Bench Press 4 Days per Week - Powerlifting Programs

These are bench press programs that call for the athlete to bench 4 days per week.

To search through all programs based on lots of different criteria, check out the Lift Vault Program Library.

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

By Kyle Risley
Last updated May 7, 2021

Experience level: Advanced, Intermediate
Weeks: Indefinite
Periodization: Linear Periodization, Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: No
Program goal: High Volume, Strength
Uses RPE: No
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

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.

[Read more…]

Connor Lutz 7 Week Beginner + Intermediate Powerlifting Programs

By Kyle Risley
Last updated May 18, 2020

Recommended by Lift Vault: Recommended
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate
Weeks: 7
Periodization: Linear Periodization, Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: Yes
Program goal: Peaking, Powerlifting
Uses RPE: No
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

Connor Lutz is a powerlifting competitor and coach at Calgary Barbell. These are a few different powerlifting programs he shared several years back. There are three powerlifting programs in total: a beginner program, an updated intermediate program, and an old intermediate program. [Read more…]

Empire Barbell High Frequency Bench Press Program Spreadsheet

By Kyle Risley
Last updated May 14, 2020

Experience level: Advanced
Weeks: 5
Periodization: Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: Yes
Program goal: Powerlifting
Uses RPE: No
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

This is a high frequency, up to 5 training days per week, daily undulating bench press program shared by Empire Barbell. It is a peaking program for the bench press that aims for the athlete to achieve a new one rep max in 5 weeks. [Read more…]

Tactical Barbell Program Templates (Operator, Zulu, Mass, and More)

By Kyle Risley
Last updated April 11, 2022

Experience level: Intermediate
Weeks: 12, 6
Periodization: Linear Periodization
Meet prep program: No

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

This is a collection of templates for the Tactical Barbell program. Included are the operator, zulu, fighter, gladiator, mass, and grey man programs – all in the same spreadsheet.

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Alan Thrall Program Spreadsheet – Untamed Method

By Kyle Risley
Last updated April 18, 2020

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate
Weeks: 13
Periodization: Block Periodization
Meet prep program: No
Program goal: Powerlifting, Strength

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

This is a 13 week program created by Barbell Medicine for Alan Thrall of Untamed Strength. Below you will find a video overview of the program, which is very important for understanding how the program works. [Read more…]

Brazos Valley Barbell 8 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program

By Kyle Risley
Last updated April 18, 2020

Recommended by Lift Vault: Recommended
Experience level: Intermediate
Weeks: 8
Periodization: Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: No
Program goal: Powerlifting, Strength
Uses RPE: Yes
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

Brazos Valley Barbell Intermediate Powerlifting Program Overview

Written by David Woolson with Brazos Valley Barbell
8 week powerlifting program
1 deload week
5 days per week
3x weekly squat
3-4x weekly bench press (if counting bench variations like CGBP)
2x weekly deadlift

Long program description and video overview are available below. [Read more…]

RTS General Intermediate Program Spreadsheet – Mike Tuchscherer

By Kyle Risley
Last updated April 18, 2020

Experience level: Intermediate
Weeks: 9
Periodization: Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: No
Program goal: Powerlifting
Uses RPE: Yes
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

Reactive Training Systems (RTS) train some of the strongest powerlifters on the planet, so when Mike Tuchscherer published a general outline for a training program people took notice. [Read more…]

3 Peaking Template Spreadsheets by Barbell Medicine

By Kyle Risley
Last updated April 18, 2020

Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate
Weeks: 3
Periodization: Linear Periodization
Meet prep program: Yes
Program goal: Peaking, Powerlifting
Uses RPE: Yes
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

Following up on the popular Bridge Program, the crew at Barbell Medicine introduced a free peaking program for athletes preparing for a powerlifting or strengthlifting meet. [Read more…]

12 Week Peaking Program by Cast Iron Strength

By Kyle Risley
Last updated April 18, 2020

Recommended by Lift Vault: Recommended
Experience level: Intermediate
Weeks: 12
Periodization: Block Periodization
Meet prep program: Yes
Program goal: Peaking, Powerlifting
Uses RPE: No
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

This program, billed “the best fucking 12 weeks of powerlifting you’ll have all year” is a powerlifting peaking program best suited for meet preparation. This is not designed for running back to back, as it accumulates a significant amount of fatigue throughout the duration of the program. [Read more…]

Calgary Barbell 16 Week + 8 Week Program Spreadsheets

By Kyle Risley
Last updated May 4, 2023

Recommended by Lift Vault: Recommended
Experience level: Intermediate
Weeks: 16, 8
Periodization: Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: Yes
Program goal: Peaking, Powerlifting, Strength
Uses RPE: Yes
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

Written by Calgary Barbell, the 16 week and 8 week programs are designed to improve the squat, bench press, and deadlift of the athlete in preparation for a powerlifting meet. You can, however, run them even if you’re not prepping for a meet. Both programs are quite similar, with the primary difference between the two being that the 16 week program has a more full progression of each lift, whereas the 8 week program is more a training snapshot.

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GZCL Method Spreadsheets: General Gainz, UHF, Jacked and Tan 2.0, The Rippler & More [Complete]

By Kyle Risley
Last updated May 15, 2021

Recommended by Lift Vault: Recommended
Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate
Weeks: 11, 12, 13, 15, 5
Periodization: Linear Periodization, Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: Yes
Program goal: Powerlifting, Strength
Uses RPE: Yes
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

Updates:

May 18, 2020
- Added a section for “Key GZCL Concepts & Program Differences” which is a great overview of the different GZCL program options.
I removed the spreadsheet previews for most of the spreadsheets because of negative impact to page load speed, especially for mobile users. All of the spreadsheets are still there, you will just need to click on the Google Sheets link with the green icon.
In depth post on GZCLP programs added to new post

Bred from the popular Reddit user /u/gzcl (also check out his blog and personal subreddit), these easy to use spreadsheets and calculators are based on the general “GZCL Method” for powerlifting.

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Smolov Program and Smolov Jr Bench and Squat Program Spreadsheets

By Kyle Risley
Last updated August 4, 2023

Experience level: Advanced
Weeks: 13, 3
Periodization: Block Periodization, Undulating Periodization
Meet prep program: Yes
Program goal: High Volume, Peaking
Uses RPE: No
Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes

As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

Ah, yes. The infamous Smolov program for squats and Smolov Jr for squat and/or bench press. If you’re willing to build these lifts at any cost (e.g. a record attempt) then this might be the ticket!

[Read more…]