I had the pleasure to sit down with my great friend Radu Antoniu to discuss one of my favorite methods of staying lean while building muscle…
Lifestyle Lean Bulking.
You see, I always make sure I don’t gain too much fat while building muscle and strength.
There was never a need to bulk up. When I relax on my diet for a few days, the weight just comes on!
For me, going on an all out bulk would be ridiculous. Even in the past two weeks, my weight went from 168 lbs to around 171 lbs – 172 lbs.
Reason being, there has been a lot of social gatherings, going out to big dinners and I have been more relaxed than usual.
Entering Lifestyle Lean Bulking
This strategy is going to work very well for people who struggle to stay lean while gaining muscle. For those, who feel that weight gain comes easily to them.
And yes, this is determined by genetics, eating habits, self-image, among many other factors.
Instead of having a constant calorie surplus, you will only have periods of a surplus a few times per month. The rest of the time will be spent in a moderate calorie deficit or maintenance calories, to maintain leanness.
The short periods of a surplus (only a few times per week, otherwise you’ll gain too much fat) will be enough for your body to build muscle.
I also track my key exercises to make sure I am still gaining strength.
For example, if you add 20 lbs to your incline bench over a period of time, there is going to be some muscle growth as a result.
And by key exercises, I am referring to the primary focus of my courses; such as, incline bench, weighted chin ups and standing overhead press. Getting very strong on those movements while staying lean is going to work wonders for your physique.
When getting on strong on weighted chins, you MUST use a high-quality weight belt that won’t distract you or cause discomfort.
Key Diet Points
- Eat at maintenance daily.
- Include deficit days from time to time to maintain leanness.
- When you’re more hungry than usual, or you want to eat more because of a social event, have a few hundred calories more than maintenance. This will provide the surplus needed to build muscle and gain weight.
Remember, these higher calorie days are not on any schedule.
You are supposed to add them to your schedule when needed and preferred (listening to your body) to build muscle.
Use them based on how you feel, such as feeling hungrier than normal, and with your social life.
This could mean events like going out to dinners, visiting family, and taking short traveling trips here and there.
I Am Not Perfect
One of the reasons that kinobody is so effective is because I am not perfect! As a result, I needed to create something that worked for me, someone that wants to enjoy life.
That means going with how my body feels and daily schedule. I am still always fasting, and pushing my first meal later into the day, following the Kinobody Approach…
Just some days I’ll go higher in calories..
The main idea is to master how to go slightly over your diet, but not go OVER your diet with thousands of calories.
Going 200-500 calories over your diet is not the end of the world as long as you do not become guilty and understand when it is time to tighten your diet back up again.
I’m just trying to be real with you.
I don’t stick to something insanely strict all the time.
You can get the best of both worlds when you are staying lean and can plan higher calorie days when you want to.
