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Build Muscle WITHOUT Bulking if You Want "Lean Gains" | Ep 384

Wits & Weights | Fat Loss, Nutrition, & Strength Training for Lifters

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Content provided by Philip Pape, Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach & Fat Loss Expert, Philip Pape, Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach, and Fat Loss Expert. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Philip Pape, Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach & Fat Loss Expert, Philip Pape, Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach, and Fat Loss Expert or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://staging.podcastplayer.com/legal.

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You MUST "bulk" to build muscle... right?

Eat more, gain weight, accept getting fluffy, then cut it all off later with a fat loss phase... right?

Not necessarily.

What if bulking is inefficient for YOUR goals? What if you could build muscle while staying lean year-round?

Learn why you might NOT need a calorie surplus to build muscle and a unique approach called aggressive maintenance where you can skip bulking entirely while getting the strong, lean, aesthetic body you're going for.

Main Takeaways:

  • Traditional bulking optimizes for throughput (total muscle gain), while aggressive maintenance optimizes for efficiency (muscle gain per unit of input)
  • You CAN build muscle at maintenance calories when 3 things are dialed in
  • Certain individuals partition nutrients more efficiently toward muscle vs. fat and are better candidates for skipping the bulk
  • There are "hidden" but powerful factors that enable muscle growth without bulking

Episode Resources:

Timestamps:

0:00 - Why bulking might be inefficient for you
3:45 - Efficiency vs. throughput
8:20 - How muscle growth works without a surplus
13:15 - What is aggressive maintenance?
19:00 - Glycogen, neurological adaptations, and energy flux
24:10 - Who benefits most from skipping the bulk
28:15 - Operating at design limits without exceeding them

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…   continue reading

Chapters

1. Rethinking Bulking Dogma (00:00:00)

2. Show Intro & Host Setup (00:01:06)

3. Speed vs Efficiency in Muscle Gain (00:02:06)

4. Reviews, Resilience, and Community (00:05:00)

5. Bulking’s Throughput vs True Efficiency (00:07:00)

6. MPS Limits and Surplus Reality (00:10:15)

7. Age, Partitioning, and Staying Lean (00:12:20)

8. How Muscle Grows at Maintenance (00:14:10)

9. Energy Partitioning and Activity (00:16:20)

10. The Aggressive Maintenance Protocol (00:18:10)

11. Protein, Training, and Carb Strategy (00:21:00)

12. Templates, Coaching, and Tools (00:23:20)

13. Glycogen, Neural Gains, and Flux (00:24:30)

14. Who Should Skip the Bulk (00:26:40)

15. Pitfalls, Expectations, and Precision (00:29:10)

16. Giveaway, Recap, and Closing (00:31:30)

534 episodes

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