If you want to lift heavy weights, pack on some muscle mass, and you don’t want to spend every day in the gym, then this program is for you. This 4 day strength training program will cover the most important aspects of a great strength program to maximize your time in the gym. I’ve also included a free PDF download that covers each of the 32 workouts in this 8 week program. Keep reading to see all the details.
It’s no secret that I write a lot of fitness programs. I’ve got bodybuilding programs, functional fitness programs, endurance programs, and every kind of variation on those themes. However, most of these programs require that you spend a lot of time in the gym.
As a coach of many years, I understand that people actually have lives outside of the gym. I don’t, but I understand normal folks do! As such, I’ve written this program for those that want to focus on building strength in the big four lifts: back squat, bench press, strict press, and deadlift.
By no means does this mean that this 4 day split program is limited to these main lifts. It simply means that I’ve written the program so that all the accessory work, and lifting percentages, are aimed at increasing your specific strength in these exercises. Now let’s take a quick overview of the program, to determine who it’s best for.
The 4 Day Strength Training Program Overview
- 4-day split program with 3 rest days per week
- You choose which days you workout
- Each major muscle group worked twice per week
- Can be done in most home gyms or commercial facilities
- Perfect for intermediate lifters as well as more advanced athletes
- Each workout is a full body split lasting approximately one hour
I must admit that this workout plan was somewhat of a challenge to write. I normally have the luxury of including a lot of exercises, to make sure that each body part gets enough training volume. That can become difficult when you have only 4 training days per week.
As such, you won’t find a traditional workout routine with a lower split, and dedicated upper body days. Most research confirms that practicing the lifts often, with a sufficiently heavy load, allows you to increase your strength the fastest.
Consequently, research also demonstrates that increased lifting volume is often correlated with increased muscle mass, which also helps increase overall strength. As you can see there is more to this workout program than meets the eye.
Here is the Dropbox link where you can download the free PDF. If you’re somewhere that restricts downloads, then you can simply screenshot each week below, as the PDF has all the same information further down. Choose your own adventure.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 4 DAY STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM PDF
The Best 4 Day Strength Training Program for Maximum Strength and Mass
Once you see the details of this program, you’ll understand that there isn’t any fluff. I’ve focused your effort on the best compound exercises for both strength and mass. There is very little accessory work or technique work in this workout program.
In general terms, I recommend starting each workout session the same way. Do 3-5 minutes of easy cardio. You can choose to jog, row, assault bike or another machine you require. The goal is to increase your heart rate, and get your entire body ready for action.
Next, I recommend doing a few body weight movements that use the same major muscle groups. For example, if you have bench press and squats as your primary lifts, then push ups and air squats are a good warm up movement to choose.
I normally like to do a mini circuit at an easy pace with these movements. If we continue with a bench press and back squat day, I would probably do something like 3 rounds of 10 reps of each movement, at a moderate pace. By the end of this specific warm up, you should be sweating a bit, and ready to warm up your main lifts.
Movement Warm Up
This doesn’t mean that you’re ready to jump right into to your working sets with the barbell. You still need to take your warm up sets, working up to your first work set. This is one area where athletes often err on the side of not doing enough warm up sets.
The best rule of thumb for these movement warm ups, is to start with just the bar and make something like 10-15% jumps for each successive set once you get somewhat close to your working weight. Here is an example progression you could follow.
- 1×10 at 30%
- 1×8 at 50%
- 1×5 at 60%
- 1×2 at 70%
- First Work Set
If you’re very strong, and are working up to a heavy weight, then you might have to add even more warm up sets. It’s also important to note that you don’t need to warm up with the same sized sets as your working sets. The specific goal is to ready yourself for the actual work, not tire yourself out prematurely.
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Rest Periods Between Movements and Sets
As you’ll see, I’ve specified rest on some of the movements, but I haven’t on every single lift for a couple of reasons. In the beginning of the cycle the lifts won’t be extremely heavy, compared to your one rep max. As the weeks progress, the sets will start to push you to your strength limits.
In my opinion as a coach it’s silly to specify a strict rest period much of the time, because there really isn’t a need for this in strength training. If you read my article on rest periods you’ll remember that 3-5 minutes is enough time to rest for strength training. You’ll also recall that resting more doesn’t always equate to increased performance.
When I switch movements I normally use the time to strip my bar off and warm up the next movement as a rest period. However, there’s nothing wrong with taking a few minutes between movements before doing this.
Remember this is a pure strength program. If you want strength and conditioning you should look at something like this program below. Because it’s a premium program, it has much more detail on guided warm ups, accessory work, and nutrition information as well.
We’ve covered the preliminary information about this 4-day workout split strength program. Let’s start talking about the first weeks of the program, and see just what’s in store for us.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 1
The first thing you should notice is that much of the barbell work is percentage based, from your one rep max, in each of these lifts. If you don’t have a solid one rep max, that you’ve done within the last year, then I recommend establishing a current 1RM, by picking a heavy weight and going for max reps. You can then put your info in this calculator to approximate your current one rep max.
The first thing you should notice is that each training week is color coded. Yes I know I’m a nerd, and I don’t plan on changing! Green block are squat / leg days. Light blue blocks are upper body days focusing on pressing. Dark blue blocks are accessory work. Light gray blocks are hinge pattern / deadlift days.
Each of these workout sessions is numbered, and meant to be read vertically. I normally start with the topmost exercise and work my way down, but that isn’t mandated. For best results you need to work on the barbell work first, and then you can move on to the accessory movements.
For training session one, I would do my light cardio and then move to my bodyweight warm up, finishing off with my warm up sets for squats. After I finish my final squat set, I would then start warming up my strict press. Once that’s finished, I would warm up my walking lunge.
In this case the walking lunge is not a super heavy movement, like the back squat, and you might only need a few reps to warm up this movement pattern. Once that’s finished, I would follow the same pattern for my dumbbell lateral raise.
Most importantly, I like to follow up each session with a specific cool down. I will cover that further on in this article so make sure you read that section. Cooling down correctly can drastically impact your ability to build muscle mass, and recover more quickly. Now, let’s talk about week 2.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 2
You can see that this program follows a set pattern. The movements will stay the same, but the training volume, and load will change from workout to workout. This is very important for strength gains. You need to practice the specific movements you want to be strong with, so your body becomes more efficient coordinating with the specific muscle group that moves the weight.
The weights this week are still quite manageable, and none of the barbell work is max effort, yet. You should feel like you have a few reps left in the tank on most of these sets. If you find you’re missing reps, or barely finishing sets, then you might need to drop the weight slightly lower. You shouldn’t hit truly hard sets for a few more weeks yet.
You will also notice that the accessory work increases in difficulty as well. For these movements I often use the term RIR, which stands for reps in reserve. This is a way to self select the weight for movements that you probably don’t have a 1RM for.
If you have a set of 10 at 2 RIR, that means you should be able to do 12 reps if you absolutely had to. In effect, you are leaving 2 reps left in reserve. If you have this same set of 10, at 1RIR, you would only be able to complete one more rep. This generally means the weight is heavier compared to a 2RIR set. Now let’s cover week 3.
If you like this program, and want to build more muscle mass, then this is your next program.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 3
This is the week where things start to become difficult. Most of the percentage work is becoming challenging, and you really need to pay attention to proper form. Don’t be afraid to take a little more rest between sets if it’s a heavy gravity day for you.
Some of you more savvy readers might have noticed that the last day for each training week is more or less an accessory day. You won’t find a standard barbell lift there at all. I do this for good reason.
While it’s important to get a lot of reps on your primary movements, it’s just as important to build general strength, especially in your back. The back supports almost every movement you do. No one ever said that their back was just too strong!
If you’ve read my article on the hex bar or trap bar, you’ll know that research shows it’s a good option for building strength and power. I’m a big fan of this bar. Do your best to find a gym that allows you to use it. If you don’t have access to this amazing tool, then you can sub in something like sumo deadlifts. The important thing is to keep the same general movement pattern. Now let’s talk about week 4.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 4
This is about the time when my athletes start cursing my name. The weight continues to increase, and the accessory work builds in volume. It ain’t easy being strong! The good news is that by this week your body has most likely increased in strength, and you should be able to notice these gains.
This is also the first week where I introduce the technical max or TM. This is a very important concept for building strength. The TM is the heaviest load you can move, on that day, with perfect form. It’s differentiated from a rep max in that when you truly push yourself for a RM, there will be some form degradation.
There is no way to set a rep max with technically perfect form. Inevitably your back will round, or your arms will move out of position. For the best lifters, this deviation in lifting technique is hardly noticeable, but it’s still there.
The TM is a weight right under that point. It allows you to strain with a challenging weight, while practicing your technique. These are two key components that will yield the best results for gaining strength. Let’s move on to week 5.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 5
I find that most athletes have a hard time at this point in the program. On paper, it’s the second hardest week of the program, as week 6 will be peak intensity and volume, prior to the deload in week 7. Week 5 is just far enough away to seem like an eternity to some.
I encourage you to fight through this, and keep working through the program. I also recommend you really start to prioritize your recovery from this point onward. Make sure you review the nutrition and recovery sections later in the article for some useful tips.
I encourage you to start challenging yourself on the accessory work. Often times athletes associate things like triceps extensions with lighter weight movements. As a result, they rarely make an effort to increase weight. Obviously, this is less than optimal.
Try using 5-10 pounds more on the accessory work. I bet you’ll find that you can actually move a bit more weight than you thought you were capable of. If you really want to gain strength, you can’t afford to coast on your accessory work, as those movements target critical muscle groups, that contribute to the primary lifts. Next, let’s talk about peak intensity week.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 6
This is the hardest week of the whole training cycle. Not only will you be hitting your technical maxes, but you’re other work sets will be near max effort as well. Make sure you’re warming up thoroughly, and taking as much rest as you like for the primary movements.
You’ll note that last week and this week, I’ve started to specify how much rest you can take on certain movements, or I’ve asked you to finish in as few sets as possible. These are methods I like to employ to change the stimulus somewhat.
Most research shows that after 3-4 weeks your body starts to adapt to the training stimulus. This doesn’t mean we need to change everything up, but it does mean that we need to make some reasonable modifications. These techniques have the added benefit of increasing metabolic waste products, which directly contributes to increased mass.
You might also find that you’re a little beat up, or that your joints are a bit sore. That is ok. You shouldn’t train through actual injuries, but minor strains or soreness is ok at this point. Next week you’ll get a reprieve.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 7
This week is the deload prior to next weeks one rep max attempts. Deload weeks are very important for building muscle and strength, especially each rest day. Remember that you don’t actually get stronger from lifting weights. You get stronger after you recover from lifting weights. As such there are few things that I want you to keep in mind.
First, make sure you follow the programming as well as you can this week. It’ll seem like you aren’t doing very much, even if the weights remain moderately heavy. I’ve written these workouts like this for a reason.
In order to facilitate recovery, you need to reduce the volume by around a third. This allows your body to make the physical repairs you for muscle growth, and strengthening tendons. Don’t add in a bunch of extra work, because you think it’s not hard enough.
You’re very close to your goal of setting a new personal records on your lifts. Don’t sabotage it now! Next, let’s talk about our PR week.
4 Day Strength Training Program: Week 8
For this week I have you working up to a new 1 rep max on each of the primary lifts we’ve been focusing on these last 7 weeks. I have a few tips that will help you set new PRs, so make sure you pay attention here.
First and foremost, don’t change up your routine. If you’ve gotten this far in the program that because you’ve achieved a consistent routine that works for you. Don’t change that up! Go through your warm ups the same. Follow the same recovery practices. Don’t try any new / crazy pre workouts right before PR time.
As you warm up make sure you’re focusing on the technique you’ve been using throughout this program. You won’t gain anything by trying something new you saw on Instagram the night prior. It’s time to execute with the technique you’ve honed for the past few months.
You don’t have to stick to the exact percentages for the warm ups. They’re just recommendations. However, err on the side of more warm up sets rather than less. For your PR attempts I recommend you come up with three numbers you want to hit.
The first number should be a conservative PR. This is something that you’re pretty sure you can achieve. The next PR attempt is what you’d like to have, and the final attempt is an aggressive attempt you might get if things go well.
I recommend using spotter arms, or an actual spotter for these attempts. Obviously, you don’t need a spotter for deadlifts, unless you just want to make new friends.
Nutrition and Recovery for Strength Training
I can’t tell you how often I get an email from an athlete asking how they can gain strength, increase fat loss, and improve their conditioning, all at the same time. I’m left in the unenviable position of telling them that these things generally aren’t possible.
If you want to build strength, and associated muscle muscle mass, then you need to eat in a caloric surplus. I don’t recommend eating thousands of calories more than you need each day, as that’s just going to make you fat and strong.
I highly recommend checking out this nutrition calculator where I give you some great recommendations for overall caloric intake, and macro splits. Check it out.
Protein Requirements for Strength Training
It’s important to note that while overall caloric intake is important, your individual macronutrient requirements are just as important. In terms of protein, recent research indicates that figuring your protein requirement from your lean body mass is a better method than using your overall bodyweight.
Most athletes think that more protein equals more gains. This isn’t true, as it seems like 0.9-1.15 g/lb of lean body mass is best. For a 200 pound man with 165 pounds of lean muscle mass, that’s only 150 – 190 grams of protein.
The Meathead obsession with protein is mainly due to the high protein requirements when on a diet. If you’re trying to lose body fat, then higher protein will help retain muscle tissue. However, if you’re just gaining strength and mass, then you don’t need sky high protein!
Carbohydrate Requirements for Strength Training
Carbs are very important for performance in the gym. They are often unfairly demonized, but they are a must for those that want to hit the weights hard. In my experience 2-3 grams of carb per pound of lean mass is a good place to start.
Using our example guy above, that would be 330 – 495g of carbs. This figure is going to be highly dependent on the program difficulty. Obviously, a four day program would require less carbs than an advanced strength program. More volume requires more energy.
Dietary Fat for Strength Athletes
You do need a baseline amount of dietary fat, as it provides the building blocks for your hormones, like testosterone. If you go too low, you’ll quickly find your hormones go to hell and you feel terrible. All those bodybuilders on chicken and rice diets know the feeling!
Most athletes need around 0.5 – 0.9 grams per pound of lean mass for dietary fat. Using our 200 pound male example that puts us at 83 – 150 grams. This is one area where there is a wide margin depending on your individual desires. Now let’s discuss some science based recovery techniques for hard training lifters.
Recovery for Strength Athletes
Get ready because I’m about to recommend some really expensive, very complicated recovery techniques. They require a poodle, and a jar of old mustard. Just kidding, most muscle recovery things that are sold to you are actually a massive waste of money. Read this article on scientific based recovery methods, and you’ll see there are only a few things that truly work
The best way to recover is to sit on an exercise bike for 10 minutes after your session in the gym. It doesn’t have to be an exercise bike, as any light movement will work, hello walking! The important thing is to cool down at a very easy pace for at least 10 minutes.
This increases circulation throughout your body. Circulation is needed to begin the recovery process, allowing your body to begin to repair damaged muscle tissue sooner. As a nice bonus, you’ll find you actually feel better leaving the gym.
There’s also some evidence that wearing exercise tights can decrease the amount of soreness you feel, and increase your muscle mass when worn during, or after training. Check out this article where I reviewed the research on that topic.
Performance Enhancement for Strength Training
One of my favorite methods for increasing the amount of reps you can do is very simple. All you need to do is some light hyperventilation prior to your set. The research on that topic was quite interesting, and resulted in athletes lifting 35% more reps just by breathing heavily prior to their work sets.
This technique is best for sets that use full body movements and full-body workouts. It’s not going to work on your triceps extension and rear delt work! Moreover, it’s best for sets that are going near to failure. If you’re just doing a heavy double or single, you probably aren’t accruing enough metabolic byproducts for this technique to be effective.
Check out the article, and take a look at the research. I bet you’ll be surprised how well this technique works. I’ve found it to work very well on different muscle groups in my own training.
Finding Your Next Program
I’ve been writing programs on this website for years. The vast majority of these programs are functional fitness programs, and are completely free. However, I do have some premium programs, that include a lot more info compared to the free versions.
In this section I’m going to list several of my most popular programs for tactical athletes. Some of them will be functional bodybuilding programs, where as others might focus on endurance, or strength. I recommend clicking around to see which program interests you the most.
Programs to Build Muscle Mass
- The 8 Week Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 6 Weeks of Muscular Growth for Functional Fitness Athletes Program
- 12 Week Free Bodybuilding Program
- The 11 Week High Intensity Bodybuilding Program
Programs to Build Strength
- 9 Week Functional Strength Program (Part 1)
- 9 Week Advanced Strength Program for Functional Fitness
- 7 Week Free Strength Training Program
Hybrid Programs: Strength, Muscle Mass, and Conditioning
- 15 Week Lift Heavy Run Fast Program for Functional Fitness
- 10 Week Functional Powerbuilding Program
- 9 Week Sprint Program for Running
This is just a small sampling of some of my more popular programs. I would estimate that if you followed all of my programs, you’d have a fitness program laid out for the next several years! I bet you can find something that will fit your needs.
Final Thoughts
This has been a long article, but I wanted to make sure that you have everything you need to successfully build strength and muscle mass. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the information here. The most important thing you can do to get stronger is be consistent.
Day to day fluctuations aren’t a big deal. However, making time in your schedule to get to the gym, and recover well is important. At the end of the day, I’d rather have an athlete that is consistent over the course of the program, versus someone who’s perfect for just a few weeks.
If you have any questions or comments put them in the comments section below, and I’ll get you an answer. Now get out there and get training.
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I’m in the deload/reload week prior to final testing and I’ve been pumped with the results. I’ve been kinda working towards a 1R TM for the lifts since the beginning and all my numbers have jumped nicely. I tend to me fairly good at deadlifts so I substituted hang cleans and nordics to work the posterior in a bit more of a novel way.
I love the 4 days/week so I think to include some metcons I’m gonna do the functional bodybuilding program next.
Awesome Todd. I’m always glad to hear folks are getting good results with the programs. Keep after it!