Gaintaining Is Holding Back Your Progress (new study!)

Introduction: Muscle Gain vs Fat Loss00:00

Muscle gain is harder than fat loss and takes way longer. You can lose a shitload of fat without losing much muscle, but the same isn't true the other way around. Bulking and cutting have a big theoretical advantage in the long term over gaining. Gaining works, but bulking and cutting works faster.

Traditional View of Muscle Gain Dieting Phases00:30

In the traditional view, you generate a calorie surplus which is a huge weapon for gains. You eat to gain with a calorie surplus and high protein diet. You can't bulk forever because you're always going to add some measure of fat and muscle and eventually you get way too fat. The typical idea is bulking for 16 to 20 weeks nice and slow, then cutting for 6 to 8 weeks, maybe a maintenance phase in there, and repeating the process.

The bulking adds muscle and fat. The cutting reduces away the fat, and pretty much only the fat if you cut moderately. That means you keep all the muscle and then repeat that process and make long-term gains.

Gaintaining: The Alternative Approach01:30

Gaintaining is the idea that opposes bulk cutting. You want to be in a body fat that's conducive to not crazy muscle loss when you lose fat and conducive to good muscle gains when you're trying to gain muscle. Something around 12 to 15% body fat or so. Chill at that body weight, train hard, eat enough protein, don't try to push a calorie surplus. Just hit a maintenance on average and you're going to be likely to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.