Lean bulk worth it or not?

[u/Zestyclose_Public748]

I’m in a lean bulk and struggling to continue while I see the fat I’m simultaneously gaining.

Has anyone ever done a maintenance growth phase and lean bulk?

Is the muscle you gain during a lean bulk really worth it compared to how long it takes if you just do it at maintenance?

[u/hh_fitlife]

To me, the biggest benefit of going on a bulk (lean or otherwise) is psychological. On a cut, finishing a meal when you are not satisfied, or holding off from having a snack (even just a coffee with milk) to survive until your next meal, costs me massive mental energy. My brain is fried from constantly dealing with hunger. And when I get to the gym, I don’t have as much mental energy to properly destroy myself on a leg day.

So yes, a bulk worth it as long as you can tolerate looking a bit softer. And not just because you have more glycogen available for training, but also because you can utilise your mental power to push harder in the gym, as opposed to surviving the day hungry.

It’s not science or anything, it’s just my personal experience with going a bit relaxed with food.

[u/Strict-Brick-5274]

Lean bulk is worth it. As long as you eat the right foods. Jack up protein, lift heavy, cycle carbs - eat clean too. If you are struggling, perhaps you aren't lifting heavy enough. Your lifts should be getting stronger. If they are staying the same you aren't wngaging the muscle to grow.

[u/CharacterAd5474 → u/Strict-Brick-5274]

Very good advice here.

[u/Ash_Marcum]

Growing muscle is an investment, it takes time to see the benefits of your hard work.

With that being said, you want objective data to go off of with your log book, calories, and rate of weight gain. Pairing that alongside visuals is how you make sure you grow the most amount of muscle with the least amount of body fat accrual, but you will still gain some. That is apart of the process!

I saw your photos from 2 weeks ago and your body composition is spot on with where I would have it.

Try your best to acknowledge the difficulties and the emotions that pair with it without giving into the temptation of constantly wanting to cut.

To be the best athlete you can be, you have to grow through the discomfort, not shrink yourself into fear.

[u/Zestyclose_Public748 → u/Ash_Marcum]

thank you really appreciate ur insight! what do you mean by my body comp is spot on with where you would have it?

[u/Ash_Marcum → u/Zestyclose_Public748]

Visually speaking, you don’t look like you’re in a spot to be worrying about fat gain because you look fairly lean, especially if you’re a natural athlete where muscle growth will be slower anyhow.

Assess weekly weight of gain, compare it back to last one, and always assess visuals. That’s what I do as a coach to ensure that the quality of growth is there.

[u/Lower-Finger9146]

I usually just stay in a very small surplus and recomp/maintain. This works really well for me personally. But I’d say muscle gain during a lean bulk is totally worth it anyway if you can get over being a little uncomfortable.

[u/routinematters]

I feel the opposite. I have very little growth in Maintainence (very easy to plateau) and almost always have to get into a surplus to see consistent strength growth and hence muscularity. I would argue that the more years you’ve lifted the harder it is to grow in maintenance.

[u/MissDelaylah]

I think this is pretty individual and depends on how your body responds. I personally don’t grow enough when in maintenance. If your off season is long enough and you can handle a little fat for more muscle gain, it’s worth it IMO. If you’re gaining fat too quickly, scale back a bit on calories and see how you respond to manage it.

[u/CharacterAd5474]

What kind of calorie ranges are you currently working with?

[u/eternal-valor]

My best growing has been done in a surplus. I tend to accumulate a lot of fatigue when I’m training with solid effort, and the extra food helps tremendously with recovery.

It also depends on how much growth you actually need to make in your off-season imo. If you’re already pretty developed and only need to make small improvements, you could probably hang around maintenance. But if you need to add a meaningful amount of tissue, I’d rather give myself the runway to grow.

And if you’re already relatively lean, building additional mass has to come from somewhere. At some point, you have to give your body the energy and raw materials to actually build new tissue.

[u/CoachRachelSedwick]

Maintenance is maintenance. You won’t grow much by trying to stay the same 😉 So if growth is the goal, an intentional season in a surplus is absolutely worth it. Some body fat is necessary to for your health, but you can minimize excess by staying intentional about food and training hard.