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.
Table of Contents
10-8-6-15 Workout Spreadsheet
Spreadsheet via Iron and Grit
On the Setup tab, enter your 6-rep max for each exercise and your rounding. The Upper Body and Lower Body tabs then calculate every set’s weight, so you just load the bar and follow the tempo.
How the Program Works
Run it as alternating days: 3 upper body days and 3 lower body days a week, upper one day and lower the next. If you need more recovery, 3 upper and 2 lower also works. Take about 2 seconds up, a 1-second squeeze, and 2 seconds down, and rest no more than 60 seconds between sets.
Upper body day
- Wide-Grip Bench Press to Neck (chest)
- 45-Degree Lat Pulldown with a pulley (lats)
- Barbell Upright Row (delts)
- Two-Dumbbell Tricep Pullover (triceps)
- Thumbs-Up Dumbbell Curl (biceps)
Lower body day
- Special Squat (3/4 Smith machine squat, quads)
- Alternate Calf Heel Raise (calves)
- Barbell 1/4 Roll-Up (abs)
FAQ
What does 100% mean in the scheme?
It’s your 6-rep max, the heaviest weight you can lift for 6 strict reps. Set 3 uses that exact weight, and the other sets are calculated off it.
How fast should I add weight?
When Set 3 starts to feel easy, bump that exercise’s 6RM on the Setup tab and the whole grid updates to match.
Is it really free?
Yes. Gironda’s 10-8-6-15 is well documented online, and our spreadsheet is free to copy with File then Make a Copy.
