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12-week lean bulk

A 12-week surplus of roughly 250-500 kcal above maintenance, with weekly weigh-ins and a hard cap on how fast bodyweight rises. Built to add muscle without adding much fat.

Audience: beginner intermediate advanced

Static — this skill doesn't adapt to your week.

Tags: diet, bulk, surplus, 12-week, lean-gain

Tools used

Procedure

Daily calorie target = maintenance + surplus. Default surplus is 300 kcal/day, intended to drive a bodyweight gain of ~0.25-0.5% per week. Macro split is protein-priority: protein = 1.8g x bodyweight kg, fat = max(0.8g x bodyweight, 60g), carbs fill the remainder.

Lean bulks fail in one of two ways: too small a surplus (no muscle gain, just maintenance with extra food) or too large (gain rate overshoots 0.5%/week, fat goes on faster than muscle). The weekly weigh-in catches both.

Decision rules for the coach