I have been strength training 5-6 times a week consistently for 6 months now. Not seeing as much muscle growth as you would expect. Do I need to be eating more calories? Dont want to gain fat but I feel like bulking is the only option to see results

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This really depends on your height, weight, and calories.

I currently run roughly 2400 calories and lifts are 295/365/415 (bench squat deadlift).

No one would look at me and think I have a lot of muscle because it’s covered in fat, lol.

If you’re not literally “seeing” muscular definition / health, it may because you need to lose a few lbs.

If you aren’t experiencing muscle growth (lifts not going up, lethargy, etc) then you definitely need to eat more and ensure you’re getting enough protein. .7 grams per lb of body weight is a safe assumption I like to use. Some days you’ll hit more or lesser

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WTF you guys are strong AF

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I know this is a dumb question but are you sleeping enough?

I'm an female ectomorph and I didn't start gaining real muscle until I started sleeping over 7+ hrs a day. 

My heart goes out to you bc eating over 3,000 calories a day is brutal.

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I hope you find a solution.
And kudos to you for making fitness a priority!

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Gradually increase calories if you want clean gains (ex: increase by 100 calories a day for a month and gauge results). You may also need to experiment with your macro ratios. For me it took a few years to figure out that I need to eat about 3,500 calories at a 40/40/20 protein/fat/carbs ratio to maintain my desired muscle mass and definition.
For reference, I am naturally very skinny. I had to eat about 7,000 calories a day when I was trying to add weight while playing college basketball. That was brutal.

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P1 great clarification! What I mistakenly described will certainly not get OP clean gains.

Important to remember that natural muscle growth is frustratingly slow (after the beginner gains stage of course). If you don’t want to gain fat you can very slowly increase your calories (around 200 cals added to daily intake adjusted each week if needed) and see how your body responds. Bulking may seem like the logical answer but putting on fat only makes you look bigger, it doesn’t mean that you are gaining muscle faster. You CAN gain muscle only eating at maintenance calories (called Maingaining if you like names). But being in a slight calorie surplus (200-400 calories) is ideal if you want to stay somewhat lean and gain muscle efficiently. Hope that helps!

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Are you following a program or writing your own workouts ? Make sure you progressive overload and include periodization and deloads in your workouts.

What about diet? What’s the protein consumption looking like? What are the sources?

If you want to “see” muscles you have to shed the fat and eat really clean.

If you want to grow muscles, it’s easier in a calorie surplus, but not all calories are equal.

Are you training with enough intensity? Are you on a plan? Are you getting enough volume? If you aren’t pushing the muscles to rip and repairing them with sleep abs nutrition you won’t see as many gains.

Too many unknowns to just say “eat more”.

So, it sounds like you want to increase size (build muscle) in arms and loose fat. You will need to keep eating at the very - least maintenance cals for building size…

You won’t get striated abs until body fat is very low…you can Google photos of make body fat percentages to get an idea. Everyone has a different perspective on visible definition in abs, so I’ll let you find an image and then you have a rough estimate of the body fat % you need to get to.

You didn’t mention carbs ;and source), sugar or alcohol - the latter are progress killers.
But it’s your overall diet and the only thing you mentioned was grams of protein and source. Fat and carb ratios are also important here as well as there source (white bread, bagels and canola oil aren’t the same as carbs from green vegetables and nuts/seeds/avocado for fats). Cut processed food and eliminate sugar.

Are you weighing/measuring and tacking? Most people underestimate what they eat and overestimate what they expend.

You can clean bulk - up lean proteins and good fats (not upping carbs). Keto might work well for you here.

Add walking. Burns fat AND doesn’t take recovery. Plus, it doesn’t spike appetite, and you can walk no matter how sore you are.

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