Can I build muscle eating at maintanence

[yana999]

I’m a 20 year old female, been lifting for 1 year & 7 months now. I see some small changes in my body in terms of looking more toned but nothing drastic. Before lifting I was about 116-117lbs & now currently maintaining at around 122-123lbs. (Height is 5’8) I feel like I’m not making optimal progress & thought about lean bulking, however I keep reading up that lean bulking isn’t necessary & will just cause fat gain, & that maintenance calories is enough to put on muscle. but I seem to have platued in terms of seeing changes in my body. Do you think a lean bulk would be helpful? Or would I just get fat? I thought about lean bulking to around 140 before going on a mini cut, and then continue lean bulking from there. What do you guys think?

[ProYeo]

It's in the name - maintenance is eating what you need to maintain. There isn't anything left to build from. You can look into body recomp if you would like... that might be what you are referring to, building muscle while losing fat. But really, a true recomp works for new lifters. Whenever I read people discussing 'recomposition' for anyone other than someone new to liftin... they start to talk about high body fat, slow cut, working in slight surplus, etc.... which is basically fancy spins on a bulk or a cut.

With your stats - you aren't exactly new to working out, and you don't have a lot of extra body fat - cuts and bulks are your tools.

Bulking puts on fat, yes. But the slower you do it, the less fat. Aggressive bulks will add more fat - I've done a couple of rather aggressive bulks where I've put on a good amount of weight pretty quickly. But I did it for specific reasons. In the past, I did much more slow bulks. Both have been good tools for me and I've put on muscle either way. Bulking isn't quick. A lot of people want to bulk for 3 months and hope for results - results will be minimal. My most successful bulks were over a year each.

[yana999]

It's in the name - maintenance is eating what you need to maintain. There isn't anything left to build from. You can look into body recomp if you would like... that might be what you are referring to, building muscle while losing fat. But really, a true recomp works for new lifters. Whenever I read people discussing 'recomposition' for anyone other than someone new to liftin... they start to talk about high body fat, slow cut, working in slight surplus, etc.... which is basically fancy spins on a bulk or a cut.

With your stats - you aren't exactly new to working out, and you don't have a lot of extra body fat - cuts and bulks are your tools.

Bulking puts on fat, yes. But the slower you do it, the less fat. Aggressive bulks will add more fat - I've done a couple of rather aggressive bulks where I've put on a good amount of weight pretty quickly. But I did it for specific reasons. In the past, I did much more slow bulks. Both have been good tools for me and I've put on muscle either way. Bulking isn't quick. A lot of people want to bulk for 3 months and hope for results - results will be minimal. My most successful bulks were over a year each.

Hmm that makes a lot of sense! I feel I’ve Been spinning my wheels especially considering my weight is already on the lower side to begin with. Lean bulk it is!

[George2100]

Poster above covered it all, but I’ll just throw in that I find a good 250 cal surplus is perfect for a lean/slow bulk

[George2100]

It's in the name - maintenance is eating what you need to maintain. There isn't anything left to build from. You can look into body recomp if you would like... that might be what you are referring to, building muscle while losing fat. But really, a true recomp works for new lifters. Whenever I read people discussing 'recomposition' for anyone other than someone new to liftin... they start to talk about high body fat, slow cut, working in slight surplus, etc.... which is basically fancy spins on a bulk or a cut.

With your stats - you aren't exactly new to working out, and you don't have a lot of extra body fat - cuts and bulks are your tools.

Bulking puts on fat, yes. But the slower you do it, the less fat. Aggressive bulks will add more fat - I've done a couple of rather aggressive bulks where I've put on a good amount of weight pretty quickly. But I did it for specific reasons. In the past, I did much more slow bulks. Both have been good tools for me and I've put on muscle either way. Bulking isn't quick. A lot of people want to bulk for 3 months and hope for results - results will be minimal. My most successful bulks were over a year each.

2nd this. Also, sickening gains ProYeo

[ProYeo]

Hmm that makes a lot of sense! I feel I’ve Been spinning my wheels especially considering my weight is already on the lower side to begin with. Lean bulk it is!

You'll learn your body over time. Through several bulks/cuts I've figured out what it takes for me. It seems like you have your maintenance figured out well, as you add you'll be able to determine if you are gaining too fast, or not at all.