What Is Bulking?
Bulking is a process where you heavily increase your caloric intake and train intensively to gain muscle mass. It requires not only doing the right exercises, but also consuming extra calories for fuel. Essentially, you need to have a caloric surplus; meaning you need to consume more calories than you burn. This helps increase your body mass, which when paired with lifting, helps you put on muscle mass. If you’re on the skinnier side, you know how difficult putting on weight and muscle can be, so having the right exercise and dietary plan is essential.
How Do I Get Started?
All you really have to do is eat a lot and train hard! Ok, obviously, it’s not as simple as that, but eating a lot of high-protein foods and working out intensively will certainly get the ball rolling. Depending on your frame and goals, bulking can be as short as a 4 week process or can go on for well over a year. Consistency is the key to it all. If you plan it out and stick to it, the results will follow!
Bulking Workout Routine
There are a lot of different workout routines out there, but the best bulking workout plan, in my opinion, encompasses something known as PPL. The PPL routine is a workout split that separates your exercises into 3 groups; Push, Pull, and Legs. We’ll get into them more, but regardless of the day, it’s a good idea to utilize both dumbbell and barbell exercise variations since a well rounded approach will help get the best results. If you don’t have access to a gym, check out this home workout plan for building muscle.
Push Day Exercises
A push day workout consists of upper body exercises that have a “push” movement. The exercises in this routine primarily target the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Depending on your fitness goals and schedule, it’s good to do this workout 1-2 times per week.
Before heading to the gym, I do like to drink a little caffeine to give me an energy boost. I'm not a coffee drinker (yet), so my go-to is Celsius. I also like to use one scoop of Creatine in my blender bottle to help maximize my muscle growth. There are a ton of great options out there, but the one I use is Thorne. Now, let’s get into it!
Barbell Bench Press
Barbell Bench Press is a classic exercise that targets your pec muscles. It’s one of the best chest exercises, if not THE best. It’s also a strong indicator of overall upper body strength. If this exercise is new to you, check out these helpful tips and be sure to have a spot when increasing the weight, so you can push yourself without having to worry about getting trapped underneath the bar. There are many modifications of this exercise, so feel free to adjust the angle of the bench, putting it at an incline or decline to work the upper or lower parts of the pec.
Dumbbell Press
Dumbbell Press is a variation of Barbell Bench Press that focuses on the muscle fibers around the muscle. Since each dumbbell is separated (no middle point like on a barbell), it requires stabilization which helps the muscle grow. Similar to barbell bench, you can adjust the angle of the bench to target the upper or lower pecs. It’s a little harder than Barbell Bench Press, so keep that in mind when selecting a starting weight.
Low Dumbbell Pec Flys
Low Dumbbell Pec Flys target the lower pec and are a great exercise to add to your workout. Hold one dumbbell in each hand while standing up, then lift the dumbbells up to the sky with your palms up, and your arms relatively straight while squeezing your pecs. Try and avoid rocking your body back and forth while lifting the dumbbells to get the most out of it. If Low Dumbbell Pec Flys are new to you, you can see how they’re performed here.
Incline Dumbbell Hex Press
The hex press is a dumbbell exercise that works the inner pec muscles. It’s performed similarly to the regular dumbbell press, but both dumbbells are pressed together with your palms facing inwards. When extending your arms upward, the motion will result in a ‘squeeze’ in your pecs. I prefer to do this exercise with the bench at a slight incline, but it can be done with the bench flat too.
Skull Crushers
Skull Crushers are another great exercise that have a few variations. You can either use an EZ bar, or dumbbells to perform a pushing motion that targets the triceps. While laying on your back on a flat bench with either an EZ bar or dumbbells raised above your head, lower the weight bending at the elbow until the weight is directly in front of your face. Then extend back up, isolating your triceps and pushing the weight towards the ceiling. Make sure to keep your elbows tucked in so your triceps are doing all the work!
Dips
Dips are a bodyweight exercise that target the triceps, as well as the chest. It’s a great exercise for blowing up your chest as you near the end of your workout. Just grab onto a set of parallel bars with your arms straight so that your legs are off the ground. Then lower your body, bending at the elbow, until your upper arms are parallel to the ground. Extend back up, straightening your arms, to complete a rep.
Tricep Pulldowns
Tricep Pulldowns are definitely one of the 6 most effective tricep exercises for building muscle. You can hook up a variety of attachments to a cable machine. I prefer the rope (pictured below), but the V-shaped bar and lat pulldown bar also work fine. It’s a very simple movement; pull the rope down to your chest with your arms pressed to your sides, and then pull down on the rope until your arms are fully extended. You can see a video of how it’s performed here. It’s one of my all around favorite exercises.
Incline Bosu Push-Ups
In another post, I cover the perfect push-up workout, but this particular exercise is just one of the exercises in the push-up progression. It’s a great exercise to end your push day workout since your chest, shoulder and triceps should be on fire! Place a bosu ball on the ground with the hard side face up, and then elevate your feet on a bench, and start performing push-ups. The bosu ball will make the push-ups more challenging by forcing you to stabilize the bosu ball in order to complete the push-ups.
Pull Day Exercises
Pull day focuses on compound and isolation pulling exercises. Essentially, pull day incorporates exercises that have the opposite motion of push day. The main target muscles on this day are your back, lats, traps, and biceps. Typically, this routine is done 1-2 times per week depending on the intensity of your workout schedule.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Technically, Dumbbell Shoulder Press is a push exercise, but because my shoulders are killed on push-day, I included it here. It’s a similar exercise to Dumbbell Press, but the bench is inclined so that you are basically sitting straight up. You just lift the dumbbells up above your head and lower until your arms make a right angle, and then repeat. It’s one of the best dumbbell shoulder exercises for building muscle. You can see how it’s performed here.
Dumbbell Lateral Raises
Dumbbell Lateral Raises are great for building a wider upper body. This exercise targets the shoulders and lats. To perform it, grab two dumbbells and raise your arms up and out to the side until they are parallel with the ground, then lower and repeat. It’s hard to lift a heavy amount of weight with this motion, so I suggest using dumbbells in the 10 to 20 lb range at first.
Pull-Ups
Pull-Ups are a fantastic full body exercise. They work the lats, back, upper body, and core. There are many variations, but the one we will be looking at is the basic pull-up. Grab the bar with your palms facing away from you, and then pull up until your chin is at the height of the bar, and lower until your arms are fully extended to get the most out of this exercise. If regular pull-ups are too easy, increase the number of reps or do weighted pull-ups via a belt or vest.
Rows
There are a few variations of rows, but the one we’re focusing on is cable rows. If the place you’re working out doesn’t have the setup for this, you can substitute it for Bent Over Rows. Cable Rows are one of the best back exercises and really hit the upper back. They’re done by simply pulling the cable towards your chest while keeping your back straight and tight. Make sure to perform the movement with control to maximize your results.
Lat Pulldowns
Lat Pulldowns are an exercise that targets the back and lat muscles. It will help you build a wide upper body to give off that V-shaped appearance. While seated, you pull the bar attached to the cable down to your upper chest while keeping your back relatively straight. As you release and let the bar pull your hands up, make sure to have control, otherwise you can hurt yourself or get pulled out of the seat.
Dumbbell Hammer Curls
Biceps aren’t one of the biggest muscle groups, but they draw so much attention for their aesthetic. They’ve become an essential part of all workout routines for that reason. There are two heads of the bicep; the long head and the short head. This exercise focuses on the long head, which is the one more easily visible from the front of the body, thus, helping give off that muscular appearance. The exercise is performed how it sounds, but here’s a step-by-step guide along with some variations.
Barbell Curls
For this exercise, you’ll need an EZ bar with your desired weight. I normally shoot for 50 to 60lb in total. With your palms facing upwards, curl the bar to your chest and then lower in a controlled manner back to the starting point so your arms are extended straight. If you keep your hands closer together it targets the long head, if you use a wider grip it targets the short head.
Reverse Barbell Curls
This exercise is very similar to the one above, Barbell Curls, so I normally pair them together. The only difference is that instead of having your palms facing up, they face down. Also, depending on whether your grip is narrow or wide, it will affect the long or short head of the bicep more. Both Reverse Barbell Curls and regular Barbell Curls are included in the best bicep workouts for building muscle.
Plate Circuit
This actually might be my favorite exercise out of everything in what I consider to be the best bulking workout plan. At this point, you're 95% done with your workout and your arms are pumped, but there’s one last exercise to top it off. You need to have a 45lb, 35lb, and 25lb plate nearby. Then you simply perform curls by holding the plate with your hands gripping the sides. Once you complete 8 reps, you drop to the next weight and repeat without rest. So, 1 set is 24 reps in total since you are doing 8 reps with each plate.
Leg Day Exercises
The third and final day in the PPL workout plan is leg day. Since only one day is dedicated to legs, it’s important to hit every muscle group in your lower body. I typically do this routine once per week, but doing it twice is fine, of course. I like upper body exercises MUCH more, and I am usually extremely sore after doing leg day, but nonetheless, it’s good to work out all muscle groups, including legs!
Barbell Squats
Barbell Squats are a staple of leg day. It's a phenomenal exercise to start off the workout. It’s a compound movement and will activate most of your lower body; mainly your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Once you get the bar off the rack and resting across the back of your shoulders, bend your quads until your hamstrings are basically parallel to the ground or in a squatting position. Then lift back up until you are at the starting point, and repeat. You can see how it’s performed here.
Trap Bar Deadlift
Deadlifts are an exercise where you can throw some serious weight around. There are a few variations, including barbell deadlift, which is probably the most popular, and can be a substitute for this exercise. The motion is slightly more complex, which is why I prefer Trap Bar Deadlifts. An explanation of the variations can be found here. This exercise works many muscles including your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and back. This can be a tricky movement at first so check out this video for how to perform it, if it’s new to you.
Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian Split Squats are a squat variation where one leg receives most of the load. In my opinion, it’s one of the best leg exercises with dumbbells. With your rear leg elevated on a bench and your other leg out in front, perform squats. You can do it without weight, but to make it more difficult, hold dumbbells in each hand to add resistance. This is a great exercise for building muscle, gaining strength, and improving balance.
SLRDL’s
The Single Leg Romanian Dead Lift is an exercise that improves hip mobility and balance while strengthening your hamstrings and glutes. It’s a very well-rounded exercise and I think it’s a great complementary exercise to Bulgarian Split Squats, so I normally pair them together in a superset. Standing on one leg with your knee slightly bent, bend over hinging at the hip, lowering your hands to the floor while extending your opposite leg back in the air. To make this exercise more challenging, hold dumbbells in each hand. It’s quite a complex exercise, so if it’s new to you, please check out this video on how to perform it properly.
Leg Press
The leg press is a popular piece of gym equipment that allows you to press weight away from your body. The Leg Press targets your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. It’s a pretty simple exercise, but there are a lot of different machines out there, so it’s important to know how to perform the exercise properly to avoid injury since you will be able to push a lot of weight.
Leg Extensions
Leg Extensions are a great machine exercise for working your quads. It’s good to do near the end of your workout after completing some of the compound lifts above. It’s simply performed by extending your legs until they are straight by pushing the bar up, and then lowering in a controlled manner.
Prone Leg Curls
Prone Leg Curls are an isolation exercise that target your hamstrings. There are a few variations, but we’ll be focusing specifically on this one. You need access to a lying leg curl machine, which most gyms should have. Once you are positioned in the machine, you essentially are trying to pull your ankles to your buttocks, before returning to your starting position. Repeat this motion 8-10 times to complete a set.
Goblet Squats
The Goblet Squat is a great exercise that primarily targets the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. It can be performed with either a kettlebell or dumbbell. I prefer using a dumbbell because the motion feels more natural for me, but it’s really a personal preference. Hold the weight in both hands at your chest in such a way that your hands make a cup or bowl shape. Then perform a regular squat with a hold at the bottom to complete a rep.
Calf Raises
Calf Raises are an extremely simple exercise, and definitely worth doing, especially to close out leg day. As I’m sure you assumed, this exercise targets your calf muscles. Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, and knees slightly bent (not locked), raise your heels so you’re on your tiptoes. Then lower your heels back to the ground to complete a rep. To make it more challenging you can hold dumbbells in each hand.
Abs & Cardio
Abs and cardio are essential parts of workout plans, but when bulking cardio actually makes gaining and building muscle mass harder. You’re essentially burning more calories by doing cardio, which means you have to eat more to make sure you get a caloric surplus. I’m not saying don’t do cardio because it is important, but just be cautious of how much you do. As far as ab exercises, it’s truly up to you on how often you want to do them, but those aren’t part of this bulking workout plan.
A Bulking Diet Is Necessary
As mentioned up top, a bulking diet plays a huge factor in helping achieve your goals. You can still put on a lot of muscle, but to really get the best results you need to eat a lot of high-protein foods and have a high caloric intake. Obviously, the healthier your diet is while hitting those calorie and protein goals, the better. There are many dietary plans to choose from, but as someone who has struggled with putting on weight and eating enough, I’ve found shakes are a great way to help. After every workout I have a Muscle Milk shake, and sometimes I make my own by throwing milk, peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and a scoop of protein powder in a blender.
Full Exercise List
Below are all the exercises covered above in list form with set and rep numbers, so you can easily add the workouts wherever you choose to get started and track your progress on this journey!
Push Day
Barbell Bench Press (3 sets x 8 reps)
Dumbbell Press (3 sets x 8 reps)
Low Dumbbell Pec Flys (3 sets x 8 reps)
Incline Dumbbell Hex Press (3 sets x 8 reps)
Skull Crushers (3 sets 8 reps)
Dips (3 sets x 8 reps)
Tricep Pulldowns (3 sets x 10 reps)
Incline Bosu Push-Ups (3 sets x 15 reps)
Pull Day
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (3 sets x 8 reps)
Dumbbell Lateral Raises (3 sets x 10 reps)
Pull-Ups (3 sets x 6 reps)
Rows (3 sets x 10 reps)
Lat Pulldowns (3 sets x 8 reps)
Dumbbell Hammer Curls (3 sets x 8 reps)
Barbell Curls (3 sets x 8 reps)
Reverse Barbell Curls (3 sets x 8 reps)
Plate Circuit (3 sets x 24 reps)
Leg Day
Barbell Squats (3 sets x 10 reps)
Trap Bar Deadlift (3 sets x 8 reps)
Bulgarian Split Squats (3 sets x 8 reps)
SLRDL’s (3 sets x 8 reps)
Leg Press (3 sets x 10 reps)
Leg Extensions (3 sets x 10 reps)
Prone Leg Curls (3 sets x 10 reps)
Goblet Squats (3 sets x 10 reps)
Calf Raises (3 sets x 25 reps)
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