To Bulk or Not to Bulk
My trainees fall into one of three groups: Some are lean, others are overweight, and most fall somewhere in the middle. In this post, I would like to share how I go about making nutrition recommendations for each group.
The Lean Trainee: This is a male who is 17% body fat or less or a female that is 24% body fat or less. For such trainees, I recommend that they consume 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight each day and that they eat a little bit more than they want to, the goal being that they gain an average of 0.5-1 lb. each week. Typically, just adding a protein shake to their diet will suffice. If they are gaining more than 1 lb. each week, then I will recommend that they dial back their calories just a tad, so they don’t end up putting on more fat than muscle.
The Overweight Trainee: This is a male that is 25% body fat or more or a female that is 32% body fat or more. For such trainees, I recommend that they consume 1g of protein for each pound of lean mass that they carry. So for a 200lb trainee that is 25% bodyfat, this will come out to 150g of protein each day. Moreover, we will also look for ways to decrease this person’s caloric intake. Often replacing one of their meals with a protein shake and increasing their daily steps by 2,500 will do the trick. Because these trainees carry significant fat stores, they can actually build quite a bit of muscle while cutting weight. But in order to do this, it is important that their rate of fat loss not exceed 1% of their body weight each week.
So our 200 lb. trainee referenced earlier should not be losing more than 2 lb. each week. If his rate of weight loss exceeds this, he will likely compromise his ability to gain muscle while cutting. The caveat here is that if the trainee is dangerously overweight, then the priority will be to lose the fat as quickly as possible, even if this entails some loss of lean mass. Training 3-4 days a week and consuming adequate protein will minimize how much muscle they lose.
The Skinny-Fat Trainee: This is a male that falls in the 18-24% body fat range or a female that falls in the 25-31% range. They look skinny in their clothes but a little chubby otherwise. They justifiably don’t want to bulk, because this will only result in them gaining more fat. But they also don’t want to cut, because this will result in them simply looking skinnier than they already do. These trainees would be best served by recomp-ing for a period of about 4-6 months (short for recomposition).
As the name suggests, recomp-ing is the process of gaining muscle and losing fat while staying at the same bodyweight. These trainees will not increase or decrease their calories, but will make sure that they are consuming 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. After 6 months, depending on the progress they have made, these trainees can decide whether they want to now cut, bulk, or simply recomp further.
In summary, there are three important nutritional variables at play when it comes to body composition: protein, calories, and rate of weight gain/loss. If these are dialed in and coupled with a good training regimen, results will follow.
If you’re unsure what your current body fat percentage is, check out these graphics (men, women).
And, finally, check out this guide I’ve put together to give you an idea of how I hit my daily target of 150g of protein each day.
