Question: I want to build as much muscle as possible and know that I should be in a calorie surplus, but should I have a calorie surplus on my rest days too? I don’t want to put on too much fat for no reason.

You are not alone. This is a very common question.

For my full video, “Do you need a calorie surplus on rest days?” CLICK HERE.

In an ideal world, you could be in a calorie surplus 24/7/365 and gain nothing but pure muscle while staying ripped. But this is not an ideal world, so it’s common to see lifters out there cut their calories on rest days in order to gain muscle without putting on a bunch of fat in the process.

The logic used is:

“Well I’m not working out today so I don’t need the extra calories because it’s just going to go to fat.”

But they are guilty of making a simple mistake: Assuming that the body operates in a day-to-day way.

The body does not actually work this way.

The body works based on EVENTS that then lead to ADAPTATIONS.

This idea is so important to your workout success that the old wise men made Law III of the Architect of Aesthetics: THE BODY ACTS IN PHASES

The body is not subject to rapid swings. Results don’t flash and disappear like lightning in the sky. They are molded by time and persistence like a great canyon.

Time doesn’t reset at midnight within the body, and it cares not whether it’s Tuesday or Friday.

Time is a mental construct, and you will not be bound by it…

In other words, your body doesn’t see things in clean cut “days” like our minds do.

It doesn’t care whether it’s a training day or a rest day. It doesn’t care whether it’s rain or shine. It doesn’t care whether it’s Monday or Friday. It doesn’t care whether it’s Winter or Summer.

You need to start seeing things a little bit differently.

In this case, we’ll have to look at what happens when you lift weights:

Muscle Protein Synthesis

After you work out, you’ll get a rise in what is known as muscle protein synthesis.

Basically, this is the process where your body builds more muscle. When it’s elevated after lifting weights, you’re in prime position to build more muscle. When it’s not, you’re not making any gains no matter what you do.

This is the key.

Because is muscle protein synthesis a rapid spike and fall?

Nope.

In most studies it stays elevated for around 24-48 hours.

In raw beginners, muscle protein synthesis can stay elevated for even up to 72 hours!

And not only is muscle protein synthesis key for gaining muscle mass, it is also a very energy-intensive process to carry out – meaning it requires calories. Building muscle is no small task. It’s like building skyscrapers, not primitive mud huts.

Are the light bulbs going off yet?

You should be giving your body plenty of protein and energy while muscle protein synthesis is going on if you want to build the most muscle you can, and the rest of the time it just doesn’t really matter all that much.

*for a layman’s read on muscle protein synthesis, I recommend checking out this comprehensive guide by researcher Jorn Trommelen.

Should You Have a Calorie Surplus on Rest Days?

So the million dollar question:

Do you need a calorie surplus on rest days?

My answer:

If you’re lifting weights in the evening after school or after work like most people, then yes, you SHOULD have a calorie surplus on rest days. Protein synthesis stays elevated for 24 hours or more after a workout, so you need to feed your body enough protein and calories during this time period to support maximum growth.

Recommended reading: Do You Need a Calorie Surplus to Build Muscle?

But every one of you is different and has a different schedule, so based on what we’ve talked about so far, here are my tips:

• Start viewing your nutrition in terms of when you work out, not on/off days.
• Place most of your calories and protein right before and especially after training. The more advanced you get, the more this matters.
• Taper your calories down the further you go in time from your workout. If it’s been a couple days since your last workout, there is no mechanism by which you’ll grow more muscle mass, so it doesn’t make sense to continue your surplus.

If you train 4-5x/week around the same time like most people, then you’ll pretty much be in a surplus all the time and micromanaging everything is a waste of time and energy.

If you’ve got any questions, let me know in the comments section below. I’d love to hear from you.

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News: 33% off online coaching is going on now, so if you like what you see here and want premier customized online coaching to make the best results of your life, contact me here or by sending an email to murcifit@gmail dot com.

For more on the science of muscle growth and fat loss, check out my book, Architect of Aesthetics.

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