Main gaining or bulking? This was a topic that Greg Doucette and Fouad Abiad went back and forth on like crazy on YouTube a while back.
Greg, that guy, used to compete in classic physique, and Fouad is a heavyweight builder.
It might seem like just a matter of preference, but this is a fu**ing important issue related to the body’s growth pathway and how key players like mTOR respond to nutrients.
Greg Doucette said this:
“Hey, do a lean bulk, main gaining in the off-season.
That way, you lose less fat and have less muscle loss when you cut.
That’s the smarter long-term strategy.”
If you get all puffy and bloated from a dirty bulk, cutting is a living hell, so he has a point.
But Fouad, this guy, is the complete opposite.
“There’s something special about bulking!
There’s this insane growth you can only get by eating a fu**ing lot and maintaining a calorie surplus.”
Fouad’s reasoning is that since nutrients are constantly available, the body stays in growth mode, and that’s not entirely wrong either.
But this is a simplistic way of thinking that views nutrients merely as bricks.
Alright, from here on out, it’s talk for those who know a bit about the chemical side.
The real key is how much and how the body receives growth factor signals in a calorie surplus state.
IGF-1 is a prime example.
This guy dances according to total calorie intake, protein amount, and especially animal protein.
Carbohydrates? Fat?
They don’t directly control IGF-1 levels.
This is called nutritional geometry.
Anorexia patients having their IGF-1 levels shattered?
With no calories coming in, it’s obvious.
Look at obese children on the other hand.
Even though growth hormone secretion is suppressed, IGF-1 levels are often high.
What does that mean?
Strong evidence that total calories push IGF-1 up.
Adult obesity is a bit more complex, sometimes showing a U-shaped relationship, and visceral fat seems to disrupt the IGF-1 system.
But the core point is, people with some fat have higher IGF-1 levels than those fu**ing skinny guys.
In other words, eating more calories strengthens the growth factor signal.
This is what Greg Doucette misses.
When you push calories above maintenance, the growth factor doesn’t just turn ON and that’s it.
Like a spectrum, as calories increase, the growth factor signal can keep getting stronger.
You might think, “There must be a point of diminishing returns,” but the problem is that threshold can be much higher than you think.
Of course, we don’t know exactly how far it keeps increasing.
Now let’s talk genetics.
Some guys gain muscle just by drinking water, while others eat like crazy and train hard but only get fat and bloated instead of muscle.
For example, East Asian ancestry is often said to have a harder time building muscle on average, due to genetic factors like myostatin gene mutations or IGF-1 receptor sensitivity.
Greg Doucette?
Looking at his body before and after steroids, he doesn’t seem to be the type super sensitive to mTOR signaling.
So based on his experience, he might have felt, “Even when I bulked, I just got fat as hell and didn’t gain much muscle.”
On the other hand, guys with genetics blessed for bodybuilding like Fouad, so-called mutant-level genetics, experience their bodies transforming when they go on a bulk.
“Bulking felt different” isn’t just a feeling for them.
Here’s my take.
Most bodybuilders, especially those using chemicals, can benefit far more from bulking than from main gaining.
Why?
Because nutrients aren’t just building blocks for muscle; they also act as signaling flares that send growth signals.
When you load up on calories, growth pathways like mTOR aren’t just turned on; *how powerfully* they’re turned on, and how activated their downstream growth factors become, changes.
This could be the core of the special growth Fouad talks about.
Look at top coaches like Chad Nicholls; they make bodybuilders eat like crazy in the off-season and do a fu**ing lot of cardio.
It might seem like it’s just for better digestion, but they know from experience that during that process, growth factors operate at full power, and muscle cells respond like mad.
That’s how monsters like Ronnie Coleman and Big Ramy were built.
It’s possible because, with drugs maximizing growth potential, the fuel—calories—is also supplied sufficiently.
Of course, if someone with crappy genetics bulks recklessly, they might just get fat and bloated.
Those guys need to be more conservative with their calorie intake.
But in most cases, especially for chemical users, they should aim to maximize the total amount of growth factor signaling.
You can never become a master with the lazy mindset of, “I’m above maintenance calories, so I’ll gain muscle now.”
Fouad saying, “You should never be in a state where you can’t grow because of a lack of nutrients at any moment,” also makes sense.
This is the perspective of viewing nutrients as components.
But the more important thing is that nutrients act as signaling molecules, running various growth factors, including mTOR, at full throttle all day long.
In conclusion, I cast my vote for Fouad Abiad’s opinion.
Of course, there will be a minority for whom Greg Doucette is right.
Those guys whose cells themselves refuse to grow, the ones with those peculiar genetics you often see on YouTube these days.
But for those leveraging the power of chemicals, they can never reach their goals by growing bit by bit with main gaining or whatever.
You have to push growth factors to the limit through bulking to create mutant-level muscle.
Remember this.
Calorie surplus differentially regulates growth factors, like a volume dial.
Exactly how far and how it’s regulated is still unknown territory, but it’s clear that eating more sends a stronger growth signal.
This is the truth that chemical masters have internalized through their bodies.
Top bodybuilders don’t eat like crazy in the off-season for no reason.
References
1. The Effect of Bulking: More Calories = More Muscle (and Fat)
Garthe, I., Raastad, T., Refsnes, P. E., & Sundgot-Borgen, J. (2013).
Effect of nutritional intervention on body composition and performance in elite athletes.
European Journal of Sport Science, 13(3), 295-303.
When they experimented on elite athletes, the group that ate more definitely gained more muscle mass.
Of course, they gained some fat too, but it’s evidence that bulking is advantageous for total muscle growth.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23679146/
2. Nutrients and Growth Factors: IGF-1 is a Product of Calories and Protein
1.A review like: Phillips, S. M., & Van Loon, L. J. (2011).
Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation. Journal of sports sciences, 29(sup1), S29-S38.
2.Roza, A. M., Tu, Z., & Shizgal, H. M. (1987).
The effect of total parenteral nutrition on the relationship between insulin-like growth factor I and protein synthesis.
JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition, 11(5), 440-444. (A TPN study but a classic one showing the relationship between nutrition, IGF-1, and protein synthesis)
IGF-1 levels fluctuate wildly depending on how many calories and protein you stuff in.
When supplied sufficiently, it turns the growth switch (mTOR, etc.) on more powerfully, promoting muscle synthesis.
In other words, nutrients aren’t just building blocks; they’re growth signal amplifiers.
1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2011.619204
2. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.01009.2016
