Caloris Surplus: How Much is Too Much?
by dakoose on Dec 23, 2008 2:34 PM EST
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PrintI've been weightlifting for a good year and a half now, it's only been a short while since I began to realize how important a diet is too putting on muscle. I've put on about twenty five pounds in over that year and a half period(5"7-150 to 5"7-175), and as I wasn't incredibly skinny to begin with I feel it's safe to assume something like 7-10 lb's of that was fat. Currently, I measure in at 13% body fat on one of those bioelectric impedence scales, but I have a feeling I'm a bit less than that. Anyhow, I want to start putting on some serious mass and would like some input into how many calories above maintanence I should be taking in to put on clean weight, muscle and only muscle.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems reasonable to think that I could put on somewhere in the vicinity of 1lb of muscle on per week, and not much more than that. However, I have spoken to several traineres that I know and some have recommended gargantuan caloric intakes, sometimes 1500 above my maintanence level of about 2800( as calculated by my BodyGem RMR+ Weightlifting six days a week+ a few cardio seesions/pickup basketball games). Assuming that I am correct with that maintanence figure, and I'm pretty sure it's spot on, a) how much is a reasonable amount of muscle to put on in a week? and b) how many calories should I be taking in to achieve that said mass?I look forward to reading your responses. It seems like there are a lot of knowlefgable folk on this site and I would value your opinions.
For the record, I drew up a mass program last night and have myself taking in 3400-3500 calories daily with about 240 grams protein.
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My 2c
Ask 10 trainers this same question and you’ll get 10 responses, and what I say will probably strike some as not hardcore enough, but you know…so be it.
I’ve heard the “pound a week” theory; I don’t think it’s a sustainable level of growth except under very specific circumstances.
I’d point out that you’ve gained an impressive amount of weight in a fairly short amount of time already and you’re NOT on a ‘bulking’ diet (though 240 g is a lot of protein for a 175 lb. guy!). You don’t seem to have hit a wall on those efforts, so I’d just keep doing what you’re doing until it stops working. Exceed your daily caloric needs by 1500 kcal and you risk gaining a lot of fat that you’ll regret packing on in the future.
If you were 6’4" and 150, and hadn’t gained a pound to speak of despite training efforts, then I’d consider a radical bulking diet. But you’re on the right track: just about anyone you ask who’s into bodybuilding would be pleased as punch with a 25-pound weight gain over 18 months—and that’s just 1/3 lb/week!
Bottom line: stay the course on what you’re doing. If you plateau, bring up your calories gradually (at a rate of, say 350 kcal/day) until you see progress.
by Andrew Heffernan on Dec 24, 2008 12:35 AM EST reply actions
Just a question,
when you say “above maintenance,” are you referring to my RMR or my TDEE, because if it’s the latter, I’m only about 500-700 above that mark. Anyhow, thanks for the input.
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