Lift Vault

Free Programs and Spreadsheets

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • Lift Vault Market
    • Buy Custom Programs
    • Buy Training Programs
  • Program Finder
  • Programs & Spreadsheets
    • Program Type
      • Powerlifting Programs
        • Peaking Programs
      • Bodybuilding Program
      • Strength Training Program
      • Powerbuilding Programs
      • Hypertrophy Programs
      • Bodyweight Workout Programs
      • Lift Specific Program
        • Squat Programs
        • Bench Press Programs
        • Deadlift Programs
      • Olympic Weightlifting Programs
    • Number of Weeks
      • 3 to 9 Weeks
        • 3 Week Programs
        • 4 Week Programs
        • 5 Week Programs
        • 6 Week Programs
        • 8 Week Programs
        • 9 Week Programs
      • 10+ Weeks
        • 10 Week Programs
        • 11 Week Programs
        • 12 Week Programs
        • 13 Week Programs
        • 14 Week Programs
        • 15 Week Programs
        • 16 Week Programs
    • Workout Splits
      • 3 Day Workout Split
      • 4 Day Workout Split
      • 5 Day Workout Split
      • 6 Day Workout Split
      • Upper/Lower Split
      • 6 Day PPL Split
      • Full Body Workout Plan
      • Bro Split Workout
      • Arnold Split Workout
  • Reviews
    • Program Reviews
    • Equipment Reviews
      • IPF & USAPL Approved List of Gear
      • USPA Approved List of Gear
    • Supplement Reviews
      • Pre Workout Reviews
        • Best Pre Workout 2023
        • Strongest Pre Workout
        • Best Stim Free Pre Workout
        • Best Pre-Workout for Beginners
        • Best Thermogenic Pre Workout
        • Best Pre Workout for Teens
        • Best Natural Pre Workout
      • Muscle Building
        • Best Cheap Protein Powder
        • Best Cheap Mass Gainers
        • Best Creatine for Bulking
        • Best Intra Workout Supplements
        • Best Creatine HCL
        • Best Protein Powders Without Artificial Sweeteners
        • Best Protein Powders for Teens
        • Best Protein Powders Without Heavy Metals
  • Learn
    • Resources
      • Find Powerlifting Meets
    • Exercises
      • Hammer Curl vs Bicep Curl
      • Bench Press vs Chest Press
      • Dumbbell vs Barbell Bench Press
      • Deadlift vs Romanian Deadlift
      • Long Head Bicep Exercises
      • Short Head Bicep Exercises
      • Cable Shoulder Exercises
  • /r/LiftVault
  • Contact
    • How Lift Vault Got Started
    • Meet the Team
    • Submit a Program
    • Lift Vault vs Lifting Vault
Home » Programs » 9 Week Programs » TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program (v1.0 + v2.0)

TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program (v1.0 + v2.0)

Avatar

By Kyle Risley
Last updated May 4, 2023

Recommended by Lift Vault: Recommended

Experience level: Intermediate

Weeks: 9

Periodization: Undulating Periodization

Meet prep program: Yes

Program goal: Peaking, Powerlifting

Uses RPE: Yes

Uses 1RM Percentage(%): Yes


As an affiliate of various sites, including Amazon Associates, I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases via links in this post at no extra cost to you. See Full Disclosure

September 21, 2019 Edit: Added v2.0 of the 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program.

Description from The Strength Athlete:

We wrote this program as a nine-week program for an intermediate level powerlifter, with the goal of strength and proficiency in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. You will work using progressively heavier loads week by week toward a

testing week at the end of the cycle. The program is designed to work on many of the shortcomings and inefficiencies we see in common intermediate and beginner level powerlifters. Namely, underdeveloped posterior chains, lack of technical practice with the competition lifts, control off the floor in the deadlift, and upper body hypertrophy.

See also: TSA 9 Week Beginner Powerlifting Program

Donate to The Strength Athlete

Source

Table of Contents

  • 1 TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program on Boostcamp App
  • 2 TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet (v2.0)
  • 3 TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet (v1.0)
  • 4 TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program Description (v2.0)

TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program on Boostcamp App

TSA Intermediate Program App
TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program - Boostcamp App TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program - Boostcamp App
Free

Prefer an app to a spreadsheet? If so, you're in luck!

Boostcamp has a free app version of TSA's 9 Week Intermediate Program that you can use directly from your phone.

It tracks your progress and calculates your lifts, just like a spreadsheet.

Works on iOS and Android.

Get TSA Intermediate App
Lift Vault earns a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no extra cost to you.

TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet (v2.0)

Released by The Strength Athlete in Summer 2019.

TSA Intermediate Approach 2.0 | LiftVault.com

TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet (v1.0)

TSA 9 Week Intermediate Program | LiftVault.com

TSA 9 Week Intermediate Powerlifting Program Description (v2.0)

From the spreadsheet:

This is a 9-week training approach designed for intermediate lifters to peak effectively into actual competitions (or a mock meet) with high performance. The first four weeks represent higher overall work and lower overall loading, designed to build training adaptions and muscle hypertrophy. We’ll deload on Week 5, shedding some fatigue and preparing for the next phase. Finally, we’ll peak with exposure to heavier loads, bringing out your best.

While this is a generalized approach, meaning we aren’t targeting any individual athlete strengths or weaknesses or problem-solving strategies, it’s designed to overcome many of the shortcomings with powerlifting approaches we’ve seen. It additionally has an option for female and male athletes to make sure the approach is better tailored to your needs. This is the intermediate approach we wish all athletes had access to, with balanced volume, intensity, and frequency.

As our training methods continue to evolve, we’ve updated the intermediate approach to match those changes. You’ll see an increased use of autoregulation and the addition of lower repetition top sets with higher repetition backoff work to combine the best of both worlds. As you get close to peaking, you’ll see some subtle changes to the peaking structure to ride the line between fitness and fatigue. We think you’ll really like it.

For squat, we begin with higher training volume over two days per week of training frequency. We already have some exposure to higher intensities early on, allowing the athlete large amounts of time for low-repetition adaptations to occur. We’ll build overall lower body strength with the overall amount of volume (and added leg pressing work), and increased skill with high specificity. We utilize multiple rep ranges to ensure maximum strength and hypertrophy.

For bench press, we include regular exposure to pressing to allow for accelerated rates of progress. Athletes will handle horizontal pressing four times a week with access to singles starting on week 1. More than likely, you’re about to bench more than you have in a long time.

For deadlift, we have a fantastic balance of competition work with paused work, designed to teach technique and bracing and ultimately improve positioning. There’s a delayed shift for heavy work on deadlift until much later in the training approach to allow space for building strength before we test strength.

Avatar

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.

Filed Under: 9 Week Programs, Powerlifting Program, Programs
Tagged With: 4 Day Split, 4 Day Workout Plan
Squat frequency: 2
Bench press frequency: 3
Deadlift frequency: 2

Related Posts

  • Powerlifting Academy 3 Day 16 Week Program Spreadsheet

    This is the Powerlifting Academy 16 week program spreadsheet, 3x weekly training version. There is also a 20 week version available. Powerlifting Academy 16 Week Program Overview 3x weekly training Competition lifts are the primary focus, but the following variations are also used: Squat Pause…

  • Tom McCullough 14 Week Peaking Powerlifting Program

    Edit: Updated to support lb or kg rounding. This 14 week peaking powerlifting program is similar to many other old school peaking programs on Lift Vault: 1x weekly session per lift, descending reps, increase intensity and a 5-10% 1 rep max increase at the end of…

  • Classic 9 and 12 Week Powerlifting Peaking Program Spreadsheets

    As old as time itself, these peaking programs can be run for squat, bench, and deadlift when preparing for a powerlifting meet. Both seek to improve your 1 rep max by 5% after the end of the cycle. The differences between the 9 week and…

  • 3 Day, 7 Week Raw Powerlifting Program

    Originally hosted by Mass-Lift, the 3 Day Raw Powerlifting Program is a no frills powerlifting program that has the athlete squatting 3 days per week, benching 3 days per week, and deadlifting 2 days per week (counting Romanian deadlifts). After the competition lifts, a rotating…

  • Brad Gillingham 12 Week Bench Press Program

    Update: Rounded off weight values to the nearest 5 to clean the spreadsheet up. Brad Gillingham's 12 week raw bench program is a no frills bench-only program that incorporates a heavy day and a volume day into a 2x weekly program. Working from 90% of…

  • Dan Alexander 10 Week Powerlifting Peaking Program

    10/1/19 Edit: Fixed the rounding and added support for lbs and kgs! :) Dan Alexander's 10 week Powerlifting Peaking Program is designed to improve the 1RM of the squat, bench, and deadlift by 5%. Spread across the three lifts, this can result in a sizeable…

download-folder

Unlock The Vault!

Get lifetime access to every Lift Vault spreadsheet on Google Drive.

Download, bookmark, or browse. 

Popular Programs via App
Boostcamp App Boostcamp App
Free

Many of the most popular programs on Lift Vault are now available on a free app!

Boostcamp lets you track progress, calculate weight/sets/reps, and discover new programs - all for free!

Visit Boostcamp App

Latest Posts

  • MASS IMPACT Program from Geoffrey Verity Schofield
  • Michigan Powerlifting Records
  • Washington DC Powerlifting Records
  • Wyoming Powerlifting Records
  • Wisconsin Powerlifting Records

Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved · Lift Vault · Privacy Policy · Medical Disclaimer

download-folder

Unlock The Vault!

Get access to every Lift Vault spreadsheet on a Google Drive folder. 

x

Save 10% on Programs from Experts

If you want to crush PRs, add slabs of muscle, or lose weight, KIZEN has the perfect program for you.


Promo code LIFTVAULT = 10% off at Kizen Training

Get Programs Made by Experts
x