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
Released in 2016 by Jonnie Candito, this is a 9 week advanced squat program. Similar to his advanced deadlift program and advanced bench press program, this emphasizes progression on the squat and places significantly less emphasis on the bench and deadlift. This is geared toward lifters that have plateaued on their squat or are looking to focus on it for other reasons. [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 honest, 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
Update: KG and LB rounding now supported.
Developed by Fred Hatfield (aka Dr. Squat), this 9 week peaking program is based on two workouts per week: one heavy, one light.
It can be run for a specific lift or all three lifts.
The 1RM increase is 10%, making it an ambitious peaking program, although it does allow for a deload period half way through the program for recovery. [Read more…]