How to Use the Calculator
- Enter your current details. Use your present weight, not the weight you are hoping to reach or the number you remember from three Christmases ago.
- Choose your activity level honestly. Count your whole week, including work, walking and rest days. One savage leg session does not make an otherwise sedentary week “extremely active”.
- Select your training experience. Beginners can generally build muscle faster than experienced lifters, so the appropriate rate of weight gain will differ.
- Choose how aggressively you want to bulk. A slower bulk is easier to control. A faster bulk may add weight more quickly, but a greater proportion of it may be fat.
- Calculate your targets. You will receive an estimated daily calorie intake and protein goal.
What to Do With Your Result
Treat the calorie target as your starting intake for the next two weeks. You do not need to hit it perfectly every day. Consistency across the week matters more than whether Tuesday was 137 calories over target.
Weigh yourself under similar conditions three or four mornings each week and use the weekly average. Daily weight can jump around because of food, fluid, salt and carbohydrates.
If your average weight has not increased after two to three weeks, add roughly 100–150 calories a day. If your weight or waist is rising much faster than expected, reduce your intake by the same amount.
Keep training hard, sleep properly and monitor your strength. If the scales are rising but your lifts are not, simply eating more may not be the answer.
A bulk should make you bigger and stronger. It should not leave you needing an entirely separate calculator to undo it.
