When it comes to the endless fitness goals out there, one of the hardest to reach — and most sought after — is to proceeds muscle without gaining fat. This is often called "clean bulking" and it's challenging for one fundamental reason: To gain muscle and size, you lot need to eat more calories.

But we all know what happens when you consume too many calories: You increase the chances of adding more fat. While you lot might see people who claim they've gained "x pounds of muscle" in a month, the reality is y'all tin can simply proceeds 1–2 pounds of lean muscle per month (or less if you lot're already muscular).

To uncover the all-time strategies for your clean bulk, we'll breakdown the all-time approach for your training and nutrition.

The right training programme to add together lean tissue requires four things. First, it must ensure your calorie intake is going toward musculus repair, recovery and growth, which means you need to lift weights 3–4 times per calendar week.

2nd, your workout should consist of heavy, complex exercises targeting several musculus groups at in one case — nifty choices include squats, presses, rows, chinups and deadlifts.

Tertiary, focus on "hypertrophy," which basically means increasing muscle size. The way to do that is past using a moderate number of repetitions — something between viii–12 reps and five or more sets is usually solid. This arroyo increases the "fourth dimension-nether-tension" (the duration your muscles take to work per set) and that creates more than stimulus for muscle growth.

Finally, every time you go to the gym, aim to practice a little bit more than than you did final time — add an extra pound or ii to your weights, practice one or 2 more reps or add together another set. That way, yous're constantly challenging your body and creating improvements.

Hither's the truth: Training for a clean majority is only a small part of the battle; most of your results are won in the kitchen.

According to Sidney Fry, MS, RD, nutrition comes down to i word: Quality. "It's all about the quality of calories you lot have in," she explains. "If you're working diligently on expert strength training but are fueling your torso with poor-quality poly peptide, refined grains, saccharide, etc., then y'all likely aren't doing your trunk or muscles any favors."

Choose protein sources similar wild seafood, lean grass-fed meat, complimentary-range eggs, nuts and beans. Just what about things similar protein shakes and protein bars? "Protein from naturally occurring sources too contains essential vitamins and nutrients," Fry adds, and then always option existent food when you can.

Also, spread out your protein intake. "Unlike carbohydrates and fat, excess protein isn't stored for energy so protein-loading at one repast isn't beneficial," says Fry. "If your goal is to build muscle, you'll go the most bang for your protein buck past spreading your daily intake out among all your meals."

Equally for how much poly peptide you demand, she recommends 1.6–ane.7 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. "The most authentic way to determine the corporeality of protein in your nutrition is to wait at the diet labels of your food and apply the MyFitnessPal app to log that information," she adds, "prioritizing the Verified Foods designated with a greenish bank check marking."

Next, make sure y'all are getting the right number of calories — too much leads to fat gains while too lilliputian reduces musculus gains.

Start by calculating your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the number of calories your body burns at remainder. "What's most important to remember hither is that this is an estimation — a reference number to get you started," explains Fry. "Things like activity (both cardio and weight grooming), age and sleep habits will all bear on how many calories you need to maintain a certain weight." Thus, information technology takes a little time to understand your body's exact needs.

Once you know how many calories you lot need to maintain your weight, swallow 500 more calories on your lifting days and eat your maintenance level on all other days.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating," the saying goes.

Every month, check your torso fat, weight, measurements and photos to make certain you lot make clean bulked correctly. If you lot gained a little fat, gently reduce your calories on non-lifting days; if y'all're not gaining lean mass, gently increase your calories on lifting days.