The age old question: Do you need a calorie surplus to build muscle? Some will tell you yes – it’s absolutely essential to add any muscle at all. Some will tell you no – it’s just a myth and a surplus will do nothing but add fat that you have to diet off again later. And let’s be honest: NO ONE actually wants to be on a diet.

Who are you to believe?

Deep down you want to look like a Greek statue and let’s be honest: who doesn’t want to stay ripped and lean year round? 

A calorie surplus or “bulking” just means that you’re going to lose your hard-earned abs, so if a calorie surplus isn’t necessary to build muscle, then why the hell would you do it? More muscle while staying lean is basically the Holy Grail of bodybuilding.

So in this article, I’ll be telling you the truth behind calories and muscle growth and what you should be doing to get the best results you can.

Recommended reading: Should You Bulk or Cut?

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Is a calorie surplus needed to build muscle?

Let’s cut straight to the chase:

No, you do not “need” a calorie surplus to build muscle. In fact, you can build muscle even when in a deficit.

Sounds impossible, right? Not exactly.

There is a ton of research in all sorts of people showing fat loss and muscle growth at the same time.

• Study 1: Elite level gymnasts who got shredded on a keto diet while still adding a little muscle (so much for carbs being magical).
• Study 2: Overweight police officers who gained muscle at almost the same rate as they lost fat.
• Study 3: Strength trained males benching 2 plates and squatting 280lbs

In fact, you’ve even seen this yourself if you’ve been around the gym long enough. It’s much more obvious in beginners and overweight people, but it can and does still happen across the board.

So if it’s still possible to build muscle while in a deficit, then obviously you can build it at maintenance or in a surplus.

But even if it’s POSSIBLE to gain muscle while in a deficit, is it optimal?

What if you want to build muscle at the fastest rate you can? That is why you’re here after all, isn’t it?

Let’s delve a little deeper.

Benefits of a Calorie Surplus

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of research out there on what being in a surplus does for muscle growth. Needless to say, science has more important things to worry about than how to get jacked without losing your abs.

But we do have some ways at looking at this that can shed some light on this:

Energy Matters

The first way that we can look at this is in terms of energy.

Muscle requires energy to build. Lots of it. For every pound of muscle you add to your frame, only ~700 calories of that are actual material. It takes up to 4x that amount of calories to build it, by some estimates.

So even though you can build muscle without a caloric surplus, that extra energy (calories) required for muscle growth has to come from somewhere. 

In an energy deficit, that energy is coming from stored body fat, but those stores aren’t unlimited. There is simply no way for you to go from 130lbs to 170lbs and jacked without being in an energy surplus.

If you’re already reasonably lean and content with that level of leanness, then you should almost certainly be in a surplus if you still want to add muscle to your physique. I covered this in my article, Should You Bulk or Cut?

Protein Synthesis

The second way to look at things is in terms of muscle protein synthesis.

If you don’t know, muscle size is determined by the balance between muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown.

If protein synthesis exceeds breakdown, you build muscle. The more muscle protein synthesis (specifically myofibrillar protein synthesis) you have, the more muscle you will gain.

Muscle Protein Synthesis > Muscle Protein Breakdown = Bigger Muscle

Simple enough.

Well, there is some research showing a decrease in muscle protein synthesis during extended periods of a caloric deficit.

Based on the equation above, that means that there is less potential for muscle growth due to a smaller spike in MPS.

On the flip side, it is possible that there could be an increase in protein synthesis from being in a surplus. This hasn’t been scientifically tested in lifters yet, but in theory, a calorie surplus is better for anabolism.

Real world experience

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, we have the real world to look at.

People just straight up tend to grow better when they have a surplus vs. when they’re at maintenance or in a deficit. And once you’re past a certain point in your lifting career, many (natural) lifters will tell you that a surplus is pretty much necessary if you want to make any meaningful progress at ALL.

So now let’s look at how much of a surplus you need to maximize muscle growth.

How much of a calorie surplus do you need to build muscle?

Don’t worry. Just because you’re in a surplus doesn’t mean you’re going to get fat.

…if you do it right. 

The days of dirty bulking or even worse…dreamer bulking are long gone.

Ideally when you pick a calorie surplus, you want as high of a surplus as you can go while keeping fat gain low to nonexistent. This will make sure that you are making gains without getting sloppy in the process.

A bigger calorie surplus does not mean bigger gains in muscle.

A 2013 study by Garthe et al. showed that athletes with a higher average caloric surplus did not gain significantly more muscle than those with a slight surplus, but they did gain WAY more fat.

There are diminishing returns to muscle growth, and past a certain point you’re just going to be getting fatter, not more jacked.

Calorie Surplus Recommendations for Building Muscle

So then what calorie surplus should you choose for bulking?

In my experience, gaining muscle at a rate of 0.25-0.5% bodyweight per week is an ideal starting point for most natural lifters.

2019 Update: A 2019 Review by Iraki et al entitled “Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review” has just echoed my recommendations here and in my book regarding the rate of weight gain of 0.25-0.5%.

• Beginners should start at 0.5% increase in bodyweight per week.
• Advanced lifters should stick to around 0.25% increase in bodyweight per week.

You can see how this pans out in real life below:

Note that these values will have to be monitored and adjusted based on the progress you are seeing.

Our metabolism isn’t static, and when you’re in a surplus, some people simply burn more of it off through NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) through things like fidgeting, moving more subconsciously throughout the day, etc.

This explains the “hardgainer” phenomenon where some people have to be in massive surpluses to gain weight at any meaningful rate yet stay lean without even trying.

Conclusion: Do you need a calorie surplus to build muscle?

And there you have it.

No, you do not need a calorie surplus to build muscle, but if you’re already lean and past the beginner stage, a calorie surplus will maximize your muscle growth.

A weight gain rate of about 2lbs a month is ideal for most people and will add muscle while keeping fat gain low.

Any questions or comments? Let me know.

To fine tune your muscle growth phase, hire me as your coach today.

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