How to Build Muscle WITHOUT Bulking (NEW STUDY!)

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.

[JeremyEthier]

Hope you enjoyed this one! See below for a link to all the studies referenced:
EFFECT OF SMALL AND LARGE ENERGY SURPLUSES ON TRAINED INDIVIDUALS (2023):

MUSCLE GROWTH IN A CALORIE DEFICIT

BODY RECOMPOSITION

BEGINNERS ON A BULK GAINED MOSTLY LEAN MASS

[amandamate]

### Key Points
1. Bulking (eating in a calorie surplus) is not always necessary for muscle growth, especially for non-beginners.
2. It's possible to build muscle while in a slight calorie deficit (200-300 calories), but larger deficits (>500 calories) make muscle gain less likely.
3. Beginners have the highest sensitivity to muscle growth and can benefit from a more aggressive bulk (400-500 calorie surplus).
4. As training experience increases, the rate of muscle growth slows down, and excess calories are more likely to be stored as fat.
5. Steroid use can temporarily increase muscle growth sensitivity, allowing for more effective bulking.

### Practical Recommendations
- Beginners should aim to gain 2% of body weight per month, with a daily calorie surplus of 400-500 calories.
- Intermediate lifters should scale back to a "gaintaining" approach, aiming for 1% of body weight gain per month with a 200-300 calorie surplus.
- Advanced lifters near their genetic limit should use a small surplus of 100-200 calories per day.
- Those primarily focused on fat loss while building muscle should eat at maintenance or a small deficit (no more than 0.5 lbs weight loss per week).
- Prioritize consuming adequate protein and healthy whole foods, and monitor strength and body weight to determine if calorie intake is appropriate.

### Examples
- A 500-calorie surplus for a beginner could be achieved by adding one small meal to their daily diet.
- For an intermediate lifter, a 200-300 calorie surplus might involve adding a granola bar and an apple to their daily intake.
- An advanced lifter may only need to add a single banana to their diet to create a small muscle-building surplus.

### Best Practices
1. Focus on progressive overload in your training to stimulate muscle growth.
2. Consume adequate protein and prioritize whole, nutrient-dense foods.
3. Adjust calorie intake based on your training experience and goals (fat loss vs. muscle gain).
4. Monitor strength and body weight changes to ensure you're eating the right amount.
5. Avoid excessive bulking and crash dieting cycles, as they can lead to unnecessary fat gain and muscle loss.

[aritraroy]

Right when I started wondering if I should start "gaintaining" (cause I've been on a cut; losing 0.54 lbs per week on average), Jeremy drops this video. The effort Jeremy puts into making his videos is amazing. Not only are they super informative but very entertaining to watch as well! I try to put on his content to all my boys, hands down, the coolest fitness channel on YT.

[ChristianJayDeLara]

i can see your progress jeremyy, im so amazedd!!

[MojoMan]

I'm subscribed. How did I miss this for a month? Lean info details I had not heard. Xcellent!

[MrTraveller.]

Excellent information ℹ️ much appreciated

[kelleychilton]

REALLY enjoy your channel, Jeremy. Keep up the good work.

[srconrad]

Excellent content as always, Jeremy. And perfect timing for me. I've been on a long-time cut (2 years) and I'm finally within a couple percentage points of my body fat goal. I was going to go full out until I got there but now I'm thinking of maintaining instead and hoping to lose that final bit while I continue to strength train and gain muscle. I can always continue to cut later if it doesn't work.

[WheresCupcake]

Thanks for the info ill fully ultilize ur advice!

[dwelliott]

Thank you for this! I just never felt comfortable in a bulk. I’ve been trying to eat maintenance but with high protein and it feels much better.

[dmedeiros]

great video! probably the most valuable video ever seen on nutrition for bodybuilding..

[elaitamani]

This is so informative, Thank you for your explanation. I truly appreciate this💐✨️

[questioneverything]

Great timing for this video because I just finished a 21-week cut, and I definitely need to stay in maintenance mode for a while.

[thelostyaksha]

Last year I was 75KG and I looked so skinny. I wanted to gain some muscle but I didn't want to go through bulking so I made a plan for myself and gained 10KG over a year with minimum body fat and I love the result.

[realhaydenthomas]

Fantastic video mate thanks so much for this, I really don’t wanna get fatter but I do want to improve my chest and legs. I’ve been training for around 12 years now so I know muscle growth will be slow but this is very helpful!

[ap]

Love it, never wanted to take the traditional bulking approach lol

[jared]

Science and research is always moving forward, we are truly in an information age

Thanks for this video!

[bsheldon]

I am just starting my 3rd month of getting my health and strength back. Turned out I had prediabetes that caused me to feel constantly hungry, totally lacking in energy and caused me to gain 55 lbs more fat in a year

So I am on a diet that falls between keto and carnivore. As my body is now tuned to use fat for it's energy needs, I mostly only need to ensure my protein consumption is high enough to support my workout requirements. My body doesn't care whether the fat is from eating or body fat, so I can run a large deficit 1000-1500 calories, lose weight and gain muscle with no problem. My weight loss is about 2 lbs per week and muscle gain is uncertain, but quite noticable, so I am happy with the current results Mind you, I am not a body builder, more into strength building to keep being able to do a lot of activities. I only really took exercise seriously after age and years of being a couch potato caught up to me. So here I am 60 and feeling like I might one day be stronger than I was in my entire adulthood And the diabetes issues may soon be cured.

[levels]

what a timing, I literally decided to build muscle in the morning 🤞

[KingCam]

Dude, I love the random clips of you stuffing your face with treats. It's an unspoken highlight of your videos that really makes them more fun and entertaining than just straight spitting facts :)