The best free 4-day workout programs, compared
12 4-day programs, every one free and shown in full on its own page. Pick by level, then by what you have to train with.
- Beginner: GZCLP, Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine
- Intermediate: 5/3/1 Triumvirate, 5/3/1: Boring But Big, Juggernaut Method 2.0, PHUL, WS4SB 3
- Advanced: Bullmastiff, Dorian Yates HIT, GZCL: Jacked & Tan 2.0, The Rippler, Twice-A-Day
All 12, line by line
| Program | Days | Session | Length | Level | Equipment | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GZCLP | 4 | 35–45 min | Ongoing | Beginner | Full gym | Cody Lefever |
| Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine | 4 | 45–60 min | Ongoing | Beginner | Full gym | Lyle McDonald |
| 5/3/1 Triumvirate | 4 | 45–60 min | 4-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Full gym | Jim Wendler |
| 5/3/1: Boring But Big | 4 | 50–70 min | 4-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Full gym | Jim Wendler |
| Juggernaut Method 2.0 | 4 | 35–50 min | 16 weeks | Intermediate | Full gym | Chad Wesley Smith |
| PHUL | 4 | 45–65 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Full gym | Brandon Campbell Diamond |
| WS4SB 3 | 4 | 40–55 min | 3-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Barbell + dumbbells | Joe DeFranco |
| Bullmastiff | 4 | 30–40 min | 20 weeks | Advanced | Full gym | Alex Bromley |
| Dorian Yates HIT | 4 | 40–50 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | Dorian Yates |
| GZCL: Jacked & Tan 2.0 | 4 | 45–60 min | 12 weeks | Advanced | Full gym | Cody Lefever |
| The Rippler | 4 | 30–40 min | 12 weeks | Advanced | Full gym | Cody Lefever |
| Twice-A-Day | 4 | 35–50 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | Durata |
Session times are worked out from each program's sets, reps and rests: the same estimate the app shows.
Who each one suits
GZCLP
Best forThis is a beginner program in the best sense: the decisions are automated, the sessions are recoverable, and the built-in accessory work means you're adding size while the numbers climb.
ProgressionEach tier progresses by its own rule, which is the quiet genius of the system.
Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine
Best forThe generic bulking routine is for intermediates in a deliberate calorie surplus — the name is a contract, and running it while cutting misses the design entirely.
ProgressionEverything advances by double progression.
5/3/1 Triumvirate
Best forThis is the post-novice default.
ProgressionEach lift's weights are percentages of a training max, not your true max.
5/3/1: Boring But Big
Best forBBB is built for lifters past the beginner stage — you've run a linear progression like Starting Strength or GZCLP, adding weight every session no longer works, and you want to get bigger while your strength keeps climbing.
ProgressionYou start by setting a training max — 90% of your true 1RM — for each of the four lifts.
Juggernaut Method 2.0
Best forPick the Juggernaut Method if you're an intermediate who does better with a defined start and finish than an endless monthly loop — or an athlete who can't afford to be fried by constant near-max lifting.
ProgressionTake the Tens wave as the pattern.
PHUL
Best forPHUL suits a lifter who has finished a linear-progression program and wants both numbers and a physique — the classic powerbuilding profile.
ProgressionThe two kinds of day progress differently, and keeping them straight is where most people slip when running PHUL off a spreadsheet.
WS4SB 3
Best forBuilt for field and court athletes — football, rugby, basketball — who need strength and explosiveness at the same time, and for lifters who want an athletic template rather than pure powerlifting.
ProgressionEach max-effort variation progresses independently: because it only comes around once per 3-week rotation, you aim to beat that variation's previous top set each time it returns — Durata stores a separate working weight per lift and applies the increase automatically after a successful AMRAP top set.
Bullmastiff
Best forThis is a program for lifters past the linear-progression stage who want size and strength from the same twenty weeks — the Empire Barbell audience of strongman and powerlifting generalists.
ProgressionAll percentages run off your true 1RM — not a 90% training max — and that number is locked for the whole block.
Dorian Yates HIT
Best forThis is an advanced hypertrophy program, and 'advanced' here means something specific: you must be able to genuinely reach muscular failure, which most lifters have never actually done, and then stop.
ProgressionEvery exercise runs double progression off its one working set.
GZCL: Jacked & Tan 2.0
Best forRun it if you're an intermediate coming off GZCLP or another linear program and your priority has shifted from adding plates every session to adding muscle while strength keeps ticking up.
ProgressionProgression is the chart itself.
The Rippler
Best forThis is for intermediate-to-advanced lifters who have exhausted session-to-session progression and want a percentage-based wave with a test date at the end.
ProgressionThere are no in-block decisions to make — every load for all twelve weeks is a fixed percentage of the true 1RM you enter on day one, not a discounted training max, so resist the urge to round up.
Twice-A-Day
Best forThis is an advanced program with an unusual gating requirement: not strength, but schedule.
ProgressionThe two halves of the day advance by different rules, on purpose.
Common questions
Which of these has the shortest sessions?
Bullmastiff, at about 30–40 minutes a session. Session times are worked out from each program's sets, reps and rests, the same estimate the app shows.
Which ones suit a beginner?
GZCLP and Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine. They are written for lifters in their first year or so of training.
Are these programs free?
Yes. All 12 are free to run in Durata, and every set of every session is shown on each program's own page.
Run any of them in Durata
Every program here is free in Durata, with each one's own progression worked out for you as you log.