Workout Routine Database

Connor Lutz is a powerlifting competitor and coach at Calgary Barbell. These are a few different powerlifting programs he shared back in 2018. There are three powerlifting programs in total: a beginner program, an updated intermediate program, and an old intermediate program. (more…)

Program Type: 7 Week Programs, Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: September 20, 2026

Sheiko programs are powerlifting programs attributed to Boris Sheiko, the renowned Russian powerlifting coach. They’re known for their high volume – lots of submaximal doubles and triples on the competition lifts, often multiple times per session.

More of a loose working template than a strict program, many different variations of Sheiko powerlifting programs have been circulating Internet forums for years. This page gathers the most useful ones in one place, all as Google Sheets (better than PDF), from beginner through advanced.

To best understand Sheiko’s training methodology, Lift Vault highly recommends you read or listen to his interview with Omar Isuf.

Program Type: 12 Week Programs, 13 Week Programs, 4 Week Programs, 8 Week Programs, Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

The Strength Athlete (TSA) released their 9 week beginner powerlifting program (aka general beginner approach) as a follow up to their successful 9 week intermediate powerlifting program. Like the intermediate program before it, the beginner program is structured as a 4 day, 9 week program, but also includes a 4 week peak if preparing for a meet.

Program Type: 9 Week Programs, Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

Greg Nuckols released 28 free training programs through his site, Stronger by Science. The bundle covers squat, bench press, and deadlift individually, with templates for beginner, intermediate, and advanced lifters at 1, 2, or 3 training days per week for each lift. Every program runs on a 4-week cycle, and you test your 1RM at the end of each cycle. The math: 3 lifts x 3 skill levels x 3 frequencies = 27 programs, plus a 4th deadlift variation (low volume, medium volume, and high volume in addition to the standard beginner version) = 28 total.

The design comes from Nuckols’ data-driven approach to strength training. Instead of a single fixed program, the bundle gives you a modular system: pick your lift, your experience level, and how many days per week you can train that lift. You use the squat, bench, and deadlift programs together, each running at whatever frequency fits your schedule. Intermediate and advanced templates add lift variations (front squats alongside back squats, for example), while beginner programs focus on the competition lifts to build the movement pattern first.

These programs are a good fit for intermediate and advanced lifters who want a percentage-based, structured template they can customize by frequency. Beginners can run them too — the 1x per week beginner versions are the most approachable entry point. You’ll need a 1RM estimate for each lift to get started. If you’re brand new to powerlifting, you might get more mileage from a full-body novice program first. See also: Greg Nuckols High Frequency Program (free spreadsheet).

Program Type: Bench Press Workout Program, Deadlift Program, Lift Specific Program, Powerlifting Program, Programs, Squat Program
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

Ivysaur 4-4-8 is a free 3-day full-body beginner barbell program built around two weekly templates: Week A and Week B. Each session alternates between a 4×4 main-lift set and 4×8 volume work across the squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, barbell row, and chin-ups. The program runs 30 weeks with auto-advancing loads built into the spreadsheet.

The program was posted to /r/fitness by /u/ivysaur as a direct response to the shortcomings of Starting Strength and StrongLifts 5×5. Instead of a fixed linear jump each session, progression is driven by AMRAP sets. You hit your top set for as many reps as you can, and that number determines how much weight goes on the bar next week. It’s more volume than StrongLifts and you get to squat less often, which many beginners find easier to recover from.

It’s a good fit for true beginners and for lifters coming off StrongLifts or Starting Strength who want more bench and deadlift frequency. The weekly load jumps are aggressive, so you’ll hit a wall faster than you would on a slower LP program. Have a follow-on program ready. Once you’ve run out of steam on this one, the Heavy Light Medium (HLM) program is a natural next step.

Program Type: Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

Created by John Sheaffer (aka Johnny Pain), Greyskull LP is a 3-day-per-week full body routine for novice lifters. You train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, hitting squats and a press or bench variation every session, with deadlifts mixed in. Each session follows the same basic structure: two work sets of 5, then a final “5+” AMRAP set on the main lifts.

The AMRAP set is what separates Greyskull LP from programs like Starting Strength and StrongLifts 5×5. Those programs have you stop at 5 reps on every set. Greyskull LP keeps the linear progression (adding weight every session), but lets you go all out on the last set. That extra volume helps you build more muscle alongside the strength gains, and it gives you a longer productive run before you stall.

This is a beginner program. If you haven’t stalled on linear progression yet, you’re exactly who it’s designed for. If you’ve already burned through a novice LP and stalled multiple times, you’ll get more out of something like GZCLP, which is built for people who’ve outgrown the basic add-weight-every-session model.

Program Type: 6 Week Programs, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

The Metallicadpa 6 Day PPL is the canonical free Push/Pull/Legs routine from r/Fitness, written by /u/metallicadpa. You train six days a week across two Push days, two Pull days, and two Leg days. Compound lifts use a 5/5+ AMRAP structure (five straight sets, then an all-out rep set), and loads are driven by your 1RM inputs so the spreadsheet suggests starting weights for you.

The program runs indefinitely with session-to-session linear progression. When you hit the target reps on your AMRAP set, the sheet advances your load for the next session automatically. Upper body lifts go up 2.5 kg at a time; lower body lifts go up 5 kg. The idea is to keep adding weight as long as you can before accumulating fatigue forces a reset, which is the core mechanic of linear progression borrowed from programs like GZCLP.

This program suits intermediate lifters who can recover from six training days per week and want high-frequency hypertrophy work built into a clear structure. If you’re newer to lifting or can only make it to the gym three or four days a week, you’ll get more out of starting with the PPL spreadsheet collection, which covers shorter variants of the same split.

Program Type: 6 Week Programs, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

StrongLifts 5×5 is a 3-day-per-week beginner strength program built around two alternating workouts. Workout A is squat, bench press, and barbell row. Workout B is squat, overhead press, and deadlift. You train each one 3 times every two weeks, always squatting, adding 5 lb to the bar each session. Mehdi at stronglifts.com based it on Bill Starr’s 5×5 from the 1970s.

The idea is pure linear progression: no percentages, no wave loading, no periodization. You just add weight every single session until you can’t anymore. That simplicity is the whole point. Every session you squat, which is what drives the strength base. It’s the easiest possible novice program to follow, by design.

StrongLifts is for true beginners or people coming back after a long layoff. If you’ve been lifting consistently for more than 6 months, you’ll probably stall faster than the program expects, and something like Starting Strength or GZCLP may serve you better. Both the lb and kg versions of the spreadsheet are below.

Program Type: Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

nSuns 5/3/1 is a high volume linear progression powerlifting program inspired by Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1. It comes in 4, 5, and 6 day versions (plus squat and deadlift focused variants), and it progresses weekly instead of monthly.

Each day you’ll work the main lift for 9 sets, including an AMRAP set that drives next week’s weights, then a secondary lift for 8 more. It’s a ton of volume. Those who stick with it tend to add pounds to their total quickly, and the extra work capacity pays off in whatever program they run next. All of the spreadsheets below were assembled by Redditor /u/nsuns.

nSuns is best suited to late stage novices and early intermediates who recover well and want to push hard. If you’re brand new to lifting, you’ll progress faster on a simpler program like Starting Strength – a true novice can add weight multiple times per week and doesn’t need this much volume.

Program Type: Deadlift Program, Lift Specific Program, Powerlifting Program, Programs, Squat Program, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: September 12, 2026

The Bill Starr 5×5 is a three-day-a-week barbell program built on weekly linear progression. You train Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the days run heavy, light and medium in that order, and each session is squats plus one press plus one pull. Every 5×5 is a ramp, not five sets across, so only the last set is a genuinely hard set.

The progression is the whole program. You work up to your current five-rep maxes over three or four weeks, hit them, then keep adding the same small increment every week and set a personal record each Monday until you stall.

There’s no percentage chart and no deload schedule. You go up until you can’t, then you reset a few weeks back and climb again.

This suits an intermediate lifter who has run out of road on a beginner program that adds weight every session. It’s a poor fit if you want variety, if you can only train twice a week, or if you need to peak for a meet on a fixed date. The version on this page is the linear one, and the spreadsheet below does the weekly maths for you.

Program Type: Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: September 11, 2026

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.

Program Type: 8 Week Programs, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: August 23, 2026

GZCLP is a linear progression strength program for beginners, available in 3 day and 4 day versions. Each session is built from three tiers: a T1 main lift (starting at 5 sets of 3), a T2 variation (3 sets of 10), and a T3 accessory (3 sets of 15), with the last set of each tier an AMRAP.

It’s a simpler, faster-progressing version of Cody Lefever’s GZCL method. You add weight every time a lift comes up, like Starting Strength, but the tier structure gets you a lot more volume per session.

It’s highly customizable too: you pick the lifts you want to run in each tier, and the spreadsheets below handle the progression math for you.

Program Type: 12 Week Programs, Powerlifting Program, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: August 10, 2026

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.

Program Type: 11 Week Programs, 12 Week Programs, 13 Week Programs, 15 Week Programs, 5 Week Programs, Powerlifting Program, Programs
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Last Modified: August 9, 2026

Starting Strength is Mark Rippetoe’s beginner barbell program, and it’s about as proven as a novice routine gets. You train 3 days a week on non-consecutive days, alternating two full-body workouts (A and B) built around five lifts: the squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, and power clean. Every session is a handful of heavy sets on the big compounds. You squat every time you train, and you add weight every session you make all your reps.

The idea is dead simple: a brand-new lifter can add weight to the bar every single workout for months, so the program never wastes that window on fancy periodization. It’s a straight linear progression, the same family as GreySkull LP and StrongLifts. What sets Starting Strength apart is the coaching. Rippetoe’s book breaks down each lift in more detail than just about any other source, so you learn to move well while you get strong.

This one is for true beginners, or for anyone coming back after a long layoff who can still add weight session to session. If you’re already an intermediate lifter and the weights stopped jumping every workout a while ago, you’ll get more out of an intermediate routine like Madcow or the Texas Method. If you’re brand new and not sure where to start, this or one of the other beginner programs is a great first step.

Program Type: Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: July 14, 2026

This is an Olympic weightlifting program outline for beginners. It was originally published by Glenn Pendlay in 2010 on his blog, which is now defunct. The article and program template have been reproduced here for archival purposes.

I also have created an accompanying spreadsheet that can be used to follow along with the program.

Program Overview

• This program is for beginner Olympic weightlifters only.
  • The progression will be too rapid for more developed lifters to continually make progress.
• The program consists of week A and week B training cycles, which can be repeated as long as the lifter is making progress.
• Each training week is comprised of three training sessions.
• These training sessions can be organized however you’d like, as long as recovery is adequate. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is one logical sequence.
  • Other variations would likely work too. The most important question is if you feel recovered heading into each training session and are able to continually add weight on the bar. The answer to both should be “yes.” If not, sleep and nutrition should be assessed. Else, if the athlete has been running the program for several months, they may have exhausted this rapid linear progression and should move to another program with slower progression.
• Each training session consists of a snatching exercise, a clean & jerk exercise, a squatting movement, and at least one “complex.”
  • A complex is several exercises performed sequentially, in a circuit, with minimal rest in between exercises.
  • Complexes can include plyometric exercises like box jumps or long jumps, ab exercises, lower back exercises (e.g. reverse hyperextensions, back extensions, planks), and conditioning work like high rep kettlebell snatches or swings. Prehab work like shoulder dislocations or band pull-aparts can work too.

Program Type: Olympic Weightlifting Programs, Programs
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Last Modified: July 14, 2026

The Candito Linear Program is a free 4-day-per-week upper-lower program from Jonnie Candito. You run it with one of three emphasis variants — Control, Power, or Hypertrophy — that modify the secondary days while keeping the heavy days identical across all three. There’s also a 3-day-per-week version (Mon/Wed/Fri) built into the program. Progression is simple: add weight each week to the main lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) and run it until you stall.

The design keeps two heavy days constant every week (heavy lower on Monday, heavy upper on Tuesday — 3×6 squat/deadlift and 3×6 bench with back work). The two variation days are where you pick your emphasis. Control uses pause variations to build technique and time under tension. Power swaps the lower variation day for explosive work to develop fast-twitch fiber. Hypertrophy bumps the variation days to higher volume (5×8) for more muscle size. You pick one emphasis and run it. When you stall on a lift, drop 15 lbs and continue. After three resets, slow your progression to every two weeks.

This program is best for novice-to-early-intermediate lifters who know how to perform the main lifts safely and want a structured linear program with more variety than StrongLifts 5×5. If you’ve never touched a barbell, spend a few months learning the movements first. If you’ve already exhausted linear progression and stall fast, the Candito 6 Week Program is the natural next step.

Program Type: Bodybuilding Program, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: July 4, 2026

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.

Program Type: 12 Week Programs, Programs, Strength Training Program
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Last Modified: June 26, 2026

Arnold Schwarzenegger took to Instagram yesterday to share an old home bodyweight workout of his, which he also shared on Reddit. The workout consists of push ups, sit ups, bent over twists, bent leg raises, squats (aka knee bends), calf raises, and chin ups.

Each bodyweight exercise is performed for a different number of reps depending on the individuals strength level: beginner or advanced.

A full break down of each exercise and its different rep ranges is below, along with highlights from Schwarzenegger’s Reddit post.

Program Type: Bodyweight Workout Programs, Programs
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Last Modified: June 29, 2023

Designed by the smart folks at Ripped Body, this beginner bodybuilding workout routine is a great introduction to hypertrophy training for novices. The spreadsheet for this bodybuilding program for novices is based on this post shared by Ripped Body.

Program Type: Bodybuilding Program, Programs
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Last Modified: June 29, 2023

The Reddit Recommended Bodyweight Routine is a product of the /r/bodyweightfitness community. It combines pull ups, push ups, squats, dips, and hinge movements to help provide a full body strength workout with minimal required equipment.

Program Type: Bodyweight Workout Programs, Programs
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Last Modified: May 3, 2023