Lift Vault

Free Programs and Spreadsheets

Home » RPE Program » Page 4

Powerlifting Programs that use RPE

Below you'll find powerlifting programs that use RPE to calculate a significant amount of the programmed lifts.

If you didn't find the RPE-based powerlifting program you're looking for, try using the Lift Vault Program Library. It lets you search through all Lift Vault programs using lots of different criteria, including how weights are calculated and various program types.

Related: powerlifting programs, powerbuilding programs, bodybuilding programs, strength training programs

PHATburn Powerbuilding 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

Established by Doug Hepburn as a powerbuilding routine that blends the heavy weight work of powerlifting training with the hypertrophy-inducing volume of bodybuilding training, PHATburn is a challenging program for advanced athletes. If you’re looking to introduce more volume into your off-season training, this may be what you’re looking for. [Read more…]

The Bridge by Barbell Medicine Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

Recommended by Lift Vault:
Experience level:
Weeks:
Periodization:
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 Bridge is an 8 week strength program from Jordan Feigenbaum and Austin Baraki at Barbell Medicine. You train 3 days a week on the competition lifts plus close variations, and the whole thing runs on RPE rather than percentages of your 1RM.

The name describes the job. It’s built for lifters finishing a novice linear progression like Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5×5, where adding weight every session has stopped working and the next step is a program that varies intensity across the week.

Sessions run 70 to 90 minutes, which is longer than most novice programs and worth knowing before you start. Learning to rate RPE accurately is the other adjustment, and it takes a few weeks. The review section below includes a well-known critique of whether this is the right first step straight off a novice LP.

[Read more…]

Weightrainer Peaking Programs #1 and #2 Spreadsheets

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

Weightrainer.net published these two peaking programs: one designed especially for the bench press (#1) and another program (#2) for squat, bench, or deadlift.

The two programs are pretty similar, but here are some key differences: [Read more…]

Gene Bell Jr.’s 12 Week Squat Peaking 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

Used by Gene Bell Jr. to prepare for a powerlifting meet, this program consists of one weekly squat workout over the course of 12 weeks to increase the 1 rep max by over 6%.

Format:

  • Squat 1x weekly
  • 12 weeks in length
  • Most work is done in 60-80% range, with final 4 weeks starting at 92.5% and working up

[Read more…]

Kizen 16 Week Powerbuilding Program (4 Week Preview + PDF)

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

Hot on the heels of the immensely popular Kizen 6 Week Bench Peaking Program spreadsheet, Silent Mikke, Bart Kwan, and Omar Isuf have teamed up yet again to release the first 4 weeks of their 16 week Powerbuilding Program for free, including a PDF that explains the theory behind the program!

[Read more…]

GZCL Method Spreadsheets: General Gainz, UHF, Jacked and Tan 2.0, The Rippler & More [Complete]

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

The GZCL Method is Cody Lefever’s powerlifting training framework, named after his Reddit username, /u/gzcl. This page collects free spreadsheets for every major GZCL program: General Gainz, Jacked & Tan 2.0, UHF, The Rippler, VDIP, and more.

Everything GZCL is built on a tier system. T1 is the day’s main lift (heavy, low reps), T2 is a variation of it (moderate weight and reps), and T3 is higher-rep accessory work. How each tier progresses is what separates the different programs.

If you’re a newer lifter, start with GZCLP, the linear progression version – it has its own page with dedicated spreadsheets. For the theory behind all of it, read Cody’s blog and the r/gzcl subreddit.

[Read more…]

Bulgarian Method 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 Bulgarian Method is built on specificity, frequency and intensity: work up to a daily max on a small number of lifts, and do it often. This spreadsheet is based on Greg Nuckols’ Bulgarian Manual, which adapts the approach to one session per day instead of the two or three the original Bulgarian weightlifting program used.

This is advanced training and it is not a good fit for beginners or early intermediates. It asks you to judge your own capacity daily and adjust intensity on the spot, which is a skill that takes years to develop. If you cannot yet tell the difference between a heavy day and a bad day, this will grind you down.

The spreadsheet holds four separate templates rather than one program, and the order you run them in matters. Three of them are on-ramps; the fourth is the full approach.

[Read more…]

Strong Curves Spreadsheets + PDF: Beginner and Advanced Workouts

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

Strong Curves is a system of separate 12-week programs created by Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis. You pick the program that matches your experience and equipment, run it for the full 12 weeks, then move up to the next one when you’re ready. Each program opens sessions with hip thrusts and glute bridges as the primary work, then moves into legs, upper body, and core. Bootyful Beginnings, the beginner program, runs 3 days per week.

The training idea is glute-focused hypertrophy with progressive overload. You start with bodyweight and band work, then add barbells as you get more experienced. Rep ranges shift each program so the weight goes up and the reps come down as you progress. It’s not a powerlifting program and it won’t build your squat and deadlift the way a strength-focused template would.

Strong Curves is a good fit for women and anyone focused on glute development at the novice to intermediate level. If you want a program built around the big-four lifts with linear progression, you’d get more out of something like Starting Strength first. Come back to Strong Curves when glute and lower body hypertrophy is the goal.

[Read more…]

New Rules of Lifting for Women Workout Program Spreadsheet

By
Last updated

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

New Rules of Lifting for Women is a 7-stage, full-body program from The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler, Cassandra Forsythe, and Alwyn Cosgrove. You train 3 days a week and alternate two workouts, an “A” workout and a “B” workout. Each session pairs compound lifts with core and single-leg work, and the whole program runs about 6 months.

Progression isn’t based on percentages of your 1RM. You pick a weight you can just finish for the sets and reps a stage calls for, and once you can complete every set at the top of the rep range, you add a little weight and start again at the bottom. The book also walks through exercise form and a nutrition plan, so it’s a full package if you’re newer to lifting or coming back to it.

It’s a good fit for beginner and intermediate women who want a structured full-body program with a diet plan built in. If you’re after a glute-focused routine, Strong Curves is worth a look, and if you want the simplest possible barbell start, StrongLifts 5×5 is a gentler on-ramp. If you’re chasing a percentage-driven powerlifting peak, you’ll want a different program.

[Read more…]