Typical recommendations of 500 extra calories daily can lead to excessive fat gain. Smaller calorie surpluses of 200 extra calories a day are a good starting point, and then increase calories. A calorie Surplus from protein will result in less fat gain. Athletes with higher body fat had an increased risk of cardiovascular/metabolic disorders despite doing the same amount of exercise.
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH ON BULKING AND BODYFAT
- How to bulk up without getting fat is a topic of debate.
- Typical recommendations of 500 extra calories daily can lead to excessive fat gain.
- Smaller calorie surpluses of 200 extra calories a day are a good starting point, and then increase calories
- A calorie surplus from protein will result in less fat gain.
- Athletes with higher body fat had an increased risk of cardiovascular/metabolic disorders despite doing the same amount of exercise.
Competitive bodybuilders have two main phases throughout the year. A bulking phase in which the goal is building muscle and strength, with an increase in calories. A cutting phase follows, where the goal is to maintain muscle and lose fat.
Too many bodybuilders put on excess fat (i.e., bulk fat) to gain muscle. In a previous study, athletes who ate an excess calorie intake experienced significant muscle growth but also gained more fat than a control group eating fewer calories.
A higher calorie intake leads to gaining weight faster per week and is associated with greater increases in body fat. An intelligent lifter in the offseason aims to gain quality muscle while minimizing the amount of fat gained. Does bulking make you fat, or can you bulk without gaining excess fat (i.e., lean bulking)?
DOES BULKING MAKE YOU GAIN FAT?
To gain extra muscle, calories are needed to gain muscle. A recent analysis of the literature found that a calorie deficit of ~500 calories per day prevented gains in muscle. (Murphy & Koehler, 2022) Most lifters will try to gain a pound per week, which can lead to excess fat gain.
Researchers encouraged lifters to bulk up by gaining 1 pound or .45 kg per week and were weighed before each training session to promote compliance and encourage weight gain. The subjects drank a mass gainer that was 647.5 calories each day (i.e., 5.5 g fat, 123.5 g carbohydrate, 26 g protein).
At the end of the study, the subjects’ strength and lean mass went up. However, the subjects gained three times as much fat mass as lean mass gains (12%). This suggests that gaining 1 pound a week to increase muscle mass results in excess fat gain. Lifters concerned about minimizing fat mass should consume a much lower caloric surplus to minimize fat gains. (Smith et al., 2021)
BULKING STUDIES
Here are a few other studies suggesting weight gainer shakes can lead to excess fat gains:
· Researchers found that athletes who consumed an added 500 calories a day had a 15% increase in body fat compared to a moderate surplus diet (i.e., 200 calories), yet lean mass gains were similar. The authors suggested a 200-300 kcal surplus may be more appropriate for increasing lean mass while minimizing fat mass. (Garthe et al., 2013)
· Subjects consuming a high-calorie diet (4000 calories daily) gained more muscle and fat than a moderately high-calorie diet (2500 calories daily). (Ribeiro et al., 2019)
· Kreider et al. found that taking a 1000 kcal weight gainer shake per day led to similar increases in lean mass as a carbohydrate drink, but the weight gainer shake led to greater gains in fat mass.(Kreider et al., 1996)
SHOULD YOU BULK IF YOU HAVE BELLY FAT?
A previous study brings awareness to having excess body fat, even if you are young and exercising. Researchers from China analyzed the body composition of different sports, including weightlifting, judo, wrestling, and track and field athletes. The young athletes were divided into those that had to compete in weight classes (limited body weight) and those that competed in no weight class (unlimited weight class).
The study found that athletes in the highest weight class had a higher risk of cardiometabolic risks (i.e., larger waist size, higher blood pressure, higher triglycerides, lower HDL) despite their young age and similar training time. 68 of the 80 male athletes in the unlimited weight class had central obesity, and 47 of the 49 female athletes in the unlimited weight class had central obesity. (Guo et al., 2013)
This study had similar results to retired overweight American football players with increased cardiovascular-related comorbidities. (Buell et al., 2008) Another study on overweight young (i.e., 19 years old) football players found that their risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease was higher than the general population. (Malina et al., 2007)
HOW TO BULK WITHOUT GETTING FAT
Having a lot of body fat and trying to gain weight (i.e., fat bulk body) is not conducive to health or optimal performance. If you are trying to minimize fat gain, overfeeding protein is less likely to cause increases in body fat. Check out the studies below on protein overfeeding and gaining body fat. As you can see, protein overfeeding causes minimal gains in additional body fat.
There are scientific recommendations on how to bulk without gaining fat. (Iraki et al., 2019) The recommendations are1. A smaller caloric surplus is recommended for advanced bodybuilders if trying to minimize fat gains (start with 200 kcals per day, then add 300 kcals if no weight gain occurs).
2. If you have excess body fat (i.e., if your body fat percentage is over 20-25% body fat as a male or 30-35% as a female), don’t keep bulking; it is better to focus on weight loss and losing fat first.
3. Optimal rate of weight gain is ~0.2-0.5% bodyweight per week.
- Beginners (i.e., lean already) or lean people can shoot for 0.5%
- Advanced lifter will need less; aim for 0.2% per week.
- More than 0.5% per week risks excessive fat gain!
4. Protein intake should be at least .8 grams per pound of body weight or higher.
5. Fats should be consumed at moderate levels, neither too low nor high (.2–.7 grams per pound of body weight per day), to prevent an unfavorable change in free testosterone ratios and prevent reductions in testosterone levels.
6. After calories have been devoted to protein and fat, the remaining calories should come from carbohydrates while ensuring sufficient amounts are consumed (≥1.3–2.2 grams per pound per day).
Gaining excess body fat in the offseason will only make it harder to get back in competitive shape.
REFERENCES
Buell, J. L., Calland, D., Hanks, F., Johnston, B., Pester, B., Sweeney, R., & Thorne, R. (2008). Presence of metabolic syndrome in football linemen. J Athl Train, 43(6), 608-616. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-43.6.608
Garthe, I., Raastad, T., Refsnes, P. E., & Sundgot-Borgen, J. (2013). Effect of nutritional intervention on body composition and performance in elite athletes. Eur J Sport Sci, 13(3), 295-303. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2011.643923
Guo, J., Zhang, X., Wang, L., Guo, Y., & Xie, M. (2013). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components among Chinese professional athletes of strength sports with different bodyweight categories. PLoS One, 8(11), e79758. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079758
Iraki, J., Fitschen, P., Espinar, S., & Helms, E. (2019). Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review. Sports (Basel), 7(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/sports7070154
REFERENCES
Kreider, R. B., Klesges, R., Harmon, K., Grindstaff, P., Ramsey, L., Bullen, D., Wood, L., Li, Y., & Almada, A. (1996). Effects of ingesting supplements designed to promote lean tissue accretion on body composition during resistance training. Int J Sport Nutr, 6(3), 234-246. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsn.6.3.234
Malina, R. M., Morano, P. J., Barron, M., Miller, S. J., Cumming, S. P., Kontos, A. P., & Little, B. B. (2007). Overweight and obesity among youth participants in American football. J Pediatr, 151(4), 378-382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2007.03.044
Murphy, C., & Koehler, K. (2022). Energy deficiency impairs resistance training gains in lean mass but not strength: A meta-analysis and meta-regression. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 32(1), 125-137. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14075
Ribeiro, A. S., Nunes, J. P., Schoenfeld, B. J., Aguiar, A. F., & Cyrino, E. S. (2019). Effects of Different Dietary Energy Intake Following Resistance Training on Muscle Mass and Body Fat in Bodybuilders: A Pilot Study. Journal of Human Kinetics, 70, 125-134. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2019-0038
Smith, R. W., Harty, P. S., Stratton, M. T., Rafi, Z., Rodriguez, C., Dellinger, J. R., Benavides, M. L., Johnson, B. A., White, S. J., Williams, A. D., & Tinsley, G. M. (2021). Predicting Adaptations to Resistance Training Plus Overfeeding Using Bayesian Regression: A Preliminary Investigation. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6020036
About The Author
