Have you ever heard of the ‘dreamer bulk’? Because yes, even when it comes to bulking, dreams are usually deceptive.

CALORIESURPLUS

As you know, you need to ‘feed’ your body sufficiently to build muscle: you consume more calories than you strictly need; in short, you maintain a calorie surplus. But how many extra calories are we talking about?

BULKING

In earlier times, the advice to bodybuilders was to eat as much as possible. That is also where the term ‘bulking‘ comes from. However, it gradually became apparent that this advice only applies to anabolic steroid users. If you are a natural, those extra calories are quickly converted into fat mass. A common piece of advice nowadays is therefore to eat no more than 500 extra calories. But is that advice actually correct?

RESEARCH

In a study of 38 experienced strength athletes, the ideal energy surplus for a bulking phase was measured. One group maintained their usual diet. The other group was instructed to add approximately 500 kcal to their diet. Both groups continued their usual training with four strength training sessions per week.

After ten weeks, there were no significant differences between the groups regarding their increase in lean body mass (FFM), strength (push, pull, and squat 1RM), or explosive power (jump height and sprint speed). The extra 500 kcal resulted only in significantly more fat gain.

DREAMER BULK

These results are consistent with several other bulking studies. With a relatively small energy surplus, most extra calories are stored as fat.

And so a bulk easily becomes a ‘dreamer bulk’: consuming a calorie surplus without stimulating sufficient muscle growth to justify that surplus, resulting in excessive fat gain. The ‘dreamer’ lies in the fact that you are growing, but primarily in fat gain rather than muscle gain.

The current advice is therefore to bulk ‘lean’: starting with only a very small energy surplus, of at most 100 to 200 kcal. A somewhat higher surplus is only justifiable for beginners.

You can probably build muscle even without a surplus; in fact, it is possible even with an energy deficit. In the latter case, we speak of body recomposition, something that is especially possible and worthwhile for beginners.