Why exactly do we need to eat 500 more calories for muscle gains?

[SocialNerd]

Just doesn't seem logic to me.. if you eat more calories it will be fat and not muscle, right?

[KrazyEyezKillah]

Theoretically, because 500 cal/day surplus would make you gain a pound a week.

I agree, I think its retarded

[Tb0282]

Because building muscle isn't your body's primary goal. Your body will use the excess calories as energy to build and repair your muscles. Of course there is a point where you are eating too much, I would never exceed 500 calories above maintenance.

[TrevorCorr13]

Just doesn't seem logic to me.. if you eat more calories it will be fat and not muscle, right?

False op your body requires these extra calories to build the muscle fibers bigger and stronger without eating over matianence your body is unable to repair a "build" you don't necessarily have to eat 500 over but it works the best for many who do so when bulking. It's also impossible to gain muscle without some minimal fat gains just adjust your calories as you see works best

[NaturalFTW]

just eat 10-20% above maintenance.

[bgtarikat2]

Just doesn't seem logic to me.. if you eat more calories it will be fat and not muscle, right?

Your body needs extra energy to create muscle.
Ian McCarthy explains that you should be gaining a pound a MONTH, with a 500 surplus you would gain a pound a WEEK, id say a quarter of that surplus would be better, so you can bulk longer and not gain as much fat.

[some1withguns]

It doesn't need to be 500, it's just that a pound of fat contains 3500 calories. 3500/7=500 cal per day.

500 isn't the number for everyone. Different body types will need more/less to gain a pound a week.

[some1withguns]

Your body needs extra energy to create muscle.
Ian McCarthy explains that you should be gaining a pound a MONTH, with a 500 surplus you would gain a pound a WEEK, id say a quarter of that surplus would be better, so you can bulk longer and not gain as much fat.

That same article says its impossible to gain more an a gram of muscle a day. That's just shy of a pound a year. I through that article out as BS. It conflicts itself several times.

[goobyplss]

It doesn't need to be 500, it's just that a pound of fat contains 3500 calories. 3500/7=500 cal per day.

500 isn't the number for everyone. Different body types will need more/less to gain a pound a week.

It doesn't matter what body type you have, 500 above maintenance = 1 pound per week for everyone.

IMO 250 is a much better number.. lean bulk ftw.

[Miickk]

It doesn't matter what body type you have, 500 above maintenance = 1 pound per week for everyone.

IMO 250 is a much better number.. lean bulk ftw.

A 250 calorie surplus is too small of a surplus of calories in my opinion. You don't burn the exact same amount of calories everyday. So aiming for a minuscule gap of 250 calories is almost an impossible calculation to make and you may end up spinning your wheel overanalysing every calorie and macronutrient you ingest.

[DerekEt]

OP, eat at a -5,000 calorie deficit for 3 years and come back with the results.

[BFJ]

I hope this 500kcal over means a pound for everyone is sarcasm. That is absolutely not true. It's a all park rule of thumb that I guarantee if tracked with 15 or 20 people - results would be quite variable with maybe the majority settling somewhere near that mean. Learn what works for your body be putting on a weight at a rate that leaves you feeling comfortable with your body and its progress and always be wary of "rules" that apply to everyone - essentially never the case

[goobyplss]

A 250 calorie surplus is too small of a surplus of calories in my opinion. You don't burn the exact same amount of calories everyday. So aiming for a minuscule gap of 250 calories is almost an impossible calculation to make and you may end up spinning your wheel overanalysing every calorie and macronutrient you ingest.

Meh, keeps me lean all year round.. so I love it.

[Miickk]

Meh, keeps me lean all year round.. so I love it.

Well if you have figured out exactly where your maintenance is and you are gaining muscle then that's fantastic. Are you gaining, and if so at what rate are you gaining?

[SocialNerd]

Because building muscle isn't your body's primary goal. Your body will use the excess calories as energy to build and repair your muscles. Of course there is a point where you are eating too much, I would never exceed 500 calories above maintenance.

thanks man, now it's all clear

[WilliamDoering]

A lot of good fitness models or other people featured on simplyshredded say that they stay lean all year round and gain muscle. Greg Plitt stays lean all year round. George Farah, who trained Kai this year and made him take second at the Olympia is not a fan of bulking up either, thats why Kai was much leaner and lighter this off-season. But every Body works different and you need to figure out for yourself how many calories you need.

[TheBuffmuffin]

I stay lean and gain. I don't count calories or macros either.

[TMLDaGawd]

I only recommend a 500 cal surplus for people in Auschwitz mode.

No it will not be all fat if you eat 500 cal surplus.

[TMLDaGawd]

Your body needs extra energy to create muscle.
Ian McCarthy explains that you should be gaining a pound a MONTH, with a 500 surplus you would gain a pound a WEEK, id say a quarter of that surplus would be better, so you can bulk longer and not gain as much fat.

In your first year of training gaining one pound/month is a bad idea.

[TMLDaGawd]

A 250 calorie surplus is too small of a surplus of calories in my opinion. You don't burn the exact same amount of calories everyday. So aiming for a minuscule gap of 250 calories is almost an impossible calculation to make and you may end up spinning your wheel overanalysing every calorie and macronutrient you ingest.

Great advice. Completely agree.

[TMLDaGawd]

A lot of good fitness models or other people featured on simplyshredded say that they stay lean all year round and gain muscle. Greg Plitt stays lean all year round. George Farah, who trained Kai this year and made him take second at the Olympia is not a fan of bulking up either, thats why Kai was much leaner and lighter this off-season. But every Body works different and you need to figure out for yourself how many calories you need.

That's because they've been training for years. Someone training that long shouldn't bulk and gain 20lbs because they can only build a couple lbs of muscle a year. That's why they stay lean.

[Mizzoutiger26]

the calories are used as energy by your muscle therefore it becomes bigger, the fat you get from the food is stored as fat.

No, it's not. An excess of calories to maintenance, whether they are calories from protein, carbs, or fat will be stored as fat and/or build muscle depending.

[TMLDaGawd]

No, it's not. An excess of calories to maintenance, whether they are calories from protein, carbs, or fat will be stored as fat and/or build muscle depending.

I'm pretty sure all dietary fat is stored as fat when digested (at least at first) although I could be wrong.

[murlocman]

it is very easy for beginners with noob gains to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, it gets harder and harder to do though the more advanced you get, especially when you get to low bodyfat levels like under 10

[illuminattty]

Short: Energy to rebuild the muscle fibers also when you workout you burn of calories thus you can risk of falling below your maintenance basic metabolic rate (BMR = the rate at which your body burns calories through its natural processes) so you could lose weight if you don't make up the calories you lost when you worked out.

mfw 0 reps

[bgtarikat2]

In your first year of training gaining one pound/month is a bad idea.

I guess you could go with ~ 3-4 pounds the first few months, then you should taper it down quickly imo, the first months I started training seriously I gained like 15- 20 pounds in ~ 4 months, mostly muscle some fat obv but composition stayed good, and thought "huh thats it I just have to eat more" later that year my gains simply almost stopped and I started gaining mostley fat, simply because I was too far over in calories, the first few months is fine, just TRY TO GAIN LITTLE TO NO FAT, because i feel as if cutting just ****s up your body even worse, and yeah I still have not been as ripped as I was back then before I f-ulked because i probly took some *******'s advice who was like, "your lifts stalled? Just eat more bro." If you go to far over you WILL get fat.Just my 2 cents.

Edit#54536543 ... Yeah at OP's weight maybe go 3-4 pounds for a few months and when your gains slow down a little back off the cals quick, and do a slow bulk.

[Eandretta96]

Guys dietary fat is not stored as fat. Same as eating cholesterol will not raise your cholesterol. I thought we were past this already.

[Mizzoutiger26]

Guys dietary fat is not stored as fat. Same as eating cholesterol will not raise your cholesterol. I thought we were past this already.

Listen to the red. Srs. Repped.

[Eandretta96]

Yeah it is hard to maintain in the long run. I was gaining half a pound every week like this for about 1 month and then I started getting lazy

[Eandretta96]

I don't even know why I was red. I was red before I even posted anything in any thread.