January was National Cut Month. Well, it was for me at least. So far I’ve lost 16lbs and 3% Body Fat – I’ve reached my goal and still have a week of January left. February is knocking on the door and February is Bulk Month. My goal in February is to sustain my BF% while increasing my weight by 10-15lbs. “But Tony, you just spent an entire month trying to lose that weight.” No, I didn’t. I spent an entire month trying to lose body fat. I don’t look at myself in terms of how much I weigh, instead I look at myself in terms of how much lean muscle mass I have (I suggest you do the same). Weight and BF%, although symbiotically related, are two different things. A person who weighs 175lbs with 20%BF will look like crap compare to a person who weighs 225lbs with on 10%BF. But you already know that and I’m just preaching to the choir.
Back to January. I spent that month doing a lot of cardio, stretching, and abs. My gym routine in January was full of supersets with high reps at lower than normal weights. I also did the 5K Plan just to add to the decrease in body fat plan. There are a couple more weeks left in that plan, and I plan to continue on but add a few more clean calories to my diet in February to compensate. February will be quite different; I have a 5-day push-pull workout plan to increase muscle mass while still burning fat. Sometimes it amazes me how some workout plans help me increase weight and decrease BF% at the same time – this plan is one of them.
The 5-Day Push-Pull plan consists of five straight gym days followed by two days of rest (you can put your rest days wherever you like, I prefer them on Sat/Sun).
Monday (Push) – Chest and Triceps
Tuesday (Pull) – Back and Biceps
Wednesday (Push) – Shoulders and Calves
Thursday (Pull) – Hamstrings and Biceps
Friday (Push) – Quads, Glutes and Chest
Each week of the month will have a different look to it in terms of the exercises that are executed. The focus for the days will remain the same, we’ll just change up some of the exercises to add variety and isolate those smaller stabilizer and assisting muscles. I am a superset kind of guy, so we’ll continue to workout with supersets throughout the month. My first week in February will look like this:
Monday – Chest and Triceps
SS1: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Incline BB BP
Triceps Lean
Flat DB BP
SS2: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Triceps Pressdown
Flat BB BP
Dips
SS3: 3 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
DB Fly
DB Skull Crusher
Last set: 1 min nonstop push-ups
Tuesday – Back and Biceps
SS1: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
WG Pull up
DB Bentover Row
WG BB Curl
SS2: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Cable Low Row
DB Hammer Curl
WG Lat Pulldown
SS3: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Zottman Curls
WG Cable Row
Hyperextension
Wednesday – Shoulder and Calves
SS1: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Seated Calve Raise
DB Arnold Press
Box Jump
SS2: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
DB Side Lateral Raise
Jump Rope (100 rep)
BB Press
SS3: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
T Bombs
HS Pushup
Single-leg DB Calve Raise
Thursday – Hamstring, Biceps, and Forearms
SS1: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Deadlift
DB Curl
Barbell Wrist Curl
SS2: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Pullups
Hamstring Curl
RG BB Curl
SS3: 3 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Bulgarian Split Squat
BB WG Curl
BUSO Squat
Friday – Quads, Glutes, and Chest
SS1: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Flat Bench Press
Leg Press
Landmine Squat
SS2: 4 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
DB Fly
Front Squat
Dips
SS3: 3 Sets of 6-8 reps each exercise
Lunges
DB Flat Bench Press
Overhead Squat
That’s what the first week of February looks like. Feel free to join me. Understand that my caloric intake will increase for February. My macros increase significantly as I go from 195g of protein and 200g of carbs to 250g protein and 300g of carbs (slowly adding more each week as the month progresses to build up to those numbers – week 1 at 210g of protein and 265g of carbs. Increase more in week 2 and so on until week four hits the desired macro counts). I post my new diet soon.
Again, if you’re looking to add some lean muscle mass on top of your recent cut month routine, here’s the plan for you. Join me in February and tell us how this plan worked out for you.
