Keto Bulking: 5 Savage Steps to Build Muscle Without Carbs
Feb 03, 2025
So, you’ve mastered the art of shredding with keto — congrats! Now it’s time to conquer the next mountain: bulking. And not just any bulk — a clean keto bulk designed to pack on slabs of lean muscle while keeping fat gains to a minimum.
My Keto Bulk Series is the ultimate companion course to my Savage System. It documents 31 weeks of my bulking journey.
By sharing what worked for me, you’ll score the exact tools and strategies you need to build unmatched strength and add as much lean tissue as possible.
Let’s get into how to bulk on keto and do it right, starting with:
🚦 Is a Keto Bulk Right for You?
Most people think of keto as the ultimate cutting tool — torching fat, dialing in definition, and getting leaner. But let’s explore the other side of the coin: building muscle, gaining weight, and doing it in a controlled, healthy way — without the carbs found in a traditional bulk.
Science proves keto diets not only stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS) but actually preserve your hard-won gains.[*][*] They also reduce inflammation so you can accelerate recovery.[*][*]
However, a keto bulk isn’t right for everyone.
It demands a caloric surplus and a slightly higher body fat percentage than you’d aim for when cutting. So if your primary goal is to see the scale drop or your body fat percentage shrink, this isn’t the stage for you.
Instead, tackle weight loss first. No matter how much muscle you build, it won’t show if it’s hidden under excess fat.
Staying between 12-18% body fat during my bulk worked for me. This range allowed me to fuel muscle growth while keeping beefcake status in check as I crushed more calories.
✅ You’re In the Right Place If…
- You’ve finished a cut and are ready to add muscle to bring more size to the stage.
- You’re coming out of a reverse diet post-bodybuilding competition and want a keto-friendly muscle-building plan.
- You’ve hit a strength plateau and need to push for bigger numbers on the bar.
- You’re committed to keto for the long haul and want to gain or keep lean mass.
If any of these hit home, it’s time to crank up your calories, dial in your training, and break free from the myth that carbs are essential for bulking.
💪 Bulking On Keto: How To Do It Right
Keto bulking is a science, not a free-for-all. Skip the reckless “eat-everything-in-sight” approach and follow this game plan:
🧮 Step 1: Establish Your Baseline
Nail your baseline before you start adding calories. Measure your body weight and body fat percentage to calculate your starting calories and macro ratios (carbs, fat, and protein).
This step sets the foundation for a successful bulking journey, giving you a clear roadmap to follow.
You never want a caloric deficit during a bulk — it’ll sabotage your muscle-building progress. But don’t go overboard with calories either, or you’ll pack on unnecessary fat and face an aggressive cut later.
👉 Make life easy. My Keto Bodybuilding spreadsheet calculates and tracks your target calories, lean mass, and macros automatically — and it’s yours to customize when you join the Savage System.
Staying above 12% body fat, 175-180 pounds, and 2,500 daily calories was non-negotiable for me. But my intake varied between 3,500 and 5,000 calories, with my weight peaking at 200 pounds.
🤔 Did I need to push calories that high? Check out my Keto Bulk series for my thoughts on the advantages of modulating calorie intake and when to cycle your daily averages to dial in.
🥩 Step 2: Find Your Protein Threshold
Everyone tells you to be aggressive with your protein in the bulking phase. Protein is the building block of muscle and essential for the gains you’re chasing.
But personally, when I do that, I get more joint pain and inflammation, which makes it harder to recover from my intense training sessions.
So, finding the sweet spot for your keto bodybuilding macros is crucial.
Just like my competition prep, I like to start high in fat and lower in protein, then gradually shift by lowering fat and increasing protein until I hit my threshold.
Your protein threshold is the unique point at which increasing protein starts to have adverse effects.
My intake ranged between 150 and 265+ grams of protein and 180 to 300 grams of fat per day throughout my bulk.
👀 Learn how to spot the signs of overdoing protein and fine-tune your keto macros to minimize gluconeogenesis and maximize MPS while in ketosis. It’s all covered in my Savage System premium course.
🍳 Step 3: Meal Prep With Staple Keto Foods
You cannot beat keto meal prep for bodybuilding. It eliminates decision fatigue, removes unnecessary variables, and keeps your macros on track even when you’re busy.
These muscle-building keto foods fueled my bulk:
- Ground Beef/Lamb. Your MVPs for hitting fat and protein targets.
- Whole Eggs. Versatile, nutrient-dense, and perfectly balanced macros. A true hero!
- Keto Bricks. High-calorie, clean, and portable — I ate one or two daily.
- Healthy Fats. Duck fat, ghee, and heavy cream easily add calories and flavor.
🍽️ Prep like a savage to train like one. Batch cooking these staples saves time and money. My Savage System includes 20+ keto bodybuilding recipes and step-by-step videos to perfect meal prep.
⚡ PS: Don’t sleep on electrolytes! I consumed around 5,000 to 8,000 mg of sodium daily, plus half that amount in potassium. Electrolyte balance is vital for performance and recovery on keto.
You can also experiment with the best keto supplements for bodybuilding to optimize your bulk.
🏋️ Step 4: Step Up Your Training
Building muscle isn’t just about eating right — it requires a solid training plan that increases your strength and performance. If your lifts don’t improve, it’s time to re-evaluate your strategy.
Here’s how to get results:
💪 Prioritize Compound Movements. Moves like deadlifts, squats, bench presses, overhead presses, etc., should be your bread steak and butter. These recruit multiple muscle groups and give you the most bang for your buck.
💪 Leverage Progressive Overload Principles. Gradually push your muscles to the limit by adding weight, reps, sets, or intensity to your workouts. This consistent challenge forces your muscles to adapt, grow, and pave the way for gains.
💪 Incorporate Deload Weeks. Structured deloads allow your central nervous system to recover, so you come back stronger.
🎯 Take the guesswork out of your routines with my Savage Strong Training App! Get pre-loaded and customizable programs, video tutorials, workout and performance tracking, and more to achieve your PRs.
📊 Step 5: Track Everything + Follow the Data
Data doesn’t lie. If you’re not tracking, you’re guessing — and guessing won’t get you shredded or stacked.
Here’s what you need to monitor:
- Nutrition. Use tools like Cronometer to log daily food intake and electrolytes. Stick to your macros and stay consistent.
- Body Composition Metrics. Track body fat percentage and lean mass to ensure you’re building muscle, not just adding fluff.
- Strength Markers. Your lifts, performance, and progress tell the real story of your muscle-building mission. Log them!
⚖️ Don’t obsess over the scale. During my 31-week bulk, I ranged from 183 to 200 pounds — and that variance was key to optimizing progress. Focus on the bigger picture: strength, performance, and muscle growth.
🤖 Here’s where my Keto Savage AI becomes invaluable.
Log your weight, body fat, macros, training data, ketone readings, and more in one ultimate dashboard. The more data you put in, the more actionable feedback you get out!
You’ll have visual graphs and trends to monitor macro manipulations, visualize weight patterns, and make informed decisions. You can even see recommendations for better progress!
👉 Get the Keto Savage AI free for your first year of the Savage System, or try it for a month now!
🔥 Discipline Dictates Destiny
Bulking on keto is a commitment to precision, patience, and pushing your limits. It’s about claiming PRs in the gym, fueling your body with the best nutrition, and tracking every step of your progress to get more out of the process.
Whether you’re fresh off a cut or gearing up to dominate the stage, keto bulking will skyrocket your gains and redefine what’s possible.
Time to execute, time to elevate! Join the Savage System today and get LIFETIME access to my entire course library, including 150+ videos and exclusive downloads, discounts, and perks to ignite your greatness.
💪 Let’s unleash the savage within and defy the norm — together.
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