The duration of a bulk is a critical decision for anyone looking to gain muscle and strength. Choose correctly and you’ll come out ripped. But choose incorrectly and you may not see the results you were expecting. Below, I explain why 6 months is long enough for a bulk.
6 months is generally long enough for an effective bulk cycle. This is considered a relatively long duration and it is enough time for a beginner to gain up to 12lbs of visible lean muscle weight. It is even possible to go on a bulking and cut cycle within half a year.
Keep reading to find out what you can expect to achieve in a 6 month cycle!
Why 6 Months Are Long Enough For A Bulk
6 months is plenty of time for a bulking phase. Although muscle growth is a slow process, it is still possible for a beginner to gain just over 10lbs (5kg) of high-quality lean mass in half a year. However, a successful bulk relies on an effective training and dieting program.
Here’s a calculated example of how much you can bulk up in 6 months:
- Let’s assume you burn 2300 maintenance calories per day.
- A lean bulk (10% caloric surplus) would require you to eat 2530 total calories per day (2300 cal x 1.10), resulting in 230 daily surplus calories.
- 230 daily surplus calories result in 41,400 surplus calories in 6 months (230 cal x 180 days).
Now the question becomes- what will 41,400 surplus calories do to your body?
To answer that, you should know that studies indicate ~3500 surplus calories are required to gain 1lb of body weight. That’s 12lbs of weight gain in 6 months.(41,400 cal ÷ 3500 cal)
We also know that the maximum rate of muscle growth is ~2lbs per month for a beginner. That’s 12lbs of potential muscle mass gain in 6 months (2lbs x 6 months).
Therefore a 6-month lean bulk at a 10% daily caloric surplus can result in gaining just over 10lbs of high-quality muscle weight.
You can see how noticeable 10lbs of muscle gain is in my 6-month skinny to muscular transformation story!
Typical Durations For A Bulk
There is no standardized duration for a bulk.
How long you bulk for depends on the type of bulk undertaken. Typical timeframes for the 2 main methods of bulking:
| Type Of Bulk | Caloric Surplus | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Lean | 5-10% | 3 to 12 months |
| Dirty | 15-20% | Up to 3 months |
Why the 2 types of bulk vary in typical durations:
- Lean bulking. Requires you to enter a mild caloric surplus, meaning muscle gains are moderate and fat gains are minimal. This means you can lean bulk for longer since it takes you more time to reach the maximum recommended body fat limit (around 20% for men and 30% for women).
- Dirty bulking. Requires you to enter an extreme caloric surplus, meaning muscle gains are high but fat gains are also high. This means most people cannot dirty bulk for longer than a few months without approaching their maximum recommended body fat limit.
The type of bulk you choose depends on your long-term goals and current body composition.
People who are very skinny usually choose to dirty bulk. Whereas people who are skinny-fat or those who don’t mind gaining muscle at a slower rate (with the perk of slower fat gains) usually go on a lean bulk.
For more information on how long it takes a skinny person to bulk up, you can check out my timeline here (which includes photos from my own skinny-muscular transformation).
Is It Healthy To Bulk For 6 Months?
It is generally OK to bulk for 6 months or more if a sensible caloric surplus is consumed. A mild calorie surplus results in slow rates of fat gain, making it ideal for longer bulking durations. It is not recommended to consume an extreme calorie surplus for more than 3 months.
Put simply:
It’s totally ok to lean bulk for 6 months. Neither is it uncommon for people- particularly for trained lifters who aren’t looking to make drastic changes in their physique- to go on extended lean bulking phases that last for up to 12 months.
However, it is not healthy nor recommended to dirty bulk for 6 months.
It’s also essential to combine your bulking diet with a good exercise program. You can go to my other post for home workout routine for skinny people to build muscle.
Can You Bulk And Cut In a 6 Month Timeframe?
It is possible to bulk and cut within 6 months. The majority of dirty bulks last for approximately 3 months whilst a typical cut will last for 2 months. Therefore a half-year is enough time to achieve a complete bulk-cut cycle.
Not only is 6 months long enough for a lean bulk, but it’s also enough time for a dirty bulk and cut cycle.
This would typically require you to go on a 2-4 month dirty bulk and then move onto a 2-3 month cutting phase.
As you can see, half a year is more than adequate a timeframe to see results.
Word of caution though:
Although 6 months is generally enough time for a dirty bulk and cut, it’s borderline insufficient for an effective lean bulk and cut.
Why?
You gain muscle at a slower rate when lean bulking compared to a dirty bulking, since the calorie surplus is much milder in the former.
Therefore lean bulking usually requires more time than dirty bulking to build a noticeable amount of muscle.
Depending on how skinny you are, it’s worth spending time to decide whether to bulk or cut first as this sets the tone for the remainder of your transformation journey.
The Ideal Duration For Your Bulk Phase
In order to choose how long to bulk for, it’s important to consider your current body composition:
- Very skinny people can stay bulking for the longest duration.
- Extremely skinny-fat people can usually stay bulking for the shortest duration.
The aim is to stop your bulk when you reach the maximum threshold for healthy fat levels.
This is around 20% body fat for men and 30% body fat for women.
For more detials, you can check out my other post on when to stop bulking.
Conclusion
6 months are plenty of time for a bulk.
You have two primary options:
- Go on a lean bulking cycle for the entire half-year duration.
- Go on a bulking cycle (lean or dirty) for ~4 months and move on to a cutting cycle for 2 months.
Regardless of your preferred method, it’s important to stop bulking when you exceed the recommended threshold for healthy fat levels (20% for men and 30% for women).
You may also be interested in the downloadable Kalibre Blueprint PDF which details exactly how I gained 40lbs of lean muscle (it’s 100% free!). It details the exact exercises and nutrition (with printables) I used to go from skinny to ripped!
