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Posts by Kyle Risley

Kyle founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make it easier to everyone to find quality programming. He continues to compete in powerlifting as an aggressively average lifter.

About Kyle Risley

Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more. He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting.

Chad Vaughn 4 Weeks to Bigger Lifts Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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4 Weeks to Bigger Lifts is a short Olympic weightlifting program from Chad Vaughn, a two-time Olympic weightlifter. It runs five days a week for a month and works the snatch, the clean and jerk, and supporting squat and pull work.

Don’t read the name as a peaking cycle. This is a technique and position primer, not a block to add 20 pounds to your total in four weeks. The reps stay low and the point is cleaning up how the lifts feel, not chasing a number on the bar.

It’s a good fit if you can already do the lifts and want a month to fix your positions and make them feel automatic. Vaughn first shared it as a free Breaking Muscle program. If you’re after a peaking block or a way to push your total, this isn’t it, so come in expecting cleaner lifts rather than bigger numbers.

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Mike Burgener 23-Day Bulgarian Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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The 23-Day Bulgarian Program is a short, high-frequency Olympic weightlifting cycle from coach Mike Burgener (Coach B). You train five days a week and hit the snatch and the clean and jerk almost every day, with front and back squats rotating in. It runs about five weeks and 23 sessions in total.

It’s built for advanced lifters who are comfortable training the classic lifts often. The volume on the snatch and clean and jerk is heavy and constant, so it isn’t where you learn the lifts. If you want a longer build first, Burgener’s 12-week cycle is the slower option.

We rebuilt Coach B’s program as a clean Lift Vault spreadsheet. Enter your maxes once and every working weight for all 23 days fills in for you, so you can just train and log what you hit.

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Wil Fleming 4-Week Stronger Than Ever Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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The 4-Week Stronger Than Ever program is a short Olympic weightlifting cycle from coach Wil Fleming. It runs four days a week and works through the snatch, the clean and jerk, and heavy squatting, with the weights climbing and the reps dropping as you move through the month.

It fits lifters who already know the classic lifts and want a focused block to push their numbers up. Week 4 is the payoff, where you work to heavy doubles on the lifts and a back squat rep max.

We rebuilt Fleming’s program as a clean Lift Vault spreadsheet. Enter your maxes once and every working weight for all four weeks fills in for you, so you can just train and log what you hit.

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Vince Gironda 10-8-6-15 Workout Spreadsheet

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Vince Gironda built some of the best physiques of the golden era, and the 10-8-6-15 system is one of his classic muscle-and-definition methods. Every exercise runs the same four-set wave: a lighter primer, two heavier sets, then a high-rep burnout.

The scheme is named after the reps. Set 1 is 10 reps at 50% of your 6-rep max, Set 2 is 8 reps at 75%, Set 3 is 6 reps at your full 6RM, and Set 4 is 15 reps at 35%. Slow, strict tempo and short rest do the rest.

We built a calculator so you enter your 6-rep max for each exercise once and all four working sets fill in for you.

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Simple & Sinister Kettlebell Program Spreadsheet (Pavel)

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Simple & Sinister is Pavel Tsatsouline’s minimalist kettlebell program, and it might be the most popular kettlebell routine ever written. Two movements, about 15 to 20 minutes, done most days of the week. It builds real strength, a bulletproof back, and serious work capacity.

The session never changes: 100 one-arm swings and 10 Turkish get-ups, both done by the clock. You run it as an ongoing practice and chase two goals, called Simple and then Sinister, by slowly moving up in kettlebell size.

We built a session log plus a standards table so you can track your weights and your times and see exactly when you’ve earned the next bell.

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Dan John 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout Spreadsheet

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The 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Workout is Dan John’s famous 4-5 week challenge. You do 10,000 kettlebell swings split across 20 workouts, which works out to 500 swings a session. It’s brutally simple, and it’s one of the best ways to lean out and build work capacity without losing strength.

Each workout is 500 two-hand swings done as 5 rounds of 10, 15, 25, and 50 reps. Between the swing sets you do one strength exercise on a short rep ladder, so you build a little pressing or pulling strength while you grind out the swings.

We built a tracker that does the counting for you. Log each workout and the sheet keeps your running total, so you always know how many swings you have left to hit 10,000.

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12 Week Intermediate Strongman Program Spreadsheet (Big Loz)

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Once you have a base of strongman training, you need a plan that pushes your main lifts hard while still building your events. This free 12 week intermediate strongman program comes straight from Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei, a 10x World’s Strongest Man competitor, published through Cerberus Strength.

You train 4 days a week across three 4-week blocks. The deadlift, strict press, safety bar squat, and push press all run on percentages that wave up to heavy singles, and the program peaks in weeks 11 and 12 with a PB attempt on deadlift and push press. Accessories, carries, and events round out each day.

We built the whole thing into an interactive spreadsheet. Enter your four main maxes once and every working weight prints out as “weight x reps” for all 12 weeks. Accessories and events have green cells you fill in as you train.

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8 Week Beginner Strongman Program Spreadsheet (Cerberus)

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Strongman is one of the most fun ways to get strong, but most beginner plans either skip the events or assume you already own a full strongman gym. This one does neither. It’s a free 8 week beginner strongman program from Cerberus Strength, the brand built around 10x World’s Strongest Man competitor Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei.

You train 3 days a week. Two gym days build your press, pull, and squat, and the third day is events, where you pick a couple of strongman movements and learn to handle them. The main lifts run on percentages of your one-rep max, so the weight climbs in a planned way across the 8 weeks.

We turned the free PDF into an interactive spreadsheet. Enter your maxes once and every working weight for all 8 weeks fills in for you, so you can skip the math and just lift.

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Alex Bromley SIMPLEST Beginner Program Spreadsheet

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The SIMPLEST Beginner Program is a free, no-nonsense starting routine from Alex Bromley (Empire Barbell). It is a linear progression built on the big barbell lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, press, and the barbell row) plus a little direct arm work. You get stronger by adding a small amount of weight nearly every session, which is exactly what works best when you are new.

What makes it simple is the structure: just two progressions to learn and three easy stages to grow through. It keeps you focused on the lifts that actually drive progress instead of drowning you in options.

If you have already run a beginner program and stalled, you may be ready to graduate. Compare it with Starting Strength, StrongLifts 5×5, and GreySkull LP to see which fits you best.

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100 lbs in 10 Weeks Squat Program Spreadsheet (Alex Bromley)

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The 100 lbs in 10 Weeks program is a free squat specialization routine from Alex Bromley (Empire Barbell). It is built around a hard-charging squat and push focus, with a percentage-based intensity wave that ramps from higher-volume work up to a peak single, all while building the muscle that supports a bigger lift.

It runs four days a week as a five-week wave. You run that wave, take a light week to recover and re-test, then run it again with your new numbers. That second pass is where the squat really climbs, which is how a patient lifter chases the namesake 100 pounds over the full ten weeks.

This one is for late-beginner and intermediate lifters who already squat with solid technique and want a focused block. If you are newer than that, start with a linear progression like Starting Strength or GreySkull LP first.

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AlphaDestiny Novice-Intermediate Hybrid Program Spreadsheet

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The AlphaDestiny Novice/Intermediate Hybrid Program is a free routine from Alex Leonidas (AlphaDestiny) for lifters caught in the middle: intermediate on some lifts but still novice on others. It bridges the gap between his beginner novice program and a full intermediate program like the Texas Method.

It runs three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) as an A/B/C week, and comes in two versions depending on where you’re ahead. Your stronger lifts progress weekly, your weaker lifts keep progressing every session like a novice.

This is the natural next step once your linear progress stalls on one end. If you’re earlier than that and want a simple beginner template, our GZCLP program is a good starting point.

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Caroline Girvan EPIC I & II Program Spreadsheet

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EPIC is a pair of free 10-week, 5-day-a-week follow-along programs from Caroline Girvan: EPIC I and EPIC II. Every workout is a free video on her YouTube channel, built around dumbbells and bodyweight.

The sessions are timer-based rather than rep-based. Most exercises run 30 seconds of work then 30 seconds of rest, so you push at your own pace with good form for 30 to 60 minutes a session.

EPIC is aimed at intermediate to advanced trainees who are comfortable with squats, lunges, planks, push ups, dumbbells, and HIIT. If you want a more traditional gym hypertrophy plan instead, take a look at our HST program.

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AlphaDestiny Novice Program Spreadsheet

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The AlphaDestiny Novice Program is a free full-body routine from Alex Leonidas (AlphaDestiny) built to add the most muscle and strength possible in your first year of lifting. It runs two workouts, A and B, three days a week.

You alternate the workouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and add weight to the bar almost every session. The big lifts use a flexible 3-or-5 set scheme, so you can scale the volume to how well you recover.

It’s aimed at true beginners who can train the main barbell lifts with decent form. If you’d rather have a more guided linear-progression template, our GZCLP beginner program is a good alternative.

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GZCL P-Zero (GZCL 2.0) Spreadsheet

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GZCL P-Zero is the flexible, do-it-your-way framework from Cody Lefever, the coach behind the whole GZCL family. It keeps the GZCL pyramid of three tiers but drops the rigid week-by-week layout, so you can run it full-body or on any split you like.

Instead of fixed weeks, P-Zero moves through three stages. Each tier gets heavier and drops reps as you advance, and you move up a stage when your top set stops improving. It is autoregulated, which makes it run as long as you keep progressing.

If you are newer to the system, start with our GZCLP beginner program or browse the full GZCL method spreadsheets for the other templates.

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Dan John Mass Made Simple Spreadsheet

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Mass Made Simple is a focused 6-week mass program from Dan John. You run a one-week break-in, then five weeks of three rotating workouts, training three days a week.

There are only seven or eight movements in the whole program, and the back squat does the heavy lifting. The sets of 10 climb toward your bodyweight and past it as the weeks go on, which is where the size comes from.

It is a great fit if you want a short, no-nonsense block to add weight and you are willing to eat. If you would rather have a longer, more varied hypertrophy plan, our 7 Week Hypertrophy Program is worth a look.

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Doggcrapp (DC) Training Spreadsheet

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Doggcrapp (DC) training is a high-intensity, low-volume system from Dante Trudel. You hit each body part with one brutal rest-pause set, rotate your exercises, and try to add weight to the bar every single session.

It is built around short, hard workouts and a blast-and-cruise structure, so you push all-out for a stretch and then back off to recover. Trudel shared the whole thing for free on the IntenseMuscle forums years ago, and it built a cult following for good reason.

This one is for intermediate and advanced lifters with solid technique, not beginners. The intensity only pays off if your form holds up when you are deep into a set. If you want a more measured hypertrophy approach, our HST program is a gentler option.

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Super Squats Program Spreadsheet (20-Rep Squats)

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Super Squats is a 6-week, full-body program built around one savage set of 20-rep breathing squats. It comes from Randall Strossen’s classic book of the same name, and lifters have used it to add serious size for decades.

The idea is simple and a little scary. You load your 10-rep max, then squat it for 20 reps, sucking in big breaths between the hard ones near the end. You do that three days a week, add 5 lb every session, and eat like you mean it.

It works best if you can already squat with solid form and you want fast size more than a polished physique. If you want a gentler place to start, our 7 Week Hypertrophy Program is an easier on-ramp.

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Stronger By Science (SBS) Program Bundle by Greg Nuckols

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The Stronger By Science (SBS) Program Bundle is a collection of six autoregulated training programs from Greg Nuckols. It’s free with an email signup on the Stronger By Science website, and it comes as a Google Sheets workbook.

The bundle covers six 21-week programs across different goals and experience levels. There’s also a standalone Program Builder that lets you customize almost everything. Getting autoregulation and periodization wired together like this is rare for a free resource.

There’s a catch worth knowing before you start. The spreadsheet automates so much of the programming that there’s a real learning curve. Spend 20-30 minutes with the included PDF instructions before your first session, and don’t skip that step.

If you’re already familiar with Greg Nuckols’ work, you might know his popular 28 Programs (also available here on Lift Vault). The SBS Program Bundle is a more recent and more sophisticated set of programs. Think of the 28 Programs as individual single-lift routines you mix and match yourself. The SBS Bundle is a full training system with built-in autoregulation and multi-lift programming already wired together.

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Alberto Nunez Upper Lower Program Spreadsheet

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Alberto Nunez’s Upper Lower Program is a free 15-week hypertrophy program built around a 4-day upper/lower split. It’s designed by the head bodybuilding coach at 3D Muscle Journey (3DMJ) and 2022 WNBF Mr. Universe winner. The program comes in 4 variants – arms & delts dominant, torso dominant, quad dominant, and glute-ham dominant – so you can pick the one that matches your weakest body parts. Each variant still trains your full body twice per week. You just get extra volume where you need it most.

What I like about this program is how simple the progression system is. You pick a weight, work your way up through the rep range, then add load. No percentages, no math. RPE targets keep the intensity honest without overcomplicating things.

It’s a solid pick for beginners and intermediates who want a structured hypertrophy plan without a steep learning curve. One caveat: if you’re an advanced lifter already doing 5+ days per week of high-volume training, this might feel like a step back in total weekly volume. It’s intentionally moderate, landing around 14-18 sets per muscle group per week, lower than a program like PHAT or a typical John Meadows setup. All credit goes to Alberto Nunez and 3D Muscle Journey for making this available for free.

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Askold Surovetsky 16-Week Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet

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Askold Surovetsky’s 16-week powerlifting program is a percentage-based system that programs squat, deadlift, and bench press across 8 microcycles. It was designed by Surovetsky – an Honorary Coach of Russia, CMS in powerlifting, and European Powerlifting champion – and has been tested over 3 years with lifters at different levels. The program runs 3 days per week. Squat-focused and deadlift-focused weeks alternate, and bench press is trained every session using one of two bench systems.

What I like about this program is how structured and self-contained it is. You plug in your maxes, and every set, rep, and percentage is laid out for you across all 16 weeks. No guesswork. Intensities ramp from about 74% up to 88% on working sets, with max-out sessions built into weeks 7 and 8. It’s a style of programming you’ll see in other popular Russian systems like Sheiko, but the structure here is more rigid and less customizable.

One thing to know going in: this program doesn’t include any accessory work. It programs only the three competition lifts, and bench is trained at all three weekly sessions, so pressing volume is already high. If you’re someone who needs a lot of variety or accessory volume, this might feel limited. But if you want a focused, no-nonsense peaking program for the big three, it does the job well.

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