The best free powerbuilding programs, compared
9 powerbuilding 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: 5×5 Linear Progression + Accessories
- 4 days a week: 5/3/1: Boring But Big, PHUL, Bullmastiff, GZCL: Jacked & Tan 2.0, Twice-A-Day
- 5 days a week: PHAT, Push Pull Legs · Upper Lower
- 6 days a week: Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1
All 9, line by line
| Program | Days | Session | Length | Level | Equipment | By |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5×5 Linear Progression + Accessories | 3 | 65–90 min | 2-week cycle, repeats | Beginner | Full gym | Traditional |
| 5/3/1: Boring But Big | 4 | 50–70 min | 4-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Full gym | Jim Wendler |
| PHUL | 4 | 45–65 min | Ongoing | Intermediate | Full gym | Brandon Campbell Diamond |
| Bullmastiff | 4 | 30–40 min | 20 weeks | Advanced | Full gym | Alex Bromley |
| GZCL: Jacked & Tan 2.0 | 4 | 45–60 min | 12 weeks | Advanced | Full gym | Cody Lefever |
| Twice-A-Day | 4 | 35–50 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | Durata |
| PHAT | 5 | 50–70 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | Layne Norton |
| Push Pull Legs · Upper Lower | 5 | 55–70 min | Ongoing | Advanced | Full gym | Traditional |
| Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1 | 6 | 50–70 min | 4-week cycle, repeats | Intermediate | Full gym | Metallicadpa & Jim Wendler |
Session times are worked out from each program's sets, reps and rests: the same estimate the app shows.
Who each one suits
5×5 Linear Progression + Accessories
Best forRun this when you want linear-progression strength but refuse to wait a year for arms.
ProgressionThe mains progress exactly as the base program: 2.5 kg per completed session on squat, bench, press and row, 5 kg on the deadlift, with a 10% deload after three straight misses.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
PHAT
Best forThis is an advanced program and the workload is real: five long sessions, over twenty working sets on some days, and every muscle hit twice a week.
ProgressionThe power lifts add weight whenever you finish every set within the 3–5 (or 5–8) rep prescription.
Push Pull Legs · Upper Lower
Best forThis 5-day split fits the intermediate who has outgrown three-day programs but knows a six-day PPL would collapse the first busy week.
ProgressionTwo engines drive the week.
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.
Common questions
How many days a week do these powerbuilding programs take?
From 3 to 6 days a week. 3 days: 5×5 Linear Progression + Accessories. 4 days: 5/3/1: Boring But Big, PHUL, Bullmastiff, GZCL: Jacked & Tan 2.0 and Twice-A-Day. 5 days: PHAT and Push Pull Legs · Upper Lower. 6 days: Metallicadpa PPL: 5/3/1.
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?
5×5 Linear Progression + Accessories. It is written for lifters in their first year or so of training.
Are these programs free?
Yes. All 9 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.