The Only Bulking Workout Plan You Need For Muscle Gain

Bulking is a popular approach among recreational lifters and bodybuilders who want to add muscle. It involves eating in a calorie surplus while following a structured bulking workout plan.

No matter your experience level, a well-designed bulking routine is essential for making real progress. That means following a program that applies the core principles of resistance training and progresses at the right pace.

In this guide, we break down how to train effectively during a bulk and the key tips you should keep in mind. We also cover common mistakes to avoid, many of which apply whether you’re following a bulking plan or transitioning into a cutting phase.

Bulking Workout Plan

This bulking workout for beginners and intermediate athletes follows the main scientific principles of muscle growth. Use it as your weekly workout plan for mass gain if you’re looking for meaningful progress. 

We’ve organized the week into a push-pull-legs bulking split, with an added full-body session. This is the best workout split for bulking if you like dividing your sessions into the main movement patterns. It also ensures that each muscle group is trained at least two times a week.

Here’s how a typical week might look:

• Monday — Push Session.
• Tuesday — Pull Session.
• Wednesday — Active Rest Day.
• Thursday — Legs Session.
• Friday — Active Rest Day.
• Saturday — Full-Body Session.
• Sunday — Active Rest Day.

The main workouts are organized to allow at least 48 hours of recovery between sessions working the same muscle groups. This helps reduce potential fatigue and injury risk while increasing gym performance. 

We’ve used your one-repetition maximum, or 1RM, to decide training intensity. This is the maximum weight you can complete for one repetition. You can work it out by using our one rep maximum calculator.

Day 1: Push Day

This push day targets the main muscles involved in upper-body pressing movements. With this, the primary aim is to build size and strength in the chest, shoulders, and tricep muscles.

The pressing and fly movements target all three heads of the chest muscles. The overhead movements and lateral raises target the deltoids, or shoulder muscle heads. The tricep movements target the three tricep muscle heads. 

It prioritizes foundational compound movements, such as the bench press and military press, to stimulate muscle growth. The rest of the session comprises different isolation exercises to ensure sufficient training volume. We’ve chosen a mixture of strength and hypertrophy repetition ranges for each session.

Day 2: Pull Day

This pull day session focuses on the muscles at the back of the upper body. The main aim is to build width and thickness in the bicep brachii and back muscles. These include the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, trapezius, and erector spinae.

The compound exercises, including the pull-ups and barbell bent-over rows, target the four main back muscles. This helps build a wide, dense back during a bulking phase. The rear deltoid exercise is included for well-rounded shoulder development.

We’ve included two bicep curl movements at the end of the session, using a normal and neutral grip. This works both heads of the biceps alongside the brachialis and brachioradialis muscles, improving arm thickness. The session ends with some ab wheel rollouts to develop core strength and improve functional movement.

Day 3: Legs Day

This leg session focuses on developing lower body size, strength, and muscular symmetry. Each of these is a vital aspect of a bulking program.

We’ve used heavy compound lifts such as barbell back squats and dumbbell stiff leg deadlifts to form a solid foundation. These work the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and core muscles. Both movements are also vital for developing good lower-body strength and power.

The barbell hip thrust and lunge exercises add training volume for better leg development. Towards the end, the seated leg curls and standing calf raises directly target the hamstring and calf muscles. 

‘Each of these is commonly neglected in most training programs. The session finishes with some plank holds to build core stability and functional strength.

Day 4: Full-Body Day

This full body workout for bulking supports total-body development by ensuring each muscle group is trained twice weekly. It provides a balanced stimulus to the main muscle groups by focusing on compound movements.

We’ve started with heavy deadlifts to target the whole posterior chain, or muscles at the back of the body. It’s also a great movement for developing better pulling strength.

The pull-ups and dumbbell bench press exercises add more workout volume for the chest and back muscles. The overhead pressing movement and lateral raises support increased shoulder size and function. 

Towards the end, the Bulgarian split squats work on lower-body balance and stabilizer muscle activation. We’ve ended things with an arm superset to build bigger biceps and triceps. This means that you take no rest in between these exercises.

Benefits Of Our Bulking Workout Plan

These are some of the main benefits of following our hypertrophy training program. These apply whether you’re using a bulking workout plan at home or in the gym.

Increases Muscle Size

Our bulking workout plan has been designed to maximize muscle hypertrophy, or muscle growth. This refers to an increase in the size of your skeletal muscles. 

We’ve included foundational compound movements for each session to ensure a suitable workout volume, or amount of work performed. These include squats, bench press movements, and deadlift variations. The total weekly workout volume is shown to be a key component of successful muscle growth.

All sessions also include some isolation exercises towards the end. We’ve programmed these to specifically target smaller muscle groups and work on developing a better mind-muscle connection. Using this bulking workout for ectomorphs provides the perfect balance between volume, intensity, and recovery. 

Promotes Steady Strength Gains

The most important goal when following an effective workout program to gain muscle and strength is implementing progressive overload. This means that you intentionally increase the demands placed on your body over time. Common ways to do this include changing the workout volume, intensity, and rest periods.

Strength training for bulking promotes increased strength levels alongside muscle gain. This is when using progressive overload training. These progressive strength gains are important for muscle development and resistance training performance. 

We’ve ensured that our bulking workout plan focuses on the foundational strength movements and suggested repetition ranges. This allows the progressive overload principle to be properly implemented. Alongside weight training for muscle gain, ensure you follow a well-organized bulking diet to support your training. 

Supports A Cutting Diet For Bodybuilding

A high-quality bulking workout plan increases muscle size and strength. This provides a stronger, more developed foundation to work from when transitioning to a cutting diet and cutting workout plan. 

Cutting phases aim to reduce body fat while preserving as much muscle mass as possible. This results in a lean, defined, and muscular physique when done correctly. The more muscle you build when bulking, the better you’ll look after the cut.

Without a high-quality bulking diet, cutting often leads to a flat, small physique that doesn’t place as well on stage. This sets the stage for a full, defined physique, leading to higher competition placings. If you want to learn how to cut, we’ve covered this in a separate article.

Workout Tips 

These are our top five workout tips when following our bulking training schedule. Apply each of them to your bulking gym routine for efficient muscle growth.

• Not Following The Progressive Overload Principle — If you don’t provide an adequate resistance training stimulus, your body won’t adapt and build new muscle. Ensure steady progression throughout your program, increasing your workout volume and workout intensity. 
• Use The Correct Resistance Exercise Technique — Following the stated technique cues ensures efficient muscle engagement and reduced injury risk. Focus on the technical elements of each exercise, using the help of a mirror or friend if needed. If you can’t follow the right technique, reduce the weight.
• Focus On Your Mind-Muscle Connection — Your mind-muscle connection is the way you think about your working muscles. Focus on the primary muscle for each exercise, squeezing at the top of the movement. 
• Track Your Progress Throughout — Monitor your progress from week to week to ensure the progressive overload principle is being used. Use a workout journal or fitness application to help. This ensures continued progress and builds motivation as you progress.
• Stay Hydrated Throughout Your Session — Water represents approximately 76% of muscle mass. Therefore, maintaining proper hydration levels when training is vital for normal function. Take a big water bottle with you when training, sipping on it throughout. 
• Take Supplements That Enhance Muscle Growth And Performance — Some of the best supplements for muscle growth include protein powder, creatine, and omega-3 fatty acids. Use them to enhance muscle growth and performance when bulking. 

Common Bulking Workout Mistakes

It’s all well and good knowing how to follow a workout plan for lean bulking. However, if you don’t understand the common mistakes, you’ll potentially ruin your progress. These are some of the most typical muscle growth myths and mistakes to be aware of.

• Not Eating Enough Protein — Protein provides the vital building blocks for muscle growth. Consume at least 0.7–1 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Insufficient protein intake can lead to muscle loss and reduce muscle gain. We’ve discussed how much protein to build muscle in a separate article.
• Performing The Wrong Training Types — The main types of training for muscle growth include hypertrophy training and strength training. These should form most of your mass gaining workout plan. Avoid performing too much of other training types.
• Implementing A Poor Recovery Routine — Your rest and recovery periods are vital for efficient muscle building. Ensure you get at least seven hours of sleep per night, using active rest where needed. This may include brisk walking, stretching, yoga, and housework. 
• Relying Too Much On Supplements — Supplements should be used to aid a well-rounded diet rather than replace it when performing resistance training for bulking. Don’t use supplements as a quick fix or as a direct replacement for high-quality whole foods. These are some of the best muscle-building stacks to consider using.  

Conclusion

Our bulking phase lifting program is designed for gym goers and athletes looking to pack on high-quality muscle. It gives you part of the successful bulking equation when learning how to bulk the right way. 

Focus on high-quality compound movements that follow the progressive overload principle for muscle growth. Ensure sufficient weekly training volume while managing your recovery and sleep routines. If you can use this consistent approach above, you’ll be packing on bulk in no time!