Lean Bulking Vs. Dirty Bulking

If you are on a bulking program you will want to choose between a "lean" bulk and "dirty" bulk. Lean bulking is when you choose to eat a calorie surplus of about 200-400 calories per day. These calories can't just come from anywhere though. You will want to eat more "clean" foods like fruits, vegetables, and meats. For example its much more beneficial to eat a chicken breast rather than a McChicken from McDonald's. When you are in bulking mode you will want to break down your calories based on proteins, Carbohydrates, and fats.

For bulking it is generally understood that you should consume .8-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight according to Built lean (2017). So, if you weigh 150lbs you should eat between 120-150 grams of protein per day. Now each gram of protein is equal to 4 calories. So in a single day you should consume 480-600 calories from protein alone.

Next are fats, Fats can be tricky because not all fats are created equal a gram of fat from an avocado is much different than a gram of fat from a doughnut. When it comes to clean bulking you will want to get the majority of your fats from healthy sources such as nuts and meats. As a standard rule you should shoot for 20-30 percent of your calories coming from fats and 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories. So lets say at your maintenance level (the amount of calories you can eat without gaining or loosing weight) is 1800 calories, and you want to eat 2000 during your bulk, you will want to eat between 400-600 calories from fat. Which equates to roughly 45-67 grams of fat per day.

Lastly are your carbs. Carbs should make up the rest of your calories. So if you were trying to eat 2000 calories per day and you weight 150 pounds you would subtract 600 protein calories and 600 fat calories from 2000. Which leaves you with 800 calories from carbs. Which is broken down into 200 grams of carbs per day.

When you break down your daily calorie consumption into proteins, carbs, and fats it makes it much easier to plan out and stick to a diet. By doing this you are able to stay much leaner during your bulk. Allowing you to keep of unnecessary fat. However, fat gain is impossible to avoid. But if you stick to a lean bulk you will be able to hover around a 2:1 ratio of muscle gain to fat gain. But the process will be slower.

If you wish to put on weight quick and don't really care how fat you get then you could potentially do a "dirty" bulk. This means to just eat and basically shove anything and everything into your mouth while continuing to workout. Now this method is in no way conventional but you will put on some serious weight. But the weight will be more likely a 3:1 or a 2:1 ratio in favor fat gain over muscle gain. If you choose to pursue a dirty bulk against my hesitation, you will want to consume 700+ calories above your maintenance level.

Choosing to lean bulk is the best way to go in my opinion. It allows for you to build adequette muscle in a reasonable time frame while still keeping off a lot of fat. It is also much easier to recover and cut down to achieve the optimal aesthetics once your bulk is over.

Reference

Are You Eating Enough Protein To Build Muscle? (2017, September 25). Retrieved January 09, 2018, from https://www.builtlean.com/2012/12/24/protein-build-muscle/