The best free intermediate programs, compared
17 intermediate programs, every one free and shown in full on its own page. Pick by how many days you can train, then by what you have to train with.
- 3 days a week: German Volume Training (GVT), Madcow 5×5, Olympic Lifter, Texas Method, Vince Gironda 8×8
- 4 days a week: 5/3/1 Triumvirate, 5/3/1: Boring But Big, Juggernaut Method 2.0, PHUL, WS4SB 3
- 5 days a week: Bro Split, Candito 6 Week Strength, Wolverine
- 6 days a week: 90-Day Transformation, Metallicadpa PPL, Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1, Physique Peak
All 17, line by line
| Program | Days | Session | Length | Level | Equipment | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Volume Training (GVT) | 3 | 40–55 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Full gym | Charles Poliquin |
| Madcow 5×5 | 3 | 55–75 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Barbell + a rack | Traditional |
| Olympic Lifter | 3 | 45–65 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Barbell + a rack | Durata |
| Texas Method | 3 | 40–50 min | 2-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Barbell + a rack | Mark Rippetoe & Glenn Pendlay |
| Vince Gironda 8×8 | 3 | 30–40 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Full gym | Vince Gironda |
| 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 |
| Bro Split | 5 | 50–70 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Full gym | Traditional |
| Candito 6 Week Strength | 5 | 25–35 min | 6 weeks | Intermediate | Barbell + dumbbells | Jonnie Candito |
| Wolverine | 5 | 45–60 min | 4-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Full gym | David Kingsbury |
| 90-Day Transformation | 6 | 30–40 min | 12 weeks | Intermediate | Full gym | Durata |
| Metallicadpa PPL | 6 | 50–70 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Full gym | Metallicadpa |
| Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1 | 6 | 50–70 min | 4-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Full gym | Metallicadpa & Jim Wendler |
| Physique Peak | 6 | 30–45 min | 10 weeks | Intermediate | 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
German Volume Training (GVT)
Best forGVT is for intermediate lifters who want size and are prepared to eat for it — running a 10×10 routine in a calorie deficit is a fast route to burnout.
ProgressionThe load stays fixed until you've earned the increase: complete all ten sets of ten — the full hundred reps — with the same weight and clean form, then add a small jump (2.5 kg is plenty) next session and rebuild.
Madcow 5×5
Best forPick the madcow 5x5 program when session-to-session jumps have stopped sticking but week-to-week ones still can — typically after several months of a novice barbell routine.
ProgressionEach lift runs off a single training max — Monday's top-set weight — and every set all week is a percentage of it.
Olympic Lifter
Best forThis is for lifters who already know the movements and want a structured week to build them — you've had some coaching or put in serious technique work, and you can snatch and clean & jerk safely, even if lightly.
ProgressionThe fast lifts micro-load: make all five doubles on the snatch or clean & jerk and the bar goes up 1 kg next session; miss twice at a weight and it drops 10% so you can rebuild speed and timing.
Texas Method
Best forThis is a program for early intermediates who still want a PR on the bar every week and can pay for it in food and sleep.
ProgressionFriday decides everything.
Vince Gironda 8×8
Best forThe vince gironda 8x8 program suits experienced lifters chasing a dense, classic-physique look — especially as a deliberate change of stimulus after months of heavy low-rep work, or during a cut when joints appreciate lighter loads.
ProgressionLoad progression is earned, not scheduled.
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.
Bro Split
Best forPick this split if per-session focus matters more to you than per-week frequency: you get to empty the tank on one muscle, chase the pump through four angles, and know it has a week to grow back.
ProgressionOne rule runs the entire week: double progression.
Candito 6 Week Strength
Best forThis block is for intermediate lifters who want to convert a training cycle into visible PRs, and it slots naturally into the last six weeks before a powerlifting meet or a planned gym max-out.
ProgressionThere are no per-session weight decisions.
Wolverine
Best forThis wolverine workout is for intermediates who want strength numbers and a visible physique from the same program and can genuinely commit five days a week — the volume only pays off if the sessions actually happen.
ProgressionEverything keys off a working max set at 90% of your true 1RM — the same conservative buffer as a 5/3/1 training max, and the reason week three's 90% sets are heavy but honest.
90-Day Transformation
Best forChoose this over the shorter cuts when the goal is a genuine transformation — ten-plus kilos to lose, or a full recomp you want to document properly.
ProgressionLifts progress by double progression — work every set to the top of the rep range, add 2.5 kg, repeat — and over twelve weeks those small jumps quietly add up to a much stronger you at a lighter bodyweight.
Metallicadpa PPL
Best forDespite the nickname, the real entry requirement is scheduling, not experience: six gym days a week, every week.
ProgressionThe primaries progress like a classic linear program: 2.5 kg per session on bench, press, rows and squats, 5 kg on deadlifts, with the AMRAP top set showing how much room is left.
Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1
Best forRun this when you've milked the base Metallicadpa PPL — the 1×5+ top sets have stalled and resets only buy a few weeks — but you're not willing to give up six-day PPL volume for a barbell-only intermediate program.
ProgressionThe five wave lifts cycle over four weeks: a 5s week topping out at 85% of the training max, a 3s week at 90%, the 5/3/1 week finishing with a single at 95%, then a 40/50/60% deload.
Physique Peak
Best forThis is a contest-prep-style program, and it assumes you've earned it: real 1RMs to enter on day one, a training history that tolerates six sessions a week in a deficit, and a starting point that's already reasonably lean.
ProgressionThe heavy work doesn't progress on purpose.
Common questions
How many days a week do these intermediate programs take?
From 3 to 6 days a week. 3 days: German Volume Training (GVT), Madcow 5×5, Olympic Lifter, Texas Method and Vince Gironda 8×8. 4 days: 5/3/1 Triumvirate, 5/3/1: Boring But Big, Juggernaut Method 2.0, PHUL and WS4SB 3. 5 days: Bro Split, Candito 6 Week Strength and Wolverine. 6 days: 90-Day Transformation, Metallicadpa PPL, Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1 and Physique Peak.
Which of these has the shortest sessions?
Candito 6 Week Strength, at about 25–35 minutes a session. Session times are worked out from each program's sets, reps and rests, the same estimate the app shows.
Are these programs free?
Yes. All 17 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.