Skip to content
Get the app

Free macro tool

Bulking Macro Calculator

A bulk is a calorie surplus with enough protein. Choose how big the surplus is and this gives you calories, then protein, fat and carbs in grams.

Worked example

For a 30-year-old man who weighs 75 kg and is 178 cm tall (lightly active), bulking at 500 kcal above maintenance means about 2,862 kcal a day: 143 g of protein (1.9 g per kg), 80 g of fat (25% of calories) and 393 g of carbs.

Calculate your bulking macros

The result below starts from the example's numbers. Change any field and it updates as you type.

Calories above maintenance
Fat, as a share of calories
Calories
2,862kcal
500 kcal above maintenance
Protein
143g
1.9 g per kg
Carbs
393g
55% of calories
Fat
80g
25% of calories
Where your calories come from
Where your calories come from: Protein 20%, Carbs 55%, Fat 25%
  • Protein 20% · 143 g
  • Carbs 55% · 393 g
  • Fat 25% · 80 g

Track this target every day

Use the number above as your daily goal in CalorTracker, then log meals by photo, voice or text and see where your day stands against it. Free to start, no card needed to explore.

Results are estimates from published formulas, not medical advice. Your own body can sit above or below them.

Where the formulas come from, and how we check them: how we calculate.

How the bulking calculator works

It takes your maintenance calories and adds the surplus you choose: 250 or 500 kcal a day. It then divides the calories protein first, from body weight, then fat as a share of calories, then carbohydrate for everything left, which is the order Iraki, Fitschen, Espinar and Helms (2019) use in their review of off-season bodybuilding nutrition.

Where each number comes from

  • Calories: maintenance (TDEE) plus the surplus. The weekly gain shown on the weight gain calculator uses the same conversion.
  • Protein: 1.9 g per kg of body weight, the middle of the 1.6 to 2.2 g range the protein calculator uses for building muscle. Body weight counts up to a BMI of 30 and protein stops at 240 g.
  • Fat: 20, 25, 30% of calories at 9 kcal per gram, inside the 20 to 35% range of the Institute of Medicine's Dietary Reference Intakes (2005).
  • Carbohydrate: the remaining calories at 4 kcal per gram.

Choosing the size of the surplus

The smaller surplus is the cautious place to start. Weigh yourself over a few weeks and nudge the pace up or down from what the scale does, not from a rule. Training is what the extra food is for, and no calculator can set that part.

This is arithmetic from published formulas, not medical advice.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate macros for a bulk?
Add a surplus to your maintenance calories, set protein from your body weight, give fat a share of the calories, and let carbohydrate fill the rest. The calculator above follows those steps.
How many extra calories should I eat to bulk?
The calculator offers 250 or 500 kcal a day above maintenance. The smaller one is the cautious start; adjust to what your weight does over a few weeks.
How much protein should I eat when bulking?
The calculator uses 1.9 g per kg of body weight, the middle of the 1.6 to 2.2 g range used for building muscle on the protein calculator.
Where do the rest of my calories go?
After protein and fat, everything left goes to carbohydrate at 4 kcal per gram. Changing the fat share moves calories between fat and carbs.