About this workout
A lean bulk is how you add real muscle without the sloppy fat gain of an old-school dirty bulk. The formula is a small, controlled calorie surplus paired with enough hard training to use those extra calories for muscle. This 16 week, 5 day push/pull/legs plan gives you the training volume to grow across the whole body, run long enough to add noticeable size. Eat in a modest surplus, train hard, and you will finish the 16 weeks bigger and still lean.
Who This Program Is For
- You want to add muscle while staying relatively lean.
- You can train five days a week.
- You have access to a full gym.
- You already train and can recover from higher volume.
Who this is NOT for: beginners, who grow well on less, and anyone not willing to eat in a surplus; you cannot lean bulk without adding calories. It also is not for someone who wants to lose fat right now.
What You'll Need
- A full gym with barbells, dumbbells, cables and a pull-up bar.
- A way to track calories so your surplus stays modest and controlled.
- A log; progressive overload across 16 weeks is what turns the extra food into muscle.
The Program
Five days on a push, pull, legs, push, pull rotation, for example Monday push, Tuesday pull, Wednesday legs, Thursday push, Friday pull, with legs also trained through the heavy hinges on pull days. Train with real volume and push most sets close to failure. Rest as needed to keep the quality high.
| Day 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Push A | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 6-8 | 2 min |
| Seated Barbell Shoulder Press | 4 | 8 | 90 sec |
| Incline Dumbbell Bench Press | 3 | 10 | 75 sec |
| Cable Lateral Raise | 3 | 15 | 45 sec |
| Tricep Pushdown | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Day 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull A | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Deadlift | 4 | 5 | 3 min |
| Pull Up | 4 | 8-10 | 90 sec |
| Bent Over Row | 4 | 8 | 90 sec |
| Face Pulls | 3 | 15-20 | 45 sec |
| Barbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 | 60 sec |
| Day 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Legs | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Barbell Squat | 4 | 6-8 | 2 min |
| Leg Press | 4 | 10-12 | 90 sec |
| Walking Lunge | 3 | 10 each leg | 75 sec |
| Lying Leg Curl | 3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Day 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Push B | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Incline Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 8 | 90 sec |
| Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 4 | 10 | 75 sec |
| Cable Crossover | 3 | 12-15 | 60 sec |
| Dumbbell Lateral Raise | 3 | 15 | 45 sec |
| Cable Rope Overhead Tricep Extensions | 3 | 12-15 | 45 sec |
| Day 5 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pull B | |||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
| Romanian Deadlift | 4 | 8-10 | 90 sec |
| Lat Pulldown | 4 | 10-12 | 75 sec |
| Seated Cable Rows | 4 | 10 | 75 sec |
| Reverse Flyes | 3 | 15-20 | 45 sec |
| Hammer Curls | 3 | 12 | 45 sec |
How to Progress
Sixteen weeks of controlled growth, with deloads to sustain the higher volume.
Weeks 1 to 4. Set your working weights and dial in a modest surplus of about 250 to 400 calories over maintenance. Add weight or reps on the main lifts each week.
Weeks 5 to 8. Keep progressing the big lifts and pushing accessory volume. You should be gaining slowly, roughly half a pound a week, mostly muscle.
Week 8 (deload). Take a lighter week to recover from the volume. Repeat a deload around week 12 as well.
Weeks 9 to 16. Keep driving overload and eating in a controlled surplus. By week 16 you should have added noticeable size while staying lean, which is exactly the point of a lean bulk.
Warm-Up and Recovery Notes
Warm up with light cardio, mobility and ramp-up sets before your first heavy lift each day. Five hard days a week demand a good warm-up to stay healthy.
Five days of volume is a real recovery load. Sleep eight or more hours, keep your surplus modest so you feel good, and take the deloads seriously; they are what let you keep the volume high for 16 weeks.
Nutrition and Supplementation
A lean bulk means a small, controlled surplus, not a free-for-all. Eat about 250 to 400 calories above maintenance with at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, and build the surplus from quality foods. If you start gaining fat too quickly, trim the surplus back.
Support: protein powder to hit high protein across five training days, creatine monohydrate at 5 grams a day for strength and size, and a daily multivitamin. Keep the surplus clean and the training hard.
FAQ
How fast should I gain on a lean bulk? About half a pound a week for most people. Faster than that and you are adding more fat than muscle. Slow and controlled keeps the bulk lean.
Why train legs only once directly? The dedicated leg day plus the heavy deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts on pull days give the legs plenty of stimulus. If you want more, you can add a second leg day and drop a push or pull.
What if I start getting fat? Trim your surplus. If the scale is climbing too fast or you are softening up quickly, reduce calories back toward maintenance and let the gain slow down.