How Many Calories to Gain Weight and Build Muscle
When building muscle, it is extremely important to know exactly how many calories to gain weight for your specific body type.
If you are someone who has a hard time gaining weight and putting on muscle, you may need to take in up to double the amount of calories as someone who generally puts on weight pretty easily.
If you are a hardgainer like me, you may feel like no matter how much you eat and how many hours you spend in the gym, you can't gain weight.
Ten times out of ten, you are not eating enough in comparison to your physical activity.
You see, just like losing weight is strictly based on eating fewer calories than you burn, weight gain is a matter of consuming MORE than you use.
There are a few very simple formulas you can use in order to measure how many calories to gain weight for your body weight and type.
How many calories to gain weight for the average Joe If you are someone who generally gains weight pretty easily, you shouldn't need more than 12-14 times your body weight in calories depending on your energy expenditure.
For example: (If you weigh 140 lbs) 140 x 12 = 1,680 Calories per day If you are performing heavy physical activity 3-4 days per week, multiplying your body weight with 12 should work great.
However, if your day job requires physical activity on a daily basis and you are also working out in the gym 3-4 days a week, you may need to use 14 to get the correct amount of calories for you.
Example: (If you weight 140 lbs and work a job that requires physical labor) 140 x 14 = 1,960 Calories per day How many calories to gain weight for Hardgainers Someone who finds it nearly impossible to gain weight regardless of how much they consume can possibly need up to twice as much an "average Joe".
Instead of multiplying your body weight by 12-14, you should use 18-24 to assure that you will pack on pounds of muscle.
For example: (If you are a 140 lbs hardgainer) 140 x 18 = 2,520 Calories per day If you are performing heavy physical activity in the gym over 3-4 days per week, you should increase your intake by replacing the 18 with 20-24.
Choosing between 20-24 comes down to evaluating your daily energy expenditure.
If you are someone who works construction and hits the gym 3-4 days a week, you may need to consume 24 times your body weight in calories per day.
With that being said, you should be able to use your own judgment in order to calculate how many calories to gain mass for your body weight.
Warning! Avoid Packing on Fat Please do not come to the conclusion that if you consume more than you need according to this formula that it will yield results at a faster rate.
Will you gain weight? Yes, but if you are eating more than you should according to your body type and daily energy expenditure, you run a high risk of packing on pounds unwanted fat.
If that is not a concern and/or part of your goal, then by all means go ahead.
The formula I provided is for those who would like to pack on pounds of muscle while maintaining a low body fat percentage.
Conclusion The first step you must take when trying to determine how many calories you need in order to put on muscle is to come to a clear consensus of the body type you are.
Once you know whether you are an "average Joe" or a "Hardgainer", then you should evaluate your daily physical activity.
Once you have an idea of how heavy your energy expenditure is, you can then use the formula given to come up with an accurate number that determines how many calories you need in order to move the needle on the scale.
If you are someone who has a hard time gaining weight and putting on muscle, you may need to take in up to double the amount of calories as someone who generally puts on weight pretty easily.
If you are a hardgainer like me, you may feel like no matter how much you eat and how many hours you spend in the gym, you can't gain weight.
Ten times out of ten, you are not eating enough in comparison to your physical activity.
You see, just like losing weight is strictly based on eating fewer calories than you burn, weight gain is a matter of consuming MORE than you use.
There are a few very simple formulas you can use in order to measure how many calories to gain weight for your body weight and type.
How many calories to gain weight for the average Joe If you are someone who generally gains weight pretty easily, you shouldn't need more than 12-14 times your body weight in calories depending on your energy expenditure.
For example: (If you weigh 140 lbs) 140 x 12 = 1,680 Calories per day If you are performing heavy physical activity 3-4 days per week, multiplying your body weight with 12 should work great.
However, if your day job requires physical activity on a daily basis and you are also working out in the gym 3-4 days a week, you may need to use 14 to get the correct amount of calories for you.
Example: (If you weight 140 lbs and work a job that requires physical labor) 140 x 14 = 1,960 Calories per day How many calories to gain weight for Hardgainers Someone who finds it nearly impossible to gain weight regardless of how much they consume can possibly need up to twice as much an "average Joe".
Instead of multiplying your body weight by 12-14, you should use 18-24 to assure that you will pack on pounds of muscle.
For example: (If you are a 140 lbs hardgainer) 140 x 18 = 2,520 Calories per day If you are performing heavy physical activity in the gym over 3-4 days per week, you should increase your intake by replacing the 18 with 20-24.
Choosing between 20-24 comes down to evaluating your daily energy expenditure.
If you are someone who works construction and hits the gym 3-4 days a week, you may need to consume 24 times your body weight in calories per day.
With that being said, you should be able to use your own judgment in order to calculate how many calories to gain mass for your body weight.
Warning! Avoid Packing on Fat Please do not come to the conclusion that if you consume more than you need according to this formula that it will yield results at a faster rate.
Will you gain weight? Yes, but if you are eating more than you should according to your body type and daily energy expenditure, you run a high risk of packing on pounds unwanted fat.
If that is not a concern and/or part of your goal, then by all means go ahead.
The formula I provided is for those who would like to pack on pounds of muscle while maintaining a low body fat percentage.
Conclusion The first step you must take when trying to determine how many calories you need in order to put on muscle is to come to a clear consensus of the body type you are.
Once you know whether you are an "average Joe" or a "Hardgainer", then you should evaluate your daily physical activity.
Once you have an idea of how heavy your energy expenditure is, you can then use the formula given to come up with an accurate number that determines how many calories you need in order to move the needle on the scale.
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