A 4-day strength block built on submaximal percentage work around the four main barbell lifts, with a heavy top set each session.
Intermediate lifters who want a repeatable, percentage-driven strength progression on squat, bench, deadlift, and press.
Expected commitment: 60-75 min per session, 4 sessions per week.
Prerequisites: A known or estimated 1RM (or a recent heavy top set) on the main barbell lifts, and access to a barbell, rack, and plates.
Squat as the main lift; posterior-chain and quad accessories.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Back Squat | 3 | 3-5 | 85% |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 6-8 | RPE 8 |
| Leg Press | 3 | 8-12 | RPE 8 |
| Leg Curl | 3 | 10-12 | RPE 9 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 8-12 | RPE 9 |
Bench press as the main lift; balanced upper-body pressing and pulling.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Bench Press | 3 | 3-5 | 85% |
| Weighted Pull-Up | 3 | 5-8 | RPE 8 |
| Standing Overhead Press | 3 | 6-8 | RPE 8 |
| Barbell Row | 3 | 8-10 | RPE 8 |
| Triceps Pushdown | 3 | 10-15 | RPE 9 |
Deadlift as the main lift; unilateral and quad-biased accessories.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell Deadlift | 3 | 3-5 | 85% |
| Front Squat | 3 | 6-8 | RPE 8 |
| Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 8-10 | RPE 8 |
| Leg Extension | 3 | 12-15 | RPE 9 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 4 | 12-15 | RPE 9 |
Overhead press as the main lift; incline pressing and back volume.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing Overhead Press | 3 | 3-5 | 85% |
| Incline Barbell Bench Press | 3 | 6-8 | RPE 8 |
| Lat Pulldown | 3 | 8-12 | RPE 8 |
| Barbell Curl | 3 | 10-12 | RPE 9 |
| Face Pull | 3 | 15-20 | RPE 9 |
Each session opens with one main barbell lift trained against a percentage of your training max — heavy enough to build strength, submaximal enough to repeat week after week without grinding. Leaving one to two reps in reserve on the top set is the whole point: strength is built by accumulating quality work, not by chasing a max every session.
The four-day layout gives squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press their own dedicated day, so each main lift is trained hard once a week with a full recovery window before it comes around again. The accessory work after the main lift reinforces that pattern and covers the rest of the body at moderate reps.
On MuscleBuddy this program runs with percentage-based progression on the main lifts by default: the top set climbs in small waves across the block, and when a lift stalls the engine holds or resets the percentage rather than letting you grind reps you cannot recover from. Accessories progress by double progression — stay in the rep range, then add load.
Blocks run several hard weeks into a lighter deload so accumulated fatigue clears and the next wave opens on a fresh, slightly higher baseline. This is a strength program first; expect steady barbell numbers rather than a pump-focused hypertrophy stimulus.
MuscleBuddy auto-advances weights, tracks every set, and adjusts when you stall.
Start this program for free with MuscleBuddy