How to Bulk (Without Getting Fat)
Build muscle on purpose. Not accidentally store body fat.
Let's Get Real For a Second
Building muscle is slow. Even with perfect training, nutrition, and recovery, you're looking at 0.5-1kg of muscle per month if you're a beginner, and considerably less if you've been at it for years.
This means you don't need to eat like it's your job. Those "eat big to get big" guys from the 90s? They got big alright—big bellies alongside their biceps. You can do better.
The Surplus Sweet Spot
Eat 200-300 calories above your TDEE. That's it. A "lean bulk" or "gaintaining" approach.
Yes, it's slower than slamming down 4000 calories daily. But you'll actually look good year-round instead of spending 6 months bulking and 6 months trying to undo the damage.
Quick maths: 200-300 calorie surplus × 30 days = 6000-9000 extra calories per month. Since muscle gain has a ceiling, anything beyond this mostly becomes fat storage. Don't overshoot.
Protein Requirements
1.6-2.2g per kg of bodyweight. Same as cutting, surprisingly. You don't need more protein just because you're bulking—your muscles can only use so much.
If you're 80kg, aim for around 130-175g daily. Beyond this you're just making expensive urine. Spend the extra money on better food instead.
Training: The Part People Forget
Here's the thing nobody talks about: you can't out-eat bad training. All those extra calories need somewhere to go, and that somewhere is your muscles—but only if you're actually giving them a reason to grow.
Progressive overload: Add weight, reps, or sets over time. If you're lifting the same weights you were lifting 3 months ago, why would your body build new muscle?
Hit each muscle 2x per week minimum: Full body, upper/lower, or push/pull/legs. Bro splits (chest Monday, forever) are less effective for most people.
Train close to failure: Those last 1-3 reps where you're questioning your life choices? That's where the growth happens. Casual sets of 10 when you could do 15 won't cut it.
Making It Work In Real Life
Eat big meals around training
Your body's best at using carbs when you've just trained. Big lunch post-gym beats spreading calories evenly throughout the day.
Liquid calories are your friend now
On a cut we said avoid them. Bulking? A protein shake with oats, banana, and peanut butter is an easy 600 calories that doesn't make you feel stuffed.
Track your weight weekly
Aim for 0.5-1kg per month of weight gain. More than that and you're gaining more fat than necessary. Less and you might need to bump calories slightly.
Carbs are not the enemy
Carbs fuel hard training and help recovery. Rice, potatoes, oats, pasta—all good. You're not cutting, you can enjoy these.
Sleep is gains
Growth hormone peaks during deep sleep. Muscles repair overnight. 7-9 hours isn't optional if you want results from all that training and eating.
A Reality Check On Expectations
Year 1: You might gain 8-12kg of muscle if you do everything right (genetic lottery winners, more).
Year 2: Maybe 4-6kg.
Year 3+: 1-2kg per year if you're lucky.
This is why "perma-bulking" doesn't make sense. After a certain point, extra calories aren't building muscle—they're just building your waistline. Bulk for 4-6 months, maintain or mini-cut, then go again.
Where People Go Wrong
"I'm bulking" as an excuse: Bulking isn't permission to eat pizza every night. Quality food matters. Your body builds better tissue from chicken and rice than it does from takeaway.
Skipping training and still eating big: This isn't bulking, it's just getting fat. The calories need to go somewhere productive.
Not tracking at all: "I'll just eat more" usually means you eat way more or way less than you think. A kitchen scale (affiliate link) helps you dial it in, at least for a few weeks until you know what 200g of rice looks like.
Useful Tools
Sources
- Morton et al. (2018). Nutritional interventions to augment resistance training. Sports Medicine. Link
- Schoenfeld et al. (2016). Effects of resistance training frequency. Sports Medicine. Link
- Slater et al. (2019). Is an energy surplus required to maximize muscle hypertrophy? Frontiers in Nutrition. Link
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