The cognitive dissonance I’m experiencing from finding out I was just getting fat for years instead of gaining muscle is mind shattering…. Gah damn you Chris Evans
But Dr. Mike my study of drinking high calorie IPAs and eating a whole XL pizza every night while going to bed at 5AM is showing results. Am getting unquestionably BIG.
Takeaways: 1. Big surpluses work better when you're a beginner training with high volumes. When you "age" in the sport, implementing a smaller surplus is the best idea (200-400 kcal/day) 2. If you're going for a bigger surplus, don't expect that to reliably lead to higher muscle gain. at least not in the short term. 3. Really low surpluses are incalculable (50 kcal/day) 4. Adjusting the calorie surplus according to your bodyweight is great idea.
Either playing the video at a higher speed or could be using a Browser Plugin that automatically copies and paste the subtitles into ChatGPT and tell it to summaries the video.
Eric is the only man in fitness that can follow Dr Mike's weird tangents and then immediately return to the relevant topic. For that alone, I shall listen to him.
It’s crazy. When I got into fitness, I found about Coach Greg, and he would say (years ago) that you don’t need to bulk with a 1000 calorie surplus in order to gain muscle. He specifically said that you realistically only need about 200 calories to “bulk”, and that was through his anecdotal experience. Glad that’s being backed up with studies conducted!
Glad you said this, I noticed this too. The vid is still up I think - something about how much muscle you can expect to gain and how much to eat in surplus.
I'd say 70-90% of Americans are bulking by default, with inadequate weight training and protein intake. People don't need to bulk for muscle. Maintenance calories, training, and protein are all you need.
Same - have been feeling worried about losing weight even though I was at 20% BF and losing muscle, but am seeing no change in my performance (except I feel better). So will go into a prolonged maintenence or very slight surplus and try to stay leaner year round and feel healthy
I returned to training after a 6-year layoff. I was 310 when I stopped. I discovered subsequently why I lost motivation: my reason for training was to fill out my previously super-slender body. And I felt, looked weak inside. 6 years ago I found I no longer felt skinny and weak in the inside so the muscle armor/bulk felt superfluous. I was tired of eating, eating, eating several times a day. 8 weeks ago I recommenced with training. To firm up, lose weight. BUT, no excess food. I'm gaining results with effective training, but no bulking-up eating. Unlike before, training is not a 24/7 obsession. An hour 4 times a week, and that along with a busy lifestyle, I finally found the right balance.
Im at one of the lowest points of my life. Ive never felt so defeated. I didnt go into this video expecting anything other than some random bs about trying harder. But man i really needed to hear this. I believe in myself a little more now because i know that im capable of great things so now i just have to push forward to make it work.
Right? When i started training (1991) not only did this information not even exist, but you had to pay good money for books that instructed you to bulk like crazy, as long as it was relatively clean.
I wish this mentality could change in the fitness community that everything worthwhile costs money. There's many more videos about training on this platform with much more detail than this video, all for free.
It’s not free, nothing is free. The cost is your attention for advertisers. Let’s not gaslight ourselves into thinking digital content is delivered to us as a charity.
@@MegaLadysman1234that’s true. I mean you and OP are both right. In a sense it’s not free because our attention is currency and the producers of content do it to also make money not just as a passion. However the end result is still “free” for the end user. A win win scenario all around.
I knew this for a long time though. Once the noob gains stop, bulking is only a resource of maximization for enhanced lifters, if you're natural you're probably better off maingaining. The chanel Natural Hypertrophy also has been supporting this view and discussing it since 2018.
After finishing my bowls of food and downing a triple serving protein shake, I have also finished the video. It's not so bad. Just don't go overboard and get floppy.
Excellent talk. I started bodybuilding in 1988, at a weight of 116lbs. I never had any bulking phase in that 36 years. I am now 53 years old and 191 lbs and 'almost' as lean as I was in 88. That's 75 lbs of decent quality mass over 36 years, almost 2lbs per year. I never bought into the 'mega mass 5000' fads and just plodded along getting heavier slowly.
@@sjsingo Here is the part where I seem even more out-of-date. I simply don't know. I'd never heard of macros until a few years ago. I have 5 sometimes 6 'meals' per day. Actual food is morning cereal with blueberries and full fat milk and a scoop of whey, 40gms protein. Lunch usually a chicken breast completely on its own, with skin on, approx 30 to 40gms of protein. 4pm whey shake which is blended the night before with 6 egg whites and full fat creamy milk, 40gms of protein. Eve meal meat-based with spuds or noodle or rice, I struggle with carbs they fill me up quick and make me feel slow, 40gms protein. Bedtime whey shake 40gms of protein. If I'm particularly hungry I would have a 25gms protein bar in the day sometime. 160 to 190gms of protein a day. Very little carbs and I don't know about fat. I just think we have over-thought everything. But I know I don't do well with carbs. I look pregnant after a carby meal. Hope that helps, mate. 🙏
this convo just reinforces what my strength and conditioning coaches were saying in the late 90s early 2000s, as in..”we are in the dark ages right now, we are doing the best for what we know now”.., keep learning gentlemen.., and find what works best for you.
So "lean bulk" was the right move all along, at least according to this study? That's great, because I don't want to feel like I'm going to explode at the end of the day when I'm trying to gain muscle. Also, I'm liking the sound of the selection process for test subjects. Too many of these sorts of tests are run on beginners, which is going to be less useful for the sort of folks who would be watching this channel.
Anecdotally, I have just barely started my lifting/working out journey about 5 weeks ago, I have gained ~5 pounds of muscle and lost 2.5% body fat. I am not doing rest days, but I am also not going super hard, just checking which muscle group isn't sore for the day and training that, focusing on my upper body. From a dietetic standpoint, I cut out almost all of my extra carbs(cookies and milk each night, candy between meals, 44oz of soda each day), snacks, and added protein shakes and focusing on 5-10% protein meals(at least 5% of calories in grams of protein). I think 60% of my noob gains are just from increasing my protein intake to at least 0.7 grams per pound body weight. I am happy doing my lean bulk, because my goal is to actually be more of a sleeper build, rock climber type, so if I gain a ton of muscle mass whilst dropping from 19% to 16.5% body fat it's all good
I'm a beginner and have often found most of the advice on this channel is not geared towards me which makes it difficult to know what to do exactly. But I take from it what I can and just lift weights and eat right.
@@youjyingamazing things happen in the early days. We've all experienced fast muscle growth and strength increase at the beginning, no matter what the approach.
Let the kids be small and permanently weak. I've been following Mark Ripetoe Starting Strenght program and gained 8Kg bodyweight in 2 months. Put on +80Kg on my squat, finally benching 100Kg+ for 3x5, deadlift going up too, everything perfect. I'm already outlifting people who have been working out for years in my gym. I wonder how they feel when they see the new guy who was struggling now destroying the weights they're using lmfao. Most of them are the same weight they used to be or are trying to lose bodyfat when they're already skeletons. So sad to see. I'm feeling bigger, stronger and more confident everyday. My triceps are also getting bigger even though i don't even do tricep isolation work anymore.
Oh, you think the bulk is your ally. But you merely adopted the bulk; I was born in it, moulded by it. I didn't see the cut until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but STARVING!
Here's what I learned from this video: 1 - Dr. Mike sits in a basement and touches himself 2. - I was too distracted to listen after hearing that. ....in all seriousness, another great video backed by real science. This is why this the BEST channel for REAL fitness advice
This is the only bodybuilding/fitness channel that I watch regularly. Great information presented clearly, without off-putting flashy edits and Dr. Mike could absolutely do well as a standup comedian if he gets bored of this!
This is kinda how I've always understood it. The main problem with "clean bulking" is that a tiny (e.g. 100 kcal) surplus is almost impossible to maintain reliably. That's why it doesn't work as well as "proper" bulking, not because a higher surplus necessarily leads to significantly better gains. When you think you're on a steady little surplus, it's very likely that you're actually on deficit like two or three days a week.
I think it also matters the timing of the calories within the week and spacing them out to avoid catabolic states. I try to "do more building with fewer calories".
@@austecon6818 Yes, exactly. It's probably better to maintain steady surplus than fluctuate between surplus, maintenance and deficit even if the long-term caloric intake is equal.
@@kgsvvgla2iI feel like if you combine consistent measuring of bodyweight then you can get reasonably accurate measures of whether you are eating enough. As well as looking at calories on a weekly rather than daily basis. If your bodyweight is not changing in proportion to what it should over let’s say a 1-2 month basis, then you know where you’re at. By measuring in both short and long time periods, you can get a really accurate measure of where your diet is at. The longer term measurements reduce the impact of factors such as water retention or literal food weight inside the body at the time of measurement. Using this approach for a few months should allow you to dial in your diet quite well
@@BigL.10 Well, I guess you're right but the more important question is "How many hobbyist lifters are actually dedicated enough to do that?". And the answer is almost none. My point is that it's a great approach for a truly serious lifter but recommending it to an average or even above-average hobbyist probably makes little sense. If it isn't an essential part of one's job, counting calories year-around is an easy way to make one's life miserable. That's something not many people are willing to do for a slightly better body composition. I also disagree on one point. Counting weekly rather than daily calories is likely not enough to get the proper advantage in comparison to "traditional bulking" since muscle & fat gain/loss is not something that happens on weekly basis. And then again, daily calorie-counting faces the exact problem of uncertainty I talked about in my original comment.
@@kgsvvgla2i I feel like you didn’t address my main point, which is lower effort than counting calories which is to just continuously weigh yourself and then compare the change over weekly and monthly time periods to see if the sum of your eating over these longer time periods equates to growth or loss of mass. The reason weekly caloric counting can be effective when using a much smaller caloric surplus is that instead of being 100 calories over maintenance each day, it’s more likely you fluctuate slightly each day, but if your weekly average is 100 calories then it’s far easier to manage then trying to calculate 100 calories every day. Instead you have 700 calories to spread throughout the week as you need, meaning if you went over one day you go under the next etc
wasn't this common knowledge though? hell I remember years ago watching a vid by Athlean-X talking about how calories don't build muscle. this was like 5 years ago or something just google "athlean-x bulk cut" or something.
Plenty of people discovered this already many years ago. I built muscle and lost fat at the same time myself. It's possible. Athlean-x has a video talking about it that he posted 6 years ago (my other comment got deleted when I posted the link here)
@@aca347 Assuming you’re at 15% bf or more as a man I don’t see why not. - The problem is when people are around 10-12% bf and don’t have enough calories. Building muscle is difficult without a surplus or stored body fat. Either is good.
tldr: don't get too fat. Bulk with the narrower surplus you can accurately measure (for general ppl should be around 300kcal daily) Aim to gain ~1% of bw per month. This is a very small weight increment, to track it weight yourself daily and use a 2 weeks weight average to check if the weight is moving as you want. Use the weight average and other bio feedbacks (hunger, energy levels, sleep and workout recovery) to make small adjustments to the diet. Do small cuts whenever you feel you need (based on mirror and bf%) to keep the bf under control (ex: do a 4 week cut every 16 weeks of bulk).
Our knowledge of muscle growth is really good. Our nutritional knowledge is very small. Only recently more strides are being made. It makes it harder due to individual variability. People at the core aren't good "lab rats" for science. If there was enough money invested, I'm sure we'd have these answers in less then a decade.
You know Dr. Mike... Dr. Mike, MD would almost certainly enjoy having you on his podcast, I'm sure it would be entertaining and educational. The best 2 things that anything can be.
@@Kjetil523 belly folding just tells me im growing and stretching the muscles. thats layers of abs stretching my stomach . and im bigger and harder than you will ever be. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT KJETIL
Videos hitting at the right time again. Just finished a 6 month cut (almost 2 months of maintenance, and a little over 4 months spent cutting). Next gonna hop on a round' 300cal bulk for the summer. Feeling good at 10% bf
Greg Duccette deserves an apology Mike… “he’s not a doctor”… but he was right, and you were always quick to speak down on him, so now you should be quick to give him his credit that he rightfully deserves
I get it, but Greg says basic stuff that is already said Everyone's critics of him have always been about the motivation behind his information and the inciting nature of his content Not many have disagreed on his stance on diet for body building or general training for body building But he takes a ge real stance so he both can be critiqued and be agreed with Don't get sucked in by over generalised info that he provides Most things don't need to be made complicated, I get that also, but when you are the one providing information like Greg does you need to be more specific especially when we have channels like RP, Jeff nippard and so on
I feel so validated. I’ve been telling people for years, traditional bulking does NOT work the way you’d expect. Gaining 1 lb per month is actually optimal for most.
recently I see a lot of new studies and fitness influencers going against what was regarded as common wisdom, such as: "bro you gotta eat more bro at least 500-1000 surplus" "bro you need 2.5 grams of protein per lb of body weight" "bro why are you wasting time with isolations bro your arms get enough work with compounds" "bro machines are for pussies bro real men lift barbells bro" "bro starting strength 5x5 lift heavy af bro lateral raises a waste of time you can't lift heavy with laterals, why not do a movement like OHP where you can go heavy bro, the weight on the dumbbell is all that matters bro" I've been refuting that shit for years and have been getting clowned for it and now the fitness bigwigs started talking about it so the mindset will change I hope. honestly most of those "common wisdom" seem like the stuff powerlifters do but for some reason bodybuilders compied.
@@aca347 for people on steroids 2.5 grams protein per pound of bodyweight isn't terrible. Although they shouldn't really go above 2. For a natty like even when cutting like max 1.3g/ pound. 1 is usually enough.
1 lb per month is cap. 2lb is on the lower side. Eric mentions 250-400kcal surplus per week, so that's roughly 2lbs-4lbs per month. Personally I will change my gaining phase from 700 to 400 kcal per week, and figure out a way to fit a shorter cut into my blocks
@@incogneeto2418 anyone that’s run a properly measured bulk will tell you that a 250-400 calorie surplus will not even net you 2-3 lbs per month, let me explain. Yes there is 3500 calories in 1 lb of fat, so that would mean energetically you would need to consume, digest, and absorb 100% of the calories you actually eat to equate eating the additional 250 calories for it to be synthesized. What people don’t consider, and this is where people with actual experience can tell you, that when you increase calories more of the food you consume becomes undigested/not absorbed which then cannot be synthesized into tissue in a 1:1 fashion. If someone eats an addition 400 calories, as an example, on paper they’re eating over their maintenance…but what ACTUALLY HAPPENS? A host of things happen: 1. Your metabolism is increased, through NEAT and TEF. People will also dramatically differ in NEAT based on their genetics too, there’s been studies of people eating 600 calorie surpluses that gained 0 weight due to a huge increase in fidgeting. 2. Digestion. This includes TEF and also a persons ability to digest the larger amounts of food incoming into their system. This is why we don’t see people gain a ton of weight in acute over feeding studies (they’ve done studies where people were over fed 6000+ calories, yet don’t gain any appreciable amount of fat). The more you eat the less that’s able to be digested especially in certain people. Let’s take me as an example, my maintenance calories (with 0 cardio and 2-3k steps per day, training with weights 5-6 days per week 1-1.5 hour session) is 2,650 calories. If I eat this amount, btw I weigh every single thing I eat, I will not gain an ounce of weight nor will I lose weight. Let’s say I want to bulk, I start with around 2,800-2,900 calories, after a month I will typically put on something like a half of a lb to MAYBE a lb. This is how it works in the real world due to all the aforementioned factors. This is where Eric is talking about your body’s feedback, because depending on how inefficient your digestion is you may have to go far above what the calories on paper say. Eating a 200-400 calorie surplus over your maintenance is not a 1:1 guaranteed translation to tissue so your claims are inaccurate and show a lack of experience.
@@dosboot1 I guess when you run out of discoveries, you recycle the discoveries that were made a decade ago lol. It's old enough that people will think it's a new discovery.
I don’t know if it’s youtube’s fault or yours, but if you have any say in it, please make it so that us with YT Premium can listen to your membersvideos with the phone locked! We can do so with regular videos, but not membersvideos for some reason..
Dr Mike is always advocating for bulking by saying "you can't gaintain your way from 150lbs to 180lbs" which is true, in order to build 30lbs more muscle you need enough excess energy to build 30lbs of muscle, which if you're 150lbs lean, you don't have that excess energy available on your body as fat. BUT if you've been training for 5-10 years and you're looking to build 2-5lbs of muscle in a year, do you have enough excess fat on your body to convert to energy equivalent to 2lbs of muscle? almost certainly. That's the way I conceptualize this.
So I have a question then. I found out last week Im at about 6-8% BF at 85kg (did a full Inbody scan at fitness event, result was 6.1% but I don't trust it fully). Since next to lifting Im training for my 2nd marathon, I would want to go down to 80-82kg. Could I lose that weight all from fat you think?
@@dylanerwichNo fat but retained water in the muscles yes. Personally know someone who lost 15kg in the off season bashing cardio, lost about half his muscle mass by look, but kept 100% of his strength. That's how you end up with people like Anatoly who squat weights guys twice his size are struggling with
@@cat-le1hf What are you talking about? The reason your body stores fat is for energy you clown 🤣🤣. Of course you cant out exercise a bad diet if you're eating 6k calories. But im saying if you dont need to bulk to gain muscle because your body will use the body fat for energy
I no longer believe in eating at maintenence to be a calculatable thing, since I have so many ticks, insane ADD issues where if im working I may run up and down those stairs 10 or 40 times, depending on how much I forget, the fidgeting and the uncontrollable issues sleeping... I mean the list goes on I dont want this to be a rant about me, the point is: goooooood luck, calculating what your calorie maintanence is for a lot of us out there, it cannot be done. Be in surplus when you're lifting, listen to your body carefully when you're not. I know most people sell decent apps based around that not being a thing, but it totally is a thing tho and it's exasperated beyond calculation for some of us.
We can still get a general idea though, enough to set a broad caloric goal that will most likely average out to maintenance. And of course, as you said listen to your body.
It’s so much bullshit when you realize the factors. Sleep, effort, stress, hormones, environment etc. To talk about 100-200 kcal extra is just fantasy bullshit unless you live in a controlled lab and track every single factor. So you might as well aim for maintenance and use a mirror and your gut feeling.
I have severe add. It can be challenging but I am able to maintain my weight within 1%. But I do not eat out a lot so it makes it possible to calculate. I use my fitness pal to track it. It is important for me to track it. If not there’s days I will nearly forget to eat. I eat 2955 (284C 91F 250P) calories a day with Dr. Mike approved macros. 😁 This does not include excerise calories. I almost never have cravings and stay lean and strong. I am 51 5’10” and 217 +- 1%. I weigh every 2 weeks. Don’t give.
you can generally calculate maintenance by simply eating the same thing for 2-3 weeks and if you weight stays the same on average your probably eating at maintenance not too complicated
Bear in mind, this shit goes out the window if non-natural. Certain substances (read: Trenbolone) are monstrous on multiple fronts, not only the increased caloric requirements due to its excellent nutrient partitioning and muscle sparing (if in deficit) but also its own up regulation of metabolic rate in the user. You would be wasting gear if you didnt opt for 500-1k calories above normal consumption, in a bulk, when on gear like that. But for those who are natural or truly on replacement levels of testosterone, like myself, this is *GREAT advice* and I will apply it once I lose the weight i've piled on over several years of inactivity and multiple back and knee surgeries due to career injuries in oil and gas. Lost 167.2lbs from 9-15-23 until today and have 100 more to go to meet goal. Then lean bulk following 200-400 above maintenance for 20-24 weeks begins to restore strength and increase basal metabolic rate, then cut #2, roughly 50 lbs will commence. Hope to be back at under 15% BF @ 250-260lbs for first time since college football days, c 2007-2010!
imo thats another 1 of those "beginner" things. even people eating the entire trenbologne sandwich is going to start having 1% mass/year, when u stop gaining rapid mass, it doesn't matter if u're on tren; u dont need 500-1k
@@x2lazy2die Yeah, you have no idea how AAS's work. a person on even low doses, sub 300mg tren ace or enanthate paired with a test base, will put on substantial mass in short periods of time. I am speaking as a biologist (chemistry minor) by degree, so I understand not everyone cares to invest the time to enlighten themselves on how various anabolics work, whether its test derivatives, 19-nor derivatives, DHT based, alkylates, etc. A personal friend who I lifted with on and off went from 205lb to 250lb, staying in the 12-13% bf range in a 16 week cycle of 500 test, 300 tren, cutting tren at 8 weeks, and packed 140lbs on his bench press in that time. 315 to 455. Trap bar deadlift went up 170-180 in that 16 week span. He was an Experienced lifter with 8-9 years of workout time, minimum 3x a week by the time he cycled. Hes kept his gains as he was on TRT pre cycle, like myself as of 1 year ago. He blasted, then cruises on his physician-administered dose of 180mg/week and 50mg/wk enclomiphene. The right cycle, training and diet will have people gaining (assuming 180lbs lean mass) 1% of mass per WEEK, not yearly. *1% Yearly is natural gains for someone getting close to the peak of natural performance,* not an enhanced lifter on a cycle.
@@thekapeboy taking very short use substances like Miberolone (cheque drops) or methyltren (Metribolone) out of the equation because it is hell on the body, trenbolone is the most potent anabolic steroid that one can run in 8-12 week cycles and have manageable side effects. Its anabolic ratio is 5 times that of testosterone. So 200mg tren = roughly 1000mg testosterone. Primobolan has an anabolic ratio of ~110 to testosterone's 100, so while a cycle of 250 test 250 primo wouldnt give quite the same results as the same mg in tren, the advantage of primo is *it is far less harsh on the body than trenbolone, so you can run cycles of longer duration* and it does lower estrogen (E2) so if you have aromatization issues with large amounts of testosterone, you can run primo at 1:1 and drop your E2 without requiring the use of an aromatase inhibitor. TL;DR: test+primo = steady gains over longer cycle, less side effects. test+tren = pack on moderate amounts of muscle and strength in very short order, far more side effects from tren cough, night sweats, tanked HDL, blood thickening and potential polycythemia from excessive erythropoiesis, tren dick, heart palpitations, blood pressure spikes, list goes on. If youre going to do tren, best case is have a doctor monitor your bloods, work with an experienced coach who has cycled with the substance, and run as low a dose as possible, with a larger test base. You'll be better off doing a 400 test/200 tren or something modest as opposed to some of these guys who get impatient, want gains overnight, and want to run 1000mg+ of total gear and crash their bloods to hell along with their heart and liver. Preferably, dont cycle either until you have 3-5 years of dedicated training as a natural lifter, in order to maximize your natural potential I have 10+ years of lifting experience from 15-28, now back at it after 7 years of being lazy, and im probably going to be at it another 12 months restoring as much as I can of my original natural levels of strength from my college football days (400 bench/540 squat/660 deadlift @ 240lbs) before I hop on a compounded cycle.
I’m on 250mg of Test-E per week and hoping when I cut over the next few months that I’ll hold onto my muscle mass that I’ve gained 🙏 Have never cut while *enhanced* before, so very much hoping I’ll not lose muscle and strength as I always would as a natural
Thank you for this conversation, it directly addresses what I've been contemplating lately. Is it possible for you guys to post the sources in the info bars? I'd love to see a link to the study in question, under the video. Keep up the great work, thanks.
This is actually relief, I'm new into building muscle, been whatching doctor Mike only since late last year, was paranoid I wasn't eating enough, I'm so tired of eating PRAISE THE SUN
Dr. Varshavski v Dr. Isratel is the crossover I've been waiting for, but it's like they don't even know about the existence of the other. Finally Dr Mike mentioned the other slightly less atravtive Dr Mike. We need that collab. Make. It. Happen.
Is there any way we can get the references for the studies specifically named in the video, like in the description? I realize it's obviously not feasible to drop the references for all the studies and metanalyses you use for your evidence based approach, but if a study is specifically mentioned, I'd love a reference somewhere so I can have a look as well.
Hi. I'm a 30 years old male. Started lifting at a young age. Got very ripped on my peak at 21 years old. Stop lifting and started muaythai for 4 years. Pandemics hit and stop training at all. Lose all my gains. I'm 181 cm tall. 25 of June I was weighing 63 kilos and had 8% body fat. Hated myself. Saw one of your videos and started training again. Heavy bulking (6000 calories intake per day). 22 days later my weight is 70 kilos. 12% fat. Very proud of it. Should I stop doing that? Is it Okey to do such an enormous amount of work in eating? Love you all.
I used to be fat and have been cutting for a few years now. I'm looking forward to my first bulk (it should be later this year) and this is so nice for making sure I do it smart.
If you've been cutting for literal years and this is gonna be your first bulk in that time, personally I'd recommend you make it fun, not smart, least for the first few weeks. Sure it's not "optimal" on paper, but having fun with it can go a long way. Ain't gonna tell you how to live your life, but if you are like most people, the mental benefits of cutting loose and having fun for a bit are gonna far outweigh the minor amount of extra fat you might gain vs the "smart" way. Don't want you to rob yourself of the simple joys of crushing a full pizza to celebrate your weekly bench PRs.
Yeah, I've done several phases of RP style cutting/maintaining. I figure bulking will be like maintenance, except an extra 10-20g of carbs every meal (5 meal days).
@@XAUCADTraderyep, maingaining principle is based on keeping your body fat at around 15%. So you are still eating at a small surplus to enable muscle building but keeping your BF the same
Not really, this just means that your bulking should be catered to your training experience. At the end of the day it shows we're just trying to cope with the fact that the gains simply won't be the same as an intermediate or advanced. They WILL be slower no matter what you do.
The video discusses the effectiveness of bulking for muscle growth, referencing a recent study led by Dr. Eric Helms. Key takeaways include: 1. Study Overview: The study involved trained men and women who followed different dietary approaches-maintenance, small surplus (5%), and large surplus (15%)-over an 8-week period. The aim was to observe how different caloric surpluses affect muscle gain, fat gain, and strength performance. 2. Results: There was a 600-calorie difference between two groups: dietitian-guided athletes and self-guided athletes. No significant muscle gain difference was observed between those consuming more calories and those eating at maintenance. The only measurable negative effects of eating more were increased fat gain and worsened sprint times and jump height due to the additional body weight. The group with a larger surplus gained significantly more fat with minimal muscle gain compared to the group with a smaller surplus. 3. Training Age and Bulking: The study suggests that training experience matters: beginner and intermediate lifters may benefit slightly from a larger surplus, while more advanced lifters should be cautious about large surpluses due to a higher likelihood of gaining fat rather than muscle. A moderate surplus (200-400 kcal) is more effective for long-term muscle gain without excessive fat accumulation. 4. Practical Advice: Rely on a gradual approach to bulking, focusing on smaller caloric surpluses and regular feedback from physical appearance and weight changes. For advanced athletes, gaining muscle requires careful management of diet and body fat levels. A higher surplus may lead to unnecessary fat gain with minimal additional muscle. Individuals should aim for a 1% body weight increase per month to optimize muscle gain without excessive fat gain. 5. Conclusion: Dreamer bulking (extreme calorie surplus) is not effective for long-term muscle growth and can lead to disproportionate fat gain. A more moderate and controlled approach is recommended for most athletes. This study emphasizes the importance of controlled caloric intake and the diminishing returns of eating significantly more to gain muscle, especially for experienced lifters.
I remember Eric from when I just started bodybuilding a decade ago, back then misinformation was everywhere and anytime I watched his videos it always gave me a guiding light when I felt lost among all the bullshit, glad to see he is still the man 👨 🙏
In my late 20s I did a mega surplus. Like almost doubled my caloric intake around 4000 calories on some days. I was training at the gym intensive 3 times a week. Training on ice and game of ice hockey per week. Eating this much food as a vegan was uncomfortable. Lunch and dinner meals took me an hour to eat. Put on 20kg of lean mass. Ive dropped to around 3000 calories as maintenance and have been hovering around the same weight for a few years now of around 93ish kg. I was accused of taking gear lol. Im no body builder so I wont ever be going on a a dirty bulk at my age now. (35). Good to know this science backs up my own journey and feelings on the matter.
Well, that is a lot harder to do, given most of the ones you would want to know the answers to are classified in a schedule that makes it harder to get funding and approval for. But, ya, send like a pretty important confounding factor
im 17, I have been cutting on 1200 calories for months. I have lost no musclre mass. My routine? A mild/moderate full body work out every other day to keep the muscles stimulated.
If you could nudge the volume up a little bit for the videos that’d be great! I watch your videos a lot on lunch and have the AC cranked in my car and can hardly hear the quality content - as specific of a situation this is I’m sure I’m not alone. Plus you can always turn your phone down, but you can’t make it any louder unfortunately 😢
So the upshot is gradual bulking (+250KJ/day) is way to go b/c bulking aggressively is unnecessary and regressive. Content wasn't as mind blowing as the tight implied.
Dr Mike, can you please stop going off on tangents - Eric was about to throw down some important info on the negatives of long term cal restrictions when you came along with your 2 cents from the peanut gallery.
Other fitness RU-vidr’s after hitting a million subscribers: buys lamborghini. RP after hitting a million: funds research and also buys lamborghini. Also, Greg is laughing maniacally right now lol.
The good Dr. is one of those guys who say they are small but are straight mayo jars down there. I am waiting on getting access to that secret OF account to verify my hypothesis.
after watching the whole video, I understood nothing. How can I apply this interview to my daily eating schedule? We need a video from Dr.Mike explaining in detail how we can apply Captain America's findings into our own worlds.
Essentially intensive bulking and intensive cutting isnt really gaining that much. You lose ability to gain muscle and some muscle during that big cut essentially breaking even. So a light surplus 200-250 calories and a lighter cut is better at getting gains. Also more prominent results of bulking with noob gains. What I gathered is enough excess to gain around 1% of body weight per month during these light bulks.
As someone who was formerly skinny, the decision to bulk up was completely worthwhile. Before I started lifting weights, I was lean with a body fat percentage probably around 10% or even lower. Bulking up and intentionally increasing my body fat percentage ensured that I was consistently in a caloric surplus, which is crucial for uninterrupted muscle growth. For skinny individuals, as opposed to those who are "skinny fat," building muscle with just a slight caloric surplus is challenging because any single day of insufficient calorie intake can immediately hinder your training progress. However, if you carry a bit more body fat, you don't need to obsess over consuming a daily caloric surplus since you have a reserve of stored energy to draw from. EDIT: My stats from 5 years ago when I started lifting: Height: 6' Weight: 52kg (114.4 lbs) Body fat %: I guesstimate less than 10% Current stats: Height: 6'3/4" Weight: 80kg (176lbs) Body fat %: I guesstimate between 15% and 20%.
I'm your height started at 140 lol at 6'4 I'm at 157 now lol fat but I'm sure 3/4 is lean I'm gainin! Do you have socials? Ar you a skinny frame, I'm mostly legs that's the struggle for me
@@TheDiamond872 I misread damn, so hard to find people w my build lol there's not a lot of good examples, it's taken a lot of time to look like I don't lift xD slowly tho it's showing
@@cinematicking1203 Yeah, as taller guys it's tough to "look muscular" especially when natural. Not to mention on photos. Shorter guys that lift look absolutely jacked on photos, especially when no other people are in frame for reference. Good news is, once you reach your natural potential, you'll look massive in person.
Dr. Mike, I'm sure that many of us would love to see you collaborate with Dr. Mike Varschavski. Please, make it happen. Love your channel, keep the good work.
Best results I've seen have been at 35 when I went to a 200-300 surplus (been about 17 week to date, up about 10-11lbs). I had done a bulking phase back in my late 20's where it was probably closer to a 1000 cal surplus. Didn't like the end results and the long cut, and was tentative to try again (had basically been at maintenance after cutting back down for years). Finally decided to bulk but to do it slower, and it's working great!
Something I've always wondered is if there's a path dependency in the effect of bulking on muscle growth. That is, are these two cases different? Case A: bulking at a 1000 calorie surplus and gaining 30 lbs in 15 weeks and then maintaining for 30 weeks Case B: bulking at a 500 calorie surplus and gaining 30 lbs over the course of 30 weeks and then maintaining for 15 weeks I know these are extreme cases, but I think it would be useful to understand if the surplus itself is important, or just having excess energy is important, whether that energy is in the form of existing fat or a calorie surplus. I intuitively would think that the surplus is more important for someone with an already lower body fat, so maybe the benchmark could be adjusted to "200 calorie surplus until 20% body fat is reached."
Starting to see a fee of these Rn, I'll also add this information isn't new This was popular like 10 15 years ago I'm pretty sure there is other studies that are co ducted that shoe this as well although don't quote me There are more than just salesman Greg giving out information that can be true Greg is a salesman through and through While he is in his Lamborghini you are still foing in circle tryna figure out if you should bulk or not
Dirty bulking just hurt altogether. I hated how it made me feel I hated what it did to my joints and I hated how I looked. I did it for 6 months went from 175 to 200 and put a stop to that nonsense immediately after I saw your video RP
i find this very hard to believe. i tried the slow bulking and had minimal strength increase. when i switched to 3000 calories a day, i could add 5 pounds to the barbell every workout.
That you were stronger doesn't always mean that you had more muscle, and this is even more always the case when you're a natural. Same as if you'd cut, that strength would be gone soon as you remove those calories. You can have both hypertrophy and strength simultaneously, but you can't maximize both simultaneously.
I mean that's just because you are getting heavier lol. Noticed the same thing especially with bench press. Bodyweight is a huge factor. Doesn't mean you are putting on muscle. But yeah if your goal is just to move heavier circles more bodyweight will typically help with that.
Thermodynamische say otherwise. I’d ask yourself honestly if you were hitting your macros and micros consistently and approaching the gym the exact same way
The only reason I bulk is because I know FOR SURE that I’ll be in a caloric surplus every day. Eating 4000kcal as maintenance it’s easy to slack on it and eat less. It’s hard to eat exactly maintenance every day when you have different activity levels
True but if you’re doing a sport thats performance based and requires you to be at a heavier bodyweight, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to bulk up slightly faster in your off season to really maximize those strength gains and be a little heavier, then cut down slowly while maintaining that strength. i.e. CrossFit
They’re not saying not to bulk, you still need a surplus to gain muscle. The big thing is that you only need a 300-400 surplus. Anything beyond that you don’t need
still with 1g per lbs ? 0.8g is more than enough according to recent vid mike & menno did on this channel, where they talk about the meta-analysis of 49 studies on optimal protein intake
