Strength training programs, explained set by set

3 day workout split

Intermediate · 3 days a week · 8 to 12 weeks, then reassess

A three-day week with an upper day, a lower day and a full body day, for people who can reliably train three times and want more than a plain full-body routine.

4 day workout split

Intermediate · 4 days a week · 8 to 12 weeks, then reassess

A four-day body part split for lifters who want each session to focus on one or two muscle groups: chest and triceps, back and biceps, legs, then shoulders and arms.

5 day workout split

Intermediate · 5 days a week · Ongoing, in blocks of 8 to 12 weeks

A five-day week that trains every muscle twice: an upper day and a lower day first, then push, pull and legs. It suits lifters who can train five days and want the twice-a-week frequency that research tends to favor, with some of the focus of a classic body-part split.

5/3/1 Boring But Big

Intermediate · 4 days a week · Four-week cycles, repeated

The 5/3/1 wave with five sets of ten of the same lift tacked on. A good fit for four-day lifters who want size as well as strength and can recover from the extra volume.

5/3/1 for Beginners

Beginner · 3 days a week · Four-week cycles, repeated

A three-day full-body version of 5/3/1 for newer lifters: all four barbell lifts every week, five sets of five after the main work, and small training max jumps once per cycle.

Arnold split

Advanced · 6 days a week · Ongoing, in blocks of 8 to 12 weeks

A six-day bodybuilding split from Arnold Schwarzenegger's own book. It trains every muscle twice a week and asks for more time and recovery than most lifters have.

Bench press program

Intermediate · 3 days a week · Until the bench stalls

A three-day week built around the bench press: one heavy day, one volume day and one paused day, for lifters who want a bigger bench and can bench three times a week.

Bro split

Intermediate · 5 days a week · Ongoing, in blocks of 8 to 12 weeks

A five-day split that gives chest, back, shoulders, legs and arms a day each. It is easy to run and fun to train, but it hits each muscle once a week, and research leans toward twice.

Calisthenics program (bodyweight strength)

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until the harder steps stall

A free three-day, full-body calisthenics workout plan for beginners: pull, push, squat and hinge in three pairs, with a ladder of harder steps for each. To start you need a pull-up bar, bars to dip on and a low bar or table for rows.

Candito 6 Week Program

Intermediate · 5 days a week · 6 weeks

A six-week periodized block for intermediate lifters who want to peak squat, bench and deadlift and finish with a max test.

Conjugate method (Westside Barbell)

Advanced · 4 days a week · 3 weeks

A four-day powerlifting system built around heavy, fast and high-rep work. It suits experienced lifters and takes real judgement to run well.

Cube Method

Advanced · 4 days a week · 10 weeks: three 3-week waves, then a test or meet week

A four-day powerlifting plan for experienced lifters who want one heavy lift a week, with speed and rep work filling the other two days.

DC Training (DoggCrapp)

Advanced · 3 days a week · 6 to 8 week blasts, each followed by a 10 to 14 day cruise

Dante Trudel's low-volume bodybuilding system for lifters with three or more hard years behind them: one all-out set per body part, each muscle trained three times every two weeks.

Deadlift program

Intermediate · 3 days a week · 3-week blocks, repeated while the deadlift moves

A three-day deadlift program with two pulling days and a hinge day, for intermediate lifters whose deadlift has stalled and who can give it a 9 to 12 week block.

Dumbbell full body workout

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until the heaviest dumbbells stop being enough

Three full body days a week with dumbbells and a bench, for beginners or anyone training at home who wants one clear plan to follow.

Full body workout routine (3 days a week)

Intermediate · 3 days a week · Run it for as long as the weights keep rising

A three-day full body plan for lifters past the first few months: one heavy day, one medium day and one volume day, so every muscle gets worked more than once a week without every session being a max effort.

German Volume Training

Advanced · 3 days a week · 6 weeks

A 10x10 block for experienced lifters who want a hard push on muscle size. Two small trials found 5 sets did as well as 10.

Greyskull LP

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until you stall

A three-day full-body plan for new lifters: small weight jumps, and one hard final set that tells you how fast to climb.

GZCLP

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until you run out of stages

A beginner linear progression with back-off stages: when you miss reps, the set scheme changes instead of the bar dropping straight back.

Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty

Intermediate · 2 days a week · No fixed length, run it while your log shows progress

A low-volume bodybuilding routine for trained lifters who recover slowly, can push one set to true failure, and are happy to train about twice a week.

Ice Cream Fitness 5x5

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until you stall

StrongLifts-style 5x5 for lifters who also want bigger arms, traps and abs, as long as they can spend about 90 minutes a session.

Kettlebell workout plan

Beginner · 3 days a week · Ongoing: move up a bell each time you own the current one

A three-day kettlebell workout plan for training at home with a few bells: swings and presses on Day 1, get-ups and cleans on Day 2, snatches and a long swing session on Day 3.

Madcow 5x5

Intermediate · 3 days a week · 12 to 16 weeks, then reset or move on

A three-day full-body program for lifters who have stopped adding weight every session. Ramping sets build to one hard set, and the weights climb a little each week.

nSuns 5/3/1

Intermediate · 4 days a week · Open-ended

A high-volume four-day plan for lifters who outgrew novice progress but still want to add weight to the bar almost every week.

Olympic weightlifting program

Beginner · 3 days a week · Repeating 4-week blocks, retest after two or three

Our own three-day Olympic weightlifting program for lifters who have learned the snatch and the clean and jerk and now want a set weight for every session.

PHAT (Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training)

Advanced · 5 days a week · 4 to 6 week blocks, repeated

A five-day plan for experienced lifters: two heavy power days, then three size days that each open with six fast, light sets of 3 on a power lift.

Phrak's GSLP

Beginner · 3 days a week · 2 to 4 months

A free full-body linear program that balances push, pull and legs, with a last set on each lift that tells you when to push harder.

PHUL

Intermediate · 4 days a week · Until progress stalls

A four-day upper/lower week with two heavy power days and two higher-rep size days, for lifters who want to get stronger and bigger in the same block.

Powerbuilding program

Intermediate · 4 days a week · Until progress stalls

A four-day week built on a heavy squat, bench, deadlift and press, each followed by size work, for lifters who want to get stronger and look it.

Powerlifting program for beginners

Beginner · 3 days a week · 12 weeks or until progress slows

A three-day plan built on the squat, bench press and deadlift, the three lifts a meet judges, for lifters in their first months of training.

Push day workout

Intermediate · 2 days a week · 8 to 12 weeks, then reassess

Two push sessions for chest, shoulders and triceps. Push A leads with the bench press, Push B with the overhead press. Run one or both each week as the push days of your split.

Push pull legs

Beginner · 6 days a week · Until your lifts stall

A six-day split that hits every muscle twice a week, with one rule on the big five lifts: add weight when you make your reps.

Sheiko program

Intermediate · 3 days a week · 4 weeks

A three-day powerlifting plan for lifters who want lots of technique practice on squat, bench and deadlift at moderate weights, with no failure sets.

Smolov Jr

Advanced · 4 days a week · 3 weeks

A three-week block that raises squat volume and intensity together, for experienced lifters who want a new squat max and can let everything else drop to maintenance.

Starting Strength

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until you stall

A three-day barbell routine of three sets of five that teaches the squat, press, bench and deadlift while the bar gets heavier every session.

Strength training program for women

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until your weights stop going up

A free, balanced full-body plan for women starting with barbells: two workouts, three days a week, with a clear rule for when to add weight.

Strength training over 40

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until your weights stop going up

A free, steady full-body plan for beginners over 40: two workouts, three days a week, light starts, small jumps and clear rules for when to add weight.

Strong Curves

Beginner · 3 days a week · 12 weeks per program in the book

A glute specialization program for women: full-body training three or four days a week, with hip thrusts and glute bridges first in every session.

StrongLifts 5x5

Beginner · 3 days a week · Until you stall

The simplest way to learn the squat, bench, press, row and deadlift while adding weight to the bar every session.

Tactical Barbell

Intermediate · 3 days a week · 6 weeks

A three-day full-body strength block for people who have other training or work to recover from and want steady, submaximal progress on squat, bench and pull-ups.

Texas Method

Intermediate · 3 days a week · Until weekly records stop

The classic next step after novice progress ends: a volume day, a light day, then a Friday record attempt.

Upper/lower split

Intermediate · 4 days a week · 8 to 12 weeks, then reassess

A four-day week that trains every major muscle twice, with heavy compounds first and accessories after, for lifters ready to leave full-body beginner plans.

5/3/1 (Wendler)

Intermediate · 4 days a week · Four-week cycles, repeated

A slow four-day plan for steady strength on squat, bench, deadlift and overhead press. The training max moves up a fixed amount once per cycle, not week to week.