Q) I am training for calisthenics and wanted to put on more muscle. I am 5 ft 7, weigh 135 lbs at ~14% body fat.

I found your How to Bulk Up Without Getting Fat article helpful. I have always wanted to Lean Bulk (very slow weight gain), and for the past six months, I have seen slow results. I was able to progress with calisthenics skills, but recently, I've stalled.

I want to try the Controlled/Slow Bulk method, but I'm afraid the additional fat gain would affect my calisthenics skills.

Do you have any suggestions for bulking up with calisthenics training?

- Brian

A) Hi Brian, thank you for the question.

👉 You've been progressing with your training for six months.
👉 You've gained a little weight, but recently, your weight has been fluctuating around the same level.
👉 You’re eager to gain muscle but worry about fat gain affecting your training.

I’d bet that initially, you gained some muscle and lost fat, and the changes were noticeable. This is common for people who aren’t particularly over- or underweight when they start training.

Then, over time, the only "proof" of progress was your strength improvements, and you no longer saw changes in the mirror. That’s common too. You may not have gained any muscle recently — strength gains come from skill acquisition, and that's especially true of the more complicated movements.

[This is where taking waist measurements at multiple points on the stomach becomes helpful. If your weight is hovering around the same level but those measurements aren't dropping, you aren't losing fat, which means you aren't gaining muscle.]

It sounds like you’ve rung the neck of the recomp phase (muscle gain with fat loss).

You’re already fairly lean, so you’re right to want to bulk. The question now is how best to do it — and you're looking for reassurance.

As you’ve seen in my bulking guide, I consider the Lean Bulk — muscle gain without any appreciable fat — more theoretical than practical. Everyone wants it, but nobody achieves it for long. (You tried, and your progress has now reached a standstill.)

​
So yes — the controlled/slow bulk method (gaining at a sensible pace) is the right approach. It’s the only one we recommend to clients.

But there’s still a nagging doubt in your mind:
"Should I just keep trying to gain weight reaaally slowly in the hope that it’s all muscle and no fat?"

You can continue trying that, but it will lead to more wheel-spinning.

To be successful when bulking, you need to gain weight at a measurable pace. This is essential for it to be both manageable and motivational, and those two things are crucial because you need to bulk long enough for muscle gain to be meaningful.

Gaining anything less than 2 lbs per month is difficult to detect amid normal weight fluctuations. And people who bulk at this rate rarely gain only muscle, there is always fat along for the ride. (The exceptions are those new to training, coming back from a long layoff, or significantly underweight/skinny.)

The controlled/slow bulk is the right next step. But you must follow it through for long enough to make a difference.

👉 Yes, you’ll likely gain some fat along with the muscle.
👉 Yes, the extra weight may negatively affect calisthenics movements — fewer reps, slightly reduced endurance.

But that’s the price you have to be willing to pay to make real progress.

Otherwise, you'll stay in physique purgatory.

Make sense?