Accurate Bulking Calorie Calculator

Find Your Personal Daily Bulking Calorie Intake

By: Jeremy Fox, CNC, CPTUpdated: October 13, 2023

Are you following a bulking meal plan but still struggling to gain muscle mass? Or are you frustrated that your hard work in the gym isn’t producing the desired results? Then you’ve come to the right place.

In most cases, the main reason for not achieving your fitness goals is insufficient calorie intake. However, most calorie calculators fail to accurately estimate the calories required for muscle gain, especially when training hard. 

To fix this issue, you need a bulking calorie calculator specifically designed to determine your personal calorie intake required for muscle gain. You can try it out below or continue reading to learn more about what makes this calculator more accurate than any other.

bulking calorie calculator

Before you hit “Next,” please take a few minutes to skim the guide below. That way, you’ll know how and why my bulking calorie calculator works better than others!

Bulking Calorie Basics

When it comes to bodybuilding nutrition, calories are king. If you don’t eat enough, you won’t be able to gain muscle mass. So, before you start thinking about meals or macros, it’s essential to determine your calorie intake.

First, we must calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) – the calories your body burns at rest. Then, add the calories you burn while engaging in physical activity or exercise. This will give you your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

To gain muscle mass, you need to consume more calories than you burn, known as a calorie surplus. So, it’s crucial to determine your TDEE and then increase your calorie intake accordingly.

Don’t worry if this all sounds a little confusing right now. The bulking calorie calculator does all the math for you!

Bulking Calorie Calculator Surplus

Issues With Bulking Calorie Calculators

Many calorie calculators use outdated formulas that assume the user is an average person, but this can be problematic for those who have more muscle or exercise frequently.

Studies from 2019 confirmed that the industry standard equations are not accurate for athletes and trained individuals1,2. In addition, personal spot checks of the top 5 bulking calorie calculators revealed discrepancies of up to 40% or 1,000 calories.

In other words, even an intermediate recreational weightlifter following the calorie recommendations from traditional calorie calculators would lose muscle instead of gaining it!

This huge disparity is because other calculators do not account for body composition, body type, and actual activity level. To solve this problem, I addressed these issues and created the most accurate bulking calorie calculator.

bulking calorie calculator

How I Fixed 3 Problems With Other Bulking Calorie Calculators

Early in my bodybuilding journey, I had difficulty gaining weight and muscle mass. I was what is commonly referred to as a hardgainer, and I had to adopt an unconventional approach to address the issue.

Drawing on the analytical skills I developed during my Engineering career, I devised a diet plan that helped me achieve my fitness goals. Having cracked the code, I became a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach specializing in working with competitive bodybuilders.

In this section, I’ll discuss the three main challenges I overcame in developing a bulking calorie calculator that accurately determines your unique energy requirements.

1. Based On Body Composition, Not Just Body Weight

When it comes to traditional bulking calorie calculators, there’s a significant problem. They only consider your body weight, which is a vast oversimplification.

The truth is that people who weigh the same may have completely different body compositions. For instance, you may have more muscle and less fat than another person of your body weight.

This is why considering your body composition is essential when determining your calorie intake. Muscle burns more calories, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

To accurately calculate how many calories you need to gain weight, my bulking calorie calculator considers your weight and body fat percentage to determine lean mass. I have made it easy to estimate your body fat percentage with a visual guide.

However, if you want to measure your actual body composition, you can try my body fat percentage calculator, which uses a relative comparison, circumferences, or skin fold measurements.

Bulking Calorie Calculator Body Fat

2. Accounts For Your Metabolic Rate

It is a well-known fact that standard equations do not take into consideration the genetic variability in individuals. This can be a major issue because metabolic rate differs significantly from one person to another.

My calorie calculator has collected data from more than 230,000 individuals, showing that almost one-third of the participants had a body type associated with a faster metabolism. It is equally important to understand that some people have a body type associated with a slower metabolism.

This information is essential to compute the calorie intake accurately. My calculator adjusts your calorie intake based on your body type to account for the genetic variation.

Here is a pie chart illustrating the percentage of participants with each body type.

3. Adjusts to Your Daily Activity, Not a Weekly Average

Finally, every other bulking calorie calculator out there asks about your activity in terms of how many times you exercise per week. But that doesn’t do anything to tell you how much you need to eat today!

With my new calculator, I ask about your normal daily activities as well as your workout duration, intensity, and frequency. That way, I can tell you exactly how many calories to eat on workout days and rest days.

Adjusting your calories to your activity level will build muscle without gaining excess fat.

bodybuilding meal plan

Custom Meal Plan

Get a personalized meal plan designed specifically for your body and lifestyle. Including custom recipes formulated to fit your macros and calories – no counting required!

All this for just $13.99/mo! Click here to choose your plan.

Bulking Calorie Calculator Example

Now that you know how this bulking calorie calculator works, let’s look at an example. When you put your information into the form, you’ll see a table with your calorie information for workout and rest days.

Bulking Calorie Targets

The table displays your recommended daily calorie intake, TDEE, and calorie surplus. So you can see how many calories you burn, how much you should eat, and the difference between the two.

bulking calorie calculator example

Example bulking calories for workout day and rest day.

Projected Weight Gain

Another added bonus is that I show you how much weight you can expect to gain with your bulking calorie targets. Generally, it’s a good idea to target about 1 pound of weight gain per week.

bulking calorie calculator weight gain

Example of projected weight gain.

Personalized Bulking Recommendations

Finally, you’ll get recommendations to bulk up faster when your weight gain is less than 1 lb per week. These include suggestions on how to adjust your workout intensity, duration, and frequency.

bulking calorie calculator recommendations

Example of bulking recommendations.

Try The Bulking Calorie Calculator

Head back to the top of the page or click here to try the bulking calorie calculator. If you’re still in information-gathering mode, scroll down to learn how to gain muscle even faster with a personalized bulking meal plan.

Your Custom Bulking Meal Plan

Get a Bulking Meal Plan that shows you exactly what to eat for every meal! Click below to learn more.

bulking meal plan

More Bulking Calculators & Guides

I teach my clients that calorie intake is half the battle. So, once you know your calorie target, you are well on your way to making progress.

But reaching your fitness goals faster involves dialing in all aspects of nutrition, including food choices, macros, and even meal timing. So check out these other articles for more helpful muscle gain tips.

Bulking Macro Calculator Finds Your Macros for Muscle Gain

Free 7-Step Guide to Meal Prep for Muscle Gain

Top 10 Hypertrophy Training Rules For Max Muscle Growth

11 Easy Weight Gain Shake Recipes To Help You Pack On Mass

Dirty Bulk vs Clean Bulk Meaning, Foods, Results, & More

13 Tactical Lean Bulk Tips To Build Muscle & Stay Lean

For those looking to gain muscle and achieve their ideal body, check out my other fitness content for even faster results.

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