Thirty minutes a day, six days a week, written for the lifter who runs a business, raises a family, and still wants to be strong and jacked. Short sessions. High effort. No 90-minute marathons.
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 session is one body part, two to four exercises, three to five working sets. Andy wrote this for himself at 43 running multiple businesses. Long enough to make progress, short enough to fit between work and family. The trade-off is non-negotiable effort: when volume is low, every set has to count.
First work set lands in the 3–6 or 5–8 rep range, within 1–2 reps of failure. Drop 5–10% and rep out a second set close to failure. Drop again for the third. Same protocol on bench, squat, press, rows, curls, extensions. Simple, repeatable, and brutal when run honestly.
Each lift runs its own cycle. Add 2.5 to 5 lbs to the top set when you hit 3–6 clean reps. Keep going until the top set drops below 3 reps, then reset 10% and start the next cycle. The PDF includes a worked example across 18 weeks of bench.
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.
Chest
Cardio
Back
Cardio
Quads
Calves
Shoulders
Cardio
Arms
Cardio
Hamstrings
Abs
Verbatim exercise selection from the PDF · descending-set loading and progression rules in the program
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 Heavy-Light program for lifters past forty who still want strength and size. Periodized barbell lifts and a full assistance template.
Four-day power-building split built around the bench, squat, overhead press, and deadlift. Full assistance template included.
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, if effort is high. Volume is low by design, so every working set has to be pushed within 1–2 reps of failure on honest form. Andy wrote this program for himself at 43 and has run it with clients in similar situations for years. It is not theoretical.
The PDF includes a six-day-into-five and six-day-into-four collapse. Combine triceps onto chest day, biceps onto back day, hamstrings into quad day, and so on. Sessions get longer as you compress. Andy also points to the KSC Method for Power-Building (5 day) and the Baker Barbell 4-Day Power-Building Program for trainees who want a structured 4 or 5 day split instead.
Run the Flexible Hypertrophy Program instead. It is designed for lifters who cannot commit to fixed training days every week. Cross-linked from the FAQ in this PDF.
Most of it, yes. Bench, squat, deadlift, RDL, overhead press, rows, curls, and extensions all run with a barbell, rack, bench, plates, and dumbbells. Some assistance options assume cables or machines and have free-weight swaps written into the text.
No. It is written for intermediate-to-advanced lifters who already have barbell competence and can self-regulate effort. If you are still adding weight every session on a linear progression, finish that first. The free 6-week bench program on this site is a good fit for novices.
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.