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.
Bullmastiff consists of two phases: the base phase and peak phase.
The base phase consists of three waves, each three weeks long. The goal of the base phase is to build your work capacity by steadily increasing volume and intensity.
The peak phase also consists of three waves, each three weeks long. The goal of the peak phase is to hit a new one rep max in the main lifts.
This program is recommended for intermediate and advanced lifts. I would recommend that beginners follow a program that is more suitable for their development level.
For more, check out the Empire Barbell YouTube channel.
Table of Contents
Bullmastiff Spreadsheet
Adapted from Empire Barbell’s PDF
Bullmastiff Program Overview
Base Phase
The base phase is 9 weeks long and is comprised of three waves. The goal is to build a “wide base” of foundational strength, work capacity, and muscle that you can carry into your peaking phase.
Main Lifts
The progression scheme for the main lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press) is:
| Wave | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | 65% x 4x6+ | 4x6+ | 4x6+ |
| Wave 2 | 70% x 5x5+ | 5x5+ | 5x5+ |
| Wave 3 | 75% x 6x4+ | 6x4+ | 6x4+ |
The “+” symbol denotes that the final set is an AMRAP set. In weeks 1 and 2, every rep beyond the prescribed minimum rep count adds 1% of your 1RM to the next week’s load.
This load increase is calculated automatically in the spreadsheet, but here is an example.
Let’s say the 1RM of your overhead press is 155 lbs. 65% of 155 is about 100 lbs, so the prescribed work in week 1 would be 4 sets of 6 at 100 lbs. Let’s say that you achieve 6, 6, 6, and 12 reps (only the fourth set is an AMRAP set, you stop at 6 reps on sets 1-3).
12 – 6 = 6, so 6% of 155 (about 10 lbs) would be added to next week’s load. So next week’s overhead press work would look like 4 sets of 6 at 110 pounds.
This means that in most cases you will be increasing your working weight on your main lifts throughout each wave, before resetting after the third and final week of each wave.
Developmental Lifts
The developmental lifts give you an opportunity to develop supporting muscles for your main lift. Instead of increasing loads throughout each wave, the primary method for increasing stress is through volume.
Developmental lift progression uses RPE and looks like this:
| Wave | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | 3x12 @ 6 | 4x12 @ 7 | 5x12 @ 8 |
| Wave 2 | 3x10 @ 6 | 4x10 @ 7 | 5x10 @ 8 |
| Wave 3 | 3x8 @ 6 | 4x8 @ 6 | 5x8 @ 6 |
They key here is to not overshoot with your load choices. You should never be missing or grinding out reps here. This is supplemental work designed to add additional stimulus, but it shouldn’t be interfering with your main work. Just get in some solid work and call it a day. The sets will catch up with you, don’t worry.
Accessory Movements
During the base phase, accessory lifts are used to help develop key muscle groups. To that end, they are executed in a “bodybuilding style,” prioritizing volume over load.
Here’s what the progression will look like for accessory lifts during the base phase:
| Wave | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | 2 x 12-15 | 3 x 12-15 | 4 x 12-15 |
| Wave 2 | 3 x 8-12 | 4 x 8-12 | 5 x 8-12 |
| Wave 3 | 3 x 8-12 | 4 x 8-12 | 5 x 8-12 |
Peak Phase
The peak phase is also comprised of three waves, each three weeks long. The volume goes down, the intensity dials up, and increasing your maximal strength is the goal.
Targeted lifts are added, which should target the weak points of your main lifts.
Main Lifts
Loads for the main lifts will start at 80% of your 1RM and then work upwards of 90% by the third wave. Remember, you’ll be increasing your load throughout each wave based on the number of extra reps achieved on the AMRAP set. This is calculated for you in the spreadsheet.
If you’re anything like me, this is where the fun really starts!
| Wave | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | 5x3+ @ 80% | 3x3+ | 1+x3+ |
| Wave 2 | 5x2+ @ 85% | 3x2+ | 1x2+ |
| Wave 3 | 5x1+ @90% | 3x1+ | 1x1+ |
Targeted & Developmental Lifts
Targeted lifts are designed to be more similar to the main lifts than developmental lifts. For example, it’d be fine to do front squats as a developmental lift, but is not similar enough to the back squat to use as a targeted lift.
Your options for targeted and developmental lifts are provided within the spreadsheet.
Both lift types follow the same progression scheme:
| Wave | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave 1 | 4x6 @ 6 RPE | 3x6 @ 7 | 2x6 @8 |
| Wave 2 | 4x5 @ 6 | 3x5 @ 7 | 2x5 @ 8 |
| Wave 3 | 4x4 @ 6 | 3x4 @ 7 | 2x4 @ 8 |
Accessory Movements
You’ll only be doing accessory work during the first two waves of the peak phase. The third wave has no accessory movements and will only include main, developmental, and targeted work.
During the first and second waves, accessory work should be kept to 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps. This is a less prescriptive part of the program and you can program these in based on how you’re feeling.
Video Review
Here’s more about the program in Alex Bromley’s own words:
