Muscle and Weight Gain Projection
How much weight a daily calorie surplus adds per week, and the protein needed for that weight to be muscle rather than fat.
Weight gain uses ~3,500 kcal/lb. The muscle ceiling is the realistic share that can be muscle at your training level — enter bodyweight for it.
Results
Lean-bulk range — favours muscle gain
Formulas
Weekly gain (kg) = daily surplus (kcal) × 7 ÷ 7,700
Protein for muscle gain ≈ 1.6–2.2 g per kg per day
How It Works
The projection is total weight, not muscle. Without progressive resistance training and enough protein, a surplus is stored mostly as fat.
Sources
- Morton RW, et al. (2018). Br J Sports Med 52(6):376–384 (protein and resistance training meta-analysis).
Questions
How big should a calorie surplus be to build muscle?
A modest surplus of a few hundred calories a day, combined with progressive resistance training and about 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg, keeps most of the gain as muscle rather than fat.
From Classroom to Clients
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