how much muscle can one build in one year...

[WildCard]

without increasing bodyfat percentage?

I have read hypotheses that conclude that one can only build max 10 lbs of muscle per year regardless of diet, but I was wondering how much can be built if one is INTENT on keeping bodyfat percentage constant.

and how many calories over maintenance would one have to eat to do this?

[dtshen]

its been almost exactly a year since i started working out seriously,

and i went from 185-225.

i'm sure more than 10 lbs of it is muscle.

[sCaRz*Of*PaiN]

It's completely dependent on the person, how much they work out, how long they're bulking, what they eat, etc.. There's no number that applies to everyone.

[Optimum08]

It's completely dependent on the person, how much they work out, how long they're bulking, what they eat, etc.. There's no number that applies to everyone.

:withstupi

[WildCard]

its been almost exactly a year since i started working out seriously,

and i went from 185-225.

i'm sure more than 10 lbs of it is muscle.

how are you sure?

[Roddy]

It does depend on the person. i went from 138 to 185 in about 14months.
My body fat went up 3%. My chest grew from 39 to 46.5 inches. arms from 11.75" to 16.25".

I built a solid physique in my opinon. the numbers on the weigh scale dont mean much.

Worry more about how you want to build your body, and find a good route to do it (routine, diet, rest ect)

[Fenrir]

i put on 10kg in around a year simply through lifting and fairly clean diet, but never really bulking, also through just simply natural growth.

[Franco]

There are many variables that come into the equations as already mentioned.

How long have you been training?

[Fenrir]

If you are new then newbie gains will come faster, but if you are more experienced and have been working at it longer then the gains will probably have slowed down...

[WildCard]

There are many variables that come into the equations as already mentioned.

How long have you been training?

I've been training about two months. I know that there are newbie gains, but I want to know if it is even possible to gain muscle without increasing bodyfat %.

Pretty simple question really. Then, if it IS possible to gain muscle without increasing faT % then I would like to know the theoretical limit(without steroids) so that I can potentially design a diet around that limit.

[ddegroff]

when your bulking your eating much more calories than your body is burning. Some of these calories will be stored as fat. How can you figure out how to limit this? gain 1-2lbs per week, eating just enough to gain weight but not much fat. Like others have said its very individual. I would say start with adding 500 cals, if you gain just a little bit of weight in a couple weeks, add a few more cals. And continue to adjust gradually. This what we call a "slow bulk". How much weight you gain has a lot to do with your starting bf%. If its low then you can gain a lot of weight and still look lean.

Hopes this answered your question.

[eatit]

how are you sure?

for every pound gained at least 25% is LBM.

[sCaRz*Of*PaiN]

for every pound gained at least 25% is LBM.

I'm not sure about that, but who knows?

[Rex]

for every pound gained at least 25% is LBM.

You pulled that fact right out of your ass, didn't you?

[Beast]

for every pound gained at least 25% is LBM.

I'd love to hear the physiology behind this statement.

[Jorge Sanchez]

Don't worry too much about putting fat on. If your routine is on point and you are eating clean the fat gain should be minimal. It will vary from person to person obviously, but if you feel like you're gaining fat too quickly just lower your cals a bit.

If you limit your weight gain to 1-2lbs/month I would think that it would be almost entirely lbm. But personally, I would just go on a quicker bulk and drop the fat afterwards.

[sCaRz*Of*PaiN]

I'd love to hear the physiology behind this statement.

Me too. *raises hand*

[thajeepster]

Ive been working out for years but just recently (8-10 months) started to actually "bulk" and ive shot up from 145 to 175 with a 2-3% bf increase (11/12 to 13/14) ... I'd say 20-30 lbs is completely obtainable (lean mass), but im pretty sure that once you hit a certain size (depends on individuals genetics etc) it gets much harder to add on quality size.

[sCaRz*Of*PaiN]

but im pretty sure that once you hit a certain size (depends on individuals genetics etc) it gets much harder to add on quality size.

Which is when people start resorting to "other" methods.

[brickt.]

...and by other, you mean, cheesecake... right? guys?

[Optimum08]

mmm cheesecake

[thajeepster]

Which is when people start resorting to "other" methods.

yep lol. Fortunately, ive still got a good 30-40lbs to gain the "cheaper" way (food)

[Davidelmo]

for every pound gained at least 25% is LBM.

lol

[sCaRz*Of*PaiN]

...and by other, you mean, cheesecake... right? guys?

Of course.

[eatit]

Based off of a joke by Lyle Mcdonald:

How to win the Olympia withotu training
1. Acknowledging that, of toatl weight gain, approximately 1/3rd will be LBM no matter what you do, bulk to approximateily 900 lbs. this should give you 300 lbs of ripped lean muscle mass

2. Diet down progressively to contest shape, losing no muscle.

3. Win Olympia at a ripped 300 lbs.

Lyle