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Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine
The four-day upper/lower routine Lyle McDonald wrote for gaining muscle, often shortened to GBR, as Lift Vault lays it out in its free spreadsheet. Two workouts, each run twice a week, so every muscle is trained twice. The main lifts sit at 6 to 8 reps, everything behind them at higher reps, and the weight goes up when the reps do. It is built into Ægir Iron and free to load.
What this program is
Lower on Monday and Thursday, upper on Tuesday and Friday, with the other three days off. The two lower days are the same workout, and so are the two upper days.
Rest about three minutes between sets of the main lifts, two minutes on the 10 to 12 rep work and 90 seconds on the arm work. Sets are written as ranges. The spreadsheet's rule is to do three sets of a main lift and then decide: if you still look strong, do the fourth, and if you are fried, stop.
How the weight goes up
Nothing is priced off a max. You start each lift at a weight you can handle for the listed reps with a rep or two to spare, around 80 to 85 percent of what you could lift for those reps. Once every set reaches the top of the rep range, you add weight next time. Until then you keep the weight and work the reps up. That is double progression, and the spreadsheet adds about 5 lb on squat, bench and row each time it happens.
Run it for 6 to 8 weeks on a small calorie surplus, aiming to gain about 0.5 to 1 lb a week, then take two easier weeks before starting again from your latest weights.
At a glance
| Discipline | Bodybuilding and hypertrophy |
| Author | Lyle McDonald, as laid out in Lift Vault's spreadsheet |
| Experience level | Intermediate |
| Length | 8 weeks in the app (the spreadsheet says 6 to 8), then a 2-week deload |
| Training days | 4 per week |
| Equipment | Barbell, machines and cables, plus a pull-up bar if you choose chin-ups |
| Loading | Rep ranges with double progression, no percentages |
| Price | Free for individual lifters and rostered athletes |
Free for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster. Coaches pay only for roster tools.
How it works in Ægir Iron
When you load it you make the three choices the spreadsheet leaves open: a stiff-legged deadlift or a leg curl as the second lower-body lift, an incline bench or a shoulder press as the second press, and a pulldown or chin-ups. Each choice applies to both days of that kind. A volume option drops one set from the main and second-tier lifts if the full workload is too much, which the spreadsheet allows.
Each row is prescribed at the lower end of its set range, with a note saying when to add the extra set. The spreadsheet names some slots only by muscle or by a general lift ("Row", "Triceps"), so the app picks a movement for each and its note says you can swap it for any that trains the same muscle. The rep range on every row drives the app's double-progression hint, which suggests your next weight once every set reaches the top of the range.
Original source
Ægir Iron's template is built from this source. Under it is what the template takes from it.
- Risley K (2026). Lyle McDonald Generic Bulking Routine - Hypertrophy. Lift Vault spreadsheet.The Generic Bulking Routine: four days, lower Monday and Thursday, upper Tuesday and Friday, main lifts 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8, secondary 2 to 3 of 10 to 12, arm work 1 to 2 of 12 to 15, rest 3 minutes, 2 minutes and 90 seconds, an eight-week grid then a two-week deload, and 5 lb added on squat, bench and row once every set reaches 8
Start Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine
Open Ægir Iron, go to Program and choose New Program, then the Program Wizard. On the first screen pick Strength & Muscle, then choose Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine from the cards under WHAT DO YOU WANT TO RUN? It is free on iOS, Android, and the web, with your data synced across all three.