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Latest Workout Program Spreadsheets

These are the most recently added workout program spreadsheets on Lift Vault.

TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program (v1.0 + v2.0)

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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)

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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…]

Benching the Monolith Program Spreadsheet

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Benching the Monolith is a version of Jim Wendler’s Building the Monolith program that focuses on, you guessed it, the bench press. [Read more…]

10 Most Popular Powerlifting Programs of 2018

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2018 was a busy year for Lift Vault!

If you’re looking for a new powerlifting program to try out, give one of these a try! There’s something for everyone: high volume, peaking, off-season, daily undulating periodization, and more.

[Read more…]

Brian Alsruhe Programs (Dark Horse + 4 Horsemen)

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Below you fill find two programs by Brian Alsruhe (check out his YouTube channel and website): Dark Horse and 4 Horsemen.

Dark Horse Program Overview

Notes directly from Brian:

  • Fill in your competition lifts and 1RMs in the spreadsheet
  • In each wave, for each of the first 4 days, set your conditioning workout
  • Pick a variation for each ME Wave
  • In each wave, for each of the first 4 days, set your antagonistic, core, and conditioning giant set exercise

[Read more…]

GZCL Jacked and Tactical (Bench + Squat Only)

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This is a variation of Tactical Barbell programming combined with the GZCL program framework. It only programs the bench press and squat movements. Deadlifts are not included. This is ideal for athletes that are either unable to deadlift or looking to focus primarily on improving their bench press and squat. [Read more…]

MEGAZORD Hybrid Program Spreadsheet

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If you’re a fan of Frankenstein-esque hybrid programs, then Megazord may be exactly what you’re looking for. Written (or maybe concocted is a better word…) by /u/BenchPauper on Reddit, this program combines the Coan/Phillipi Deadlift Program, Greg Nuckols’s 2x weekly Intermediate Bench Program for OHP from his 28 Program Collection, and Ben Gillingham’s Raw Bench Program.

The results? Well, see for yourself…. [Read more…]

12 Week Peaking Program by Cast Iron Strength

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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

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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 run 4 sessions per week, hitting the squat and deadlift 3 times per week and the bench 4 times (counting competition lifts and variations). Load is programmed with a mix of 1RM percentages and RPE, and both include a taper week if you’re peaking for a meet.

The two are quite similar. The main difference is that the 16 week program has a fuller progression of each lift, whereas the 8 week program is more of a training snapshot. These suit intermediate lifters who are comfortable working with RPE. For another proven free meet prep option, check out the TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program.

[Read more…]

Candito 6 Week + Advanced Bench Press Hybrid Program

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The Candito 6 Week Advanced Bench Press Hybrid is a free 6-week bench specialization program by Jonnie Candito. It combines his Candito 6 Week Strength Program as the base for squat and deadlift work, then replaces the bench press entirely with his Advanced Bench Press Program. You’ll train 4 to 5 days per week over 6 weeks, with bench frequency ranging from 5 sessions per week in the early high-fatigue phase down to 2 per week in the volume block. Loading is driven by % of 1RM with an RPE column throughout.

The structure follows Candito’s Advanced Bench framework: weeks 1 to 3 are a maximum-fatigue block with high bench frequency and volume, week 4 drops frequency and adds specificity, week 5 hits a high-intensity peak set, and week 6 is the max-out. Squat and deadlift follow the standard 6-week progression alongside the bench work. The sheet also includes a Candito-prescribed deload week and a taper week sourced from Calgary Barbell’s structure (labeled as such, not Candito’s work).

This program is for advanced lifters who want to prioritize bench press while keeping squat and deadlift moving. You need to know your current 1RM for all three lifts and be familiar with RPE before you start. It’s not a beginner program. If you haven’t run the base Candito 6 Week Strength Program yet, start there first.

[Read more…]

5 Blaine Sumner Program Spreadsheets

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This is the free program spreadsheet collection offered on Blaine Sumner’s site.

It contains:

  • linear progression program
  • high frequency program
  • off-season program
  • equipped lifting program
  • bench-only program

All of the above programs are 12 weeks in length and are programmed off of percentages of the lifter’s training max. [Read more…]

PHATburn Powerbuilding Program Spreadsheet

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Established by Doug Hepburn as a powerbuilding routine that blends the heavy weight work of powerlifting training with the hypertrophy-inducing volume of bodybuilding training, PHATburn is a challenging program for advanced athletes. If you’re looking to introduce more volume into your off-season training, this may be what you’re looking for. [Read more…]

GZCL / Mag-Ort / Deathbench Hybrid Spreadsheet

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Combining GZCL for squats, Mag-Ort for deadlift, and Deathbench for bench press, this hybrid program became popularized on Reddit by /u/truthlesshunter. [Read more…]

Building the Monolith Program Spreadsheet (kg + lb)

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Building the Monolith is a 6-week strength and size program from Jim Wendler, the creator of 5/3/1. You train 3 days a week, and every session pairs a heavy lower body lift with a press and a pull. Loads run off a training max set at 85% of your true 1RM, which keeps the high-rep work like 5×5 squats and 10×5 pressing hard but doable.

It’s a brute-force plateau breaker. Standard 5/3/1 runs slow monthly waves; Building the Monolith front-loads a huge amount of squatting and pressing over six hard weeks to pack on muscle and work capacity fast. You can see its DNA in later high-volume templates like GZCL and nSuns. Wendler wrote it for lifters who had stalled and wanted a short, punishing block to shake things loose.

This one’s built for advanced lifters trying to break a plateau. You need a solid strength base and the recovery to handle the volume while eating and sleeping to match. If you’re a novice or still adding weight every week on a linear program, you’ll get more out of standard 5/3/1 for now. For a bench-focused take on the same idea, check out Benching the Monolith.

[Read more…]

The Bridge by Barbell Medicine Program Spreadsheet

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The Bridge is an 8 week strength program from Jordan Feigenbaum and Austin Baraki at Barbell Medicine. You train 3 days a week on the competition lifts plus close variations, and the whole thing runs on RPE rather than percentages of your 1RM.

The name describes the job. It’s built for lifters finishing a novice linear progression like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5×5, where adding weight every session has stopped working and the next step is a program that varies intensity across the week.

Sessions run 70 to 90 minutes, which is longer than most novice programs and worth knowing before you start. Learning to rate RPE accurately is the other adjustment, and it takes a few weeks. The review section below includes a well-known critique of whether this is the right first step straight off a novice LP.

[Read more…]

Kizen Infinite Off Season Program Spreadsheet

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The Infinite Off Season program from Kizen Training is a 5-week powerlifting off-season block you can run over and over. You train 4 days a week, one main lift per day (squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press), and every main-lift session is a few straight sets of 5 plus one AMRAP top set. Squat, bench, and deadlift each get a second, lighter variation day, so the big three are trained twice a week.

It’s built around submaximal work and autoregulation. You start at 70% of your 1RM and climb to 80% over the five weeks, and the AMRAP set on each main lift decides what happens next: hit 8 or more reps and next week goes up 2.5%, 5 to 7 reps holds the weight, 4 or fewer drops it 2.5%. The goal is to add strength and work capacity between meets without grinding at true maxes.

It’s aimed at intermediate powerlifters who want a low-stress block between competition cycles. The percentages stay light on purpose, so stronger lifters may find the early weeks almost too easy (one reviewer routinely hit 15 or more reps on the first AMRAP sets). If you want heavier top-end work, look at the Kizen Powerbuilding preview or a dedicated peaking program instead. Infinite Off Season is deliberately a base-building block.

[Read more…]

Candito 10 or 14 Week Advanced Deadlift Program Spreadsheet

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Released in February 2018, this deadlift specific program is the latest in a long line of excellent powerlifting programs from Jonnie Candito.

This is an advanced deadlift program and should not be used by novice lifters. For the novice and intermediate lifter, check out Candito’s 6 Week Program or Linear Strength Programs.

The advanced deadlift program is structured as follows: [Read more…]

Hatch Squat Program Spreadsheet

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The Hatch Squat Program is a 12-week squat block from weightlifting coach Gayle Hatch. You train the squat twice a week, and every session pairs front squats with back squats. Each lift runs a descending-pyramid percentage scheme that climbs week over week, building to a 103% of 1RM attempt in week 11.

It’s a high-frequency, high-volume way to peak the squat. Hatch keeps front and back squats at roughly a 1:1 rep ratio, which is why it leans toward weightlifters who need both lifts strong rather than powerlifters who only compete the back squat. The percentages do the work for you: you start moderate, grind through heavy mid-cycle weeks, then ramp into that above-bodyweight attempt at the end.

This one is built for intermediate and advanced lifters trying to break a squat plateau, and it fits weightlifters best because of the front squat volume. Powerlifters can still run it in the off-season to add squat strength. If you’re newer to lifting, you’ll get more out of a simpler linear program like Starting Strength or GZCLP before taking on this much squat volume.

[Read more…]

USSR Yearbook Squat Routines 1974 and 1976 Spreadsheets

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The original strains of what became the Russian Squat Routine, the 1974 and 1976 USSR “Yearbook” routines are very specific and should only be used when preparing the squat for competition. These are not general, off-season programs to be run repeatedly.

Differences:

  • 1974 is a 3 week program, 1976 is a 6 week program
  • Both are high itensity; but 1976 stays at or above 80% of 1RM for all 6 weeks of the program
    • 1974 dips into the 60% range on the lighter workout days, but stays at or above 75% the rest of the sessions
  • 1974 works primarily with 3-5 rep ranges, 1976 works with significantly more sets of 2 reps, likely as a result of the higher intensity
  • 1974 comes with two 3 week flavors that can be run sequentially (flavor 1, then flavor 2), repeatedly (flavor 1 or 2, then repeat for the next 3 weeks) to achieve the 6 week cycle

[Read more…]