New Research Finds Bulking with High Calories Not Necessary for Building Muscle
Mention bulking, and images of huge takeaways and plates of food may spring to mind. However, it may come as a relief to some that in recent years this method of gaining muscle has lost popularity. Various pieces of emerging evidence have suggested that extortionate calorie amounts aren't required to build muscle mass, and that larger calorie surpluses result in unnecessary gains in body fat. In fact, a more meagre calorie surplus (more calories than you burn) or even, as new evidence suggests, maintenance calories could elicit just as promising results for your muscle gain goals.
So, are the days of massive bulking meals gone? New evidence seems to suggest it.
The Study
The study published in Sports Medicine aimed to determine the effects of different levels of energy surplus on muscle mass, strength, and skinfold thickness (body fat gain) in resistance trained participants.
The Methods
The study included 21 trained lifters. They performed resistance training three days per week for 8 weeks. Participants were assigned to either maintain their calorie intake or consume a calorie surplus of 5% or 15%. They were split randomly into three groups:
Maintenance energy (maintenance calories)
Moderate surplus (5% calorie surplus)
High surplus (15% calorie surplus)
Changes in body mass, skinfold thickness, muscle thickness of the biceps, triceps and quads, and one rep maximum (1 RM) for squat and bench press were also measured and analysed.
The Results
Muscle and strength gain: No significant differences were found in muscle gain or squat 1 rep max results between the groups. However, the high surplus group showed a greater increase in bench press 1 rep max compared to the moderate surplus and maintenance groups.
Fat gain: The high surplus group had a more significant increase in skinfold thickness compared to the maintenance group, indicating higher fat gain. The moderate surplus group also showed a slight increase in skinfold thickness compared to the maintenance group.
The Conclusion
The study concluded that faster rates of body weight gain, associated with larger calorie surpluses, mostly increased fat gain rather than enhancing muscle hypertrophy or strength.
The study suggests that a more conservative energy surplus (5-20% over maintenance) scaled to the individual's resistance training experience may be more beneficial, minimising unnecessary fat gain while supporting muscle growth.
What This Means for Us
While the study had a small sample size with dropouts due to COVID-19, this isn't the first of evidence suggesting that we don't need huge amounts of calories to gain muscle. Previous evidence has also suggested we can gain muscle at maintenance or even in a calorie deficit.
For us, it means that we should probably consume smaller calorie surpluses, aiming to gain weight more slowly, and with consideration of our training experience and current body mass. As well as this, a more intense training programme might be necessary to maximise the benefits of a calorie surplus.
As a rule of thumb, to gain muscle, a calorie surplus of 200-400 calories a day should be more than adequate. Enough protein (1.6-2 grams per kg of body weight) can maximise gains to enhance recovery and growth. If you are relatively new to lifting, you may get away with gaining muscle at maintenance calories, or even in a calorie deficit, providing adequate training stimulus and protein intake is present.
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