Although weight loss is generally a more common goal than gaining muscle mass, many gym goers are interested in gaining weight to increase muscle size and strength.
There are several ways to achieve this, although some result in excess body fat gain, which some athletes and fitness enthusiasts may find undesirable.
Conversely, gaining lean mass is considered a sustainable and healthy strategy.
This article gives you all the secrets and advice for gaining lean mass, examining its effectiveness, the different methods and what to change in your diet to transform your body. Sport, exercises, training, diet… We give you our best advice.
What is lean mass gain?
This involves gaining muscle without accumulating fat. When we start to build muscle mass, we take in more calories, which leads to increased muscle and fat mass. In order to generate as little fat gain as possible, you must be determined, patient and perseverant. It's a difficult task, but not impossible.
In general, gaining muscle mass involves a sustained caloric surplus - in which you have to eat more kcal than you burn - which leads to weight gain. This dietary strategy is combined with high-intensity resistance training to stimulate muscle building.
When you opt for lean mass gain, also called clean bulk, you closely regulate your calorie surplus in order to avoid excessive fat gain.
Lean bulking is often used by athletes who want to stay relatively lean in the off-season, such as gymnasts, strength athletes, and physique athletes.
That said, this approach isn't for everyone, as gaining muscle this way tends to happen more slowly than with other methods of gaining muscle mass.
What is the difference with so-called “dirty bulk” mass gain?
The measured and slow approach of “clean bulk” is opposed to “dirty bulk”.
As part of dirty bulk or classic mass gain, no food is prohibited in your nutrition. Rather, you are supposed to gain as much weight as possible, without looking at the fat gain that comes with it.
Effective for quickly gaining muscle mass and strength, its side effects include excess fat, feeling sluggish, and high cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
To summarize, gaining lean mass involves maintaining a controlled calorie surplus for muscle building while minimizing fat gain.
How to gain lean mass?
There are 2 distinct techniques for gaining lean mass.
METHOD 1: Gain controlled, long-term mass gain by only increasing your caloric intake by a small percentage to help gain muscle by limiting fat gain.
METHOD 2: Do it in two stages. Either gain muscle then lose fat. Or a loss of fat followed by muscle gain.
Method 1. Controlled dry mass gain.
The process of building lean muscle mass requires a rigorously balanced diet as well as regular muscle training aimed at building mass. It is physically impossible to convert fat mass into muscle, but it is possible to reduce it through proper nutrition and intense physical activity.
The first step to starting a controlled lean mass gain is important to establish your basic caloric need. That is, the number of calories you need to maintain your basic shape. Several sites can help you estimate this number to build your nutrition plan.
You can then start with a 10% kcal surplus. You can also count on a daily protein intake of 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg to promote muscle mass gain. The rest of your needs may consist of carbohydrates and fats.
To monitor your progress you can aim for a weight gain of 0.25 to 0.5% of your body weight per week.
If your scale does not show any variations, you can slowly increase your calorie intake to reach the goal.
The advantages of this method.
- Limit fat storage
- Limit the side effects of dirty bulk on your health
- Enjoy the benefits of healthy nutrition
The disadvantages of this method.
- Progress is slow and plateaus
- Not very flexible
- Requires a lot of vigilance and control over food
Method 2. Gaining dry mass in two stages.
For a more affordable approach to gaining lean mass, it is possible to do it in 2 different phases: muscle mass gain and fat loss. Both are based on nutrition and a bodybuilding program.
Allow between 4 and 6 months for each phase. Indeed, it is important to give the body time to transform.
Which phase to start with?
The first question you need to ask yourself is in what order are you going to do its phases? Gain muscle then dry or dry then gain muscle? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each technique? For what purpose?
Weight loss followed by mass gain.
Benefits :
- Get fitter for phase 2 bodybuilding.
- See results quickly.
Disadvantages:
- Drastic changes in nutrition from the start.
- After gaining mass, take the risk of having a slight excess fat.
Mass gain followed by weight loss.
Benefits :
- Allows you to have an almost perfect result at the end of the process.
- No drastic dietary changes in nutrition initially.
Disadvantages:
- The results of phase 1 are barely visible until phase 2 has started.
Muscle gain.
What does the muscle gain phase consist of?
Here it's about slightly modifying your diet and training to increase your muscle mass, all through your nutrition and your bodybuilding program.
What to do as a bodybuilding program?
Favor multi-joint exercises that work several muscle groups. They allow you to gradually and globally develop your strength and muscle mass.
To build muscle, focus directly on loads and bodyweight exercises.
What should I change in my eating habits?
Make sure you are in a calorie surplus. Add on average 500 kcal to your daily calorie requirement.
In addition to 3 meals per day, add 2 to 3 protein-rich snacks to boost your metabolism and muscle development. You should know that this is the simplest way to increase your caloric intake.
Increasing your protein intake is obviously essential to gaining muscle. Proteins act on muscle fiber recovery after weight training, during the rest phase.
Allow approximately 1.7 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For example, if you weigh 55 kg, you should eat 66 g of protein per day.
Our best advice for foods and products that provide you with protein or essential nutrients to support your training:
Lean proteins: chicken, fish, turkey, egg, Greek yogurt, protein powder, tofu and tempeh.
Healthy fats: olive oil, avocado, nuts, peanut butters, fatty fish and seeds.
Legumes: all beans.
High-quality carbohydrates: oats, quinoa, whole-wheat pasta, sweet potatoes, and rice.
Fruits to stock up on nutrients: apples, oranges, bananas, pineapple, grapefruit...
Non-starchy vegetables: peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots and celery.
Food supplements to supplement your diet with essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
And don't forget: hydrate properly!
Drying phase.
What does the drying phase consist of?
This is about eliminating fat to better define your physique and finally acquire your “perfect shape”.
What should I change in my eating habits?
During the cutting phase it is about being in a caloric deficit, that is to say, burning more kcal than we consume. Start with a deficit of 500 kcal per day. This is about burning as much fat as possible. To do this, continue to consume plenty of protein-rich foods to cover muscle needs.
What to do as a bodybuilding program?
You can continue classic bodybuilding by adding cardio exercises. In the gym, try the elliptical bike or spinning for example.
On the other hand, be careful, you must not increase your calorie deficit with your sports sessions: you must remain in a deficit of only 500 kcal. In fact, if you spend more in the gym then you will be able to eat more so as not to increase the deficit. By burning all these calories, we do not want to be hungry or slow down your metabolism but only for the body to burn fat.
