Question Regarding Fat Gain During Clean Bulking

[KentDog]

I know the question of how much fat gain is typical during a bulk has been asked a million times before on this forum, but my question is this:

In theory, isn???t it possible to gain NO fat or absolutely minimal fat during a clean bulk? Even if very unlikely, theoretically, this would be achieved by consuming a precise amount of calories (of ???clean??? foods) that would not exceed however much the body would need for muscle tissue repair, and for other calorie consuming activities, etc. (and therefore would not end up storing additional ???unused??? calories as fat). On non-workout days, the number of calories consumed could be reduced by a certain amount (say by 200 calories) to adjust for decrease in physical activity (or perhaps just an adjustment of certain macronutrients). Other adjustments could be made accordingly.

Getting the precise number of calories needed would be damn near impossible, but I wouldn???t imagine it impossible to come pretty close (through experimentation and routine). Even if very close and going under the calories needed for ???maximum??? bulking would still result in added muscle mass but no fat, right? Or is it much more complicated than this?

This thought came to mind after reading numerous (and drastically varying) answers on how much fat is usually gained during a bulk. I just don???t like settling for the ???it varies depending on the person??? answer. However, if that is what it is, than that is what it is. I am just thinking there is more to it.

I admit I do not know a lot about this subject, as I have not experimented much with clean bulking, so please do not be too harsh on me. I am just about to begin a bulk (in about a month or so) and have given this sort of thing a lot of thought. I am admittedly very paranoid about gaining too much fat while bulking (I have heard 1 pound of fat gained for every pound of muscle is typical; this seems like a high ratio to me). Any theories or additional input on this subject? I plan to clean bulk, so as usual, all input is appreciated, especially input/experiences/advice from people who have had experience with clean bulking before. Has anyone out there had a success bulk gaining only minimal bodyfat?

-Kent

 

[Yanick]

nutrient partitioning will/can play a role in how much fat is stored. your correct there should theoretically be a number of calories where one would gain only muscle, but that number would vary daily and will go up/down depending on how successful you are with putting on muscle/dropping fat etc. and like you said its impossible to find that number.

IMO if you want to 'clean' bulk, you should just do micro cycles of bulking/cutting. maybe 3-4 weeks bulking and 2-3 weeks cutting.

 

[KentDog]

I have read before of people talking about gaining muscle while also losing some fat during a bulk. I did a little bit more thinking and came to this conclusion as to why this is possible (instead of the beginner???s gains theory):

They eat in excessive of their maintenance calories, but under the number of calories that would provide maximum muscle growth for the work/activity exerted, therefore, there are no excess calories to be stored as fat. Is this plausible?

Yanick, your suggestion of micro cycling bulking and cutting sounds like a good idea, I just don???t know if it???d work for me, as I plan to take creatine when I start bulking. I know many people say creatine is okay for cutting too, but I just don???t feel comfortable doing high level cardio while on it; I???ve always felt it was more of supplement for bulking.

I guess since no one else has anything to say on this matter, I???ll just try to figure out as closely as possible what the best calorie amount for myself will be for gaining minimal body fat while bulking.. if anyone has any tips on how to find this number (what has worked good for you in the past personally, etc.), I would appreciate it.