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Squat 3 Days per Week Powerlifting & Strength Programs

These are squat programs that call for the athlete to squat 3 days per week.

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3 Day Chinese Olympic Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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This Chinese Olympic weightlifting program is a 3 day, 4 week peaking block designed for competition preparation. It was originally designed for school-aged lifters that were only able to train 3 days per week.

Program Overview

  • 4 week peaking mesocycle
  • 3 training days per week
  • Trains a variety lifts, but is designed to peak the snatch and clean & jerk
  • Trained lifts include the snatch, clean & jerk, power snatch, power clean, snatch pull, clean pull, deadlift, Romanian deadlift, back squat, front squat, hang snatch, push press, and press.
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6 Day 8 Week Intermediate Olympic Weightlifting Program (Glenn Pendlay)

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This is a 6 day, 8 week Olympic weightlifting program originally shared by Glenn Pendlay. It was originally shared over the course of 8 weeks in 2015 on his blog. The program is designed to be run in preparation for a weightlifting competition and can be considered a peaking program. It is well suited for an average intermediate weightlifter.

Intermediate Olympic Weightlifting Program Overview

  • This is an 8 week program, 6 days of training per week.
  • It is designed for intermediate weightlifters.
  • It can be used to peak for a weightlifting competition.
  • It programs for the following lifts (1RM unless noted otherwise):
    • Back squat (5 rep max)
    • Front squat (3 rep max)
    • Push press (5 rep max)
    • Snatch from hip
    • Snatch from knee
    • Clean & Jerk
    • Clean & Jerk (from hip)
    • Clean & Jerk (from knee)
    • Clean
    • Overhead Press
    • Power Snatch
    • Power Clean
  • The set and rep scheme is sets x reps (e.g. 2×3 means “2 sets of 3 reps”)
  • EMOM = every minute on the minute
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Glenn Pendlay Beginner Olympic Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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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.
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Takano 12 Week Olympic Weightlifting Program Spreadsheet

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This is a 12 week Olympic weightlifting program with 3 to 6 training days per week, depending upon your classification. It can be used by beginner, intermediate, and advanced weightlifters, as it provides programming for multiple lifter classifications.

This program can be used in preparation for a weightlifting competition.

The program has seemingly been attributed to Bob Takano, though I have no idea if he had anything to do with it or not. You can find the best of Takano’s thinking in his book: Weightlifting Programming: A Winning Coach’s Guide.

Program Overview

Here’s a quick breakdown of the program. You’ll find more detail in the spreadsheet and the notes below.

  • 12 week program
  • 3 to 6 training days per week
  • Appropriate for the following classifications: CIII, CII, CI, CMS
  • Main exercise movements
    • Hang Power Snatch
    • Behind the Neck Push Press (BTNPP)
    • Hang Power Clean
    • Back Squat
    • Snatch Deadlift
    • Press
  • Frequency for snatches, cleans, and jerks varies from 2-6 times per week, depending upon the lifter’s classification
  • Accessory movements are also included

It is important to note that weight, sets, and reps are denoted like this: (weight/reps) x sets.

For example, (100/4)x3 means to lift 100 kg for 3 sets of 4 reps. (Or 100 lbs – the units do not matter).

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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.

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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.

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Dietmar Wolf Norwegian Powerlifting Program Spreadsheets

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Dietmar Wolf is the head coach of the Norwegian powerlifting team. Below you’ll find some programs that are either attributed to him or have been released directly from the Norwegian Powerlifting Association. One program is from a Norwegian powerlifter named Frode Haugen; this program is labeled accordingly to reduce confusion. [Read more…]

Prep10 10 Week Peaking Program Spreadsheet

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Prep10 is a 10 week powerlifting peaking program designed for beginners and intermediates. It uses block periodization to take the lifter through a 5 week hypertrophy mesocycle, followed by a 1 week transition mesocycle, a 3 week intensity mesocycle, and a 1 week deload. This program could be used to peak for a meet taking place on week 11 (assuming week 10 is the deload week). [Read more…]

Atlas Rising Powerlifting Program Spreadsheet

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Atlas Rising is an advanced 7 week powerlifting program with 3 training days per week. It is formed from a combination of the Russian Squat Routine for squats, MagOrt for deadlifts, and Hepburn Method A for bench press and overhead press. I would expect this program to improve the squat and deadlift, but not the bench press or overhead press, which simply would be maintained.

This “frankenprogram” was created by /u/PaulTheMediocre, who used it to achieve the following results: [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…]