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. And if you feel like you're entering into an unhealthy cycle of weight loss and weight gain, it's time to reevaluate your approach.
In Dr. Helms' famous bulking study, he recommends that more advanced lifters gain no more than 0.25% of their body weight per week. For a 180-pound lifter, that's 0.45 pounds per week. The Slow Bulkers were gaining weight at twice that pace.
How Much Weight Should You Gain Per Week? If you're trying to bulk quickly, you should gain 0.5--1 pound per week. If you're a skinny beginner, you might want to gain as much as 1--2 pounds per week. If you're trying to bulk leanly, you should gain 0.25--0.5 pounds per week.
Another way to calculate your fat intake when bulking is using your bodyweight. The general recommendations are 0.5 – 2g of fats per kg of bodyweight. For our 80kg example, that would be anywhere from 40 – 160g of fats. Essentially, you wouldn't want to go below or above that range.
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.
The sweet spot for a lean bulk is to gain no more than 0.5-1 pound of body weight each week. For most people, this will be split 50/50 between muscle and fat gain. So, basically, you'll gain one pound of fat for each pound of muscle—which is a good ratio.
Belly fat can accumulate due to various factors including poor diet, lack of exercise, or hormonal imbalances. When bulking, it's common to gain fat along with muscle if dietary and exercise strategies aren't optimized.
So in their pursuit to put on as much weight as possible, most of these ego driven males end up putting on a substantial amount of body fat. Your body cannot continue to add pounds of lean muscle mass each week, so if your weight continues to increase every week, you are probably putting on too much body fat.
General recommendations are to consume 15-30 grams of protein at each meal. Studies show that higher intakes in one sitting — more than 40 grams — are no more beneficial than consuming the recommended 15-30 grams at one time. Don't waste your money on more protein than you need.
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.
Eat at a caloric surplus but avoid excess fat
When your caloric surplus is too large and contains too many carbohydrates and fats, you'll put on body fat. To maintain a lean bulk, you'll need to eat at a calorie surplus that consists of extra protein and wholegrains, without containing too much fat.
Most people can have highly effective cutting cycles in 8-12 weeks, but an effective bulking cycle should be 16-26 weeks on the low end and upwards of an entire year on the longer end. You can see some progress after 6-8 weeks, but it will be marginal, and extending your bulk beyond that is highly recommended.
And for some — especially women — the rate of muscle gain may be even slower. At this rate, the average person can gain roughly 25 pounds of muscle in a year. Of course, this isn't necessarily feasible in the long term. A more realistic pace is around five pounds of solid mass every six months.
A diet that lacks adequate protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats can make it harder to gain muscle mass. In contrast, consuming excess calories without the right macronutrient balance can result in gaining excess fat, rather than muscle mass.
The most effective bulks range from 4 - 8 months and effective cuts need to be at least 4 - 8 weeks for results. Is bulking and cutting effective? Yes, with time and dedication, you will see results. If you'd like to gain muscle mass or gain a lean physique, these phases will help you achieve the best results.
You want to build muscle but not increase your body fat—at least not to the point where it is unhealthy. 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.
May lead to health problems such as high blood pressure and insulin resistance. Bulking can be expensive due to increased food intake and supplements. Requires a significant amount of time commitment to achieve desired results.
Most bulking diets recommend a surplus of 250–500 calories. If your calculator is off by more than that, you won't gain weight.
Bulking also tends to lead to an increase in fat, which is why the cutting phase is needed afterwards. This phase involves eating in a calorie deficit in order to promote a “catabolic” (breakdown) state which will lead to fat loss and enhanced muscle definition.
Bulking will not lead to you losing your abs, they will still be there. But they may not be visible. But you won't lose them if anything they will probably get stronger. Once you begin to lose weight (known in bodybuilding as a cut) your abs may be even more defined then they were before you started bulking.
4 large eggs (Whole, fresh eggs) contains 286 Calories. The macronutrient breakdown is 2% carbs, 62% fat, and 36% protein.
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.