This is a twice per week, 9 week conjugate strength program that only programs for the squat and deadlift. It was put out by Nick Spataro and you can see his video overview of the program below. [Read more…]
9 Week Powerlifting Program Spreadsheets
Here is a filtered list of powerlifting programs that last for 9 weeks.
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Lift Specific 9 Week Programs
Extended Russian Power Routine Spreadsheet
The Extended Russian Power Routine is a 9 week peaking program that runs 3 days a week on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. Each week you train squat and bench press twice and deadlift once. One lift is light and one is heavy on each pressing day: light squat with heavy bench on Monday, heavy deadlift on Wednesday, then heavy squat with light bench on Friday.
It’s an extended version of the Russian Squat Routine, worked up to peak all three competition lifts. The base routine runs 6 weeks and focuses on one lift; stretching it to 9 weeks gives you room to recover while squatting, benching, and deadlifting heavy in the same week. The first 4 weeks build volume at 80%, then the reps drop and the weight climbs each week up to 105% by week 9.
This one’s for experienced lifters who already have a base and want to peak for a meet. Running squat, bench, and deadlift all at high intensity in the same week is demanding on recovery, so it’s a lot to ask of a newer lifter. If that’s you, start with the plain 6 week Russian Squat Routine and come back to this once you’ve run a few cycles.
[Read more…]TSA 9 Week Beginner Powerlifting Program
The Strength Athlete (TSA) released their 9 week beginner powerlifting program (aka general beginner approach) as a follow up to their successful 9 week intermediate powerlifting program. Like the intermediate program before it, the beginner program is structured as a 4 day, 9 week program, but also includes a 4 week peak if preparing for a meet.
[Read more…]RTS General Intermediate Program Spreadsheet – Mike Tuchscherer
The RTS General Intermediate Program is a free 9-week powerlifting program from Mike Tuchscherer and Reactive Training Systems (RTS), the coaches behind some of the strongest raw lifters in the sport. It runs four training days a week early on and drops to three days later in the cycle. Every session pairs a competition-style main lift with variations and accessories, and each lift is prescribed as a number of reps at a target RPE rather than a fixed percentage of your max.
The whole thing is autoregulated. Instead of grinding a fixed percentage on a bad day, you work up to a top set at the prescribed reps and RPE, then use RTS fatigue percents to add your working volume. You drop the bar by a set percentage and keep doing sets until the RPE climbs to target. It’s the same idea RTS built its reputation on, and it’s a different animal from a straight percentage block like GZCLP.
This is a loose template, not a polished beginner program. It’s built for intermediate lifters who already rate RPE well and understand fatigue percents. If you’re still learning to gauge RPE or you want something more scripted, run a percentage-based program first and come back to this one. For a similar 9-week RPE-driven peak that’s laid out a bit more cleanly, see the TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program.
[Read more…]Candito Advanced 9 Week Squat Program Spreadsheet
Jonnie Candito released this 9 week advanced squat program in 2016. Like his advanced deadlift program and advanced bench press program, it puts nearly all of its attention on one lift and holds the other two steady.
It is aimed at lifters who have plateaued on the squat specifically, or who have decided to prioritize it for a while. At 9 weeks it was the longest of his single lift programs when he released it, and the reasoning for that length is squat specific. His advanced deadlift program came later and runs longer still, at 10 or 14 weeks depending on the version you pick.
If you are still progressing on all three lifts at once, this is not the program to run. The Candito 6 Week Strength Program is the better fit in that case, since it trains all three.
[Read more…]TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program (v1.0 + v2.0)
The TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program is a free 9-week powerlifting peaking program from The Strength Athlete. It runs 4 days per week using a daily undulating periodization (DUP) structure, with squat and deadlift each trained twice a week and bench press trained three or four times depending on which version you run. The cycle ends with a test week (or mock meet) where you go for new maxes.
The program blends percentage-based loading with RPE-driven autoregulation. You load the main lifts off your 1RM, but RPE keeps the top sets in check, especially as the cycle peaks. The first four weeks build volume at moderate intensity, Week 5 is a deload, and Weeks 6-8 ramp intensity while volume drops. Week 9 is the test. There are two versions: v2.0 (the current recommended version) adds heavier top sets with higher-rep backoff work and more bench frequency; v1.0 is the original DUP template with a fixed percentage structure and a warmup tab included.
This program is built for intermediate powerlifters who already have a current 1RM for all three lifts and are comfortable with RPE. If you’re still new to the big three or don’t have a true 1RM to work from, start with the TSA 9 Week Beginner Powerlifting Program first. The intermediate program assumes you can recover from 4 days of training per week and is a strong choice if you’re peaking for a meet or a mock-meet test.
[Read more…]Brian Alsruhe 9 Week Powerbuilding Program (5/3/1 Variant)
Check out the spreadsheet for Brian Alsruhe’s 5/3/1 variant program, which is excellent for those looking for a powerbuilding training style.
Please watch Brian’s video to understand how the program works. [Read more…]
Classic 9 and 12 Week Powerlifting Peaking Program Spreadsheets
As old as time itself, these peaking programs can be run for squat, bench, and deadlift when preparing for a powerlifting meet. Both seek to improve your 1 rep max by 5% after the end of the cycle.
The differences between the 9 week and 12 week peaking cycles can be seen below: [Read more…]
Fred Hatfield (Dr. Squat) 9 Week Peaking Program Spreadsheet
Fred Hatfield, better known as Dr. Squat, built this 9 week peaking program around two sessions per week for a given lift: one heavy, one light. You can run it for a single lift or for all three. The program finishes with a single at 110% of the max you entered, which is where the 10% target comes from.
The A workout barely moves. It sits at 5 sets of 2 and creeps up by less than a percent a week, from 80% to 85% across the whole program. All the real work happens on the B workout, which climbs from 5 sets of 3 at 85% to a single at 110%.
This is a peaking block, not a training program. It assumes you already have a base and want to express it on a given date. If you are still adding weight session to session, a linear progression will serve you better than this.
[Read more…]