Building muscle is much easier when you eat a little more than you burn. The mistake is eating a lot more. Your body can only build muscle so fast, and anything past that gets stored as fat. A lean bulk keeps the surplus small.
How many extra calories
Eat about 200 to 300 calories above maintenance. Find your maintenance with the calorie calculator, then add a little. That's roughly one extra snack a day, not an extra meal.
How fast to gain
Aim for about 0.25 to 0.5 lb a week, or 1 to 2 lb a month. Newer lifters can lean toward the top of that range. If you've lifted for years, stay toward the bottom.
Weigh yourself a few mornings a week and watch the weekly average. Gaining faster than planned? Trim 100 to 200 calories. Not gaining after 2 to 3 weeks? Add 100 to 200.
Protein and the rest
Keep protein around 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight (more on protein). Fill the rest of your calories with carbs to fuel training and enough fat to stay healthy. The macro calculator splits it for you.
Train like you mean it
Extra food only turns into muscle if you train hard. Follow a real program, keep most sets close to failure, and push to add reps or weight over time (here's how).
Muscle or fat?
- Strength going up steadily: good sign.
- Waist growing slowly while your weight climbs: mostly muscle.
- Waist growing fast and lifts stalled: too much surplus, eat a little less.
How long to bulk
Most people do well running a lean bulk for several months, then a short cut or a few weeks at maintenance before the next one. Because you gain slowly, there's less fat to lose afterward.