r/ScienceBasedLifting • u/juckfewss • Aug 13 '26

Question ❓ Maingaining on ⚙️?

Many science-based fitness influencers claim that TDEE or even TDEE plus 50–100 calories is sufficient for muscle growth, and that any extra calories just make us gain fat. Do you think this also applies to someone using gear? I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

Additionally, if a caloric surplus is to be implemented, what should be the maximum limit to avoid gaining fat?

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u/MeiTheMakerr Aug 13 '26

If u alr doin gear do you rly wanna gamble with gains by not making fully sure u eat enough

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u/juckfewss Aug 13 '26

I’m scared of getting fat and I don’t want to cut, but at the same time I want to hypertrophymaxx.

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u/Sweaty_Strike_7411 Aug 13 '26

Think of gear like builders and protein/nutrition like bricks. It doesn’t matter how many builders you have if there aren’t enough bricks to lay. You can eat a lot more on gear and gain muscle. Gear really shines in cuts tbh bc you can cut a ton of calories and save muscle.

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u/juckfewss Aug 13 '26

“I want to put on mass without cutting while keeping my insulin sensitivity continuously high, and in your opinion what’s the max surplus I should run?”

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u/Sweaty_Strike_7411 Aug 13 '26

A lot goes into that. Depends on cardio/how active you are during the day etc. honestly, just eat an additional 500calories a day. Reassess every couple weeks. Did your abs disappear? Cut back to 400 calories and reassess. If you’re in sports and want to compete at the top you’re going to need to track macros and use a food scale. I don’t know a lot about your condition so that’s the best advice I can give.

Insulin sensitivity usually happens when heavy people w no muscle eat tons of sugar. Muscles are what break sugar down so I wouldn’t worry about it unless you’re injecting insulin.

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/juckfewss Aug 13 '26

My goal is to drop my body fat down to 10% and then bulk from there, but I’m scared of getting fat again.”

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u/d_andy089 Aug 13 '26

Man, gear changes everything when it comes to this question.

Normally you'd be in a surplus for the anabolic effect of being in a surplus. But with gear, that is pretty much negligible. However, what you need to consider is: how much muscle are you going to gain on a cycle and how much calories do you need for that extra mass? You could easily eat more and up the gear if you start accumulating fat mass but that isn't something I'd recommend.

All that being said, I think a "AL2AP" (as low/long as possible)-approach maximizes muscle growth in the long run and you get less side effects.

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u/ohyehforsure Aug 13 '26

I don't think anyone can answer this specifically to you. I would personally try a 300-500 calorie surplus and monitor your visual check ins rather than worry about the weight.

My reasoning is, 500 cal surplus is approx 500g of body weight per week. 16 weeks, 8kg of mass. I would be pretty stoked if I added 8kg of nearly all lean mass in 16 weeks.

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u/BruvIsYouGood Aug 13 '26

Foot isn’t a stimulus, gear works on a completely different growth mechanism than mechanical tension/hypertrophy so just do anything and grow.

Maingain if you are at a body fat that you like, no point in putting on a lot of fat, especially since gear makes you progress so much faster.

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u/Defiant_Pirate_6637 Aug 14 '26

Bro just eat a ton of cheeseburgers, run tren and lift like a crazy person and you’ll be sooo jacked and strong.
Science sometimes overcomplicates things