TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF BUILDING LEAN MUSCLE

As you will already understand from reading this page, when building lean muscle is the goal, training is the easy part. It’s your eating habits and getting specific with calories and nutrition that is the vital key to your success. This page will guide you in getting down and dirty with calories, rather than following general tips and advice on gaining weight only, therefore taking a lot of the guesswork out of trying to put on muscle without gaining excess fat. Before you continue though, it will be most beneficial if you have read and understand the information on this page in order to understand the science of building muscle.

If you have already had a read of the ‘Lose Fat’ section of this site, you will notice that much of the information on this page is similar to information with relation to fat loss and calorie consumption. The reason being is that we go through a similar process for building lean muscle as we do to lose fat, however the big difference being that the total calorie amount we reach at the end are dramatically different.

To understand how many calories per day you should consume with the goal of building lean muscle (without excess fat!) we have to understand that food gives us the energy (calories) to go about our daily lives. If we consume more calories than what our bodies burn up in a day we gain weight (usually fat!), if we eat the same we maintain our weight, and if we eat less calories than what our bodies use than we lose weight.

Please note that the information below refers to kcals. If at any time you need to convert to kilojoules, multiply the kcal figure by 4.18.

A. Calculate the amount of calories our body uses to just stay alive. This is termed our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

B. Use your BMR to determine your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)

C. Use the TDEE to arrive at the total amount of calories you will need to consume each day to gain muscle.

When we have done the above, we can then get an estimate with regard to how many calories per day you need to eat to building lean muscle.

For a quick calorie calculation of steps A & B (above), click the link below:

**Click here for the caloric needs calculator **

Then click here to learn how to use this figure for building lean muscle
(step C)

To find out more about how we arrive at this figure for building lean muscle continue reading below. Please note that the caloric needs number that the above calculator arrives at will vary slightly to the result you get by following the formulas provided on this page. To skip this step and cut straight to the point click here!

TOPICS ON THIS PAGE

1. Calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR)
2. Calculate your total daily energy expenditure
3. How many calories per day to gain muscle?
4. Where to from here?

1. CALCULATE YOUR BMR

There are 2 methods for determining your BMR. As mentioned above, this step is needed to establish how many calories per day you need for building lean muscle:

1. The Harris-Benedict formula

Works well for most people except for those who are either extremely overweight, or have extreme musculature. If you are at either extremes please use the Katch-McArdle formula.

Step 1:
Change your weight in pounds to weight in kilograms (if you already know your weight in kg, please move to step 2)

Bodyweight in pounds (lbs) / 2.2 = Bodyweight in kilograms (kg)

Step 2:
Change your height in inches to height in centimeters (if you already know your weight in kg, please move to step 3)

Height in inches (in.) x 2.54 = Height in centimeters (cm)

Step 3:
The next step is to determine whether you are male or female! Just kidding, I hope you don’t get stuck on this step! Males and females have use different equations to determine BMR using this formula on the assumption that males have a higher percentage of lean body weight than females (more lean body weight = increased BMR). Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) by using one of the following:

Males

BMR = 66 + (13.75 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in yrs)

Females

BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in Yrs)

2. Katch-McArdle formula

Can be used when you know you lean body weight, or total body weight less your body fat. Because it takes in to account your lean body weight, it is a more accurate method.

Please keep in mind it is fine to use either method, and it is difficult to achieve exact calorie amounts required to gain muscle. As you will see as you read on, you can adjust your diet and how many calories per day you consume if you are not achieving your desired results.

As mentioned above, this method is more accurate, however you must know your body weight less your fat amount (your lean body weight).

Step 1:
Change your lean body weight in pounds to lean body weight in kilograms (if you already know your lean body weight in kg, please move to step 2)

Lean bodyweight in pounds (lbs) / 2.2 = Lean Bodyweight in kilograms (kg)

Step 2:
Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR):

BMR = 370 + (21.6 x lean bodyweight in kg)

2. CALCULATE YOUR TOTAL DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE (TDEE)

Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) uses your BMR (your calorie expenditure to just stay alive) to help determine how many calories per day your body uses. In other words, if the amount of calories you eat in a day equals your TTDE, you would maintain your weight. Because we want to gain weight, we need to eat more than the TDEE figure. This will give you the your starting point to how many calories per day you should consume to put on muscle. Let’s work it out.

Match your current activity level with the appropriate equation below to calculate your TDEE:

CALCULATE HOW MANY CALORIES PER DAY YOUR BODY BURNS UP - TOTAL DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE (TDEE)

AMOUNT OF EXERCISE TOTAL DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE (TDEE)

Sedentary individual, little or no exercise, office work TDEE = BMR x 1.2

Light activity, exercise or sport 1-3 days per week TDEE = BMR x 1.375

Moderate activity, exercise or sport 3-5 days per week TDEE = BMR x 1.55

High activity, exercise or sport 6-7 days per week TDEE = BMR x 1.725

Very heavy activity, physical job, exercise or sport 2 x times each day TDEE = BMR x 1.9

3. HOW MANY CALORIES PER DAY TO GAIN MUSCLE?

Good question! If TDEE tells us how many calories per day we need to eat to maintain weight, then if we add to this figure we start to gain weight. Now at this point you may recall earlier me saying that we put on fat quite easily if we eat excess calories. This is very true if we don’t consistently exercise properly for building lean muscle and if we eat too many calories over what we should!. Now, we will get to the exercise part of the equation soon, but for those of you who can’t wait click here!

So the million dollar question is ‘what calorie amount should I consume with the sole aim of building lean muscle without gaining fat?’ In order to answer that, let’s walk through an example.

Assume an individual calculated their BMR to be 1700 calories. Using TDEE equations we can arrive at the figure that will determine approximately what amount of calories the individual will need to consume in order to maintain their current weight. Let’s say they are a moderately active person:

TDEE = 1700 x 1.55
TDEE = 2635 calories per day to maintain current weight

How to use your TDEE (caloric needs) figure to help you gain weight...

Ok. Now this is where it gets really juicy!

At this point, it is important to note the following:

1 lb (0.45 kg) = 3500 calories
1.5 lb (0.68 kg) = 5250 calories
2 lbs (0.91 kg) = 7000 calories

Using the example we used to calculate TDEE (caloric needs) we can work out how many calories per day we need to consume to gain 1 lb (0.45 kg) per week.

If the individual must consume 2635 calories per day to maintain their body weight, this equates to 18,445 calories per week (2635 x 7 days a week).

In order to gain 1 lb (0.45 kg) per week, which is equal to 3500 calories, then the individual will have to consume 21,945 per week (18,445 + 3500). So how many calories per day does that equate to? It is 3135 calories a day (21,945 / 7).

Basically, and from another perspective, to gain 1 pound (0.45 kg) per week you must increase your intake by 500 calories per day over the TDEE. This is a great starting point, and from here you can adjust your calorie intake depending on the results you are achieving

Important note on building lean muscle
There is a fine line between putting on muscle only, and putting on muscle with excess fat at the same time. That’s why the correct calorie amount is so important and why the whole procedure outlined on this page is so important in taking out the guess work with relation to building lean muscle. It is a good idea to start with adding 500 calories more to your maintenance level. Make sure you stay consistent with your intake. Assess the results after a few weeks and if you find you are putting on more fat than you’d like, then reduce your intake. If you are going great guns, you may like to increase it slightly.

It will take some experimenting around, and everyone is different. We all have different genetics, eating habits, cultural influences, social circumstances, and psychological make up that all play a huge part in our progress. So turn your ‘patience’ gear on and get ready to learn about yourself!

4. WHERE TO FROM HERE

Nutrition
The next step, when you have worked out how many calories per day you need to consume for building lean muscle, is deciding what types of food and in what ratio’s of protein, carbohydrates and fats you should start with.

This is the fun part. You can get creative here! But first you have to understand a little bit about what types of foods will be advantageous to include in your meal plan, and ones not to.

Click here to learn how to choose the right food and design your meal plan.

Exercise
In terms of building lean muscle, exercise is obviously a crucial part of the equation. If you are trying to lose fat and lose weight in general, exercise is important, but you could almost get away (for a short time!) without including exercise. For muscle building though, weight work is essential.

Click here for to learn more about training for building lean muscle.

Confused??

Ok, there’s a lot of info on these pages. Remember I am not going anywhere. I’d suggest going back to this page and just review the process in general.

You have heard the old sayings, ‘The journey of 1000 miles begins with just one step’ and, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. Train smarter not harder. I encourage you to find the balance. You have the tools in this website to succeed. Work out how many calories per day you need to consume for building lean muscle the way I have layed out here and succeed the healthy way.