A natural trained individual can hope to achieve about half a pound to one pound
of muscle per week - if he's doing everything correctly. If he doesn't have the
greatest genetics or isn't feeding himself optimally, this will decrease even further.
So as you can see, at a measly two to four pounds of muscle growth per month, you
aren't going to be needed to eat insanely high calorie intakes.
The higher your intake is, the more you risk putting on additional body fat. As
a general rule, keep it to about 250 to 500 calories above maintenance in hopes
of putting on mostly muscle without too much body fat. Keep track of your current
body fat levels and appearance and if you see that too much of your weight gain
is coming on as fat mass, reduce your calorie intake slightly.
It is always best to go by REAL WORLD results since you are in the real world after
all. You can read as much as you like as to how many calories you
should
be eating, but this does not mean that's going to be the exact number that will
produce results. Different people have different metabolisms that will respond to
an increase in calories in various ways. So as you go about your bulk, adjust according
to the results
you are getting.
Remember that the more patient you are with your muscle gains and the slower you
go, the more time you can spend adding muscle mass and the less time you have to
spend dieting off the additional fat you gained - which as I'm sure many of you
already know, is not a pleasant experience.
So next time you decide you are going to do a 'bulking' phase, take a slower approach.
Not only are you much more likely to maintain a favourable appearance this way but
your mind will thank you as well. Nothing kills confidence levels faster than seeing
all muscle definition go out the window in a matter of weeks, so keep the weight
gain under control so you don't have to deal with this.