Lift Vault

Free Programs and Spreadsheets

Home » Programs » Strength Training Program

The 10 Best Strength Training Programs

  1. 3 Day Maximal Strength by Sheiko
  2. GreySkull LP (novice)
  3. nSuns (novice/intermediate)
  4. Madcow 5x5  (intermediate/advanced)
  5. Building the Monolith (intermediate/advanced)
  6. GZCL (intermediate)
  7. Wendler 5/3/1  (intermediate)
  8. GZCLP (novice/intermediate)
  9. Ivysaur 4-4-8 (novice)
  10. Strong Lifts 5x5 (novice)

Want a Custom Strength Program?

Lift Vault Market is now offering custom strength programs designed to help you crush your goals.

Recommended Reading: Practical Programming for Strength Training by Mark Rippetoe (Amazon)

Strength training programs are designed to increase the maximal force of the athlete's musculature. While the routines emphasize growing the strength of the athlete, they generally will also induce hypertrophy and trigger muscle growth. This is part of what helps the athlete get stronger. If hypertrophy is the primary goal, a powerbuilding or bodybuilding program is a better fit.

Strength routines differ from powerlifting programs in that they are not specifically designed to maximize the single rep max of the competition power lifts. However, many strength programs can be reasonably used as off season work for powerlifters as long as the program is followed by a powerlifting peaking program before a meet.

Want more? Search the Lift Vault Program Library!

Search the Lift Vault Program Library to find the exact program you're looking for based on many criteria (e.g. experience level, days per week, and much more).

The latest strength training programs are available below.

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

AlphaDestiny Novice-Intermediate Hybrid Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Experience level:
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

The AlphaDestiny Novice/Intermediate Hybrid Program is a free routine from Alex Leonidas (AlphaDestiny) for lifters caught in the middle: intermediate on some lifts but still novice on others. It bridges the gap between his beginner novice program and a full intermediate program like the Texas Method.

It runs three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) as an A/B/C week, and comes in two versions depending on where you’re ahead. Your stronger lifts progress weekly, your weaker lifts keep progressing every session like a novice.

This is the natural next step once your linear progress stalls on one end. If you’re earlier than that and want a simple beginner template, our GZCLP program is a good starting point.

[Read more…]

AlphaDestiny Novice Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Experience level:
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

The AlphaDestiny Novice Program is a free full-body routine from Alex Leonidas (AlphaDestiny) built to add the most muscle and strength possible in your first year of lifting. It runs two workouts, A and B, three days a week.

You alternate the workouts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and add weight to the bar almost every session. The big lifts use a flexible 3-or-5 set scheme, so you can scale the volume to how well you recover.

It’s aimed at true beginners who can train the main barbell lifts with decent form. If you’d rather have a more guided linear-progression template, our GZCLP beginner program is a good alternative.

[Read more…]

Dan John Mass Made Simple Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal:
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Mass Made Simple is a focused 6-week mass program from Dan John. You run a one-week break-in, then five weeks of three rotating workouts, training three days a week.

There are only seven or eight movements in the whole program, and the back squat does the heavy lifting. The sets of 10 climb toward your bodyweight and past it as the weeks go on, which is where the size comes from.

It is a great fit if you want a short, no-nonsense block to add weight and you are willing to eat. If you would rather have a longer, more varied hypertrophy plan, our 7 Week Hypertrophy Program is worth a look.

[Read more…]

Super Squats Program Spreadsheet (20-Rep Squats)

By
Last updated

Experience level:
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal:
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Super Squats is a 6-week, full-body program built around one savage set of 20-rep breathing squats. It comes from Randall Strossen’s classic book of the same name, and lifters have used it to add serious size for decades.

The idea is simple and a little scary. You load your 10-rep max, then squat it for 20 reps, sucking in big breaths between the hard ones near the end. You do that three days a week, add 5 lb every session, and eat like you mean it.

It works best if you can already squat with solid form and you want fast size more than a polished physique. If you want a gentler place to start, our 7 Week Hypertrophy Program is an easier on-ramp.

[Read more…]

Stronger By Science (SBS) Program Bundle by Greg Nuckols

By
Last updated

Experience level: , ,
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

The Stronger By Science (SBS) Program Bundle is a collection of six autoregulated training programs from Greg Nuckols. It’s free with an email signup on the Stronger By Science website, and it comes as a Google Sheets workbook.

The bundle covers six 21-week programs across different goals and experience levels. There’s also a standalone Program Builder that lets you customize almost everything. Getting autoregulation and periodization wired together like this is rare for a free resource.

There’s a catch worth knowing before you start. The spreadsheet automates so much of the programming that there’s a real learning curve. Spend 20-30 minutes with the included PDF instructions before your first session, and don’t skip that step.

If you’re already familiar with Greg Nuckols’ work, you might know his popular 28 Programs (also available here on Lift Vault). The SBS Program Bundle is a more recent and more sophisticated set of programs. Think of the 28 Programs as individual single-lift routines you mix and match yourself. The SBS Bundle is a full training system with built-in autoregulation and multi-lift programming already wired together.

[Read more…]

Beast Slayer 2.0 Program Spreadsheet (Bald Omni-Man)

By
Last updated

Experience level:
Weeks:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,

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

Beast Slayer 2.0 is a 4 day per week hypertrophy program created by Coach Paris Butler, better known as Bald Omni-Man on YouTube. It uses a hybrid upper/lower + full body split to hit your upper body 3x per week and lower body 2x per week in 4 training sessions per week.

What I like about this program is how it handles progression. Instead of just one method, it gives you several tools: double progression, dynamic double progression, cluster sets, and an optional linear periodization track for your main compounds. You pick the right tool for each lift. That kind of flexibility is rare in a free program.

Note: If you’re looking for a more flexible schedule (3-5 days), check out Paris’s Golden Warrior program, which has built-in 3, 4, and 5 day variants. If you want a 6 day PPL, he also has Power Bomb PPL.

This is the 2025 update to the original Beast Slayer. The biggest changes: more pulling volume (the #1 piece of feedback from 1.0) and an updated exercise selection with dropdown menus in the spreadsheet. The lower body frequency is only 2x per week, so if legs are your priority, you might want something with more squat and deadlift volume.

[Read more…]

Bullmastiff Strength Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Recommended by Lift Vault:
Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Bullmastiff is a base-building strength program created by Alex Bromley at Empire Barbell. It originally appeared in Alex’s book Peak Strength. The main goal of the program is develop your base strength in the four big lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press) and then use that wider base to achieve higher peak strength.

[Read more…]

The 5 Best 6-Day Workout Splits

By
Last updated


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

For most people, it’s not realistic to go to the gym six days per week, which is why most workout programs only prescribe training 3-5 days per week. Not to mention, training nearly every day of the week may not be ideal or even necessary for beginners and intermediate trainees. And if you have an extremely busy schedule, it’s not even worth considering.

With that said, a 6-day workout split may be the best option for advanced trainees wanting to continue gaining size and/or strength. Let’s face it, some people enjoy the gym so much that they want to be there every single day. So if you’re a gym rat or an advanced lifter looking to maximize results, a 6-day workout split is something you should consider.

Since you’re training six days per week, following a well-structured workout program is essential because you can quickly overtrain. Two of the most popular 6-day workout splits include the upper/lower and push/pull/legs split. A 6-day workout split can be very effective for building muscle, gaining strength, and losing fat, as long as it’s programmed well.

To take the guesswork out of finding an excellent 6-day workout program and prevent wasted time or money, we’ve hand-selected 5 of the best ones that exist. Below you will find the five best 6-day workout programs and a link to their respective spreadsheets so you can download a copy for free!

[Read more…]

Mythical Mass 26 Week Bulking Program

By
Last updated

Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: , ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Mythical Mass is a 6 month-long combination of various strength programs used for building mass.

The programs included are:

  • 5/3/1 BBB Beefcake #1 (3 weeks)
  • 5/3/1 BBB Beefcake #2 (3 weeks + 1 week deload)
  • 5/3/1 Building the Monolith #1 (3 weeks)
  • 5/3/1 Building the Monolith #2 (3 weeks + 1 week deload)
  • Deep Water Beginner (6 weeks)
  • Deep Water Intermediate (6 weeks)

As you can see, the entire set of programming takes about 6 months to work through.

The goal? Get freaking huge.

[Read more…]

5/3/1 x 365 Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Recommended by Lift Vault:
Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal:
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

This is a version of 5/3/1 that was posted on Reddit a few months ago. It’s noteworthy because it lays out enough 3 week cycles to be run for about a year straight.

If you’re looking for a straightforward, no-frills strength program that lets you just put your head down and get to work, then this is something I think you’ll like.

It’s also pretty flexible and allows the lifter to choose their own accessories and supplemental lifts.

[Read more…]

Deathdealer Strength Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal:
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Deathdealer is a strength program influenced by 5/3/1 BBB and Simple Jack’d. Like 5/3/1, it is run in 3 week cycles, has one focus lift (i.e. T1 lift) per training session, and uses training maxes. Having a given number of goal reps for your T2 lift, to be completed in any number of sets, is borrowed from Simple Jack’d.

[Read more…]

The 6 Best Full Body Workout Routines

By
Last updated

Periodization:

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

Full body workouts are one of the most effective training tools for anyone interested in getting stronger, gaining muscle, or losing weight.

That’s because not only has full body training been shown to be consistently effective, it’s also time efficient. Five of the six training routines highlighted in this article call for just three training days per week.

This makes getting stronger attainable for the average person that doesn’t want to spend their entire life in the gym.

Below you’ll find the six best full body workout routines along with a link to a spreadsheet where you can download a personal copy for free.

[Read more…]

Simple Jack’d v1.0 + v2.0 Strength Training Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Periodization: ,
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

May 2020 Update: Added Simple Jack’d 2x spreadsheet. You should probably run v2.0, as the creator of the program considers it superior to v1.0.

Simple Jack’d is a modified blend of the Bulgarian Method and the Smolov base cycle. It’s essentially a flexible one week volume accumulation block that can be run indefinitely for powerlifting and general strength goals.

[Read more…]

Heavy, Light, Medium (HLM) Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Experience level:
Weeks:
Periodization: ,
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Heavy, Light, Medium (HLM) programs are a simple and effective way to organize strength training. Each training session consists of either a heavy, medium, or light load for a given lift. The HLM training style is extremely flexible and can be used to accommodate many training goals.

[Read more…]

The “Dad Bod” Bridge Workout Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Experience level:
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

The “Dad Bod” Bridge program is a workout routine submitted by a Lift Vault reader. It is designed for busy people (especially parents) that are looking for any easy to follow routine that will help them grow and maintain strength in a limited amount of time. As the name suggests, it was inspired by The Bridge, a late stage novice strength program created by Barbell Medicine. [Read more…]

The Best Ectomorph Workout Plans

By
Last updated


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

An ectomorph workout is a training program designed to build mass for skinny individuals. The ectomorph body type is often described as having a flat chest, small shoulders, and thin waist. These individuals are often described as thin or skinny and have trouble putting on weight, possibly due to a faster than average metabolism (i.e. they are a “hard gainer”).

Building muscle and gaining weight is primarily a function of three things:

[Read more…]

5/3/1 for Beginners Spreadsheet & Tips

By
Last updated

Recommended by Lift Vault:
Experience level:
Weeks:
Periodization: ,
Meet prep program:
Program goal:
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

5/3/1 is one of the most popular strength training programs ever, influencing other programs like GZCL and nSuns along the way. Its popularity has stemmed from its simplicity, flexibility, and ability to be run over and over for long periods of time. It favors slow, steady, repeatable progression over the long term instead of programs that pile on the weight for a few weeks or months before progress grinds to a halt.

[Read more…]

Boring But Big: 5/3/1 BBB Spreadsheets

By
Last updated

Recommended by Lift Vault:
Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Boring But Big (BBB) is a variation of Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 template that focuses on high volume accessory work to induce hypertrophy after the main “5/3/1” work is finished. The BBB supplemental work follows a scheme of 5 sets of 10 reps (5×10). It is both brutally simple and effective, making it one of the most popular 5/3/1 variations.

[Read more…]

Omnidroid 12 Week Strength Program (5 Day)

By
Last updated

Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Omnidroid is a 5 day strength program Reddit user /u/benchpauper that runs for 12 weeks. It is structured a bit different than other programs and is definitely worth checking out if you’re a strength training enthusiast. It has a fair amount of heavy singles followed by back off volume and accessories. It looks like a lot of fun to run. [Read more…]

IRON GIANT – 5 Day, 12 Week Powerlifting Program

By
Last updated

Experience level: ,
Weeks:
Periodization:
Meet prep program:
Program goal: ,
Uses RPE:
Uses 1RM Percentage(%):

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

Make way, here comes another hybrid program from /u/benchpauper, the mad scientist that brought you MegaZord, Starscream, and other programs. [Read more…]

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some popular strength training programs?

Popular strength training programs include, for novices, GreySkull LP, StrongLifts, and GZCLP and, for intermediate/advanced athletes, nSuns, Wendler 5/3/1, and the Texas Method. These are tried and true fully body training plans that will help you get stronger by exposing you to heavy weights and letting you add weight on a regular basis and build muscle.

What are some good beginner strength training programs?

Good strength training programs for beginners will be based on linear periodization and rapid progression, which take advantage of the novice lifter’s ability to have their homeostasis easily disrupted and recover quickly from that disruption. Programs that fit the bill for this include Starting Strength, Strong Lifts, and GreySkull LP. Ivysaur 4-4-8 is another solid pick.

How many days a week should I do strength training?

If you’re just starting out, 3 training days a week is a good starting point. Doing more than that, like working out every day, is not really necessary and could actually harm the lifter’s ability to adequately recover between sessions, especially if loads are increasing from workout to workout, as they should be on any good novice strength program.

Intermediate level lifters may benefit from training 4 or 5 days per week in order to achieve the necessary stimulus to disrupt homeostasis and induce adaptation in the necessary muscle groups.

How is a strength program different from a powerlifting program?

It really depends on how the program is designed and what its goals are. Often times a powerlifting program is associated with a peaking program, which specifically aims to increase the one rep max on the squat, bench press, and deadlift. A strength program is less likely to focus on peaking. It also may focus less on strict competition lifts and may incorporate more variations of those lifts, like front squats, incline bench press, Romanian deadlifts, etc. Of course, all of those lifts can be used to help increase powerlifting performance too.

At the end of the day, every powerlifting program is a strength program, but not every strength program may be ideal for powerlifting.