Fitness & Nutrition Resources

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.

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Last Modified: June 18, 2026

Askold Surovetsky’s 16-week powerlifting program is a percentage-based system that programs squat, deadlift, and bench press across 8 microcycles. It was designed by Surovetsky – an Honorary Coach of Russia, CMS in powerlifting, and European Powerlifting champion – and has been tested over 3 years with lifters at different levels. The program runs 3 days per week. Squat-focused and deadlift-focused weeks alternate, and bench press is trained every session using one of two bench systems.

What I like about this program is how structured and self-contained it is. You plug in your maxes, and every set, rep, and percentage is laid out for you across all 16 weeks. No guesswork. Intensities ramp from about 74% up to 88% on working sets, with max-out sessions built into weeks 7 and 8. It’s a style of programming you’ll see in other popular Russian systems like Sheiko, but the structure here is more rigid and less customizable.

One thing to know going in: this program doesn’t include any accessory work. It programs only the three competition lifts, and bench is trained at all three weekly sessions, so pressing volume is already high. If you’re someone who needs a lot of variety or accessory volume, this might feel limited. But if you want a focused, no-nonsense peaking program for the big three, it does the job well.

Program Type: 16 Week Programs, Peaking Program, Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

Alberto Nunez’s Upper Lower Program is a free 15-week hypertrophy program built around a 4-day upper/lower split. It’s designed by the head bodybuilding coach at 3D Muscle Journey (3DMJ) and 2022 WNBF Mr. Universe winner. The program comes in 4 variants – arms & delts dominant, torso dominant, quad dominant, and glute-ham dominant – so you can pick the one that matches your weakest body parts. Each variant still trains your full body twice per week. You just get extra volume where you need it most.

What I like about this program is how simple the progression system is. You pick a weight, work your way up through the rep range, then add load. No percentages, no math. RPE targets keep the intensity honest without overcomplicating things. It’s a solid pick for beginners and intermediates who want a structured hypertrophy plan without a steep learning curve. One caveat: if you’re an advanced lifter already doing 5+ days per week of high-volume training, this might feel like a step back in terms of total weekly volume. It’s intentionally moderate. Most variants land around 14-18 sets per muscle group per week, which is lower than a program like PHAT or a typical John Meadows setup. Over 16,000 athletes have tried it on Boostcamp, where it holds a 4.18 out of 5 star rating. All credit goes to Alberto Nunez and 3D Muscle Journey for making this available for free.

Program Type: 15 Week Programs, Bodybuilding Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

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.

Program Type: 6 Week Programs, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

The LSUS 10-5-3 is a 10-week Olympic weightlifting program created by Dr. Kyle Pierce at Louisiana State University Shreveport. It’s built on block periodization – you spend 3 weeks doing sets of 10, then 3 weeks of sets of 5, then 3 weeks of sets of 3, followed by a 1-week taper into a max-out or competition. You’ll train 5 days per week with a mix of Olympic lifts, squats, presses, pulls, pull-ups, and accessories.

This program has serious pedigree. Dr. Pierce used it to develop three-time U.S. Olympian Kendrick Farris and national-level lifter Jared Fleming. He’s a 3x USOC Weightlifting Coach of the Year (2006, 2007, 2010) and was inducted into the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2017. The program itself is based on published research by Stone, Pierce, and other colleagues on periodized strength training for weightlifters.

What I like about this program is how straightforward the progression is. You start with high-volume, lower-intensity work to build muscle and work capacity, then steadily drop volume while cranking up intensity. It’s textbook linear periodization, and it works. The caveat: this thing is a volume monster. You’re looking at roughly 75 working sets per week in the 10s phase. If you’re not used to that kind of workload, you’ll need to ease into it or modify the volume down. I’d recommend this for intermediate to advanced Olympic weightlifters who have at least a year of consistent training under their belt and can handle 5 sessions per week.

Program Type: 10 Week Programs, Olympic Weightlifting Programs, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

The PRS 10-Week Beginner Powerlifting Program is a free percentage-based program from Progressive Resistance Systems (PRS). It’s built to give a newer lifter a structured run at the squat, bench, and deadlift without guesswork.

Rather than locking your percentages in for the whole block, the program adjusts your training maxes every couple of weeks based on how you actually perform on AMRAP and plus sets. That keeps the weights honest as you get stronger.

It’s a good fit for beginners who know their rough 1-rep maxes and want a real powerlifting structure. If you’d prefer a rep-based linear progression instead of percentages, our GZCLP program is another solid beginner option.

Program Type: 10 Week Programs, Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

EPIC is a pair of free 10-week, 5-day-a-week follow-along programs from Caroline Girvan: EPIC I and EPIC II. Every workout is a free video on her YouTube channel, built around dumbbells and bodyweight.

The sessions are timer-based rather than rep-based. Most exercises run 30 seconds of work then 30 seconds of rest, so you push at your own pace with good form for 30 to 60 minutes a session.

EPIC is aimed at intermediate to advanced trainees who are comfortable with squats, lunges, planks, push ups, dumbbells, and HIIT. If you want a more traditional gym hypertrophy plan instead, take a look at our HST program.

Program Type: 10 Week Programs, Bodybuilding Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

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.

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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

GZCL P-Zero is the flexible, do-it-your-way framework from Cody Lefever, the coach behind the whole GZCL family. It keeps the GZCL pyramid of three tiers but drops the rigid week-by-week layout, so you can run it full-body or on any split you like.

Instead of fixed weeks, P-Zero moves through three stages. Each tier gets heavier and drops reps as you advance, and you move up a stage when your top set stops improving. It is autoregulated, which makes it run as long as you keep progressing.

If you are newer to the system, start with our GZCLP beginner program or browse the full GZCL method spreadsheets for the other templates.

Program Type: Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

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.

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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

Doggcrapp (DC) training is a high-intensity, low-volume system from Dante Trudel. You hit each body part with one brutal rest-pause set, rotate your exercises, and try to add weight to the bar every single session.

It is built around short, hard workouts and a blast-and-cruise structure, so you push all-out for a stretch and then back off to recover. Trudel shared the whole thing for free on the IntenseMuscle forums years ago, and it built a cult following for good reason.

This one is for intermediate and advanced lifters with solid technique, not beginners. The intensity only pays off if your form holds up when you are deep into a set. If you want a more measured hypertrophy approach, our HST program is a gentler option.

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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

Alex Bromley’s 70s Powerlifter is an 18-week, 4-day per week strength program from his book Base Strength. It’s an upper/lower split built around one primary lift per session – bench, squat, overhead press, and deadlift – with two compound variations and bodybuilding accessories stacked on top.

The program draws heavy inspiration from the high-volume training style of 1970s powerlifters like Doug Young and Bill Kazmaier, who were known for piling on compound work and topping it off with plenty of bodybuilding movements. If you’ve already run Bromley’s Bullmastiff program, this is the natural next step from the same book. I’d recommend it for intermediate lifters who aren’t afraid of volume – and I mean real volume.

Sessions can run 90 minutes, and by week 3 of each wave you’re doing 5 working sets on your main lift plus 4 sets of two different variations. It’s a lot. But lifters who commit to it and pick conservative starting weights tend to put real weight on all four lifts. Fair warning, though: if you aren’t eating and sleeping enough to support this kind of workload, you’ll run into a wall fast.

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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

Ben Pollack’s free powerbuilding program is a 7-week training plan built for lifters who want to get both stronger and bigger but don’t have the recovery capacity (or schedule) for 5-6 days in the gym. It runs 3 days per week, alternating between push/pull/legs weeks and full body weeks. If you’ve got more bandwidth, you can also run it on a rolling 4-day schedule and finish in about 5 weeks.

The program comes from Ben Pollack (a.k.a. PHDeadlift), who held the all-time world record raw total of 2,039 lbs at 198 lbs and later earned his IFBB Pro card in bodybuilding. The guy has a PhD in the history of strength from the University of Texas, too. So yeah, he’s qualified.

What I like about this program is that it’s built for real-life constraints. A lot of “powerbuilding” programs are really just bodybuilding with squats and deadlifts bolted on. This one programs heavy competition-style lifts next to real hypertrophy work (myo-reps, AMRAP sets, brutal 20-rep high bar squats, dead-stop deadlifts), and the blend is well thought out.

The instructions on Ben’s Substack are dense. He writes out exercise-by-exercise coaching cues for every session, which is great for learning but a lot to parse on your first read. The spreadsheet handles tracking, but read the write-up first so the “why” behind each workout makes sense.

Program Type: 7 Week Programs, Powerbuilding Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

The Dumbbell PPL (Push Pull Legs) program from r/Fitness is a dumbbell-only hypertrophy routine created by Reddit user u/gregariousHermit. It’s built for lifters who train at home with limited equipment or travel frequently and get stuck in small hotel gyms.

You only need adjustable dumbbells, a bench, and a pull-up bar. The program runs as a 3-day or 6-day cycle, uses double progression (work up to 12 reps, then add weight), and covers all the major muscle groups across push, pull, and leg days.

I’d recommend this for beginners or early intermediates who genuinely don’t have access to a barbell setup. It’s a well-organized program with a clear progression scheme, and over 10,000 athletes have used it on Boostcamp.

I’ll be honest: dumbbells alone won’t let you load heavy compound movements like squats and deadlifts the way a barbell will. If you have access to a barbell, you’re better off running the barbell Reddit PPL instead. But if dumbbells are what you’ve got, this is one of the better options out there.

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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

Dr. Swole’s PPLUL (Push Pull Legs Upper Lower) is a 5-day hypertrophy program designed by Bill Wong, a medical doctor and WNBF pro natural men’s physique competitor.

It’s built for lifters with at least 2 years of training under their belt – late beginners, intermediates, and advanced lifters who want to maximize muscle growth. The program runs for 8 weeks and takes about 60 minutes per session.

What I like about PPLUL is how it solves a real problem with both PPL and Upper/Lower splits. A standard PPL split tends to skew toward upper body volume, while a standard Upper/Lower split can lean lower body–heavy. PPLUL combines the two so you hit every muscle group at least twice per week without the volume imbalance.

One thing to note: the Upper day in this program leans push-heavy. Some users have noted there’s less back work on that day than you’d expect, so if back development is a priority for you, consider adding a rowing movement or extra set of chin-ups on Upper day. A few reviewers over 40 also mentioned needing extra rest days beyond the two built-in ones.

The PPLUL program is available for free on the Boostcamp app and as spreadsheets on Scribd. Compound movements sit in the 5-8 rep range at RPE 7-8, while accessories use 6-12 reps at RPE 9. The program ramps intensity from RPE 7-8 in week 1 up to RPE 9-10 by week 3 and beyond.

Program Type: 8 Week Programs, Bodybuilding Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

KONG: Savage Size in 12 Weeks is a hypertrophy program created by Alex Bromley of Empire Barbell. It’s a 5-day bodybuilding split that runs 12 weeks across three 4-week blocks, hitting each body part twice per week.

The program first appeared in Bromley’s book of the same name and is now free on the Boostcamp app.

If you’re familiar with Bromley’s other work, like his Bullmastiff strength program, you know he programs in clear blocks and doesn’t waste your time. KONG takes a different angle: where Bullmastiff is strength-focused, KONG is built purely for size.

It runs from high-rep isolation work to heavy compound pyramids, which preps your connective tissue and work capacity before the loads get heavy.

What I like about this program is how it handles weak points. Block 1 puts isolation exercises first, so you hit lagging body parts when you’re freshest. That’s backwards from how most people train, and it works.

I’d recommend it for intermediate lifters coming off a strength block who want a dedicated hypertrophy phase. The time cost is real at 5 days a week and 75 minutes a session, and some Boostcamp users needed extra rest days beyond the two off days, so keep that in mind if your recovery is limited.

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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

Texas Method Routine Overview

The Texas Method is a strength program that focuses on training 3 days a week and hitting a new PR each week, making it ideal for intermediate lifters that can still progress on a weekly basis. Each training week represents one cycle: Monday is volume day, Wednesday is an active recovery day, and Friday is an intensity day where a new PR is set.

Program Type: 6 Week Programs, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: June 17, 2026

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.

Program Type: 10 Week Programs, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: March 23, 2026

Jonnie Candito’s 6 week program is a powerlifting peaking program. It consists of several short training blocks dedicated to muscular conditioning, hypertrophy, strength, linear weight increases, acclimation to heavy weights, intensity, and testing. It is held in especially high regard for improving the one rep max of the squat, though it programs all three lifts.

Note: Novice lifters will progress more quickly using the Candito Linear Progression Program. For a deadlift specific program, see newly the released Candito Deadlift Program.

Program Type: 6 Week Programs, Peaking Program, Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: March 21, 2026

Program Overview

Welcome to Mass Impact, the ultimate training program for those who want to accelerate muscle growth while focusing on the most visually impactful muscle groups. This isn’t just another hypertrophy plan—it’s a roadmap to building an upper body so powerful it could double as body armor. With a targeted approach and advanced training techniques, Mass Impact ensures you’ll maximize every second in the gym.

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Last Modified: March 3, 2025