Metabolic Adaptation During Muscle Building

Philip Pape 0:02

Everyone talks about metabolic adaptation during fat loss , but no one warns you about what happens during an aggressive bulk . Here's what's happening right now Despite eating in a clear surplus and hitting PRs in the gym , my metabolism has cranked up to burn through everything I throw at it , my maintenance calories have shot up multiple hundreds of calories in just a few months , and today we're uncovering the hidden ways your body fights back during a muscle building phase and why , even when you're doing everything right getting stronger , building muscle , eating more than ever the scale can suddenly stop moving If you're trying to gain some muscle or push past a plateau in a bulk . You're going to learn exactly how to identify and overcome these metabolic roadblocks . Welcome to Wits and Weights , the show that helps you build a strong , healthy physique using evidence , engineering and efficiency . I'm your host , philip Hape , and today we're examining a fascinating phenomenon that is happening right now in my current bulk and I just had to press record and talk to you about it I am at least 14 , let's see as I record this 15 or 16 weeks into what started as a textbook gaining phase , the strength gains have been very consistent , doing great in the gym , about to hit new PRs , the muscle gains are there , based on all of my measurements , but my body has thrown me a metabolic curve ball that I guess I didn't quite see coming . I've had situations in the past where I hit plateaus and hard gaining phases , but this one was quite persistent and I didn't wanna just record another podcast about eating more food . I think I wanted to explain the complex ways that your metabolism adapts during a bulk , because we talk about metabolic adaptation during fat loss all the time , but there's this reversed way that that happens during a bulk for different reasons and in different ways . That I think is important to understand , and these adaptations can sometimes derail your progress because they put you into what looks like a plateau and it could last for a long time if you don't know what to look for and what to do .

Philip Pape 2:14

Now , before we dive in , I have created something for those of you wanting to maximize your muscle building results . It's one of my most popular downloads . It's called the Mus building nutrition blueprint . It lays out the exact steps to optimize nutrition , training and recovery for maximizing your gains while minimizing fat , and I keep it updated with the latest evidence . For example , what are the optimal rates of gain ? If you want to understand a little bit of the science behind effective bulking , if you want to avoid some of the common pitfalls and if you want to see an entire appendix of how a real bulk was actually done successfully , with all the numbers , download your free copy at witsandweightscom slash muscle or click the link in the show notes for your free muscle building nutrition blueprint Again witsandweightscom slash muscle , or you could always click the link in the show notes .

Philip Pape 3:10

So I want to start with some real experience , some real data , and share that with you . Because the numbers I'm a big numbers guy . I'm always tracking as much as I need to to measure progress , and they always tell you a story about what's happening , and in this case it's a story about how our bodies adapt during what I'll call an aggressive bulk . I started this gaining phase back on my birthday , october 26th , and I weighed about 175 pounds on the scale . I'm 5'9" , I'm 44 years old Actually , I turned 44 on that day , obviously and the first 11 weeks or so went pretty much according to plan or maybe not 11 , maybe 9 or 10 weeks . I went from 175 to about 189 by mid-January , and so I gained about exactly a pound per week . Exactly what I was going for right at the upper end of the new sweet spot and I say new because I used to be more conservative . Now I push things a little more aggressively for me and my clients , knowing that the science says it and reality says it , we could actually go at a decent clip to support real growth of muscle but avoid adding excessive fat . But only if you're precise about it and you're tracking your numbers . That's the key . And if you just kind of wing it and lag behind what's actually happening , it's not going to work as effectively . And so I would say the quality of my gains has been pretty solid this time around even more so than last time Based on body fat calculations using the Navy formula .

Philip Pape 4:32

It's very simple For men that's just your neck and your waist , for women it's neck , waist and hips . Plug it into a calculator online . I actually have one in my website too , witsandweightscom , and the trend is what matters , not the actual numbers but the trend . And if you go by that , I've added about nine pounds of lean body mass , which is about 58% of my total weight gain as lean tissue , which , for being an intermediate maybe advanced trainee , I guess I'll go with intermediate it's a pretty good ratio right . Most would consider that pretty optimal . If you're more on the beginner side , you would expect to gain a little more , Keeping in mind that that 58 or that 60% lean mass it's not all muscle . There's a small percentage of that that is going to be fluid . That will come off later on when I do a fat loss phase , but a lot of it is muscle . So I'm happy with that and my measurements confirm this efficient gain .

Philip Pape 5:22

My chest has gone up by about an inch and a half Um , and I'm not very good at developing my chest , I'll be honest . I'm more of a back guy , arm guy . Um , chest and legs are where I struggle and you don't have to work a little bit harder . My biceps have grown by half an inch . Thighs have added about one and a half inches .

Philip Pape 5:37

You know some of you may say , oh , that's not a big deal . Others may say , oh , that's great . Keeping in mind I've been running primarily a strength-based program to build my peak , not a hypertrophy program . So I'm not really trying to add visible mass , especially pumping it up with fluid . I'm really looking to push . My lifts and my singles are going to be tested in a few weeks and I'm very confident that I'm going to hit new PRs based on my progress so far .

Philip Pape 6:03

My waist has only gone up an inch and a half at most , so that tells you . I'm also having minimal fat gain around my midsection and I can see it in the mirror . This is the first bulk I've ever done this aggressively where I don't see a lot of fluff , which is pretty cool . It's kind of a validating thing where the more you do this and the more muscle you have , the less you have to be concerned about the fat that you add during a bulk . Okay , so that's the setup , but then something interesting happened because , despite continuing to eat in a surplus in the proper aggressive surplus I'm tracking with Macrofactor . By the way , guys , if you don't use Macrofactor , it's the only app that exists that can actually calculate your dynamic metabolism based on what you eat and what you weigh exists that can actually calculate your dynamic metabolism based on what you eat and what you weigh , and then it adjusts the gain or the surplus based on your true rate of gain , which is important in a surplus , because muscle and fat have different densities and everyone gains different ratio of muscle to fat , and so an app that can do that is incredible .

Philip Pape 6:59

Of course , I'm an affiliate , so full disclosure . You can support me using my code wits and weights , all one word macro factor , downloaded from the app store . Anyway , I use it myself and despite consistently getting stronger in the gym and eating in , this surplus was a decent surplus my weight started to plateau , and by weight I don't mean my scale weight , I mean my trend weight . My scale weight always fluctuates , but you can tell when it's starting to fluctuate and it's like up down , up down within the same range for a while . That's telling you there's a plateau . And we're talking about this happening for almost a month now , and I know what to do during a plateau .

Philip Pape 7:34

I eat more food . I get ahead of it . I always advise my clients when I see this we just need to get ahead of it . A hundred calories , 200 , sometimes 300 calories , because your expenditure is starting to skyrocket , your metabolism is going up , and that's what I started to do . I just started to eat a heck of a lot more food , and part of the challenge there is I eat a lot of whole foods . So unless I add a ton more junk food or processed food , it's a challenge , right , but I'm not complaining about that I know to do that I can make it happen .

Philip Pape 8:02

Now , the 189, . We're still not near my target of 195 to 200 , which I had almost planned to reach by now before I transitioned to the maintenance phase , and so that's why I wanted to make this episode for any of you struggling with gaining right now . So here's where the story gets fascinating . Now I want to talk about this hidden energy drain that I teased you about in the podcast title . So I've been using Macrofactor tracking my nutrition and my expenditure throughout this bulk . The app calculates your expenditure based on your actual

Metabolic Adaptations and Energy Drain

Philip Pape 8:33

intake and your weight trend .

Philip Pape 8:33

As I mentioned , you know one of the most powerful ways that we have to understand metabolism in real time , short of getting measured with a mask and or doubly labeled water or something crazy like that in a lab . So my expenditure started at 2,640 , so 2,640 calories in October , and you might say , oh , that doesn't sound that high . But look , this was after a long cut , so it had come down , and then , after a little bit of a roller coaster , it actually dropped up , went up and went down to about 2,550 in early December which , by the way , that can happen . So don't get worried if your expenditure drops at the beginning of a bulk , um , that's normal . Your body's becoming more efficient , some other stuff is happening . But then the wild , uh , rocket launch occurred .

Philip Pape 9:17

Okay , my expenditure started climbing steadily , week after week , until it hit nearly 3000 calories , and that's about a 400 calorie increase in maintenance , um , in a very short period , very , very quickly . And oh , and , that's , that's a net , by the way . So that's , it's more like 450 , and it's actually above 3000 now . So we're pushing a 500 calorie change . So think about that for a second . My body's now burning extra four or 500 calories every single day compared to when I started the bulk . Even when I intentionally overeat by two to 400 calories above my target surplus , my body finds a way to burn through it all . The metabolism is incredibly adaptive and right now mine is working overtime . Right it's it's almost to my detriment .

Philip Pape 10:00

And then what makes this more interesting is my diet quality is solid . Is it better than ever ? I think it's pretty steady state , like generally . I , you know , I want to be a good example for my clients . I eat 80 , 90% whole foods , a lot of fruits and vegetables , a lot of whole food based grains and , of course , lots of meat and dairy and fiber . I try to get you know at least 30 grams of fiber a day and this is fantastic for health , for digestion , for metabolic health , for hormones all that and even for your hunger signals to an extent . But it actually then creates another interesting challenge for gaining weight , in that they're nutrient-dense foods , so they're also higher volume foods and they're more filling . They have a higher thermic effect , so you're burning even more calories and sometimes it makes it hard to reach the high calorie targets . Now , like I said , that's not the fundamental issue that I'm having . I'm willing to make that trade-off right For long-term health and performance , because I'm trying to push .

Philip Pape 10:56

But what I wanted to talk about is what's causing this , what I'll call energy drain . It's weird I know it's a weird phrase , but kind of , the way I see it is , the opposite thing happens in fat loss , where your body's clamping down . It's getting super efficient , it's trying to conserve energy and you don't want it to do that . You want it to burn calories . But in the bulk it's almost like an energy drain , like a leak , like your body is just burning so many calories . It almost seems impossible . So I want to explain that . The first thing that comes to mind is your training expenditure , and what I mean by that is we don't often give enough credit to the fact that the way we train burns calories , because even I often talk about the fact that that is not why we exercise right , we don't exercise to burn calories , but it does burn calories .

Philip Pape 11:43

Now I've been running . Shout out to Alex Bromley Okay , look him up on YouTube . Really smart guy , uh , and I think he was just on Dave Tate's um table talk as well . I'm running his bull mastiff program which , by the way , I think you could still get it for free in boost camp . If you download boost camp , it's a really good workout logger app . I use it . Use my link in the show notes . I get a little bit of a bonus for affiliate bonus . It's very small , but just if you're looking to support me . But you can get Bull Mastiff and run it yourself .

Philip Pape 12:12

Now this is a I'll call it a high load , but also high volume strength building and then peaking program , meaning for about nine weeks you do three waves of ever-increasing volume , that reset for each wave and you're doing a lot of volume , more volume than I've ever done , maybe double . Then you switch to a peaking phase where you reduce the volume but you start increasing the load . You get up into fours and then triples and then doubles . Now I'm finally in singles phase , which is going to lead to testing my one rep max for my squat , deadlift and so on . And while you're doing this kind of training , especially the high volume training that I was doing even though each rep might be more efficient as you get stronger , your body's using less energy for the same movement , because my movement patterns are being executed so frequently . I feel like there is a sense of efficiency there and then I'm able to push even harder . And now the increased volume and intensity . You multiply those together , you get higher energy demand . So while the efficiency might save a little bit , the volume more than makes up for it , especially the program I've been running . Again , I've never run this high of a volume program before . I suspect that's part of it . Now it's been at least six weeks since I was at level of volume . It's been way less volume and it's still going up . So you know it could be a cascade effect or just like kind of a runaway effect going on . So as you get stronger , as you're handling heavier weights during a bulk , even if you're doing fewer reps , your total tonnage , your work capacity tends to increase . You're able to push harder , push to that more effect , your effective reps get to a higher load , et cetera . All of that burns a ton more calories and then it has that afterburner effect and so on . So I think that's part of it . I think that's part of it . Just keep that in mind .

Philip Pape 13:53

The second factor is NEAT , right , non-exercise activity thermogenesis . You heard me talk about this . This is everything you do outside the gym . Primarily you're walking . This is everything you do outside the gym primarily you're walking , but also you're fidgeting , unconscious movement , and it increases even if your step count doesn't change . Your knee might increase , sometimes dramatically , when you're in a surplus because you've got all this extra energy now almost nervous energy , you might call it . Your body unconsciously moves more throughout the day . You fidget more , you tap your feet , maybe you shake around a little bit more . Um , I stand working up most of the time and I catch myself . You know , shifting around you might take more steps , you might pace more when you're pacing , you know , you just might pace more and all these small movements add up to hundreds of extra calories burned without you realizing it . So that's my second theory here of supported by the evidence , is that your neat is unconsciously going up , even if your step count doesn't necessarily go up because of all these other unconscious movements .

Philip Pape 14:50

The third factor is broader metabolic adaptation concept We've talked about a lot , especially during fat loss . You know , just like your body fights to preserve energy during a cut , it can fight to prevent excessive weight gain during a bulk by ramping up various metabolic processes in your body , like increased body temperature . You get a lot hotter , trust me , during winter now it's like the gap is even wider between what my wife thinks is cold and what I think is cold . You get higher energy expenditure during digestion . You're just eating a heck of a lot more food and digesting it a lot more frequently . Subtle changes in your hormone levels right , your body's like , yeah , you've got , you're flooding me with energy , there's no need to conserve anything here , wrap it all up , which is a great place to be energy wise . But then you become just less and less efficient with calories . You're just wasting calories left and right and your body's just burning the heck out of them . So those are the three factors I believe are important behind why you might have this runaway effect with your expenditure .

Philip Pape 15:52

So understanding these adaptations has led me to think about how are we strategic with this ? If you're dealing with this , what do I do for this ? And three specific things came to mind . Yeah , I'm just going to , I'm just going to jump into them and you're basically balancing the fact that you have this short-term goal of , like , eating a ton of food and keeping up and continuing to build . I will say the one caveat before I get into any of these is I noticed that even though I have quote unquote maintained the fact that I've been eating more and more food has , ironically , still given me the feeling and performance of being in a surplus energy state . So it's not like I've fallen behind , because that's another issue people face is they actually start losing weight in this situation ? But I've at least kept up with it and it's been more than enough , with a little bit of extra fat I have as well , to not make me feel like it's a problem , which I guess is a cool thing , right ?

Strategies and Mindset for Muscle Building

Philip Pape 16:48

So the first thing I like to do as a strategy is what I call caloric dominance . Like , you've got to dominate those calories , and that means not just eating more , right , that's the simple thing . Okay , I need more food , great . But eating smarter , like front loading your calories in the day and around your training sessions , like just you've got to get ahead of it and be smart and realize that if you don't , it's going to catch up to you by later in the day . It's a little bit of a job . It's a little bit of a job to do . You got to understand that there's a trade off , there's a sacrifice , and that you have to be paying attention . And on top of this stuff , you've got to be strategic and plan ahead . Plan ahead , just like in fat loss , you want to plan ahead Same thing here to get all the calories in and eat around your training . Eat a ton around your training when your body is primed to use them , not like right before you train , where it's going to give you digestive issues , but around the training , strategically .

Philip Pape 17:45

Add liquid calories . Whole milk is awesome If you can tolerate dairy . Whole milk is awesome If you can tolerate dairy , excuse me . Whole milk is fantastic . It's for the price and the macros and the calories and everything . It's a wonderful food . Of course , you know protein shakes , adding higher calorie ingredients , processing things , nuking , not nuking things . What am I trying to say , blending things together into smoothies and stuff , can definitely help . That's more of just a general strategy to get it in .

Philip Pape 18:09

But high meal frequency , calorie dominance , starting early , getting around your workouts , calorie-dense foods that don't kill your appetite but still maintain that base of nutrient-dense whole foods . So , adding in extra olive oil to your meals , choosing fattier cuts of meat oh , extra olive oil to your meals . Choosing fattier cuts of meat oh ribeye this is the time to go to town on ribeyes . Man , that marbled fat there is like nature's butter . Well , butter is from nature , but you know what I mean ? It's like the steaks built in butter , having lots of nuts and nut butters as snacks . You know it's great and the key here is to to keep it consistent . Like having regular meal timing .

Philip Pape 18:51

While you're scaling everything up because you don't want to make , you don't want to get in a situation when you're just trying to catch up and you're stuffing yourself . That is not fun . Or you're like I'm gonna go Like uh gorge on rice crispy streets and pop tarts because I just need the calories . That is not a sustainable situation you want to be in . So again , think of things like dried fruit , granola , like homemade or even packaged granola . They tend to be calorie dense as well , without giving you excessive fullness . So that's calorie dominance .

Philip Pape 19:20

The second thing here second strategy , is about mindset . It's about maintaining perspective and resilience . So , instead of just getting frustrated by the plateau , which you know , after a week I'm like , okay , it's not moving , what do I do , right ? I use this opportunity to learn about my body's response , and it might be different every time you do a bulk Like . For me , this is a unique situation for the first time because it's it's persistent , but it also maybe tells me some good things that my body is really growing and really taking advantage of this caloric environment .

Philip Pape 19:53

So your data , whatever data you have , like the data for macro factor , for example it's not just numbers sitting there , it's the feedback you need to close the loop right . The control system . It helps me understand how my metabolism adapts to different situations . This is why I like people to keep tracking , even when they're sick or even when they have a surgery or whatever , assuming the tracking itself isn't stressful in those situations . It helps you understand how your body reacts to those , and then that knowledge is super invaluable for future gaining phases or whatever situation and , of course , for me , helping others through similar challenges . It's amazing .

Philip Pape 20:29

So when you're facing a plateau , it's easy to get caught up in the numbers and just lose sight of the bigger picture . And remember that your scale weight , your trend weight , is just one metric . I mentioned this already . My performance is really strong . My energy is really high . The quality of my training not only hasn't it suffered , it's continuing to increase , and through this I've been dealing with some of my legacy shoulder issues , having nothing to do with my bulk or anything else , and those gave me little setbacks along the way . But the fact that I'm so well fed has actually been helpful . So sometimes the best response to a plateau any plateau is step back , appreciate the progress you've already made , appreciate all the wonderful victories you're getting right now despite the plateau , and , of course , stay patient with the process , because it's data telling you that something might have to change . You learn from it and you grow and you continue . That's what I have to say about that . All right .

Philip Pape 21:27

The third strategy is I guess it's also mindset , but it's really being realistic about the timelines and the goals , because that can frustrate the heck out of you , like like it could have done to me when I said I needed to be , by one at one , 95 by this date , cause I'm going to be doing a cut like four weeks after that . No-transcript will end naturally at that point . And you know what ? That's perfectly fine . Not only that , what are the advantages of that ? All right , maybe one advantage is I won't be as heavy as expected , so the cut is gonna be easier to get to my target weight . Great , that's a great way to reframe it .

Philip Pape 22:25

When I look at the bigger picture , I'm in a great place . I've gained quality mass , my performance is solid , I'm maintaining better nutritional habits than ever before , even in a gain , and the fact that my maintenance calories have increased so dramatically is actually a sign of improved metabolic capacity . Sometimes our bodies have different plans than what is up here in our brains , and learning to work with that because that's reality , that's reality rather than against it that is going to go a long way toward being a positive , optimistic person . That will make you successful over the long term . All right , so I hope you take away from all of this something super fascinating and also inspiring about building muscle , in that your body is very intelligent . Also inspiring about building muscle in that your body is very intelligent when you understand that these adaptations occur not as obstacles , but as signals that you are pushing the boundaries of growth .

Philip Pape 23:19

That is where you can say all right now , what do I do to work with that ? The fact that my maintenance calories have increased so dramatically is not a problem at all . It is a sign my body has built the machinery to handle more volume , more food and ultimately , yeah , more muscle . That's my takeaway . Maybe I'm rationalizing , lying to myself , but I don't think I am . This is like an increased metabolic capacity . It means I'm more resilient . It means I'm more capable of handling intense training . It means I'm better equipped for long-term growth . And guess what ? I know I can now do this kind of program in the future and get some pretty good gains , which means look out numbers . Here we come , all right .

Philip Pape 23:58

So we often hear about metabolic adaptation during fat loss , but the same mechanisms are working in reverse during a bulk , and that was what I wanted to talk about today . So if you can understand this , it's not just going to help you gain weight , that's fine . Eat more calories , that's fine . It really helps you build a more resilient , more capable physique All right , a physique that you didn't have before . That is a new person . You've become a more athletic , strong , capable person . Stop chasing skinny , start chasing strong .

Lessons Learned in Muscle Building

Philip Pape 24:27

What I've learned through this phase has changed how I approach muscle building now for the next time , as well as for myself and my clients . And sometimes the hardest gains . You know that these hard parts are the things that teach us the valuable lessons about how our bodies adapt and grow . All right , if you want to build muscle more effectively and understand the science behind successful bulking , grab your free copy of my Muscle Building Nutrition Blueprint . This guide gives you the exact steps and framework to optimize your nutrition to maximize muscle growth and minimize fat gain . Head to witsandweightscom slash muscle or click the link in the show notes to download your copy 100% free . Until next time , keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember when your metabolism fights back , it is not trying to stop you . It is challenging you to get stronger . I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast .