Well Built Style » Sick of 5×5? Try Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine Instead!

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04 Sick of 5!5? Try Lyle McDonald’s Generic

JAN Bulking Routine Instead!
tag : 5x5, Generic Bulking Routine, Lyle McDonald by : Manny De La Cruz
2015
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5!5 programs have become very popular over the past several years. In fact, it
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seems like everyone and their grandma is doing some kind of 5!5 routine these
days, which is perfectly fine as I believe it’s a great way for anyone to train – We value you as a reader and respect
especially beginners. your privacy. We will not sell your info or
send you any spam. Ever.
But what if you’re simply tired of doing 5!5?
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Are there any other programs out there that are just as effective?

I’m glad you asked, because there definitely are other routines out there that work
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just as well as 5!5, if not better.

Case in point: Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine.

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I used this routine many years ago and found it to be very effective. For those of you
who can remember, I discussed Lyle McDonald and his website Bodyrecomposition
before in my post on Quality Training Resources. Popular Posts

Suffice it to say that Lyle knows his stuff, and the routine outlined below has been
Up Your Shoe Game: The
used successfully by many people. Chelsea Boot
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Here’s what it looks like:

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Well Built Style » Sick of 5×5? Try Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine Instead! 9/15/15 3:42 PM

Style NOPE! - Tucked Or

Mon: Lower Untucked Edition
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Squat: 3-4X6-8/3! (3-4 sets of 6-8 with a 3! rest)
SLDL or leg curl: 3-4X6-8/3!
How a Suit Should Fit
Leg press: 2-3X10-12/2! 11 Comments
Another leg curl: 2-3X10-12/2!
Calf raise: 3-4X6-8/3!
5 Reasons Why You Should
Seated calf: 2-3X10-12/2! Be Doing Split Squats
Abs/low back: a couple of heavy sets apiece Instead of Back Squats
10 Comments

Tue: Upper A Workout Routine for

Beginners – Part 2: The
Flat bench: 3-4X6-8/3! Routine
Row: 3-4X6-8/3! 10 Comments

Incline bench or shoulder press: 2-3X10-12/2!

Pulldown/chin: 2-3X10-12/2!
Triceps: 1-2X12-15/1.5! Search...

Biceps: 1-2X12-15/1.5!

Archives

For the Thu/Fri workouts either repeat the first two or make September 2015
some slight exercise substitutions.
August 2015

July 2015

June 2015
Pretty straightforward, isn’t it?
May 2015
Exercise selection April 2015

While the exercise selection for this program certainly gives you more variety than a March 2015
traditional 5!5 routine, it’s definitely not anything earth shattering; mostly just the
February 2015
basics (squat, bench press, deadlift etc.). However, the one great feature of this
program is that it’s much easier for you to rotate exercises, reducing the boredom January 2015
factor considerably. December 2014

For example, for Thursday’s “lower” workout you could easily repeat Monday’s November 2014
session, or make some simple exercise substitutions such as swapping out the October 2014
squats for deadlifts, and replacing the leg press with dumbbell lunges or split squats.
It’s entirely up to you. September 2014

August 2014
The same thing goes for Friday’s “upper” workout; you can either repeat Tuesday’s
session or switch up some of the exercises. I know that when I did the program, I’d July 2014
usually do a heavy bench press with a lighter shoulder press on Tuesday, and then I June 2014
would do the exact opposite on Friday. It worked wonderfully.
May 2014

Of course, one thing you won’t see in this program is a lot of unnecessary work for April 2014
the arms. You’ll get to hit them directly 2x per week with just a few sets and that’s it.
March 2014
But considering all of the other work you will be doing for the upper body, the arms
end up getting more than their fair share of work, albeit indirectly. February 2014

January 2014
Frequency
December 2013
As you can see, every body part in this routine gets hit 2x per week – and for most
November 2013
natural trainees this is generally the most optimal way to train for a variety of reasons
(taking advantage of increased gene expression, protein synthesis etc.). October 2013

September 2013
However, the program also has quite a bit of leeway. For example, if you’re an older

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Well Built Style » Sick of 5×5? Try Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine Instead! 9/15/15 3:42 PM

trainee who struggles to recover from back to back workouts, you can alter the August 2013
frequency like so:
July 2013

June 2013
Monday: Lower
May 2013
Wednesday: Upper

Friday: Lower

Saturday: Upper

Splitting the program up in this manner ensures that you get a day off after at least
two of the workouts, allowing for some extra time for recovery.

Furthermore, for guys who just can’t handle training 4 days a week, the program can
also be modified into an alternating 3x per week schedule (i.e. ABA) like so:

Monday: Lower

Wednesday: Upper

Friday: Lower

Monday: Upper

Etc.

Sets
When Lyle created this program he purposely designed it so that guys could dial in
the volume to their individual needs.

If you’re new to the program, I’d recommend starting off with fewer sets (i.e. doing 3
sets for compound movements instead of 4) as you’re less likely to run into problems
as you move further along. In fact, I know some guys who dialed it down even further
(opting for 2-3 sets for compound movements and just 1-2 sets for accessory
exercises) and still made fantastic progress.

On the other hand, very few guys make better progress by doing more than the top
end of work (4 sets for compound lifts and 3 for accessory movements). Remember
that volume is a finicky thing; it takes some experience to figure out how to strike a
balance between too much and not enough. So when in doubt, start off lighter!

Reps
Unlike traditional 5!5 programs, you get to work in a couple of different rep ranges
with Lyle’s routine.

The compound exercises (squat, deadlift, bench press etc.) are worked in a heavier
6-8 rep fashion, while accessory movements (leg curl, shoulder press, bicep curl
etc.) are worked in a lighter 10-12 rep range. This has been done deliberately so that
you can get the unique benefits from working in both rep ranges.

The rationale behind the 6-8 rep range is pretty straightforward. In order to stimulate
growth you have to ensure that sufficient tension and fatigue is placed on the muscle.
This is best done by using 80-85% of your 1 rep max, which for most people is about

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Well Built Style » Sick of 5×5? Try Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine Instead! 9/15/15 3:42 PM

5-8 reps.

The idea behind the 10-12 rep range is a little different. Anecdotally, many
bodybuilders have experienced superior growth when using a higher rep range. It’s
the reason why you hear them talk so much about “focusing on the squeeze” and
trying to “get a good pump in the muscle.” Their strategy here is to force as much
blood into the muscle as possible, flushing it with nutrients in order to coax it into
growth.

And, believe it or not, there actually is some science supporting this, which is why
Lyle decided to include this aspect of training into his routine. He actually calls this
“metabolic work” as the higher reps are known to tax the muscle’s metabolic system.

Call it whatever you want, but it’s another reason why this program works so well.

How to make progress

Lyle’s recommendation is to start the program off by using 80-85% of your best (i.e. if
100!8 is your best, then start with 80!8 or 85!8). Then it’s just a matter of building up
over the weeks until you get into PR (personal record) territory. Once you’ve hit a
point where you’re not adding any more weight to the bar, backcycle down to 80-85%
of your new best and start again (so if you’ve climbed up to 130!8, then use 105!8 or
110X8). Rinse and repeat. It’s that simple.

Personally, I like to do straight sets across with the same weight, aiming to hit the top
end of the rep range on all sets before moving up in weight. So for example, on the
bench press I’ll try to hit 240X8 for 3-4 sets across before moving up 5lbs. Once I do,
the following week I might hit something like 245X8, 245X6, and 245X6, in which
case I’d repeat the load until I got all 8 reps for all 3 sets with 245lbs before increasing
the load. Make sense?

Lyle recommends that you run this program for no longer than 6-8 weeks before
backcycling or deloading. This makes sense, as most intermediate lifters will typically
run into problems around the 6-8 week mark, regardless of how great their routine is.

Final Word
While 5!5 programs are an excellent way to train, it’s not uncommon for some guys
to become bored after training in this style for several months. It’s just human nature.

One way to combat this boredom is by switching things up with a different routine.
While I don’t think you need to be constantly changing your training style all of the
time (in fact, it’s counterproductive), sometimes it’s needed in order to reignite your
passion for the gym.

So if you find that your current routine is suffering from a lack of inspiration, then I
highly recommend you give Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine a try. After all,
it just might be what you need in order to jumpstart your enthusiasm for training again.

Here’s to staying fit!

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About the Author

Manny De La Cruz is a lifelong fitness enthusiast turned style
aficionado. He's here to help you overhaul your look so you
can get more out of life.

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SJ @ IgnoreLimits.com • 8 months ago

Good stuff Manny, it's great to see that more and more people are
getting into the lower rep training (as I really think it's where the gains are
as a natural lifter).
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WellBuiltStyle Mod # SJ @ IgnoreLimits.com • 8 months ago

Thanks SJ!

PS - I like the new layout of your site. Nice work!

Manny
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