Bulking vs Cutting: The Essential Guide to Gaining Mass and Getting Lean

Diet, training and supplementation strategies to get the best results, whether you're adding bulk or getting lean

By Trevor Kouritzin, PhD, MSc, B. Eng.

In our Essential Guide to Gaining Mass and Getting Lean you'll find out that at any given moment during a training cycle, successful lifters are commonly focused on a singular major goal - bulking or cutting. Each represents a training and nutritional phase commonly used by athletes and bodybuilders to achieve their physique and performance goals. Bulking focuses on gaining muscle mass through a caloric surplus, while cutting aims to reduce body fat while preserving muscle by consuming fewer calories.

If you’re not focused on a specific goal, you’re probably going nowhere...

Let’s be clear,  it’s darn near impossible to chase opposing targets simultaneously. That’s because there are so many factors to fine tune that deal with your training, eating, supplementation, and cardio activities. Because each phase is so different from the other, you don’t end up maximizing anything – and achieve neither.

Pick Your Goal: Bulking vs. Cutting

Research says that breaking your training into such phases works. A study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that when healthy male subjects added a high-calorie shake containing 356 g of carbohydrates and 106 g of protein to their resistance training program, they gained an additional 2.9 kg (6.4 pounds) of fat-free mass over an eight-week period.1

Depending on the amount you overeat, during a bulking phase -- typically 8-16 weeks in duration – you might see gains comprising not just muscle but body fat as well. Of course, we’d all rather primarily add muscle, so following a “clean bulk” (vs. “dirty bilk”) might make more sense. A clean bulk follows strict nutritional overeating guidelines and may even require counting calories for more precise (and less marbled) gains, whereas the latter essentially has no dietary restrictions to maximize total weight gain. That approach can be counterproductive to some athletes, especially those who compete in weight classes. There may also be adverse health consequences, too.

A bulking phase allows you to increase your strength on a number of lifts, helping power through plateaus. This offseason approach may be beneficial to some athletes as well. If you’re a hard-gainer, a bulking phase may be a good idea to jump-start your progress. 

A well-constructed bulk phase isn’t limited to what you eat; it should also consider changes to how you train, your supplementation plan, and other lifestyle factors that can contribute to or negate your overall success.

A cutting phase, also about 8-16 weeks, is one in which you’re trying to drop body fat and get as lean as possible. That’s important because when you’re lean, you appear larger because of increased muscularity, meaning you’ve got good muscle definition. This can be tricky because most weight-loss strategies also entail a loss of muscle mass, so your training, nutrition, and supplementation should be aimed at achieving a superior degree of leanness while countering muscle loss as best as possible.

Because you’re typically on a calorie-restricted diet, energy levels tend to wane, so shorter but more intense workouts are in order. What’s more, if you add aerobic exercise to the equation to burn more calories and fat, you may find it more challenging to complete your entire workout. That’s also where nutritional supplements can be especially beneficial.

Before we start, let’s clear up an important baseline: Gaining (or losing) weight means eating more calories (or fewer than) you’re burning. Research by Max Wishnofsky calculated that a pound of body fat is approximately equal to 3,500 calories based on the caloric content of adipose, so the following computations are based on that figure.2

Overview of a Bulk

The differences between a clean vs. dirty bulk primarily come from the kitchen...

So, start by looking at what this entails. Following a dirty bulk has been called the “seafood diet”: You simply eat whatever you see. That allows for all kinds of cheat foods, but sticking to unprocessed foods and limiting bad food choices is still a smarter long-term approach, not just for your waistline but your overall health.

A clean bulk is more complicated to follow but you’re more likely to appreciate the results. It consists of a healthy, nutrient-dense diet that should include whole and minimally processed foods, including lean meats, fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats (nuts, seeds), eliminating excess junk and highly processed foods, with an eye on how your body weight changes week over week. 

With regards to what you eat, the bottom line for putting on muscle is to ensure you’re eating more calories each day than you’re burning. That can entail logging of your daily macronutrients alongside estimates of what you’re burning, then eating an additional 250-500 calories each day over your maintenance level to ensure you’re on the mass-gain side of the equation. (Be mindful, this works for the stated goal of gaining muscle only if you’re also training not just hard, but right, and eating balanced, high-protein meals alongside a supplementation plan that supports muscle growth). A simpler way, however, is that if you’re currently at an equilibrium level, then simply add 1-2 small protein-rich snacks to your day’s meals.

START HERE: The total number of calories you consume when trying to gain mass is largely based on your current body weight, your activity levels, and your goals (age and gender also play roles, too). In a bulking phase, compute your target protein intake by multiplying your body weight by 0.87 g to support muscle growth. To support energy and fuel workouts, increase carbohydrate intake to 1.82 g per pound of body weight.3 Fat intake should remain unchanged, about 30 percent of daily calories. So a 200-pound man trying to put on muscle would consume 174 g protein and 364 g carbohydrate. Adding those together yields a range of 538 g, which equates to 2,152 total calories from those sources. That amount should be about 70 percent of your daily calories, which allows you to estimate daily calories (3,074). The number of calories allocated to fat is therefore 922, or about 102 grams.

Because individual metabolism varies so greatly, if you’re following a clean bulk it’s recommended you keep an eye on your weight to ensure you’re not putting on too much (or too little) weight too fast. For most people, increases in muscle mass can be up to 2 pounds per week, at least in the short term.

If you’re putting on more mass than that, chances are high you’re adding excess body fat in addition to muscle. Here, extra calories are not just being used to increase muscle mass but the surplus is likely being stored as fat. While excess protein intake isn’t efficiently converted to fat stores, it can happen.

That’s why the balancing act of calories in and calories expended should be closely watched over time. Anybody can overeat and build mass; you’re looking for quality muscle mass, and that simply takes more effort and time to do right. If you aim for about 2 pounds on the scale per week, you’re close to the mark.

If you’re falling short of the mark, you can either add more calories to your daily intake or expend fewer. For most people, adding a small snack of 250-500 calories will provide the needed boost to increase the daily gap over what you burn.

Sample Meal Plan

A meal plan for a day of bulk eating looks like this (adjust portion sizes based on your target macros and caloric goal): 

Nutritional Supplements

Supps that support muscle growth include whey protein, mass-gain powders (which often include carbs and fats, too, for extra calories), creatine, beta-alanine, and citrulline malate. 

• Whey protein isolate: Promotes muscle-protein synthesis, one scoop is 27 g protein, depending on product 
• Mass-gain protein: Also promotes muscle-protein synthesis but includes carbs and fat as well, one scoop is 16 g protein/43 g carbs/2 g fat
• Creatine: Supports increased muscle strength and power, improved exercise performance, and increased muscle mass, 3-5 g/day after loading cycle
• Beta-alanine: Reduces muscle fatigue, increases power production and work capacity, 4-6 g/day
• Citrulline malate: A precursor to arginine and nitric oxide, increases blood flow, delays fatigue, and improves exercise performance, 8 g/day

In the Gym

We can also make recommendations on how you should set up your training to maximize off-season gains. 

• Stick to multi-joint exercises (those that require two or more sets of joints to work in unison, like the bench press, squat, and deadlift). These engage the greatest degree of musculature, allow you to move the heaviest loads, and are linked to greater anabolism. 
• Choose loads that allow you to fail within the 6-12-rep range, favoring the lower end on the first exercises in your workout when your energy levels are highest. 
• Use a moderate to high volume, which is optimal for bodybuilding-style training. Volume is simply defined as the number of sets you do for a body part workout multiplied by reps and again multiplied by load (weight). 
• Train closes to muscle failure on most working sets; you shouldn’t be able to complete another clean rep on your own with good form.
• Rest 60 seconds between sets, a bit longer on your heaviest sets. 
• Reduce cardio activities as necessary. 
• Train about five days a week. Always push your body so that it continues to adapt.

References

1 Rozenek, R., Ward, P., Long, S., & Garhammer, J. (2002). “Effects of high-calorie supplements on body composition and muscular strength following resistance training.” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 42(3), 340–347.

2 Wishnofsky M. (1958). “Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 6(5), 542–546.

3 Iraki, J., Fitschen, P., Espinar, S., & Helms, E. (2019). “Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 16(1), 20.

4 Mettler, S., Mitchell, N., & Tipton, K. D. (2010). “Increased protein intake reduces lean body mass loss during weight loss in athletes.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 42(2), 326–337.