Ivysaur 4-4-8
By u/Ivysaur · From Original Source
Also known as: ivysaur · 448 · 4-4-8 · novice · beginner barbell
A novice barbell program — the community "Ivysaur 4-4-8". A two-week A/B rotation of three full-body days. Every main lift runs both a heavy 4-rep scheme and an 8-rep scheme at 90% of that weight, and an AMRAP last set on each week's third day: rep it out for 8+ and the weight jumps double the next week. Start light — it climbs quickly.
Free to use · auto progression, rest timers & PR tracking built in
What is Ivysaur 4-4-8?
Ivysaur 4-4-8 (often written just "448") is a community novice routine built on weekly linear progression: one working weight per lift that climbs every week you hit your reps. The name is the two rep schemes every main lift runs. On its heavy days a lift does sets of four at your working weight; on its lighter days it does sets of eight at 90% of that same weight, kept locked together so the volume tracks the strength. Once a fortnight the four turns into a 3×4 followed by a single AMRAP set — as many reps as you can, no ceiling — and repping out eight or more doubles that week's jump. That rep-out bonus is the one idea it borrows from 5/3/1; everything else — no training max, no monthly wave, add weight every week — is straight linear.
It runs as a two-week A/B rotation of three full-body days each. Across the fortnight squat, bench, deadlift and overhead press each get one heavy four-rep day carrying the AMRAP and 8-rep back-off days at 90%, and all but the squat get a plain four-rep day as well — plus barbell rows and chin-ups for the upper back. Every pattern is trained several times across the two weeks without any of it approaching failure, because the fours are submaximal by design and the eights are lighter still.
Is Ivysaur 4-4-8 right for you?
This suits the novice who finds grinding sets of five joyless and would rather chase a rep number. Every week you hit your reps the bar goes up, and on a lift's AMRAP week repping out eight or more doubles that jump — so progress is fast and the rep-out is a bonus rather than a gate. Frequency junkies get the most from it: every major pattern is practised across the fortnight, and the submaximal fours plus the back-off eights build bar speed and technique in a way heavy straight sets do not. One warning: start light. Because the weight climbs every week and doubles on a good AMRAP, seeding too heavy is the quickest way to stall.
How progression works
The weight goes up every week on every lift — that is the whole point of the program. Hit your reps and the bar climbs, whether the week gave that lift a heavy set of fours or an 8-rep back-off day; the two schemes share one working weight, so raising it lifts both. The base weekly jump is 7.5 kg on squat and deadlift, 5 kg on bench and rows, 2.5 kg on the overhead press (15/10/5 lb for pounds lifters). On the week a lift trains its AMRAP top set, that jump doubles when you rep out eight or more — so the AMRAP is a bonus on top of the weekly climb, not the only thing that earns it. Rows carry no AMRAP set, so they take the plain jump every week.
Because the numbers rise fast, start light — seeding too heavy is the quickest way to stall. Miss on any day and the shared weight freezes for both schemes: the fours and the eights are one number, so falling short on an 8-rep back-off day holds the four-rep day too. There is no deload: Ivysaur's graphic has no rule for a miss, so Durata doesn't add one. A missed week holds the weight, and it comes back the next week until you make it. The AMRAP set is the early-warning system: when a rep-out that used to sail past eight starts landing just short of it, the runway is shortening before a real miss. Durata charts that trend and handles the weekly jump and the AMRAP double for you.
The graphic ends with an optional Extra Credit list, and each day in Durata carries it in his words: increase the set count to 5, chin-ups every workout, and 2 squat sets added to the deadlift days. He gives no sets or reps for them, so they are yours to add if you want the extra work.
Durata runs this progression for you — the lighter sets are worked out from your working weight, each session's target carries over from what you logged last time, and the weight moves when you hit or miss the prescribed reps.
Ivysaur 4-4-8 — every set, every session
AMRAP = as many reps as possible on the final set.
Week 13 sessions
Week A · Day 1
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 4×4 | — |
| Squat (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Chin Up | 4×8 | — |
Week A · Day 2
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 4×4 | — |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 4×4 | — |
| Bent Over Row (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
Week A · Day 3
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 3×4 1×4+ AMRAP | — |
| Squat (Barbell) | 3×4 1×4+ AMRAP | — |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Chin Up | 4×4 | — |
Week 23 sessions
Week B · Day 1
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 4×4 | — |
| Bent Over Row (Barbell) | 4×4 | — |
Week B · Day 2
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 4×4 | — |
| Squat (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Chin Up | 4×8 | — |
Week B · Day 3
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bench Press (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
| Deadlift (Barbell) | 3×4 1×4+ AMRAP | — |
| Overhead Press (Barbell) | 3×4 1×4+ AMRAP | — |
| Bent Over Row (Barbell) | 4×8 @ 90% | — |
Ivysaur 4-4-8 — common questions
What are the two rep schemes, and why 90%?
Every main lift runs heavy sets of four at your working weight and back-off sets of eight at 90% of that same weight. The fours are the strength work; the lighter eights add volume without extra grind. Because the two are locked to one shared weight, they rise together — and a miss on either freezes both.
When does the AMRAP set happen, and what does it do?
Only on the third session of each week, and only on that week's two heavy lifts — squat and bench in week A, deadlift and overhead press in week B. It is the last set of a 3×4, and it is a bonus, not the gate: the lift already climbs that week for hitting its reps. Rep out eight or more on the AMRAP and that week's jump doubles. The plain four-rep and 8-rep days are straight sets with no rep-out.
Do I add weight every week, or every two weeks?
Every week, on every lift. Hit your reps and the bar goes up — it does not matter whether that week gave the lift a heavy set of fours or an 8-rep back-off day, because both schemes share one working weight. The AMRAP week simply doubles the jump on top. The two-week A/B rotation only decides which lifts get their heavy AMRAP day when; it never means a lift sits still for a week.
Why is progression weekly instead of every session?
Each lift takes one jump per program week no matter how many times it is trained that week, so the several sessions under one shared weight build the pattern without the load running away. That is also what makes the 'rep out 8+ to double' bonus reachable — the week's climb lands once, and on the AMRAP week it lands doubled.
What happens when I miss?
The weight holds. Ivysaur's graphic has no deload rule, so Durata doesn't add one: miss and the same weight comes back the next week until you make it. Because the four-rep and eight-rep weights are one shared number, coming up short on either scheme holds that lift.
When have I outgrown Ivysaur 4-4-8?
When several lifts stall at once and stay stuck week after week, it's time for a program that spreads progress over longer waves. GZCLP and 5/3/1 For Beginners both feel familiar after the 448 structure and stretch the progression over longer waves.
Is there an app that runs Ivysaur 4-4-8 for you?
Yes. Durata runs Ivysaur 4-4-8 as written, free: the 3-day-a-week schedule, every set and rep, and the progression built in. Log your sets and the next session's weights are worked out for you, with the stalls the program calls for; a tap on any lift shows why the weight moved. It is on iPhone and Android, works offline, and your history from Hevy or Strong imports free.
Source: Ivysaur 4-4-8 — u/Ivysaur (r/Fitness).
Durata is not affiliated with or endorsed by the program's author. The program structure (sets, reps, exercise selection) is presented as published methodology.
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AMRAP tracking, automatic progression, plate calculator, rest timers and PR tracking — the whole program, ready to log.
