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Bench Press 1 Day per Week

Below you'll find powerlifting and strength programs that include bench pressing 1 day per training week.

Some of these are bench press specialty programs, while others program for all lifts.

Search the Lift Vault Program Library for more program ideas.

Nick Bare 16-Week Hybrid Training Program Spreadsheet

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Nick Bare’s 16-week hybrid plan trains you to run and lift at the same time. Most days pair a morning run with an evening lifting session, so you end up with about five lifts and four runs a week, with Sunday off.

Bare Performance Nutrition put the whole thing out for free, one week at a time. We pulled all 16 weeks into a single spreadsheet so you can see the full plan and log it in one place.

It isn’t a beginner program. You should already be able to run five to seven miles easy and handle a barbell. If that’s you, it’s one of the most complete free hybrid plans you’ll find.

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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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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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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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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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KONG: Savage Size in 12 Weeks Program Spreadsheet

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KONG: Savage Size in 12 Weeks is a hypertrophy program created by Alex Bromley of Empire Barbell. It’s a 5-day bodybuilding split that runs 12 weeks across three 4-week blocks, hitting each body part twice per week. It first appeared in Bromley’s book of the same name.

If you’re familiar with Bromley’s other work, like his Bullmastiff strength program, you know he programs in clear blocks and doesn’t waste your time. KONG takes a different angle: where Bullmastiff is strength-focused, KONG is built purely for size. Block 1 puts isolation exercises first, so you hit lagging body parts when you’re freshest. That’s backwards from how most people train, and it works.

I’d recommend it for intermediate lifters coming off a strength block who want a dedicated hypertrophy phase. The time cost is real at 5 days a week and 75 minutes a session, and some lifters needed extra rest days beyond the two off days, so keep that in mind if your recovery is limited.

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Ben Pollack Free Powerbuilding Program Spreadsheet

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Ben Pollack’s free powerbuilding program is a 7-week training plan built for lifters who want to get both stronger and bigger but don’t have the recovery capacity (or schedule) for 5-6 days in the gym. It runs 3 days per week, alternating between push/pull/legs weeks and full body weeks. If you’ve got more bandwidth, you can also run it on a rolling 4-day schedule and finish in about 5 weeks.

The program comes from Ben Pollack (a.k.a. PHDeadlift), who held the all-time world record raw total of 2,039 lbs at 198 lbs and later earned his IFBB Pro card in bodybuilding. The guy has a PhD in the history of strength from the University of Texas, too. So yeah, he’s qualified.

What I like about this program is that it’s built for real-life constraints. A lot of “powerbuilding” programs are really just bodybuilding with squats and deadlifts bolted on. This one programs heavy competition-style lifts next to real hypertrophy work (myo-reps, AMRAP sets, brutal 20-rep high bar squats, dead-stop deadlifts), and the blend is well thought out.

The instructions on Ben’s Substack are dense. He writes out exercise-by-exercise coaching cues for every session, which is great for learning but a lot to parse on your first read. The spreadsheet handles tracking, but read the write-up first so the “why” behind each workout makes sense.

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Dr. Swole’s PPLUL (Push Pull Legs Upper Lower) Program Spreadsheet

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Dr. Swole’s PPLUL (Push Pull Legs Upper Lower) is a 5-day hypertrophy program designed by Bill Wong, a medical doctor and WNBF pro natural men’s physique competitor. It runs 8 weeks at about 60 minutes per session, built for lifters with at least 2 years of training under their belt – late beginners, intermediates, and advanced lifters who want to maximize muscle growth.

What I like about PPLUL is how it solves a real problem with both PPL and Upper/Lower splits. A standard PPL split tends to skew toward upper body volume, while a standard Upper/Lower split can lean lower body–heavy. PPLUL combines the two so you hit every muscle group at least twice per week without the volume imbalance.

One thing to note: the Upper day in this program leans push-heavy. Some users have noted there’s less back work on that day than you’d expect, so if back development is a priority for you, consider adding a rowing movement or extra set of chin-ups on Upper day. A few reviewers over 40 also mentioned needing extra rest days beyond the two built-in ones.

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70s Powerlifter Program Spreadsheet

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Alex Bromley’s 70s Powerlifter is an 18-week, 4-day per week strength program from his book Base Strength. It’s an upper/lower split built around one primary lift per session – bench, squat, overhead press, and deadlift – with two compound variations and bodybuilding accessories stacked on top.

The program draws heavy inspiration from the high-volume training style of 1970s powerlifters like Doug Young and Bill Kazmaier, who were known for piling on compound work and topping it off with plenty of bodybuilding movements. If you’ve already run Bromley’s Bullmastiff program, this is the natural next step from the same book. I’d recommend it for intermediate lifters who aren’t afraid of volume – and I mean real volume.

Sessions can run 90 minutes, and by week 3 of each wave you’re doing 5 working sets on your main lift plus 4 sets of two different variations. It’s a lot. But lifters who commit to it and pick conservative starting weights tend to put real weight on all four lifts. Fair warning, though: if you aren’t eating and sleeping enough to support this kind of workload, you’ll run into a wall fast.

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Mythical Mass 26 Week Bulking Program

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Mythical Mass is a 6 month-long combination of various strength programs used for building mass.

The programs included are:

  • 5/3/1 BBB Beefcake #1 (3 weeks)
  • 5/3/1 BBB Beefcake #2 (3 weeks + 1 week deload)
  • 5/3/1 Building the Monolith #1 (3 weeks)
  • 5/3/1 Building the Monolith #2 (3 weeks + 1 week deload)
  • Deep Water Beginner (6 weeks)
  • Deep Water Intermediate (6 weeks)

As you can see, the entire set of programming takes about 6 months to work through.

The goal? Get freaking huge.

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5/3/1 x 365 Program Spreadsheet

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This is a version of 5/3/1 that was posted on Reddit a few months ago. It’s noteworthy because it lays out enough 3 week cycles to be run for about a year straight.

If you’re looking for a straightforward, no-frills strength program that lets you just put your head down and get to work, then this is something I think you’ll like.

It’s also pretty flexible and allows the lifter to choose their own accessories and supplemental lifts.

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Glenn Pendlay Beginner Olympic Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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This is an Olympic weightlifting program outline for beginners. It was originally published by Glenn Pendlay in 2010 on his blog, which is now defunct. The article and program template have been reproduced here for archival purposes.

I also have created an accompanying spreadsheet that can be used to follow along with the program.

Program Overview

  • This program is for beginner Olympic weightlifters only.
    • The progression will be too rapid for more developed lifters to continually make progress.
  • The program consists of week A and week B training cycles, which can be repeated as long as the lifter is making progress.
  • Each training week is comprised of three training sessions.
  • These training sessions can be organized however you’d like, as long as recovery is adequate. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is one logical sequence.
    • Other variations would likely work too. The most important question is if you feel recovered heading into each training session and are able to continually add weight on the bar. The answer to both should be “yes.” If not, sleep and nutrition should be assessed. Else, if the athlete has been running the program for several months, they may have exhausted this rapid linear progression and should move to another program with slower progression.
  • Each training session consists of a snatching exercise, a clean & jerk exercise, a squatting movement, and at least one “complex.”
    • A complex is several exercises performed sequentially, in a circuit, with minimal rest in between exercises.
    • Complexes can include plyometric exercises like box jumps or long jumps, ab exercises, lower back exercises (e.g. reverse hyperextensions, back extensions, planks), and conditioning work like high rep kettlebell snatches or swings. Prehab work like shoulder dislocations or band pull-aparts can work too.
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Takano 12 Week Olympic Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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This is a 12 week Olympic weightlifting program with 3 to 6 training days per week, depending upon your classification. It can be used by beginner, intermediate, and advanced weightlifters, as it provides programming for multiple lifter classifications.

This program can be used in preparation for a weightlifting competition.

The program has seemingly been attributed to Bob Takano, though I have no idea if he had anything to do with it or not. You can find the best of Takano’s thinking in his book: Weightlifting Programming: A Winning Coach’s Guide.

Program Overview

Here’s a quick breakdown of the program. You’ll find more detail in the spreadsheet and the notes below.

  • 12 week program
  • 3 to 6 training days per week
  • Appropriate for the following classifications: CIII, CII, CI, CMS
  • Main exercise movements
    • Hang Power Snatch
    • Behind the Neck Push Press (BTNPP)
    • Hang Power Clean
    • Back Squat
    • Snatch Deadlift
    • Press
  • Frequency for snatches, cleans, and jerks varies from 2-6 times per week, depending upon the lifter’s classification
  • Accessory movements are also included

It is important to note that weight, sets, and reps are denoted like this: (weight/reps) x sets.

For example, (100/4)x3 means to lift 100 kg for 3 sets of 4 reps. (Or 100 lbs – the units do not matter).

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PRIME 4 Week Powerbuilding Program Spreadsheet

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Prime Powerbuilding Program

The PRIME powerbuilding program is a 4 week training routine designed to increase the one rep max of the squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press and build muscle mass. It is similar to 5/3/1 in that it follows a 4 week cycle and focuses on one compound lift per training session.

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Simple Jack’d v1.0 + v2.0 Strength Training Program Spreadsheet

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May 2020 Update: Added Simple Jack’d 2x spreadsheet. You should probably run v2.0, as the creator of the program considers it superior to v1.0.

Simple Jack’d is a modified blend of the Bulgarian Method and the Smolov base cycle. It’s essentially a flexible one week volume accumulation block that can be run indefinitely for powerlifting and general strength goals.

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Heavy, Light, Medium (HLM) Program Spreadsheet

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Heavy, Light, Medium (HLM) programs are a simple and effective way to organize strength training. Each training session consists of either a heavy, medium, or light load for a given lift. The HLM training style is extremely flexible and can be used to accommodate many training goals.

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Atlas Rising Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet

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Atlas Rising is an advanced 7 week powerlifting program with 3 training days per week. It is formed from a combination of the Russian Squat Routine for squats, MagOrt for deadlifts, and Hepburn Method A for bench press and overhead press. I would expect this program to improve the squat and deadlift, but not the bench press or overhead press, which simply would be maintained.

This “frankenprogram” was created by /u/PaulTheMediocre, who used it to achieve the following results: [Read more…]

German Volume Training Routine Spreadsheet (GVT)

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German Volume Training (GVT) is a hypertrophy program designed by Charles Poliquin to shock the muscles with a significant increase in volume through 10×10 sets. It is designed to be run for a relatively short period of time, about 4 weeks, and is comprised of three different workouts run five days per week. This is all explained in more detail below. [Read more…]

Shortcut to SIZE Reviews

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Shortcut to Size is a 4 day body part split program by Jim Stoppani (who also created Shortcut to Shred). It is best suited for athletes with aesthetic or hypertrophy goals. It is a 12 week bodybuilding program broken down into three 4 week phases. [Read more…]

Shortcut to Shred Reviews

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Here are reviews of Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to Shred strength building and weight loss program from people that have run the program. Overall, Shortcut to Shred reviews are positive and show that the program can be effective for building muscle and leaning out. [Read more…]