The Robert Frederick 4-Day Hypertrophy Program is a 20-week powerlifting program that trains 4 days a week. It’s a modified version of Boris Sheiko’s 4-day advanced medium load program, split into three preparatory blocks (4, 6 and 5 weeks) and a 5-week competition block that ends with a meet. Every week you squat twice, bench three or four times (counting variations like board and chain presses) and deadlift twice, with every load written as a percentage of your 1RM.
Robert Frederick, a moderator on Boris Sheiko’s English-language forum, posted this version in 2014. He kept Sheiko’s structure but added more sets between 70% and 80% of 1RM on the main lifts, plus extra accessory volume. The special exercises (paused deadlifts, deficit pulls and board presses, for example) and anything at 85% or above are left exactly as Sheiko wrote them.
It’s a good fit if you’ve already run a Sheiko program and want a bit more size out of the same template. Frederick’s own warning is that it’d be a bad pick for strong lifters with bad form. If that’s you, or you’ve never run Sheiko before, start with the original advanced medium load program in the Sheiko spreadsheet collection.
Table of Contents
- 1 Robert Frederick 4-Day Hypertrophy Spreadsheet
- 2 Program Overview
- 3 Robert Frederick 4-Day Hypertrophy FAQs
- 3.1 How long is the Robert Frederick hypertrophy program?
- 3.2 How is it different from the regular Sheiko 4-day program?
- 3.3 Is this a hypertrophy program or a powerlifting program?
- 3.4 Will the extra volume slow down my strength gains?
- 3.5 Can I change the accessory exercises?
- 3.6 Are there other modified Sheiko programs?
Robert Frederick 4-Day Hypertrophy Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet has each block on its own tab (Prep 1, Prep 2, Prep 3 and Comp). Enter your squat, bench and deadlift maxes on the Max tab and the weights fill in across all 20 weeks.
Spreadsheet by ChaseT, via Analyze Training.
Program Overview
- 20 weeks: three preparatory blocks (4, 6 and 5 weeks) and a 5-week competition block
- 4 training days per week (labeled days 1, 3, 5 and 6 in the spreadsheet)
- Squat 2x per week, bench press 3-4x per week, deadlift or a deadlift variation 2x per week
- Main lift loads are percentages of your 1RM
- Most accessories are listed by muscle group (chest, lats, delts, triceps) with sets and reps, so you pick the exercise
- The last week has two short sessions before the meet
What Robert Frederick Changed
All of Frederick’s changes are in the three preparatory blocks. If you compare his spreadsheet with the original advanced medium load sheet, the competition block is identical.
Here’s the first day of the second prep block in both versions.
| Exercise | Original Sheiko | Frederick version |
|---|---|---|
| Bench press, top sets | 4 sets of 3 at 80% | 4 sets of 5 at 80% |
| Squat at 70% | 6 sets of 3, 7, 4, 8, 2 and 5 reps (29 reps) | 6 sets alternating 5 and 8 reps (39 reps) |
| Board bench press | 3 sets of 2 at 85% | 3 sets of 2 at 85% (unchanged) |
| Chest accessory | 4 sets of 8 | 5 sets of 10 |
Over the whole second prep block, squat and bench reps between 70% and 80% go up by about 65%. The first and third prep blocks get smaller increases.
Robert Frederick’s Description
Here’s how Frederick described the program when he posted it on the Sheiko forum.
Here is my 4 day program modified for more hypertrophy emphasis. I currently do something just like this and enjoy it very much. That said, I know people that this would be terrible for. Mainly because they are strong and have bad form.
It’s still pretty much the same but there are more lifts between 70-80% for the main lifts and more additional lift volume. Special exercises are left alone so they do what they are supposed to do without interference. 85% and above are left alone too. Reps go high enough to trigger a stronger metabolic response but not too high as to degrade form excessively and lengthen recovery. So it’s not a dedicated hypertrophy program, just one with an added hypertrophy emphasis.
Robert Frederick, Sheiko Forum, July 30, 2014 (archived)
Robert Frederick 4-Day Hypertrophy FAQs
How long is the Robert Frederick hypertrophy program?
20 weeks. The three preparatory blocks are 4, 6 and 5 weeks long, and the competition block is 5 weeks. The final week only has two training days before the meet.
How is it different from the regular Sheiko 4-day program?
Most of the program is the same. The prep blocks add more squat and bench sets at 70-80% of 1RM and more accessory sets. The special exercises, the work at 85% and above, and the whole competition block are unchanged.
Is this a hypertrophy program or a powerlifting program?
It’s a powerlifting program. Frederick called it “not a dedicated hypertrophy program, just one with an added hypertrophy emphasis.” If you want a dedicated hypertrophy block between meets, the 8 week hypertrophy program from BigCoachD is built for that. It’s 4 days a week and starts at 5 sets of 12 at 50% of 1RM.
Will the extra volume slow down my strength gains?
When someone asked on the forum whether the changes hurt his progress, Frederick said no, but that they make the workouts longer. On days you feel strong, his tip for getting a little extra work in was to do the reps with long pauses and an explosive concentric.
He also said not to make every workout hard, because you need easy, medium and hard days working together.
Can I change the accessory exercises?
Yes. Most accessories are written as a muscle group with sets and reps (chest muscles, 5 sets of 10), so you choose the exercise. The spreadsheet’s FAQ calls accessory work bonus effort that you can skip at times. Keep the main lifts as written.
Are there other modified Sheiko programs?
Sheikburn mixes Sheiko’s heavy and light days with Hepburn method set and rep progression. It’s a 4-week block that trains 4 days a week.
For more on how Sheiko thinks about training, read Boris Sheiko’s interview with Omar Isuf.
