How to Bulk but maintain low body fat

I’m currently weighing about 72kg, 6ft2, very skinny slim build and am looking to bulk up and gain some muscle, I’ve been attempting to do so for many months now and can’t seem to see as much progress as I like.

I go to the gym about 4-5 days a week, in each session doing 30mins cardio consisting of HiiT and Swimming and a further 30-45mins weights.

I’m looking for the best possible way to gain muscle but also not put on so much stomach fat as I’m trying to stay low on body fat (12/15%) so I can maintain my visible abs.

I’m eating on average 1500-2000 calories a day and I’ve been told maybe that is not enough but I can’t seem to find the right diet plan if I was needing to eat or drink more.

Am looking for some guidance on this, thanks!

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

MathTeacher95

Its as complicated for 95% of people as....

More calories consumed than used = weight gain
More calories used than consumed = weight loss

So if you're not seeing progress over 3 month period it will be because your calorie intake isn't great enough.

In terms of keeping a low bodyfat while bulking the best bet is to only go 200/300 calories over your TDEE. There are calculators online to get an estimate but it will involve some trial and error as well.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

Xarao

You're only eating 1500-2000 calories @ 6ft2? Increase that to at least 2000-2500 and gradually increase to 3000. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn in general. Also, reduce the amount of cardio you do and focus on primarily gaining muscle mass (note: this does not mean cut your cardio sessions out completely, but rather reduce it, why would you do cardio in every single session?). Also, if you do cardio, you do it at the end of your session with your lifts being done first. You don't want to waste energy which could be used for you to lift heavier.

Also, focus on one thing at a time. Do you want to gain more of a physique with more muscle mass or do you want a low body fat %? Doing both isn't impossible, but just makes things far more difficult. IMO, you need to eat far more, do less cardio and focus on gaining weight in general.

Reply 3

Adam488

You need to have a calorie surplus to put on muscle (more calories consumed than used in a day) - up the calories by at least 1250 (2500 are needed by the average man to at least maintain his weight). Do some research into diets with high calorie intake and dedinitely get those numbers up. Also you can train abs in the gym (and define them) without doing that much cardio - low body fat does not require huge amounts of cardio - I would up the time taken doing weights and half the time spent doing cardio seeing as your goal is to gain muscle.

Reply 4

Reality Check

Original post by JimmyNeu

More food from good quality sources. Adequate but not silly protein intake. Progressive training with adequate rest. Lots of sleep.

Reply 5

JimmyNeu

Original post by Xarao

You're only eating 1500-2000 calories @ 6ft2? Increase that to at least 2000-2500 and gradually increase to 3000. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn in general. Also, reduce the amount of cardio you do and focus on primarily gaining muscle mass (note: this does not mean cut your cardio sessions out completely, but rather reduce it, why would you do cardio in every single session?). Also, if you do cardio, you do it at the end of your session with your lifts being done first. You don't want to waste energy which could be used for you to lift heavier.

Also, focus on one thing at a time. Do you want to gain more of a physique with more muscle mass or do you want a low body fat %? Doing both isn't impble, but just makes things far more difficult. IMO, you need to eat far more, do less cardio and focus on gaining weight in general.

Thanks for your response, do you have any suggestions for a proposed diet plan? I’m only eating 1500-2000kcals a day and I don’t see how I could eat any more as I easily get full up from my current meals.

Reply 6

Xarao

Original post by JimmyNeu

I'm in no place to give you any dietary information nor am I qualified to. However, what I personally did was eating in a routine when upping my calorie intake. At first, your body doesn't want it. However, if you continue on a daily basis (usually I eat very slow in the first week since I usually can't stomach the thought of eating anymore, but actually helps) to the point where my body craves for it and becoming accustomed to the new plan. Everything takes time, and like always it's always hard at the beginning and gets easier later on.

In regards to eating what, I can't really say that. But usually, any food with a good amount of protein and carbs is what you should look for.

Reply 7

mgi

Original post by JimmyNeu

More protein in your diet would help with gaining muscle mass. Also, i think you need to do some focussed and monitored weight training. Can you afford a trsiner to guide you?

Reply 8

Welshvisitor

Seriously, STOP the cardio and HIT. You’re drained before hitting the weights, even if you don’t feel it you’ve burnt calories you need for bulking. You might actually lose weight like that. You ought to bulk and then shred in a cycle to get bigger. You’re doing it all together.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 9

Reality Check

Original post by mgi

More protein in your diet would help with gaining muscle mass. Also, i think you need to do some focussed and monitored weight training. Can you afford a trsiner to guide you?

More protein isn't going to do jack **** unless he ups his energy intake. Extra protein will just be broken down to produce energy, rather than be directed to any sort of anabolism.

Reply 10

username3118454

You cant maintain a low body fat while bulking. Unless youre doing one of those maintenence bulks.
Also, eat calorie dense foods like nuts and shakes.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 11

mgi

Original post by Reality Check

More protein isn't going to do jack **** unless he ups his energy intake. Extra protein will just be broken down to produce energy, rather than be directed to any sort of anabolism.

Ok, but only if he is starving- if you see what i mean. The protein has to be there in the diet to build protein muscular mass surely? Its basic science, and i did say he he needs to do training as well. "Energy intake "means what exactly?

Reply 12

Reality Check

Original post by mgi

'Energy intake' means what it says - total energy from food.

The 'basic science' is that the OP is in a mild energy deficit, even without any training. The metabolic priority is to provide sufficient energy before anything else, and certainly before any anabolic muscle building. Thus, excess protein is just broken down to provide energy, and not used to build muscle. Training would actually exacerbate this situation, due to an even higher metabolic demand and muscle microtrauma.

In short, lots of protein in the context of an overall energy deficit is useless. It just goes to plug the gap. Protein can only be 'spared' for anabolism when there is sufficient energy in the diet from other sources, usually carbohydrate. You don't need to be 'starving' for this to happen.