The ideal hypertrophy & physique program for the immediate post novice and intermediate trainee. Preserves the classic 3-day per week full body structure while giving the trainee exposure to more specific bodybuilding exercises and programming.
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.
Workout A is squat, incline press, pulldowns, rear delts, biceps, and abs. Workout B is strict press, deadlift, dips, side delts, leg curls, and calves. Workout C is a quad-biased squat, flat press, rows, leg extensions, triceps, and forearms. Every muscle gets hit two to three times a week.
Warm up, work to one heavy top set in the prescribed range, rest fully, then take roughly 10% off the bar and do one more set in the next range up. Two sets that count, not five that don't. Add a third only where you genuinely need it.
Each set lives in a narrow rep window. Hit the top of the window, add load. Hit the bottom, reset lighter and build back up. Track your numbers, standardize your form and rest, and take small jumps. The PDF walks through a full example cycle.
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.
Workout A
Squat · Incline · Pull
Workout B
Press · Pull · Posterior
Workout C
Quads · Flat Press · Rows
Verbatim from the sample first pass in the PDF · exercise alternatives and the 2-day options are inside
Coach · 2005 — Now 
Four-day upper/lower hypertrophy split (3-day option included), with low, medium, and high volume tiers to match your recovery.
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.
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.
If you want to get into hypertrophy and physique work rather than chase pure strength, yes. It keeps the 3-day full-body structure you are used to and swaps in the exercise selection and set-and-rep scheme that build muscle. If you want to keep driving the big lifts up first, run the Texas Method instead.
Yes. The PDF gives two options for a fixed 2-day week: rotate A, B, and C in sequence across Monday and Thursday, or alternate A and C on Monday with B every Thursday. Three days is the default and progresses faster.
Really. One heavy top set and one back-off set, both pushed hard with strict form and full range of motion. If you honestly cannot get enough stimulus from two sets, add a third to that exercise. There is no reason to do four or five.
Mostly. Squats, presses, deadlifts, rows, dips, curls, and skullcrushers need a bar, a rack, a bench, and a dip station. The PDF gives alternatives for pulldowns, leg curls, and leg extensions, but a gym with those machines makes it easier. If your setup is strictly bar, rack, and bench, the Garage Gym Warrior series is a better fit.
As long as it works. Progression runs in fluid cycles: add reps and load until a set bottoms out, reset, and climb again. Cycles typically run 6–12 weeks. Hold the program as written for at least 6–8 weeks before you rearrange anything.
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.