Ryan Mathias’ mass building program is a 12 week powerlifting block run on four training days a week: two intensity days and two volume days. Squat twice, bench twice, deadlift once, with the lower body intensity day alternating between squat and deadlift week to week.
It’s a peaking program that doesn’t behave like one for most of its length. The volume stays high well into the block, which is where the “mass building” name comes from, and the intensity work is what sharpens it toward a meet. Every fourth week deloads, so you get three working weeks and a recovery week, three times over.
It suits an intermediate with a meet on the calendar who wants to arrive bigger rather than just peaked. Four high volume days a week is the cost, and if you can’t reliably train four times a week the alternating squat/deadlift structure falls apart. If you want the size work without the meet prep, a powerbuilding program is the better fit.
Table of Contents
Spreadsheet: Powerlifting for Mass Building & Hypertrophy Program
Spreadsheet via Mathias Method
Mass Building Workout Program Overview
You can read a complete summary of the program on Mathias Method, but a summary is provided below based upon my interpretation of the program.
Four Training Days per Week
Each training week consists of four workouts. Two are heavy/intensity days, two are volume days.
- Heavy Squats & Deadlifts
- Heavy Bench Press
- Volume Squats
- Volume Bench Press
So that is 2x weekly squatting, 1x weekly deadlifts, and 2x weekly bench press.
Days 1 and 2 are the intensity days, while days 3 and 4 are the volume days. Each week will focus on either the squat or deadlift for its lower body intensity day, focusing on the alternate lift the next week.
For example, week 1 focuses on the squat, performing 5 sets of 6 reps @ 70% of 1RM, followed by an overload set. After that, a deadlift variation (e.g. deficit deadlifts, pause deadlifts, alternate stance deadlifts, etc.) is performed.
Week 2 will focus on the deadlift, performing 6 sets of 4 reps @ 75% of 1RM, follow by an overload set. After that, a squat variation (e.g. box squat, pause squat, front squat, etc.) is performed.
Overload Sets
Overload sets are performed on day 1 (lower body) and day 2 (bench press) each week. This is an AMRAP (as many reps as possible) set performed with the same working weight or a daily max. Whichever you choose can be based on how you’re feeling.
These sets can help determine if you should increase your 1RM inputs for the following week or keep them the same. It is not expected that these will increase each week. They may not increase at all through the program. That is okay. Still, this mass building program does allow you to adjust the 1RM inputs each week if you choose to.
Important: Regardless of whether you choose an AMRAP set or a daily max, don’t stop uses proper technique or go to failure! Leave a rep in the tank. This is an opportunity to expose your body to higher intensities, not practice poor form.
Deload Weeks
Every fourth week is a deload week where intensity is dialed back. This is an opportunity to allow your body to recover, which is essential to building mass and strength.
Deload weeks are also an opportunity to practice lift variations that target your weak points in a given lift. For example, if you often miss your bench press when pressing off of the chest, Spoto Press might be a good choice. Having trouble locking out? Go for close grip bench press.
While you won’t be deadlifting during deload weeks, it is recommended that you perform a lower back exercise like good mornings or reverse hyper-extensions.
Meet Day
As you approach meet day, it is okay to scale down your accessories in the last week or so to allow for a bit more recovery. Similarly, I would personally recommend not performing the overload sets during week 12, but this differs from how the program was written, which does include overload sets for the squat and bench press during the final training days leading up to the meet. I believe the program is written as if the final workout occurs on a Wedneday and the meet occurs three days later on Saturday.
You can learn more about Ryan Mathias, including other programs he has written, at MathiasMethod.com.
Mass Building Program FAQs
Do I need a meet booked to run this?
No, but the last three weeks are written as if you do. Without a meet, treat week 12 as a test week and take singles on whatever lifts you care about. The first nine weeks work fine as a general strength and size block on their own.
Should I take the overload sets to failure?
No. Leave a rep in the tank and stop the moment your technique slips. The overload set exists to expose you to a heavier bar and to tell you whether your entered 1RM is still right, not to grind out a number. If your form breaks, the set told you what you needed to know already.
What if my overload sets never improve?
That’s expected and it isn’t a failure. The program doesn’t assume weekly progress on them, and plenty of lifters finish the block with the same overload numbers they started with while still adding weight to their competition lifts. Leave your 1RM inputs alone unless a set clearly tells you they’re low.
Why is there no deadlifting on deload weeks?
Deadlifts cost more to recover from than anything else in the program, so the deload drops them entirely. Mathias suggests a lower back movement instead, like good mornings or reverse hypers, which keeps the pattern warm without the fatigue.
Can I pick my own lift variations?
Yes, and the deload weeks are the place to do it. Pick the variation that attacks where you actually miss: Spoto press if you stall off the chest, close grip if you stall at lockout, deficit pulls if you’re slow off the floor.
Updates
- Converted to the block editor and added a proper intro covering the four day structure and the alternating squat/deadlift intensity days, which previously required reading down to the overview. Added FAQs on the overload sets, deload weeks and meet timing. The program detail is unchanged.
