I keep seeing that you need to be in a surplus to build muscle. This has not been my experience because despite not eating enough calories or protein (I lacked knowledge when I started) I still gained 20lb of what looks like pure muscle mass since starting 6 months ago. (I am still under 10% bodyfat i.e. VERY lean but my muscles look slightly bigger.)
Also I have seen people do this such as Jonah Olzon. He started as very skinny and applied linear progression to his compound lifts. Over time he has been able to build muscle and his physique looks quite good now especially his upper body. All along he has never gained any visible fat let alone becoming fat in order to be able to bulk. He did consume enough protein throughout though.
I know a friend who did this as well. Very strong on the compound lifts now and consumes very little food but enough protein. (When I say very little, I am actually talking <2000 calories per day as an extremely lean person with basically no bodyfat.)
Also Jeff Nippard has a video on this where he describes research showing that it's possible if you have enough bodyfat or are a beginner.
The problem is that one should be applying progressive overload to their compound lifts regularly in order for the muscles to receive stimulus to grow. Then you just need to feed them enough protein so they can repair and grow bigger. Calorie surplus is a myth.
So the question really should be "can I train hard enough to apply progressive overload, while in a deficit?". I think skinny people will find this harder but as long as they can get their ass into the gym 3 days/week, focus on a simple full-body compound lifts program (such as Starting Strength), and add weight to the bar each time (e.g. 5lb on squat every session), then I don't see any reason why their muscles wouldn't grow.
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05-17-2024, 06:54 PM #1
Muscle on a deficit as a BEGINNER
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05-17-2024, 07:30 PM #2
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05-18-2024, 03:19 AM #3
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05-18-2024, 04:27 AM #4
Yes you can gain muscle in a deficit. But not 20 lbs in a short period of time, that's not going to happen even when you're bulking.
And you cannot gain much muscle in a deficit if you're lean, the body needs energy to build muscle, either from excess calories or from your existing fat stores. Your body won't prioritize muscle gain if there's little fat available, the body is a neat survival machine.The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.
- Richard Feynman
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05-19-2024, 04:01 AM #52017 OCB Men's Physique Open 4th place
17 MP Novice 4th
18 MP Novice 5th
18 MP 40+ 3rd
18 MP Open 5'10" & under 1st
18 MP 40+ 1st & Overall..Pro Card Won
19 Classic Phys Open 3rd
19 CP 40+ 3rd
19 BB open 3rd
19 BB 40+ 1st..2nd Pro Card
19 BB 40+1st..50+1st...3rd Pro Card
21 BB 40+1st..50+1st..Open 5th..4th Card
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05-19-2024, 05:31 AM #6
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05-19-2024, 04:47 PM #72017 OCB Men's Physique Open 4th place
17 MP Novice 4th
18 MP Novice 5th
18 MP 40+ 3rd
18 MP Open 5'10" & under 1st
18 MP 40+ 1st & Overall..Pro Card Won
19 Classic Phys Open 3rd
19 CP 40+ 3rd
19 BB open 3rd
19 BB 40+ 1st..2nd Pro Card
19 BB 40+1st..50+1st...3rd Pro Card
21 BB 40+1st..50+1st..Open 5th..4th Card
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05-20-2024, 05:40 PM #8
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05-20-2024, 05:41 PM #9
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05-20-2024, 06:52 PM #10
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05-23-2024, 05:25 PM #11
Would love to see pics of said zero visible BF
2017 OCB Men's Physique Open 4th place
17 MP Novice 4th
18 MP Novice 5th
18 MP 40+ 3rd
18 MP Open 5'10" & under 1st
18 MP 40+ 1st & Overall..Pro Card Won
19 Classic Phys Open 3rd
19 CP 40+ 3rd
19 BB open 3rd
19 BB 40+ 1st..2nd Pro Card
19 BB 40+1st..50+1st...3rd Pro Card
21 BB 40+1st..50+1st..Open 5th..4th Card
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05-23-2024, 07:08 PM #12
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05-24-2024, 03:04 PM #13
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Lol
Just popped in, glad I did, still fun threads here
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