What ratio of fat/muscle can you expect to gain ?

R

RainierWolfcastle

New Member
What ratio of fat to muscle can you expect to gain while bulking up ? Up sure the answer will be "it depends", so to make it easy:

Assume:
* 400 calories per day above maintenance
* 30/40/30 protein/carb/fat macronutrient split
* Experienced lifter who has gained 10kg of muscle a few years ago
* Using HST
* Just come off dieting cycle (no drugs during dieting or bulking)

I'm sure the answer will still be "it depends", but what is the range (What does the normal distribution curve look like?) and what does it depend on ?

Rainier.
 
Generally, most people who "know" what they're doing should be able to pull off a 3:1 to 4:1 lbm:fat ratio, though this skews higher if you're a little glycogen depleted (especially off diet.) If you're not careful, 2:1. 1:1 or worse is a dieting disaster.
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You can influence it by your timing and energy requirements. Eat a surplus of mostly carbohydrates and load it around your workout, where your metabolic rate would be highest. Also it's difficult for your body to convert excess protein or carbs to fat, so keeping fat relatively moderate (actually about 15-20% of diet) will prevent fat storage. However, having very high insulin levels does make your body suspectible to storing dietary fat as fat, so actually I would recommend eating protein beyond the typical protein requirements and following the 4:3 C:p ratio.

cheers,
Jules
 
eating 400 cals above maintenance is easier said than done.

1. calculations of bmr are just that; a calculation based on assumptions. in order to correctly calculate bmr you must experiment. you can eat 400cals above 11 times your weight + activity factor and come out way high or way low.

2. it is easy to eat more without feeling guilty on a bulking phase.

3. your current BF% plays a huge role in your current BMR & % of muscle to fat you will gain.

with all that said you practically need a PHD, i guess that is why we come here.
 
Hmm, 11 * BW + 400 is not even maintenance for me. :) The easy solution is to just ramp up calories until your waist gets bigger.

cheers,
Jules
 
Yes, the answer to your question involves an "it depends." Specifically, this depends on your initial bodyfat.

If you are fairly lean, you'll gain about 70% lean tissue and 30% from fat. So, for every 10 pounds, 7 will be fat-free mass.

If you are overweight or obese, you'll gain about 40% from lean tissue, and 60% from fat.

Gene
 
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