A 13-week peaking program built on intensity-and-volume sessions. Heavy work in the 85 to 100 percent range up top, classic 5×5 volume underneath, on a 3-day upper/lower split that respects your recovery and your week.
Programmed by Andy Baker. Co-author, Practical Programming for Strength Training and The Barbell Prescription.
Twelve weeks of programming you can pin to the rack. Here is what is in the PDF, in the order you will read it.
Power-building means the main lifts go up while the assistance work fills the shirt. Three things make that possible.
Each day pairs one main lift trained heavy with another trained for volume. High-intensity squat plus volume deadlift. High-intensity bench plus volume press. The heavy work drives the PR. The volume builds the muscle and the work capacity that supports it.
Heavy days run a repeating 3-week wave: 85 percent for sets of 3+, 90 percent for sets of 2+, 95 percent for a single+. Then the wave resets and climbs higher. By week 11 you are pulling 100 percent for a rep, with sets in reserve, before the testing week.
Volume work begins at the tried-and-true 5×5 protocol and creeps up linearly from the low 70s to about 80 percent across 12 weeks. Options for back-off sets, lower-rep volume swaps, and a Speed Sets variant are spelled out for older lifters and the final weeks.
The 8s week, taken straight from the program. Week two drops to 3×5 on the main lifts, week three to 3×2. Loads, rotation rules, and the full reset protocol live in the PDF.
Intensity Deadlift
Volume Squat
Intensity Press
Volume Bench
Intensity Squat
Volume Deadlift
Verbatim from week 1 of the program · loads, percentages, and notes in the PDF
Coach · 2005 — Now 
Twelve weeks of three-day Heavy-Light-Medium built around the squat, bench, and deadlift. Power clean variation included.
Volume-cycled Texas Method for more sustained progress. The intermediate template from Practical Programming, refined for real lifters.
Two programs in one: a ten-week 3 or 4-day split, plus a five-week peaking block for meet prep.
The Baker Barbell Club is the recurring side of the same coaching practice. New programming every week, written by Andy, delivered Sunday. 400+ members. $27 a month. Cancel any time.
You will get an email with a download link to the PDF after checkout. Save it to your phone, your laptop, or print it. There is no login, no app, and no expiring access.
Yes. The program is built around a rack, a barbell, a bench, and plates. Andy notes that many trainees on the original run were in bare-bones garage setups, and substitutions for the assistance work (rows, tricep extensions, posterior chain) are written into the PDF.
Andy is explicit on this one. Many trainees are tempted to push the frequency to 4 days. Time and experience with this style of programming has shown again and again that the 3-day model is superior. Run it as written.
No. It is written for intermediate-to-advanced lifters with a base of barbell training and a reasonable 1RM (or heavy 2 to 5 rep max) on the four main lifts. If you are still adding weight to the bar every session on a linear progression, run that out first.
13 weeks. Twelve weeks of training, then a deload and 1RM testing week to confirm new PRs on the squat, bench, deadlift, and press.
Because programs are delivered as digital PDFs, sales are final. If you have a question about whether this is the right program for you, email Andy before you buy. The buyer's guide on the programs page is the fastest way to triangulate.
This program is a self-contained 13-week peak that you own. The Baker Barbell Club is ongoing programming, written fresh every week and delivered Sunday, with 400+ members. Many lifters run the 5×5 cycle while subscribed and use the Club for what to do next, plus form-check and Q&A access to Andy along the way.