The Untamed Method is a free 12-week powerlifting program that Barbell Medicine wrote for Alan Thrall of Untamed Strength. You train four days a week, and every day pairs the competition lifts (squat, bench, and deadlift) with a variation lift, a myo-rep pump slot, and some easy conditioning work. Loads run off RPE and your estimated 1RM, with percentage back-off sets on the main lifts.
The whole point was to keep Thrall progressing on very little. Dr. Austin Baraki built it while Alan was dealing with a newborn, so it is designed around short sleep, little free time, and compromised recovery. That is why it leans so hard on autoregulation: you push when you feel good and back off when you do not, using RPE to pick the weight instead of grinding a fixed number. It is the same block-periodized, RPE-first approach you will see in The Bridge and Barbell Medicine’s peaking templates, and if you are still getting comfortable rating your sets, the RPE calculator does the reps-to-percentage math for you.
It fits intermediate lifters who already know their way around RPE and want structure without a rigid percentage grind. Beginners can run it, but you will get more out of a simple linear program first, and if you are pointing at a meet you may prefer a dedicated peak like Calgary Barbell. If you have the four days and you are comfortable auto-regulating, it is a low-stress way to keep the big three moving when life is busy.
Table of Contents
Untamed Method Video Overview
Alan walks through the whole program here. It is worth the watch before you start, since he explains the AMRAP and myo-rep pieces that make the template tick.
12 Week Untamed Method Spreadsheet
Enter your estimated 1RM for squat, bench, and deadlift on the Setup tab and the sheet fills in a suggested load for every set of the competition lifts using Barbell Medicine’s own RPE chart. The variation and pump work is run by RPE, so those slots give you the target and a place to log what you hit. All 13 weeks are laid out, four days each, from the low-stress opening block through the final realization week.
Program by Barbell Medicine (Dr. Austin Baraki) for Alan Thrall of Untamed Strength. Follow the creators on Barbell Medicine YouTube and Alan Thrall YouTube.
Untamed Method Program Overview
The template is block-periodized. It opens with a low-stress week, moves through developmental weeks that add volume, drops back to a lighter week to recover, then builds into specialization weeks that get heavier and more specific. The final week is a realization week where you test where your strength landed. Barbell Medicine calls the whole thing the 12 Week Untamed Method; the extra realization week at the end is the peak that caps it off.
Each training day runs three main slots plus general conditioning. The first slot is a competition lift, the second is a close variation (paused bench, SSB squat, RDL, and so on), and the third is a myo-rep or AMRAP pump slot for extra muscle without much extra fatigue. Conditioning, upper-back, trunk, and arm work round out each day and stay easy on purpose.
The named exercises in the sheet are Barbell Medicine’s example picks. If an injury or your equipment gets in the way, swap in another lift from the same movement class (any squat for a squat, any press for a press) and keep the sets, reps, and RPE the same.
How Progression Works
RPE runs the show, and the percentages are there as a backup. If a set calls for 5 reps at RPE 9 or 86 percent and 80 percent already feels like a 9 that day, you stop there. Record the set, do your back-offs, and move on. Using the right effort day to day matters more than chasing the printed number.
Week to week, the goal is simple: nudge your estimated 1RM up a little, even a pound or two, and let the loads climb with it. Some days that will not happen, and that is fine. You let RPE hold you back and try again next week. A few slots also use a 6-minute AMRAP, where you chase as many clean reps as you can inside the time cap while leaving a rep or two in the tank, then try to beat that total the following week.
Myo-Reps Explained
Myo-reps are a fast way to pack extra volume into the pump slots. You do one hard activation set, then milk a few tiny sets out of it on very short rest.
- Start with an activation set to about RPE 8, usually 10 to 15 reps. Take it close to failure. If you guessed light and hit 20-plus reps without nearing failure, keep going until you get there.
- As a rough guide, 10 to 12 reps is around 62 to 68 percent of your 1RM and 12 to 15 is around 58 to 62 percent.
- Rack the bar, take 5 deep breaths, then do 3 to 5 reps (aim for 5). Rack it, 5 more breaths, and repeat.
- Stop the first time you drop more than 1 rep below that first mini-set. If you go 4, then 3, you are done. 4-4-3 means you stop after the 3. 3-3-3-2 means you stop after the 2.
Untamed Method FAQs
Is the Untamed Method 12 or 13 weeks?
Barbell Medicine named it the 12 Week Untamed Method, and that is the name to go by. The template runs 12 training weeks through its low-stress, developmental, and specialization blocks, then finishes with a realization (peak) week, which is why the sheet has a 13th week tab. Think of it as a 12-week block that ends with a peak.
How many days a week is the Untamed Method?
Four training days a week. Each day trains a competition lift, a variation, and a pump slot, plus short conditioning and accessory work you keep easy.
Do I need to know my 1RM to run it?
An estimate is enough. Enter your best current single or a solid guess for squat, bench, and deadlift on the Setup tab and the sheet suggests loads from there. RPE takes over on the day, so you adjust to feel and let your estimate climb over the block.
What are the myo-reps and AMRAP sets for?
They add training volume cheaply. Myo-reps stack a few short sets onto one hard activation set, and the 6-minute AMRAP slots have you accumulate quality reps inside a time cap. Both are meant to build muscle and work capacity without piling on heavy fatigue.
Can I swap exercises?
Yes. The listed lifts are examples. If you have an injury or a gear limit, substitute another lift in the same movement class and keep the prescribed sets, reps, and RPE.
Is the Untamed Method good for beginners?
It is built for intermediate lifters who are comfortable with RPE. A true beginner will progress faster on a simple linear program first, then this is a good next step once the easy gains slow down.
Updates
- July 2026: Rebuilt the spreadsheet as a fresh maxes-driven Lift Vault sheet (the old shared copy was flagged by Google and had stopped loading), moved the video up top, corrected the program length to 12 weeks, and refreshed the post to the current format.
