Can we build muscle without bulking? No, right? If you want to build muscle, you gotta bulk, right? I mean that’s what all the biggest guys in the gym seem to be doing. But bulking can actually be the WRONG way to build muscle for most people. Today I’ll share why that is and how you can build muscle without bulking up. Get ready for some of the best bulking tips you’ve ever seen.

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It was long believed that the only way for your body to get enough energy for the costly process of muscle growth was by being in a calorie surplus, aka “bulking”. However, the downside is that you put on a lot of fat in the process. I recently spoke with Dr. Eric Helms, and asked him if he thought bulking is the best way to build muscle. He said it depends upon who you are. If you are relatively new to lifting and you are within what we would call normative ranges of body fat, potentially it is.

When I started lifting, my first bulk worked extremely well. But after that, I noticed my bulks became less and less effective. This got me thinking: is overeating really the only way to build muscle? Could we turn the excess fat on our bodies into muscle instead? Turns out, research shows you don’t need to be in a calorie surplus to build muscle. Dr. Eric Helms agrees that body recomposition is attainable. However, a disclaimer: is body recomp as efficient as an intermediate or advanced lifter being in a small surplus? Probably not. But it is one way, another approach that might fit someone better if they're already higher in body fat than they would like to be.

Now does all this research mean bulking is useless? What if you’re not worried about fat loss and simply want to maximize growth? Well, if you're starting at an already high body fat percentage, it's totally fine to go into a surplus and put on muscle, just be aware that it's going to come with more body fat gain. And if you’re already close to where you're comfortable with the way you look, you might want to consider taking an approach where you're eating at maintenance or you're trying to lean gain (build muscle without bulking up), or you might decide to cut first before then eventually bulking.

Now, some crucial bulking tips. It’s mostly beginners that benefit from bulking because they have the highest sensitivity to muscle growth. Bulking becomes less effective over time. That said, another “population” that benefits from traditional bulking would be Sam Salek and professional bodybuilders who take performance-enhancing drugs. Theoretically, when you're using anabolics, your ceiling goes up.

This brings us back to the reality that for a natural lifter past the beginner stage, muscle growth is very slow. If you try to rush it, you’ll just gain more fat rather than muscle. You need to scale your diet based on your experience level and how sensitive you are to muscle growth. This brings us to the next question: how many calories should you be eating to build muscle while minimizing fat?

If you’re a beginner, eat a daily calorie surplus of around 400-500 calories. Once you start to notice that it seems like it's mostly just fat coming on, you want to cut that calorie surplus probably in half roughly, and then just focus on progress in the gym. Try to gain just 1% of your body weight per month by using a small surplus of just 200 to 300 calories. Then, once you get into the advanced stage and are near your genetic ceiling of muscle growth, that’s when you dial it back even further by using a very small surplus.

That said, unless you’re super analytical or really dedicated to your fitness goals, I’ll admit tracking all this stuff can get overwhelming especially if you’re trying to nail down a really small surplus. If this sounds like you then don’t worry about tracking anything. Just focus on eating lots of protein, healthy whole foods, and use your strength and your body weight to determine if you’re eating the right amount. If after a month you step on the scale and you’ve gained 10 lbs, then you know you gotta dial it back. On the other hand, if you lost weight and haven’t been getting stronger in the gym, then that’s a sign you gotta eat a bit more.

Alright. To summarize, can we build muscle without bulking? Yes. But should you? It depends on where you’re at. For those who aren’t crazy lean and want to lose fat while building muscle, then eat just enough calories to maintain your weight or at a small deficit to lose no more than half a pound a week. Just keep in mind this approach can become less effective as you get more experienced. On the other end, for those who are less interested in losing fat and want to maximize muscle growth, use the bulking and “gaintaining” guidelines I presented earlier.