Lean Bulk 101: Cut the Fat & Build Clean Muscle

What is Lean Bulking?

Lean bulking a.k.a. “clean bulk” is the process of putting on weight through consuming “clean” whole foods, like protein, carbs, and healthy fats.

This type of bulking, as opposed to “dirty bulking” aims to reduce the amount of fat you add to your body through food while increasing muscle. Generally, a lean bulk consists of slower, more sustained weight gain over time, while a dirty bulk sees quicker weight gain.

In this article, we’ll unpack some of the benefits of lean bulking. Find out if this bulking strategy is right for your fitness and health goals.

Lean Bulking Benefits

First-timers on a bulk often wonder— Is lean bulking better than dirty bulking?

It can feel intimidating to approach the bulking process at all, especially if you’re a novice.

Unfortunately, it’s not such a cut-and-dry answer. What type of bulk works for you can vary a lot depending on your size goals, health and fitness goals, and factors like genetics or pre-existing health conditions.

“Better,” in this case is very subjective. However, lean bulking does come with many benefits.

Some key advantages include:

Less Fat Gain

If you’re dirty bulking, chances are you want to get as big as possible as fast as possible. Unfortunately, stuffing your face with candy, burgers, and whatever else is sitting around may have you reaching for the least healthy food choices you can find.

Will you gain weight? If you eat more than you burn, yes! However, you’re looking at gains that are largely made up of fat among the muscles.

Enter lean bulking. Unlike dirty bulk, where a calorie is a calorie and all you’re aiming for is caloric surplus, lean bulking aims to limit excessive fat gain. This helps maintain a more favorable body composition.

Improved Aesthetics

Lean bulking as opposed to dirty bulking may make you look and feel more aesthetically pleasing, compared to a dirty bulk. Although dirty bulking can be effective, if you’re looking to take on a significant amount of weight, you may catch yourself looking too flabby for your liking.

Not only does lean bulking generally require you to take in fewer calories from fat, but it’s usually a slower process.

More gradual weight gains give your body more time to process a caloric surplus, so it can adjust your body composition accordingly.

A better-looking physique can have serious effects on feeling good about yourself. There are a few that people strive towards including a Greek God Physique, a body with a Heart-Shaped Booty, or a transform your Square Butt into a round one.

Healthier Metabolism

By focusing on nutrient-dense foods and avoiding excessive calorie intake, lean bulking can support metabolic health. This approach may help prevent the negative effects associated with prolonged periods of high-calorie consumption.

Avoiding excessive fat gain is not only beneficial for aesthetics but also for overall health. Keeping a healthy body composition can contribute to better cardiovascular health, insulin sensitivity, and other benchmarks of well-being.

Sustainability

Ever gotten halfway through a bulk, gotten sluggish, discouraged, and wanted to quit after only a month in?

Even experienced weightlifters can get certain fatigue from rapid bulk/cut cycles that leave them feeling exasperated and ready to give up.

Since lean bulking has a more gradual weight gain curve, it can feel more sustainable even if the overall process takes you longer.

Because you’re eating healthier foods, there’s a high likelihood that you’ll feel more energetic and have more energy to fuel your workouts in the gym as compared to a dirty bulk.

Lean bulking encourages a balanced and nutritious diet, with a focus on meeting macronutrient needs (protein, carbohydrates, and fats) rather than simply consuming excess calories.

Controlled and gradual muscle growth, reduces your likelihood of putting on too much fast fat. This can make it easier to A) continue the bulk for longer and have a better cut on the other side and B) maintain your gains and progress over a longer time after the bulk ends.

Easier Cut

If you decide to transition to a cutting or fat loss phase after lean bulking, you'll have less excess fat to lose. This can make the cutting phase more manageable and less challenging.

Lean bulking may have a positive impact on mental well-being, as individuals can see tangible progress in muscle gain without the potential negative effects of excessive fat accumulation.

Building lean muscle mass can enhance overall strength and athletic performance. This can lead to improvements in various physical activities and sports.

It's important to note that the benefits of lean bulking can vary from person to person, and individual factors such as genetics, training intensity, and dietary adherence play a role in determining outcomes.

Additionally, any bulking approach should be undertaken with consideration of individual health goals and preferences. Consulting with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian can provide personalized guidance based on your specific needs.

How to Lean Bulk

Okay, so you’ve done your research and decided to keep it clean and lean. How do you start lean bulking?

To bulk in general, you need to maintain a calorie surplus. That means consuming more calories than you burn. amount of fat gained during the process.

Usually, a slight caloric surplus is good for most people. Not only is it easy to add to your daily routine, but it’s generally fairly sustainable to add a bit each day rather than scarfing extra food down on the weekends.

Typically, an excess of about 250-500 calories over your usual number of calories will help you to gain slowly and steadily. This will help fuel your body’s muscle growth. If you’re not sure how much you’re eating, a calorie tracker can help you to see what number of maintenance calories (the calories you eat daily to stay the same weight) you’re eating and how much you should increase your consumption to gain.

On top of this, lean bulking requires more attention to your macronutrient intake versus dirty bulking.

Macros or macronutrients help you pack the kind of muscle you will want during a lean bulk. Let’s break down what they are, how they work, and how they can benefit your body's goals.

Protein

Protein is crucial for growing and repairing your muscles. Especially when paired with resistance exercises, protein can help you increase your body’s lean mass and prevent muscle loss.

Aim for around 1.4 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. Include lean protein sources like:

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Fish
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Plant-based proteins

Meal Timing

Although research has found that it doesn’t necessarily matter when you consume your protein as long as you’re eating enough, meal timing can impact how you feel during a bulk.

Distribute your meals throughout the day to maintain a steady supply of nutrients for muscle growth. Consider consuming a portion of your protein and carbohydrates before and after workouts to support energy levels and recovery.

Strength Training

Focus on compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Try squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and overhead presses.

Make sure you lift heavy enough to challenge your muscles and put them under the stress they need to grow. Depending on the exercise, a good rule of thumb is to aim for 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps per exercise.

Progressive Overload

Increase the intensity of your workouts by lifting heavier weights, increasing the number of sets or reps, or reducing rest periods between sets. If you build up every time you go to the gym, you’re likely to see some gains fairly quickly, depending on your starting physique.

Cardiovascular Exercise

Get some cardio work in support of overall heart health and fitness. Try running, jumping rope, or using an elliptical trainer at the gym. Make sure to avoid excessive cardio since it can interfere with your muscle-building progress.

Lean Bulking Tips

If you’re going into bulk, here are a few things you should consider to keep you healthy and feeling your best.

A healthy bulk doesn’t just factor in what you eat. Proper hydration is key for overall your overall health and it’s no less important during a bulk.

Although eating in a calorie surplus can be tough and may make you feel fuller or sluggish, it’s important to ensure you’re getting your water in too.

Monitoring your progress during a bulk will also help keep you on track. Think about tracking metrics like overall weight gain, body fat percentage, measurements (waist, biceps, legs, neck, or anything else you want to track), and total calories consumed.

Some kind of a guideline for tracking is crucial. You can’t change what you don’t know. Keeping an eye on key metrics will help you make adjustments during your lean bulking process if need be.

Big Picture

Lean bulking aka clean bulking means nourishing your body with healthy foods to bulk up. Usually, this process is sustainable and takes place over several months.

Dirty bulking means eating excess calories, however, the source of calories doesn’t matter, so this often leads to more junk food consumption. Dirty bulking typically also leads to a quicker intake of calories so you put on mass more rapidly.

Remember that everyone's body responds differently, so it may take some experimentation to find the approach that works best for you. Consistency and patience are key in your bulking process.

If you have any health concerns around bulking or are experiencing adverse effects, talk to a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian. Professionals can help make sure that bulk is healthy for your body when factoring in any health conditions you may have and in the scope of your health history.

Interested in learning more about how to optimize your nutrition for performance?

Read more about different types of supplements like creatine and how they can impact your workouts:

• Lean Muscle vs Bulk Muscle
• How Long Should You Bulk For
• Does Creatine Expire?
• What Happens if You Take Fat Burners Without Working Out?
• Does Pre-Workout Break a Fast
• Creatine Monohydrate vs. Mircronized

Looking to bulk up your workout routine or cut the fat? Flex AI offers an all-in-one workout platform to help you learn new exercises, visualize your fitness journey, and keep all your PRs in one place.

We’ve made it simple to work on customized fitness plans or to introduce a little friendly competition to your fitness community by sharing exercises with your friends. Try it for free through the Flex fitness app.

References:

Antonio, J., Peacock, C.A., Ellerbroek, A. et al. The effects of consuming a high protein diet (4.4 g/kg/d) on body composition in resistance-trained individuals. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 11, 19 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-11-19

Clamp, L. D., Hume, D. J., Lambert, E. V., & Kroff, J. (2017). Enhanced insulin sensitivity in successful, long-term weight loss maintainers compared with matched controls with no weight loss history. Nutrition & diabetes, 7(6), e282. https://doi.org/10.1038/nutd.2017.31

Hudson, J. L., Bergia, R. E., 3rd, & Campbell, W. W. (2018). Effects of protein supplements consumed with meals, versus between meals, on resistance training-induced body composition changes in adults: a systematic review. Nutrition reviews, 76(6), 461–468. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuy012

Slater, G. J., Dieter, B. P., Marsh, D. J., Helms, E. R., Shaw, G., & Iraki, J. (2019). Is an Energy Surplus Required to Maximize Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy Associated With Resistance Training. Frontiers in nutrition, 6, 131. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00131