How does one build lean muscle mass when compared to building bulk muscle mass?
In: Biology
Lean mass is how much 100% muscle you have in body composition. What kind of mass you acquire is determined by your body fat. At 10% body fat with 16inch biceps you have more lean mass than at 15% body fat with 16 inch biceps. You’re either building muscle that shows directly or building muscle with some fluff on top (bulking). You can lean bulk and not overdo the fat gain that way the gains you get won’t be as dramatic of a difference when you cut afterwards. But it’s fun to put on like 20 lbs during a bulk and spike up all your muscle measurements even though this ‘bulky mass’ you’ve acquired isn’t 100% lean you still are bigger and stronger. It’s easier to maintain muscle in a bulk because when eating in a surplus your body won’t burn muscle when it thinks it’s starving!
“Bulk muscle mass” isn’t really a thing. What “lean” and “bulk” refer to in this case is fat.
For many people, the easiest way to build muscle is by eating a lot and also lifting weights. Your body needs extra food to turn into muscle, and eating a lot helps ensure that process goes quickly. The downside is that while you gain muscle, you also gain fat as well. Many people will use a cycle of “bulk and cut” where they eat a lot and lift weights to get more muscles but also fatter, then switch to eating less while still lifting weights to keep most of the muscle they gained while also losing the fat, leaving only “lean muscle mass”, just the muscle and not the fat.
This is seen as easier than the much slower process of lifting weights while not eating a lot more food, which generally doesn’t encourage your body to grow as much new muscle.
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