Cutting and bulking · 1 min read · Updated
Lean bulking: add muscle without the extra fluff
Eat about 10% over maintenance, train hard and gain slowly. Here's how to grow without putting on a lot of fat.
Building muscle takes a small surplus of calories: extra building material on top of what you burn. The "eat everything in sight" bulk works, but most of the gain ends up as fat you'll have to cut later.
The lean way
- Eat about 10% above maintenance. The TDEE calculator shows the number.
- Aim to gain roughly 0.25 to 0.5% of your body weight a month if you've lifted a while, a bit faster if you're new.
- Keep protein at 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kg.
- Train with progressive overload. The surplus only turns into muscle if the training asks for it.
Hard gainer?
If you struggle to eat enough, go liquid: a shake with milk, oats, a banana and peanut butter adds a lot without making you stuffed. Add a snack between meals and use bigger plates.
Check in monthly
Gaining much faster than planned? Trim your daily number by 100 to 200 calories. Lifts and weight stuck for a month? Add 100 to 200.