Strength 2.0 is a 10 week powerlifting program created by David Woolson at Brazos Valley Barbell. The program utilizes 5 training days per week, calculates load based on RPE and percentage of one rep max, and ends with attempting to set a new one rep max.
For more from Brazos Valley Barbell, check out their YouTube channel and Instagram. You can also follow David Woolson on Instagram.
They also have another program on Lift Vault: an 8 week intermediate powerlifting program.
Note: Lift Vault is not affiliated with Brazos Valley Barbell in any way. We’re just sharing this program because we think it’s good and they made it available for free.
Program Overview
- Recommended for intermediate or advanced lifters
- 10 weeks, 5 days per week
- Squat frequency = 2 times per week
- Bench frequency = 3 times per week
- Deadlift frequency = 2 days per week
- Overhead press is occasionally programmed once per week as an accessory
- The 5th week of the program is a deload week.
- Loads are calculated based on RPE and a percentage of your one rep max.
- Many variations are programmed, including high bar squat, opposite stance deadlift, incline bench, belt squats, Candito deadlift (i.e. wide stance snatch grip deadlift), etc.
- If you’re not able or willing to perform this many variations, this may not be the right program for you.
I’d probably classify this program as using “block periodization,” which each block running 2 weeks. On the days focusing on a competition lift, you’ll usually work up to a heavy single programmed at a certain RPE, then hit back off sets.
Between the first and second week of a given block, the sets and reps of these back off sets won’t usually change, but they’ll get slightly heavier (+2.5%), incorporating a bit of progressive overload within each block.
The rep ranges within each block get progressively smaller. For example, the competition bench press its rep range decline from 6 reps in weeks 1 and 2, to 5 reps in weeks 3 and 4, to 4 reps in weeks 6 and 7, to 3 reps in weeks 8, 9, and 10. Deadlift and squat are programmed in a structurally similar manner, with some minor differences compared to bench press.
Week 5 is a deload week, while week 10 is a testing week.
Spreadsheet
Please see the video and accompanying notes below on how to successfully use this spreadsheet. It is a little tricky at first and you could mess it up.
Using the Spreadsheet
David put together a video that explains how to use the spreadsheet. I highly recommend watching the video, as the spreadsheet can be a little tricky to understand at first.
Quick pointers:
- DO NOT enter your 1RM into the cells at the top of the spreadsheet. These will be filled in automatically based on your performance. They are fluid.
- Enter your actual training performance in the cells to the right of the prescribed work.
- If you have multiple sets prescribed at a certain RPE and end up using multiple weights, enter your “best” (i.e. heaviest, as long as the RPE is accurate) set.
- e.g. If you are supposed to perform 3 sets of 5 reps @ RPE 7 and you do 3*5 @ 110, 105, and 100, all at RPE 7, enter 5 reps, RPE 7, load = 110.
- If the actual training performance differs somewhat from the prescribed work, that is ok. Enter what actually happened into the spreadsheet.
- e.g. If you were supposed to hit a single at RPE 8 and you accidentally overshot and the single felt more like an RPE 9, enter 1 rep, RPE 9, and whatever the actual load lifted was.
Training Schedule
You can schedule the training days however you like, but the main recommendation is that you leave two rest days between “Day 5” and “Day 1.”
David provided two options for this.
Option 1:
- Monday: Day 1
- Tuesday: Day 2
- Wednesday: Day 3
- Thursday: Day 4
- Friday: Day 5
- Saturday: Rest
- Sunday: Rest
Option 2:
- Monday: Day 2
- Tuesday: Day 1
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: Day 2
- Friday: Day 4
- Saturday: Day 5
- Sunday: Rest
