How fast should you bulk? Jeff Nippard discusses the best muscle building strategy for men – Muscle and Fitness

The bulking phase, in which bodybuilders eat more than their maintenance caloric needs, is a time to build as much muscle as possible before leaning toward the podium, but while some bodybuilders see the bulking phase as a green light to gauge whatever they crave, other competitors take a more nuanced approach. But who is right? Popular fitness number cruncher Jeff Nippard presented what the research says about how hard and fast your bulking should actually be.

“If you gain weight too quickly, you will mainly gain fat,” the powerlifter, natural bodybuilder and social media fitness guru explained in a video posted to his 3.7 million Instagram followers. “If you gain weight too slowly, you may be leaving muscle growth on the table.”

It’s a predicament that every competitive bodybuilder must navigate. Do they gain weight as quickly as possible to maximize their chances of growth, or do they take a longer approach, eating fewer calories but taking longer to gain weight? Nippard pointed to a 2023 study on the effects of small and large energy surpluses to present an academic perspective.

In the study, 17 experienced lifters trained for eight weeks. One group grew at a rate of 1% of their body weight per month, while the other group gained weight faster, gaining about 3% of their body weight per month.

Who builds more muscle? Fast or slow bulkers?

After two months, results showed that both the ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ bulkers gained about the same amount of lean muscle mass, “but the fast bulkers gained significantly more fat,” Nippard explains. So slow and steady seems like a sensible approach. “However, there is an exception,” the coach emphasizes. “If you’re just starting to lift, you can bulk up a little faster and especially gain muscle mass.”

To prove his point, Nippard referred to a previous research showing the progress of untrained lifters who went to bulk while maintaining four lifting days a week. This group gained an average of six and a half pounds in two months, but even those who bulked up the fastest gained mostly lean tissue. This means that your lifting experience should play a role in your bulking protocol.

How fast should you bulk to gain muscle without fat?

Taking all this into account to suggest the most efficient bulking tactics, Nippard explained that those new to lifting should aim to gain 0.5 to 1% of their body weight per week. “So if you weigh 150 pounds, that equates to about 0.75 to 1.5 pounds of (weight) gain per week, or three to six pounds per month.”

Those who have six months or more of lifting experience should take a different approach, Nippard suggested. “At that point, it makes much more sense to gain about 1% body weight per month (i.e. 0.25% per week).”

Of course, slowing down the bulking rate means starting earlier in this phase, but a leaner physique while bulking will give you an edge when you get into the less exciting cutting phase.

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