Lift Vault 2019 Awards: Most Popular Lifting Programs

Hey folks,

I wanted to quickly chime in and recap 2019 for you by identifying the most popular lifting programs on the site. While this is interesting in terms of trends, etc., this can effectively be considered a list of recommended programs if you’re unsure where to start.

If you’re a beginner and looking for a program, please skip to the filtered list for beginners at the bottom of this post.

Most Popular Programs

In 2019, these were the most downloaded programs across the entire site. Pretty amazing to see Jim Wendler’s influence here: his original programs, the nSuns spin off, and the GZCL mutation are all immensely popular. Also pretty incredible to see Calgary Barbell beating out big names like Boris Sheiko and Layne Norton.

If you’re looking for a new program to run, these are all worth checking out to see if they make sense for you.

1. Classic Wendler 5/3/1
   1. A tried and true strength training program. Runs in short (3/4 week) cycles, adding 5 pounds per cycle. Many, many people have gotten very strong using 5/3/1. It inspired nSuns and GZCL.
2. nSuns 5/3/1
   1. A high volume mutation of 5/3/1 that adds weight weekly. Great for novices that are proficient in the compound lifts and intermediate lifters.
3. Calgary Barbell 8 & 16 Week Powerlifting Programs
   1. Popular powerlifting-focused program that is a popular choice for peaking for a powerlifting meet.
4. Strong Curves
   1. A strength program with a focus on glute hypertrophy. It has multiple skill levels, ranging from brand new beginners to intermediate lifters.
5. GZCL
   1. A popular framework of lifting programs that have spawned many different routines, including those focused on hypertrophy, linear progression, and high volume.
6. Sheiko Programs
   1. Programs from the world-renowned Russian powerlifting coach Boris Sheiko.
7. Greg Nuckols 28 Programs
   1. A collection of 28 training programs, including the famous 3x Intermediate Medium bench program. Great for mixing and matching to create a program that caters to your needs and schedule.
8. Layne Norton’s PHAT
   1. A hypertrophy-focused program that is excellent for bodybuilders that still like to lift heavy (i.e. powerbuilding).
9. PHUL 
   1. Similar to PHAT, this is a powerbuilding program that is quite popular.

Most Popular NEW Programs

These programs were added to Lift Vault sometime in 2019. I divided the number of total spreadsheet downloads by the number of days the program was available to calculate downloads per day. This evens the playing field a bit for programs that were added to the site late in the year.

1. Mike Israetel 5 Week Hypertrophy Workout Routine
   1. A hypertrophy routine based upon Mike Israetel’s influential training volume landmarks article.
2. Reddit PPL
   1. The infamous PPL that is quite popular on Reddit. I tweaked the spreadsheet to make it a bit more flexible/easier to use.
3. BigCoachD 8 Week Hypertrophy Program
   1. An 8 week hypertrophy program for intermediate/advanced lifters that is based on a popular post by Reddit user /u/BigCoachD.
4. Starscream 12 Week Hypertrophy Program
   1. A 12 week hypertrophy program by Redditor /u/BenchPauper.
5. Ripped Body Intermediate Bodybuilding Program
   1. A spreadsheet interpretation of the intermediate bodybuilding program made available on RippedBody.com.
6. Brogains Powerbuilding Program
   1. A popular powerbuilding routine for intermediate/advanced lifters.
7. GZCLP
   1. An excellent linear progression program that is very easy to user for beginners, though intermediates can run it too.
8. Alan Thrall Untamed Method Spreadsheet
   1. A collaboration between Alan Thrall and Barbell Medicine. It is a 13 week strength program that is suitable for beginners or intermediates, though I wouldn’t recommend it for first time lifters due to the complexity of some of the instructions.

List for Beginners

Hello, beginners! Welcome.

You’re at an amazing time in your fitness journey. You can do just about anything and you’ll add muscle. You’ll get stronger rapidly, faster than any other level of lifter. There is so much low hanging fruit to harvest.

Below are programs that:

1. Have easy to use spreadsheets.
2. Can be run for a long period of time, removing the need for you to make a decision about “what to do” at the end of the program. You just run it again.

All of these programs have been run by thousands of people successfully. They work if you work it.

Click on the links for spreadsheets you can follow and other details.

1. Classic Wendler 5/3/1
   1. A tried and true strength training program. Runs in short (3/4 week) cycles, adding 5 pounds per cycle. Many, many people have gotten very strong using 5/3/1. It inspired nSuns and GZCL.
   2. Most of these are 4 day training programs, I believe.
2. nSuns 5/3/1
   1. A high volume mutation of 5/3/1 that adds weight weekly. Great for novices that are proficient in the compound lifts and intermediate lifters.
   2. Has a 4 day, 5 day, and 6 day version.
3. GZCLP
   1. An excellent linear progression program that is very easy to user for beginners, though intermediates can run it too.
   2. Has a 3 and 4 day version.

About Kyle Risley

Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in 2016 to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more. He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting.