Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine

Whether you want to qualify for the upcoming bodybuilding competition or want to flaunt your ripped physique on the beach, having a substantial amount of lean muscle mass is quintessential in both cases. Also if you are a beginner in the iron game, putting on dense muscle mass and size becomes a prerequisite to succeed. The renowned Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine in such a scenario can be your boon in disguise. This workout program, aimed towards bulking, is designed for beginners and intermediate lifters.

The best thing about the Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine is that it is basic and old-school in nature. This workout routine is so simple that it can be understood even by an amateur lifter.

Another great thing about the Generic Bulking program is that it does not require any sort of fancy gym equipment. If your gym has access to the primary gym equipment, which surely every gym has, you are good to go with this workout program. Let’s have a detailed rundown of the Lyle McDonald Generic Bulking Routine.

Program Overview

As its name only suggests, the Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Program primarily targets to put on lean muscle mass on a bodybuilder’s physique. It is an effective mass building program for both beginners as well as intermediate bodybuilders. So even if you are a competitive bodybuilder who is looking out to gain some size to compete in higher weight categories, following the McDonald’s bulking routine can be an apt choice for you.

Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine

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The Generic bulking program is characterized by a greater volume of both exercises as well as the repetitions that are performed for them. Although there are few aspects of strength training involved in this program, the main goal of Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Program is to promote hypertrophy.

The workouts under this training program are performed in a 4 day split routine. The split routine of this workout plan divides your training into an upper body focused day and a lower body focused day. In this seven-day workout cycle, each week you get four training days and three rest days.

When you are following the Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Program, your training sessions will last for around 90 minutes. It is advisable that you do not run this workout program for more than 8 weeks. After running this workout program for 8 weeks, it is recommended to go for a short deloading phase. This enables your body to recover and recuperate thereby promoting better size gains.

Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine also allows you to make some modifications to the workout routine. This in turn leads to greater flexibility. It helps in eliminating the element of monotony that one might experience by performing the same exercises week after week. However, the tweaks that you make should only include slight exercise substitutions.

Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine

When it comes to beginner and intermediate level lifters who are planning to gain muscle size, a simple approach of training would work the best for them. To pack on serious muscle mass, a beginner or intermediate lifter would certainly not require to perform any fancy movements.

The basic movements that are performed under the General bulking program are complete in themselves to let you put on size. Until and unless you start encountering plateaus on those basic lifts, there is no requirement of switching them for fancy stuff.

Lyle McDonald Generic Bulking Routine

Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Workout Plan

Exercises

Sets x Reps

Monday (Lower Body)

Squats

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Stiff-Legged Deadlift or Leg Curls

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Leg Press

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Leg Curls

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Calf Raise

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Seated Calf Raise

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Tuesday (Upper Body)

Flat Bench Press

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Rows

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Incline Bench Press or Shoulder Press

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Lat Pulldowns or Chin Ups

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Triceps Exercise

(1-2) x (12-15) 90 seconds of rest between sets

Biceps Exercise

(1-2) x (12-15) 90 seconds of rest between sets

Wednesday (Rest)

Thursday (Lower Body)

Squats

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Stiff-Legged Deadlift or Leg Curls

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Leg Press

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Leg Curls

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Calf Raise

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Seated Calf Raise

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Friday (Upper Body)

Flat Bench Press

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Rows

(3-4) x (6-8) 3 minutes of rest between sets

Incline Bench Press or Shoulder Press

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Lat Pulldowns or Chin Ups

(2-3) x (10-12) 2 minutes of rest between sets

Triceps Exercise

(1-2) x (12-15) 90 seconds of rest between sets

Biceps Exercise

(1-2) x (12-15) 90 seconds of rest between sets

Saturday (Rest)

Sunday (Rest)

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The biggest mistake which beginner lifters make is that they train too much and too often. This does not provide the muscles with the recuperation which they require to grow in size. Moreover, over-training the muscles may actually lead to hampering their normal growth. Lyle McDonald’s GBR makes the provision of rest days for facilitating greater gains.

Every workout that you perform under the McDonald’s bulking routine lasts only for 90 minutes. Along with this, you tend to get 3 days every week and a deloading week after every six to eight weeks of following this workout program. This allows your muscles to get the rest periods that they need for facilitating recovery and recuperation. It thereby aids in promoting growth.

Final Words

So if you are just starting out with your bodybuilding journey, the Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Program can act as a savior for you. It can easily allow you to pack on size and muscle mass that you can refine later on. Not only beginners, but this workout program can also provide the experienced lifters with a base of dense muscle mass which they can use to take their physique to the next level.

However, you must keep in mind that while following this workout plan your diet game is on point. Muscles get annihilated when subjected to training. It is your nutrition and rest periods that facilitate growth. Without making proper provisions for your diet and nutrition you won’t be seeing the results you are expecting from this workout program.

Related:

German Volume Training (GVT) Workout Plan
Ivysaur 4-4-8 Beginner Program
PHAT Program
PHUL Program

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