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The 10 Best Strength Training Programs for 2022

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

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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.

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The 5 Best 6-Day Workout Splits

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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…]

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.