A 4-day upper/lower split engineered to add muscle and improve the total physique without abandoning the barbell. Three volume tiers, low, medium, and high, so you match the work to your recovery instead of guessing.
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.
The same upper/lower skeleton runs at three different volumes. Low tier hammers 1–2 hard sets per movement at RPE 9–10. Medium tier holds the line at 3 sets. High tier pushes 4–5 sets at lower intensity. Pick the tier that fits your recovery, switch tiers across the year as life changes.
Bench, squat, overhead press, deadlift variations, and rows anchor every week. Machines, dumbbells, and cables fill in the assistance work. Hypertrophy programming that does not pretend the barbell is optional.
Hypertrophy work eventually accumulates fatigue. The PDF spells out deload cadence per tier and shows how to alternate high-volume blocks with low-volume blocks for both size and strength across a training year.
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.
Upper Body 1A
Push · Pull
Lower Body 1
Squat · Posterior
Upper Body 2A
Push · Pull
Lower Body 2
Squat · Posterior
Verbatim from week 1 of the medium volume / medium intensity sample · low and high tier samples in the PDF
Coach · 2005 — Now 
A legs-push-pull split that runs at three, four, five, or six days a week. Pick the schedule that survives your week.
Four-day power-building split built around the bench, squat, overhead press, and deadlift. Full assistance template included.
Twelve weeks of full-body training with the volume biased to biceps, triceps, and forearms.
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.
Start with the medium tier if you are unsure. It is the most sustainable and the simplest to run. Move to the low tier if you have limited time and recover slowly. Use the high tier in 4–8 week bursts when life and recovery support it. The PDF walks through the decision in detail.
Yes. The PDF includes a 3-day rotation that runs the four sessions across a week and a half. The 4-day cadence is the default and produces faster progress; the 3-day option is there when life gets in the way.
It can, but a fully-equipped garage helps. The program leans on machines, cables, and dumbbells for assistance work. If your setup is a rack, bar, and bench only, the Garage Gym Warrior series is a better fit.
No. It is written for intermediate-to-advanced lifters with a base of barbell training. If you are still adding weight to the bar every session on a linear progression, run that out first. The free 6-week bench program on this site is a good fit for novices.
Run a tier for as long as it produces results, deload on the cadence in the PDF, then keep going. The medium and low tiers can be run for months. The high tier is best used in 4–8 week bursts. The PDF is yours to keep and re-run.
This program is a self-contained template you own. The Baker Barbell Club is ongoing programming, written fresh every week, delivered Sunday. Many members run a PDF cycle while subscribed and use the Club for what to do next.