Back to All Stories

Build Serious Muscle With Tonal’s New Winter Bulking Program

Coach Nicolette created the Making Muscle program series to help you dig in and focus on strength training the right way.

Coach Nicolette's Making Muscle workout on Tonal.

Winter is often when fitness is put on the back burner. It can be hard to stay motivated with cold temperatures, fading daylight, and excess calorie intake. Coach Nicolette created the Making Muscle series to help you dig in and focus on strength training the right way for the next two months.

Making Muscle: Beginner & Intermediate will keep you motivated to bulk up, get stronger, and shed those calories all winter long.

Gain Muscle and Strength

Tonal’s multi-phase muscle-building programs are best suited for those willing to dedicate serious time to strength training every week for multiple months. Making Muscle: Intermediate (Phase 2) builds on the work you will do in Making Muscle: Beginner (Phase 1). Workouts start out with basic movements and ramp in difficulty as you get to the next level.

Making Muscle: Beginner is all about bulking up. Coach Nicolette calls this phase the “intensification” part of the program. This means that you’ll focus on building a strong foundation through repetitive movement. The high volume of movements you’ll do during this phase will help you move better and set you up to lift heavier weight in Making Muscle: Intermediate.

Coach Nicolette kicks Making Muscle into high gear with Making Muscle: Intermediate, or the “accumulation” phase of the program. You’ll build off of all the work you did during Making Muscle: beginner to gain even more strength, so we recommend that you do each phase in order. Coach Nicolette adds on more weight and intensity to get your heart racing and your blood pumping.

Get inspired with Tonal coach Nicolette.

Get Inspired with Coach Nicolette

Coach Nicolette is a strength coach and specializes in postural health. Her programs aim to push you past your comfort zone to help you be your strongest.

Coach Nicolette is “motivated by results. Not aesthetic or lifting milestones, but by how I feel from the things I do or don’t do.” Her focus is on positivity and on helping you feel the best you ever have.

Coach Nicolette specifically designed Making Muscle to get you on a solid and effective workout routine throughout the winter.

Making Muscle: Beginner & Intermediate Details

Making Muscle: Beginner was designed for everyone. This program is 40 minutes per session, 3 days per week, for 4 weeks.

Making Muscle: Intermediate is best suited for people at an intermediate level. This phase is challenging but if you completed Making Muscle: Beginner, you’ll be well prepared for Making Muscle: Intermediate. You’ll train 3 days per week, 40 minutes per session, for 4 weeks.

Coach Paul demonstrates a key movement of the Tonal Making Muscle program.

Making Muscle: Beginner & Intermediate Key Movements

Making Muscle: Beginner will help you bulk up through a series of key movements, such as:

Making Muscle: Beginner Key Movements

Goblet Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Bench Press
Seated Overhead Press
Hammer Curl
Y Pull
Pull-through

Then, you’ll change it up in Making Muscle: Intermediate and do movements like these:

Making Muscle: Intermediate Key Movements

Standing Incline Press
Push Up
Sumo Deadlift
Tricep Extension
Goblet Reverse Lunge
Alternating Pulldown
Lateral Crawl
Sprinter Crunch


Read More