noticeable muscle growth within eight weeks, while more experienced lifters will see changes in three to four weeks. Most individuals gain one to two pounds of lean muscle per month with the right strength training and nutrition plan.
A typical bulking phase is 3 or 4 months, but a lot of people do way more than that. You should do at least 3 months to reap the benefits of a good lifting program.
The general rule is that consuming an excess of at least 2,500 calories per week can help increase lean tissue by one pound of gained mass. This number is derived from several published studies, but it is generalized for the 'average exerciser.
We normally recommend gaining 20 pounds over 3–5 months.
Carrying an extra 20 pounds can have a noticeable impact on your body, and you may feel a range of physical and emotional effects throughout the day.
Research has shown that under optimal conditions, the range of possible muscle gain rates for humans is about 0.5-2lbs per month. However, the actual rate any one person will achieve comes down to many variables. I would say that the main 3 are diet, training, and genetics/personal factors.
Can I Use the 2,500-Calorie Diet to Gain Muscle? Yes, you can. This is commonly known as bulking – a muscle gaining phase of body building where you intentionally consume more calories than your body needs and work out more through weight training.
There are other terms for this, such as build mode, but bulking is a common term for this caloric surplus. Dirty bulking is when an individual is in a caloric surplus to build muscle (build mode). However, the individual is eating foods that are carb dense, unhealthy, and ultra-processed out of convenience.
Contrary to what you might see on social media or hear from your buddy at the gym, most people won't be able to get significantly ripped in three months. You can lose a few pounds of fat and/or gain a few pounds of muscle in that time, but three months is too short of a time frame to see drastic results.
Now, for the age-old question: should you do cardio during bulking? The answer is yes, but with a balanced approach. Too much cardio can counteract the calorie surplus you need for muscle growth, making it harder to see progress.
Visually, you'll usually notice muscle growth in as little as four to six weeks after beginning training, Carlson says. And you can expect those gains to continue for another year or two. “We will maximize most of our increases in lean muscle within the first 18–24 months of strength training,” he adds.
Downtime between workouts (whether you're lifting, doing cardio or training for a sport) is when our bodies have a chance to actually build muscle. Strenuous workouts cause muscle breakdown, while rest allows our bodies to build it back up.
A small study on 15 healthy young males eating 6,000 calories for one day revealed a total weight gain of 1.87 pounds. This calorie level is extremely difficult to do regularly. Remember, some of this weight gain would be water weight and some undigested food.
Eat often. Try to eat every 2–4 hours throughout the day. Aim for 3 balanced meals and 2–4 healthy snacks daily. This is one of the most effective strategies for increasing calories, as well as protein and other nutrients, to support weight gain.
The bottom line is that it is important to keep bulking in perspective. Aim to gain no more than one pound of body weight per week. If you're gaining more, it's likely due to a fat gain versus muscle growth.
Consume 0.8-1g per pound (1.6-2.2g per kg) of body weight in protein every day. Consume the rest of your calories from foods composed of carbs and fats. Eat vegetables to keep up your fiber and micronutrient content for your general health. If you are not gaining weight, add more carbs and/or fats to your meal.
It is a macronutrient (macro) split/macro tracking diet with its total daily calorie content composing of 40% carbohydrate, 40% protein and 20% fat. Bodybuilders employ this macro split when they wish to 'cut' (lose weight), maintain or 'bulk' (gain weight).
Still, one study suggests that beginners can gain around four to seven pounds of muscle in their first three months of lifting (5). If that progress was maintained at a consistent rate, you could expect to gain around 16 to 28 pounds of muscle in your first year of lifting.
Gained 10 pounds in a month? Or yet, gained 10 pounds in a week? Now that's cause for concern. This kind of totally unexplained weight gain can signal more serious health problems such as a hormone condition or a reaction to an Rx.