Gaining muscle isn’t just about lifting weights; it’s about strategically entering a growing phase—often referred to as a bulking phase—where your focus shifts to consuming more calories than you burn and following a training program optimized for muscle hypertrophy. Done correctly, a growing phase can help you maximize muscle gain while minimizing fat accumulation. However, many people approach this phase without a clear plan, leading to suboptimal results.
In this blog, we’ll break down how to properly enter a growing phase, covering everything from calorie intake and macronutrient ratios to training strategies and recovery techniques.
Step 1: Understanding the Growing Phase
The goal of a growing phase is to increase muscle mass through a combination of caloric surplus and progressive overload in the gym. However, it's important to approach this phase strategically to avoid excessive fat gain.
- Caloric Surplus: You need to consume more calories than you burn to fuel muscle growth, but the key is to find the right amount to support lean muscle gain without adding too much body fat.
- Progressive Overload: Increasing the stress on your muscles over time by lifting heavier weights or increasing volume (sets and reps) is crucial to stimulating muscle growth.
A growing phase typically lasts 3–6 months, depending on individual goals and progress, after which many people enter a cutting phase to reduce body fat while retaining muscle mass.
Step 2: Setting Up Your Nutrition for Muscle Gain
Calculate Your Maintenance Calories
Before entering a growing phase, it’s essential to understand your maintenance calories—the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. You can calculate this using a variety of methods, such as the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, or by tracking your food intake and body weight over a couple of weeks. Once you know your maintenance level, you can start adding calories to enter a surplus.
Create a Caloric Surplus
For muscle gain, aim for a moderate caloric surplus of around 250–500 extra calories per day. This small surplus will provide enough energy for muscle growth while minimizing fat gain. Gaining about 0.5–1 pound per week is a good target.
- A surplus of 250 calories per day might lead to slower muscle gain with minimal fat gain.
- A surplus of 500 calories per day may result in faster muscle gain but with a higher chance of adding some body fat.
Macronutrient Ratios for Muscle Gain
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Protein: Protein is the building block of muscle, and during a growing phase, aim for around 1.6–2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This ensures your body has the necessary amino acids to repair and build muscle tissue. For someone weighing 80 kg (176 lbs), this equates to about 128–176 grams of protein per day.
- Good protein sources: Chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef, eggs, dairy, tofu, and plant-based protein powders.
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Carbohydrates: Carbs are the body’s primary energy source and are especially important in a growing phase to fuel your workouts and promote recovery. Aim for 4–7 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight, depending on your activity level.
- Good carbohydrate sources: Whole grains, rice, oats, sweet potatoes, fruits, and vegetables.
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Fats: Healthy fats are crucial for hormone production, particularly testosterone, which plays a key role in muscle growth. Aim for around 0.8–1 gram of fat per kilogram of body weight.
- Good fat sources: Avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish like salmon.
Meal Timing and Frequency
While total daily intake is the most important factor, meal timing can also play a role in muscle growth:
- Pre-Workout: Eat a meal rich in carbs and protein about 60–90 minutes before your workout to fuel performance.
- Post-Workout: Consuming protein and carbs after your workout helps replenish glycogen stores and kickstart muscle repair. Aim for 20–30 grams of protein and 40–60 grams of carbs within 30 minutes of training.
Spreading your protein intake evenly throughout the day (roughly 20–40 grams per meal) is ideal for maximizing muscle protein synthesis.
Step 3: Designing Your Training Program for Hypertrophy
Nutrition is just one part of the equation; your training program needs to be geared toward hypertrophy (muscle growth) to make the most of your growing phase.
Focus on Progressive Overload
As mentioned earlier, progressive overload is key to muscle growth. This involves increasing the weight, reps, or sets over time to challenge your muscles and stimulate growth.
- Example: If you can bench press 100 lbs for 8 reps, aim to increase this to 10 reps or 105 lbs in your next session.
Volume and Frequency
Research suggests that training each muscle group 2–3 times per week with a moderate volume (roughly 10–20 sets per muscle group per week) is ideal for muscle growth. This can be achieved through either a full-body routine or a split routine (such as upper/lower body split or push/pull/legs).
- Full-body routine: Great for beginners, as you train each muscle group multiple times per week with moderate volume in each session.
- Split routine: More advanced lifters may benefit from splitting their workouts into different muscle groups to focus on more specific areas.
Rep Ranges and Intensity
For hypertrophy, the 6–12 rep range is often recommended. This rep range strikes a balance between muscle tension and volume, both of which are important for growth. However, incorporating both lower rep, heavier weight sets (3–6 reps) for strength and higher rep sets (12–15 reps) for endurance and muscle pump can maximize your results.
Incorporate Compound and Isolation Movements
- Compound exercises (like squats, deadlifts, bench press, and rows) work multiple muscle groups at once and should form the foundation of your program.
- Isolation exercises (like bicep curls and tricep extensions) target specific muscles and can be used to address weak points or areas that need extra attention.
Step 4: Prioritizing Recovery and Sleep
Muscle growth doesn’t happen in the gym—it happens during recovery. Proper recovery ensures that your muscles can repair and grow after each workout.
Importance of Sleep
Aim for 7–9 hours of sleep per night. Sleep is crucial for muscle recovery because most of your body’s repair and growth processes, including protein synthesis, happen during deep sleep.
Active Recovery and Rest Days
While lifting heavy and training hard are important, giving your body time to rest is just as vital. Incorporate 1–2 rest days per week and consider active recovery like light cardio, stretching, or foam rolling on off days to promote circulation and prevent stiffness.
Step 5: Track Your Progress and Adjust
During a growing phase, it's important to track your progress so you can make necessary adjustments:
- Body measurements (waist, arms, legs, etc.) can show where you're gaining muscle.
- Strength levels in key lifts should steadily improve if you're progressing properly.
- Body weight will increase, but monitor the rate to ensure you're gaining mostly lean mass, not excess fat.
If you're not gaining weight or seeing strength improvements after a few weeks, you may need to increase your caloric intake slightly (by 100–200 calories per day). If you're gaining too much fat, you may need to dial back the surplus or increase your activity levels.
Conclusion: Entering Your Growing Phase the Right Way
Entering a growing phase for muscle gain requires a strategic balance of nutrition, training, and recovery. By eating in a moderate caloric surplus, focusing on progressive overload in the gym, and prioritizing rest and recovery, you can maximize your muscle gains while minimizing fat accumulation.
Remember, muscle gain is a gradual process, and patience is key. Trust the process, stay consistent with your nutrition and training, and adjust as needed based on your progress. With the right approach, you’ll see significant gains in muscle mass and strength over time.