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The 7 Best Hypertrophy Programs

  1. 12 Week Maximum Hypertrophy Routine (Kizen)
  2. PHUL Workout Routine
  3. PHAT Workout Routine
  4. Mike Israetel Hypertrophy Workout Routine
  5. Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) Routine
  6. Brogains 10 Week Powerbuilding Program
  7. Metallicadpa 6 Day PPL (aka Reddit PPL)

These workout programs have hypertrophy as one of their primary training goals.

The full list of hypertrophy programs is available below.

What is hypertrophy?

Hypertrophy is the enlargement of tissue (like muscle) from the growth of its component cells. In the context of lifting weights, hypertrophy is a fancy way of saying getting bigger, jacked, yoked, or whatever your favorite slang term for muscular is.

Are hypertrophy programs just for bodybuilders?

Hypertrophy is not just for bodybuilders, though they certainly care about it too. Hypertrophy is an important part of training for any athlete that cares about getting stronger, including powerlifters and other strength training sports.

What causes hypertrophy?

In a very basic sense, muscular hypertrophy is caused by microtrauma to the muscle fibers, or tiny tears. Higher volume workouts tends to cause more microtrauma, leading to more growth in muscle size as the body overcompensates while repairing the torn muscles via protein synthesis.

Mountain Dog PPL Workout Spreadsheet (John Meadows)

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Mountain Dog PPL is a push, pull, legs program you run every other day. You rotate three sessions, train a day, rest a day, then move to the next workout, and you keep that cycle going for four to six weeks. Each session is built around one big lift plus pump and heavy waves and a finisher, so push day leads with decline dumbbell press and leg day opens with leg curls before the spider bar squats.

The program comes from the late John Meadows, the bodybuilding coach behind Mountain Dog Training, and Muscle & Strength published it for free. It carries his style: heavy triples and back-off work paired with brutal pump sets and sets taken to failure. Think of it as a bodybuilding take on push, pull, legs that runs by feel instead of percentages, which is why people who want size and a hard pump run it.

It’s a good fit for intermediate and advanced lifters who recover well, since you can push it to four or five days a week by dropping the rest days. Skip it if you want percentage-based strength work, because there are no percentages here. And if you can’t handle high-failure volume like double drop sets and dips to failure, this one will bury you.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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Dumbbell PPL Program (Push Pull Legs) from r/Fitness

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The Dumbbell PPL (Push Pull Legs) program from r/Fitness is a dumbbell-only hypertrophy routine created by Reddit user u/gregariousHermit. It’s built for lifters who train at home with limited equipment or travel frequently and get stuck in small hotel gyms.

You only need adjustable dumbbells, a bench, and a pull-up bar. The program runs as a 3-day or 6-day cycle, uses double progression (work up to 12 reps, then add weight), and covers all the major muscle groups across push, pull, and leg days.

I’d recommend this for beginners or early intermediates who genuinely don’t have access to a barbell setup. It’s a well-organized program with a clear progression scheme.

I’ll be honest: dumbbells alone won’t let you load heavy compound movements like squats and deadlifts the way a barbell will. If you have access to a barbell, you’re better off running the barbell Reddit PPL instead. But if dumbbells are what you’ve got, this is one of the better options out there.

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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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MASS IMPACT Program from Geoffrey Verity Schofield

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Program Overview

Welcome to Mass Impact, the ultimate training program for those who want to accelerate muscle growth while focusing on the most visually impactful muscle groups. This isn’t just another hypertrophy plan—it’s a roadmap to building an upper body so powerful it could double as body armor. With a targeted approach and advanced training techniques, Mass Impact ensures you’ll maximize every second in the gym.

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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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Tiger Shark 6 Week Bench Press Program

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Tiger Shark is a 6 week bench press program for intermediate and advanced level lifters. It was created by Nik D (@niklas.damb). As it only programs for the bench press, it is recommended that this is combined with a squat program and a deadlift program. [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…]

Lyle McDonald Generic Bulking Routine Spreadsheet

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Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine (GBR) is a 4-day upper/lower split built for intermediate lifters who want to gain size. You train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Each 6-8 week cycle ends with a 2-week deload, and Lyle targeted a weight gain of about 0.5 to 1 pound per week while running it. There are four spreadsheet variants below, from pure hypertrophy to strength focus.

The GBR originated on Lyle’s bodyrecomposition.com forum around 2008-2009. The core idea is moderate-volume compound and isolation work with built-in flexibility on set counts. You decide during each set whether to do the lower or upper end of the prescribed range based on how you feel. Lyle described this as intentional, not a gap in the program. The jcdfitness.com FAQ PDF is the best single reference for the full program details.

This program is for intermediate lifters who have moved past their beginner gains and want a structured split to build mass. You need to eat in a caloric surplus and be comfortable self-regulating volume. If you’re still new to lifting, a more prescriptive program like Starting Strength or the Ripped Body Intermediate Bodybuilding Program will serve you better before you tackle the GBR.

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12 Week Mass Building Hypertrophy Workout for Powerlifters (Mathias Method)

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This mass building workout focuses on stimulating muscular hypertrophy and developing raw strength. It is a 12 week powerlifting program built on 4 high volume training sessions per week and was developed by Ryan Mathias at Mathias Method. It is a peaking program that is designed to build your one rep max in the squat, bench press, and deadlift for meet day. [Read more…]