How does bulking up work

But this doesn't mean you need to start eating every calorie-rich food in sight. Can you gain muscle without taking in excess calories? The answer is actually yes. My lab recently published a study in the "European Journal of Applied Physiology" where we optimized protein intake, but kept calories at maintenance in the subjects.

We found that these highly trained subjects gained muscle and lost fat at the same time, with minimal change in their total bodyweight. In other words, training hardcore while on maintenance calories can actually shift your body to a more muscular, less fat appearance.

The premise for our study wasn't entirely new; it was the subjects who made it special. Up until recently, nearly all of the studies which overfed subjects were done in sedentary non-training subjects. The most-cited study to date took sedentary people and overfed them for days by 1, calories per day.

The average body weight increase for the subjects during the overfeed was 17 pounds, of which 67 percent was fat, and only 33 percent was muscle mass. My lab is the first to look at the impact of bulking in guys who were actually training hard. In addition to the above study, Sean McCleary headed up another study where we overfed subjects with either a moderate calories or an extreme 2, extra calories per day for 45 days.

Subjects in our study also trained every body part to extreme levels several times per week. We found that both groups increased their muscle mass by approximately pounds. But, the difference when it came to fat gain was more pronounced.

While the moderate calorie group lost 2 pounds of fat, the extreme calorie group gained 2 pounds of fat! Among competitive bodybuilders, preparation for their contests can be considered a fourth phase. Bulking is the muscle-gaining phase. These extra calories provide your body with the necessary fuel to boost muscle size and strength while weight training 1. To varying degrees, body fat tends to accumulate during bulking due to excess calorie intake 1.

Cutting, or the fat loss phase, refers to a gradual decrease in calorie intake and increase in aerobic training to reduce excess body fat from the bulking phase, allowing for improved muscle definition 2. During the cutting phase , bodybuilders eat fewer calories than their bodies require, which puts them at a disadvantage for building muscle. The goal of this phase is generally to maintain — not gain — muscle mass 2 , 3 , 4. One review found that the average calorie intake of bodybuilders during the bulking phase was 3, calories per day for men and 3, for women, compared with 2, and 1, calories during the cutting phase, respectively 5.

Bodybuilding consists of three main phases — bulking, cutting, and maintenance. Generally, bulking is meant to increase muscle mass and strength, whereas cutting is intended to shed excess body fat while maintaining muscle mass. You can estimate your daily calorie needs by using a calorie counter , which considers your weight, sex, age, height, and physical activity level to estimate your daily calorie needs.

For example, if you need 3, daily calories per day to maintain weight, you should aim to consume 3,—3, instead, depending on your experience level. For a person who weighs pounds 68 kg , this equates to an increase of 0. While novice bodybuilders who have 6 months or less of weight training experience should aim for the higher end of this calorie range, bodybuilders with several years of experience should target the lower end to limit increases in body fat 8 , 9.

Once you establish the number of calories you need for bulking, you can determine your macronutrient ratios. Macronutrients — carbs, fats, and proteins — are the nutrients that are needed in larger quantities in your diet.

Carbs and protein each contain 4 calories per gram, while fat packs 9. Experts recommend that you get 4 , 6 :. Today's Top Stories. How to Eat Like Chris Hemsworth. What Is Bulking? Bulking Nutrition Commonly considered the most efficient way to build mass quickly, bulking is all about pure calorie math. Click here to join for more exclusive health and fitness content.

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You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano. And Oskar Faarkrog, a Bangkok, Thailand-based personal trainer who found success with his own bulking and cutting program.

He prefers this to being 50 pounds heavier. Here are his top reasons to steer clear of bulking and cutting. When a bodybuilder begins a bulk, he or she is starting from a point of high muscle mass and low body fat.

Increases in body fat are associated with increases in estrogen levels, according to the Endocrine Society. The whole principle of the bulk is to stay in an anabolic state and therefore expedite muscle growth. The longer you lift, the smaller that number gets. The body adapts to the resistance stimulus, Duncan says. The experienced lifter might only gain three and a half pounds in a year. Faarkrog has found success on a short-cycle bulking and cutting program, in which he switches between bulks and cuts on a two- to three-week basis.

Here are his top reasons in favor of short-cycle bulking and cutting. He noticed a significant increase in his ability to lift heavy during the bulking cycles. This helps maximize the muscle mass he stands to gain.