[Sporto]

I'd like to share some things with the forum about "bulking" that I've picked up through my years of trial and error, loads of personal research, and bumping heads with some really smart people in the field. (FP, feel free to sticky). I want to start off by saying that this is a basic starting template for those trying to gain size/LBM. If you have any physiological problems, then things get a little trickier, but for the most part this will work for the majority of the population. This is also something that I personally use myself as a natural lifter, and if you've seen my pics (not conceited), then you can see that I know my stuff even though I don't have a bunch of letters following my name. So without further ado, let me get started.

1.) The first thing you MUST do before developing any kind of nutrition plan is to figure out your starting point. This is what we call MAINTENANCE CALORIE LEVEL. That is, the amount of calories, on average, that it takes your body to maintain weight. It's different for everybody. The best way to do this is to take an entire week (without changing eating habits), and track every single calorie you put into your body. Then, add up each day and track your bodyweight each day. It doesn't really matter what time of day, after what meal, etc that you weigh yourself, just be consistent. Then see what your weight does. If your weight has roughly stayed the same, then take the average of the 7 days, and use that as your MAINTENANCE CALORIE LEVEL.

Don't like tracking calories? Well, I'm sorry, but if you want the BEST results, then you must do this. No exceptions. Make the change and let it become part of your lifestyle. You will be amazed at how HUGE of a difference taking the extra 10 seconds to measure things out and tracking calories will have on your physique. It's those little things that separate the average from the above average. You've probably got a decent cell phone right? They all now have some sort of memo pad feature on them. Find out how to use it and put it to good use. When you are on the go, plug your numbers into your phone whenever you eat. I have done this for years and it is so simple and takes no extra time really. Do it and thank me later.

What if you don't want to do all of that? Well, I don't recommend this, but you can use a very generic, basic equation to give you a starting point, and then adjust your numbers depending on what your bodyweight does. It's quicker, but may take you longer to figure out what target calorie level you need. Take your total bodyweight in LBS. and multiply it by anywhere from 14-16 (which has seemed to be the rough average). That will at least give you a range to start plugging away. 14 is generally used for people who have an easy time gaining weight, and 16 for the hard gainers. So, let's say you are a mere 150lbs and have a hard time gaining weight. Just take the 150X16 and you get 2400 calories as a starting point. Again, not the way I recommend, but you get the idea.

2.) Now from there is where we start to calculate everything. I'll start anywhere from a 200-500 calorie surplus, again depending on if you have an easy or hard time gaining weight (200 for easy gainers and 500 for hard gainers obviously). So let's take our 150lb. hardgainer as an example again. I'd start him off at a 500 calorie surplus to begin, which gives him 2900cals/day to work with. That's the daily calorie need. That's the number we use to calculate our ratios. The goal here is to gain anywhere from 1-2lbs. a WEEK. So, after a week of eating roughly 2900cals a day, weigh yourself again. If you haven't gained weight, add another couple hundred calories. If you've gained 1-2 lbs., stay there. If you've gained more than 2lbs., drop the cals about a couple hundred. Weighing yourself once a week will be your guide on how to adjust you daily calories. When the adjustment is made, don't forget to recalculate you macronutrient ratios along with it using the same format that you end up using.

3.) Now we calculate our ratios. This is where you have freedom to do what you wish. The one thing you want to keep in mind, is that *for the most part* protein will be a constant 1g/lb of bodyweight. After that, you can adjust the rest of your calories for whether or not you want to do a high carb/low fat approach, or a low carb/higher fat approach. But make sure you get your protein in. I also see no need to go above 1g/lb while in a caloric surplus, and in fact, could probably go as low as .8g/lb and be just fine since protein requirements for growth will go down as calories go up. But we'll stick with 1g/lb. for now and make it easier for the calculations.

*Something to remember*

1g Fat = 9cals
1g Carbohydrate = 4cals
1g Protein = 4cals

So, let's take our 150lbs. hardgainer again. We have 2900 cals to work with. Protein is an obvious 150g, which equals 600cals. We now have 2300cals to work with. This is where you can adjust carbs/fat to how you see fit.

High Carb/Low Fat Approach

I recommend getting at least 20-25% of your calories from fat sources that are rich in poly/mono unsaturated fats. I will use 25% in the example, as that's what I would normally start someone off with. Keep in mind that dietary fat doesn't make you fat. It won't do you any good to drop fat way low to <15%, as it will actually do you a lot more harm than good (for reasons I won't get into because of all the biochemistry involved). So for now, just trust me. So in our example, 25% of 2900cals = 725cals from fat, which (dividing by 9) gives us 80g fat for our diet. Now, we've used 1325cals so far (600 for protein and 725 for fat). The rest, which is 1575cals, will come from carbohydrates...which is roughly 395g (I usually round to the nearest 5).

Now we have our bulking plan of attack:

Fat: 80g
Carbs: 395g
Protein: 150g
Calories: 2900cals


Low Carb/High Fat Approach

Just flip/flop the way you do this, as long as you get your protein in, you'll be fine. The amount of carbohydrates that an individual feels comfortable with on a daily basis, start by calculating that first, then the rest is fat. Very simple. For the IR folks, 20% of total calories is a good starting point for the low carb bulking approach. Typically, if you are a 150lbs. hardgainer, you ARE NOT insulin resistant, so this approach isn't necessary, but let's use him aas an example anyway. We've got 20% of 2900 = 580cals from carbs...which equals 145g/day. The rest of the calories (1720cals) will be from fat and will equal 190g or so. The high fat content is necessary to get the calories up high enough to put the weight on if you use this approach. I don't recommend this plan, but if you are extremely IR, it might be necessary to use this approach to not gain so much BF while bulking. Just try to keep the majority of those fats coming from good poly/mono sources and you'll be ok.

It goes without saying that ANY mix of Carbs/Fat will work just fine as long as you get your protein in and hit your calorie level. This is the individual part of the diet and will depend on what types of foods you like to eat, how carbs effect you and your mood, etc. Again, hit your protein and daily calorie level, and just remember that fat/carbs are inversely related. If you go high on one, keep the other one low.

Carb sources are variable as well. Your body is NOT a textbook. If you do better with HIGH GI and handle it well (I recommend for the hardgainers), then by all means. If you are more IR, typically gain weight easily (as well as BF), then low GI sources and controlling insulin may be the better approach. The point is to know your body and do what you can stick to! After all, the BEST diet is the one you can stick to!

That is all for now. I leave the thread open for discussion, debate, ideas, theories, and the like. I want to reiterate that this is a basic template. The advanced athletes, elite bodybuilders, diabetics, etc. may all need different approaches.

Sporto

[Fireproof]

Great stuff, Sporto. I agree completely. You have to have these basic fundamentals in place if you plan on making progress. Some people get hung up about precise carbsrotein ratios in their PWO shakes when they don't even have their overall diet where it needs to be in the first place.

I also like your recommendation for protein requirements. Too many times I see people recommend 2-2.5 times bodyweight in grams of protein! That is just so much more than is required, and takes away from their carb intake which plays just as important a role in performance and muscle growth.

[Ni6tO_]

good post. thanks

[DesignBusinessProf]

Thanks for the pointers. The high carb approach seems like the way to go, at least for me. I'm the 150lb. guy who has difficulty gaining you describe. I've been eating close to 3000 per day for the last month and a half and have gained about 6-7lbs. A couple of days I ended up with a bit more protein and al lot more fats (from nuts, fish oil, flax oil) than carbs and just felt rotten. It seems if carbs outweigh fats I'm doing alright.

Is there any indication why some people do better with higher carbs or with higher fats?

[Nic]

How did I miss this post lol. Good info for sure.

[mochalady]

Sporto, in tracking your cals to determine maintenance level, should this be done with still lifting/cardio as per "usual."? I am currently maintaining at 14 times BW and have been lifting 4 days a week and doing 3 cardio sessions. My BW has stayed completely the same for the past 3 weeks. Would it be safe to say that 14 times BW works for me, or should I do as you recommend? Not to sound like an idiot...I just have never bulked before and I am not sure if there is a difference in either approach when involving activity. Cheers.

[Sporto]

Originally Posted by DesignBusinessProf

Is there any indication why some people do better with higher carbs or with higher fats?

Genetics.

Sporto

[Sporto]

Originally Posted by mochalady

Sporto, in tracking your cals to determine maintenance level, should this be done with still lifting/cardio as per "usual."? I am currently maintaining at 14 times BW and have been lifting 4 days a week and doing 3 cardio sessions. My BW has stayed completely the same for the past 3 weeks. Would it be safe to say that 14 times BW works for me, or should I do as you recommend? Not to sound like an idiot...I just have never bulked before and I am not sure if there is a difference in either approach when involving activity. Cheers.

Yes, this should take into account activity level, so for you 14XBW is maintenance.

Sporto

[mochalady]

Originally Posted by Sporto

Yes, this should take into account activity level, so for you 14XBW is maintenance.

Sporto

Thanks!

[jsjohnson69]

Sporto,
Do you recomend cardio while bulking if so what type, I have been told that I should decrease to about 2 cardio sessions a week and keep them at 20-30 at steady pace(no HIT), for bulking. I like to do cardio just for feeling better but I dont want to impede muscle growth.

[Sporto]

Originally Posted by jsjohnson69

Sporto,
Do you recomend cardio while bulking if so what type, I have been told that I should decrease to about 2 cardio sessions a week and keep them at 20-30 at steady pace(no HIT), for bulking. I like to do cardio just for feeling better but I dont want to impede muscle growth.

YES! Cardio on a bulk will keep it a LEAN bulk. I would do cardio on non weight training days. I still do HIIT though because of the supreme partitioning benefits you get from it. But either is fine - jsut get r done!

Sporto

[hayabusa3]

Sporto - I asked a hypothetical question a few weeks ago about sacrificing everything for abs... I've got another one here. I fit the bill for your example above - I'm 153lbs and I'm quite lean (skinny!) I had a little pot belly about a month ago but after strict calorie counting and whacking my protein up from god knows what to about 235, with calories now at between 1600 to 1800 daily, plus fish oils ect that i dont know how to count. Zero cardio. I joined a gym this week and realised I might have a really good stomach but the overall picture is a bit daft looking really - now the bulk question. I would like to keep my abs and grow at the same time. You already stated that you can do a lean bulk in your example by adding a lot of cardio adnd taking in about 2900 calories a day. But... If I stick to my 1600-1800 and 240ish protein....will I gain mass? Obviously more calories will make me grow quicker, but willl I grow on my current cal. intake?

[Nic]

Originally Posted by hayabusa3

Sporto - I asked a hypothetical question a few weeks ago about sacrificing everything for abs... I've got another one here. I fit the bill for your example above - I'm 153lbs and I'm quite lean (skinny!) I had a little pot belly about a month ago but after strict calorie counting and whacking my protein up from god knows what to about 235, with calories now at between 1600 to 1800 daily, plus fish oils ect that i dont know how to count. Zero cardio. I joined a gym this week and realised I might have a really good stomach but the overall picture is a bit daft looking really - now the bulk question. I would like to keep my abs and grow at the same time. You already stated that you can do a lean bulk in your example by adding a lot of cardio adnd taking in about 2900 calories a day. But... If I stick to my 1600-1800 and 240ish protein....will I gain mass? Obviously more calories will make me grow quicker, but willl I grow on my current cal. intake?

A very simple way to determine if you will grow is ask yourself this "I am consuming more energy compared to what I use in a day/week?" If you can answer yes to this question then technically you should be growing. Now what kind of growth. That is that million dollar question. There are a lot of factors that go into what kind of growth you are achieving...metabolism, how large the caloric excess is...etc. If I had to answer your question about will you grow on 1600-1800 calories I would have to say I doubt it. I know girls that eat more than that...in fact I am sure there are a few on this site Also you seem to be putting a huge emphasis on protein. You do realize that the other two macronutrients are equally important for muscle growth. To lean bulk that just means that you calories are only slightly higher than your maintenance. Determining your calorie needs is very individual I feel. You need to learn your body some more and the only way to do that is to play around with your diet/training. Also fish oils can be counted or not. I dont count them just for that fact that I consume 9 gels everyday and it never changes. I could count them I just havent for a long time. They do have calories though. Usually 9 calories per gel cap....or 1 gram of fat...same deal.

[bigdog]

So is it possible to get lean (lose that last bit of body fat) while bulking or is it one or the other?

One last thing,would he grow if he were to consume a lot of prot & keep the cal minimul?The only prob I see w/ that is being able to keep the protein high & cal low.
This stuff gets pretty confusing sometimes.

[hayabusa3]

"If I had to answer your question about will you grow on 1600-1800 calories I would have to say I doubt it. I know girls that eat more than that...in fact I am sure there are a few on this site Also you seem to be putting a huge emphasis on protein. You do realize that the other two macronutrients are equally important for muscle growth. To lean bulk that just means that you calories are only slightly higher than your maintenance. Determining your calorie needs is very individual I feel. You need to learn your body some more and the only way to do that is to play around with your diet/training"

Thanks Nic - Up untill I got your post I DID think all I needed was protein to grow muscle...what are the other two macronutrients ....Calories and Carbs? I thought these were purely for "energy", not muscle growth.. I was going to focus on low calories, high protein, dead lifts, squats and bench press...

[bigdog]

Originally Posted by hayabusa3

"If I had to answer your question about will you grow on 1600-1800 calories I would have to say I doubt it. I know girls that eat more than that...in fact I am sure there are a few on this site Also you seem to be putting a huge emphasis on protein. You do realize that the other two macronutrients are equally important for muscle growth. To lean bulk that just means that you calories are only slightly higher than your maintenance. Determining your calorie needs is very individual I feel. You need to learn your body some more and the only way to do that is to play around with your diet/training"

Thanks Nic - Up untill I got your post I DID think all I needed was protein to grow muscle...what are the other two macronutrients ....Calories and Carbs? I thought these were purely for "energy", not muscle growth.. I was going to focus on low calories, high protein, dead lifts, squats and bench press...

macros--carbs,fat

[Nic]

Originally Posted by bigdog

macros--carbs,fat

exactly and your micronutrients would be those that do not contain energy(calories) vitamins and minerals

[Fireproof]

Originally Posted by hayabusa3

"If I had to answer your question about will you grow on 1600-1800 calories I would have to say I doubt it. I know girls that eat more than that...in fact I am sure there are a few on this site Also you seem to be putting a huge emphasis on protein. You do realize that the other two macronutrients are equally important for muscle growth. To lean bulk that just means that you calories are only slightly higher than your maintenance. Determining your calorie needs is very individual I feel. You need to learn your body some more and the only way to do that is to play around with your diet/training"

Thanks Nic - Up untill I got your post I DID think all I needed was protein to grow muscle...what are the other two macronutrients ....Calories and Carbs? I thought these were purely for "energy", not muscle growth.. I was going to focus on low calories, high protein, dead lifts, squats and bench press...

You have to also keep in mind your energy balance. Regardless of the macros (carbs, fats, and protein) you consume, if you are not consuming MORE calories than you are burning on a daily basis, then you will not build muscle over the long-term. To grow bigger muscles, you need to synthesize more (new) muscle tissue. You can't synthesize new tissue out of nothing (or else you'd break the laws of physics, lol).

Of course, the body is a complex machine, and due to the continuous processes ongoing, it is possible to grow muscle without much of a caloric surplus, but this tends to only happen to those new to lifting, and it doesn't last for long.

In general, you need to be eating more calories than you burn if you expect to grow your muscles and get bigger. That's key point #1. But as you mentioned, since our muscles are made of protein, we do need to make sure we are eating an adequate amount. That's key point #2. A good starting place is 1.0-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Make sure you get that, then fill in the rest of your calories with carbs and fat to your liking.

[hayabusa3]

So I've been spending a lot of time on clutchfitness.com and I'm seeing a lot of repition - so I appreciate you guy's taking the time to type the same old basic #1 and #2's and stuff again and again. All the information anyone would need to bulk or cut or do whatever ihas already been posted. I'm skinny. Botttom line. I've decided to go with and all out bulking plan.
Following Lyle's example (or Sporto's) I think I have a maint. intake of 2325 or so - putting a deacent bulk at 2800.... for the last week iv'e changed my intake from around 1500/1800 to 3500/3800... and It's been pretty easily achieved. Salmon sandwiches on wheat bread, extra bowls of oatmeal, cups of pre- cooked chicked breast and a few protein drinks. Trying to start of with as much clean food as I can and keep the suppliments to a minimum.
The %'s float around a little but the protein is allways at 235 or higher. Usually 30% fat, 40% carb, 30% protein. I've taken some terrible before pictures that you'll get a laugh at in a few months. I'm at the jym 5 mornings a week and I'm going to concentrate on my pencil legs. Watch this space.
By the way - I did get pretty awesome abs on my very low caolrie diet - but nobody noticed them at the pool because of my freaky knobbly knees....

[hayabusa3]

I think at that last post I was at about 153lbs - up to 175 at the moment, but the weight gain is basically non existent. I was trying to stay at about 15% BF or thereabouts and I thought this would be enough excess to keep allowing me to grow. I've totally lost track of my calorie intake but I assume from when I was eating 4200/day that I am now at about 3000/3200ish. If I try to eat even more again won't this bring my BF% even higher? Any thoughts? I'll do it if I have to, but the cost was holding me back....

[Fireproof]

Originally Posted by hayabusa3

So I've been spending a lot of time on clutchfitness.com and I'm seeing a lot of repition - so I appreciate you guy's taking the time to type the same old basic #1 and #2's and stuff again and again. All the information anyone would need to bulk or cut or do whatever ihas already been posted. I'm skinny. Botttom line. I've decided to go with and all out bulking plan.
Following Lyle's example (or Sporto's) I think I have a maint. intake of 2325 or so - putting a deacent bulk at 2800.... for the last week iv'e changed my intake from around 1500/1800 to 3500/3800... and It's been pretty easily achieved. Salmon sandwiches on wheat bread, extra bowls of oatmeal, cups of pre- cooked chicked breast and a few protein drinks. Trying to start of with as much clean food as I can and keep the suppliments to a minimum.
The %'s float around a little but the protein is allways at 235 or higher. Usually 30% fat, 40% carb, 30% protein. I've taken some terrible before pictures that you'll get a laugh at in a few months. I'm at the jym 5 mornings a week and I'm going to concentrate on my pencil legs. Watch this space.
By the way - I did get pretty awesome abs on my very low caolrie diet - but nobody noticed them at the pool because of my freaky knobbly knees....

Sounds like a great plan - congrats on the 5 days per week in the gym. Just remember to not over do it and over train.

Your metabolism may be different, but I've found that if I try to control my fat intake while bulking, then I do much better in terms of not putting on too much fat. It's when I stop monitoring myself and eat too many burgers and pizzas that the fat tends to come on.

But I guess that's a bit obvious. But the point is - don't get "too concerned" with macro ratios and preciseness. Get your protein in. Aim for a slight caloric surplus. Don't let fat intake get out of control. The rest should fall into place.

[JC]

Originally Posted by Fireproof

Your metabolism may be different, but I've found that if I try to control my fat intake while bulking, then I do much better in terms of not putting on too much fat. It's when I stop monitoring myself and eat too many burgers and pizzas that the fat tends to come on.

my experience is very similar to yours. I tend to sometimes over do it on the carbs and go way over on surplus amounts... but fat gain seems to stay fairly controllable when I am eating around 50-60g fat per day

[Fireproof]

Originally Posted by JC

my experience is very similar to yours. I tend to sometimes over do it on the carbs and go way over on surplus amounts... but fat gain seems to stay fairly controllable when I am eating around 50-60g fat per day

Yeah, I don't know how much of it is just keeping the fat low (since it's the quickest to be stored as fat) or how much the lower fat approach keeps my overall calories in check (it's harder to overeat on junk when you limit your fat).

But whatever the case - it seems to work.

[JC]

Originally Posted by Fireproof

Yeah, I don't know how much of it is just keeping the fat low (since it's the quickest to be stored as fat) or how much the lower fat approach keeps my overall calories in check (it's harder to overeat on junk when you limit your fat).

But whatever the case - it seems to work.

it's probably just magic I am finding that this time around... I am leaner being 180lbs than I was the last time I was bulking at 180lbs. I suppose the real test will be if I can make it back up to 190lbs at my current level of leanness... then I guess keep going until I hit about 15%

edit: 200lbs at 15% would be legit

[hayabusa3]

Originally Posted by Fireproof

Sounds like a great plan - congrats on the 5 days per week in the gym. Just remember to not over do it and over train.

Well, I'm back to 4 a week now, roughly following Darkhorses 'checks and balances' idea.

[/quote]Your metabolism may be different, but I've found that if I try to control my fat intake while bulking Get your protein in. Aim for a slight caloric surplus. Don't let fat intake get out of control. The rest should fall into place.[/quote]

I've actually not been tracking my food intake for way too long now - guessing what I'm doing and kinda using the mirror method. I feel like I'm changing in any way - weight/mirror at all. Stuck at 175, so I need to kick it into gear again with the calorie counting and force feeding thing. I honestly feel like I need 4000/4500 a day to gain. That's proving to be just too expensive right now.....frustrating. Thanks for looking out man.