Enter your height, weight, age, gender, and activity level into the bulking calculator. The bulking calculator will display your total number of daily calories needed to gain weight.

What is Bulking?

Bulking is a term used in the fitness community used to describe the process of intentional weight gain, and more specifically the gain of as much muscle as possible. Bulking involves eating in a caloric surplus in order to gain weight. A caloric surplus means eating more calories or energy than your body needs. Doing so allows your body to use the extra energy to build muscle and gain weight.

To calculate the calories needed to bulk, multiply the total weight gain expected and then multiply by 3500 to get the total calories, and then divide by the number of days to determine the surplus per day.

Bulking vs Cutting

Cutting is the opposite of the bulking process described above. Cutting involves eating less than the daily caloric needs of your body in order to lose weight. Ideally, this is done while maintaining as much muscle as possible. This is a very hard thing to do. The calculator above can also help you determine your caloric needs for cutting as well as bulking.

Bulking Tips

The following is a list of tips you should follow for a successful bulk.

  1. Don’t eat as much as possible. You will gain too much excess weight as fat, and it will be hard to lose when you’re done bulking. Only eat enough to gain a steady amount.
  2. Eat healthy while bulking. Increase your caloric intake with healthy foods. Bulking on junk food will lead to more fat gain than muscle gain.
  3. Track your progress as you go along and adjust your calories as needed. Don’t stick to something that’s not working, adjust constantly.
  4. Don’t bulk for too long. Bulking for longer than 4 months can lead to extra fat gain and plateauing in strength.