The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program [PDF]

If you’re reading this then you want to get strong. The good news is that you’ve come to the right place. I’ve put together a great free strength training program that will allow you to set new PRs in just 7 weeks. The bad news is that it’s hard, like really hard. If you can stick with the program, then you’ll be stronger than you’ve ever been, in just a few short weeks. Keep reading to see if this program is for you.

This program is designed to build pure strength. You won’t see any WODs or Metcons. If you’re looking for a strength biased functional fitness program check out this program, or if you’re really adventurous, you can try my advanced strength training program. Here is a quick overview.

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• Designed for athletes with 6 months or more experience in the gym (safe technique is a must)
• It’s a 7 week cycle that will take you all the way to new 1 rep maxes
• You will be in the gym 5 days per week
• Each session should take around one hour with warm ups, and cool down
• It can be done in a home gym or commercial gym

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When I wrote this program, I intended this program to be a relatively quick strength cycle that would take you from where you currently are to setting new PR’s in about two months. I can’t promise you PRs, but I would be very surprised if you lifted this heavy and didn’t set new personal records.

This 7 week free strength program is built around four core lifts: back squat, deadlift, bench press, and barbell strict press. We will be testing these lifts for 1 rep maxes in the last week of the program. If you don’t have a recent one rep max, then I recommend establishing that weight before you start the program. It uses percentages from these lifts for a large chunk of the programming.

How to Find Your Current 1 Rep Max

You have two methods you can use to find your current 1RM. You can actually attempt a 1 RM lift in each of the four core lifts, or you can do a rep max and put it into a rep max calculator, to get a good estimate of your current strength level. If you’re trying a true one rep max you can use this lift plan.

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• General gym warm up 5min
• Barbell Warm Up Sets: 1×10 at 30%, 1×8 at 50%, 1×5 at 60%, 1×2 at 70%, 1×1 at83%, 1×1 at 94%
• Then take no more than 3 one rep max attempts with 4-5 minutes rest in between

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You can do all lifts in one day, but I find it’s a little easier to do two lifts per day for two days. I like to pair strict press with back squat, and deadlift with bench press. Once you find your current one rep maxes, you can use these to figure the percentage work. Now, let’s talk about how this program is laid out.

Program Overview

This program is color coded by muscle group. You don’t really need to do anything with that information, but it will inform you at a glance what you’ll be working on in any given session. Each session is numbered, and is meant to be read in vertical columns.

I’ve also used a few abbreviations to make writing the program a little easier to read. Most of them you should be familiar with, but you may not know what reps in reserve means (RIR). If I specify a set of 10 should be done at 2 RIR, that means you should have 2 reps left in the tank once you finish your tenth rep. If you really had to, you could get 12 reps.

I expect that you will take 2-3 minutes of rest between easier sets, and 3-5 minutes of rest between harder sets. Remember, the goal is to gain strength not go into heavy compound lifts in a fatigued state. I also recommend taking a minute or two between specific movements. The goal here is to lift the specified weight, with good form, as quickly as possible. Here’s the PDF of the program.

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CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF FOR THE 7 WEEK FREE STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM

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The PDF is a Dropbox link. If you can’t use that service due to your totally lame IT admins, then you can screen shot each week below. They’re the same as the download. I just like to give athletes the option of using the PDF if they want.

If you want to focus on building muscle mass, then check out my Hybrid Bodybuilding Program

The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program: Week 1

This is your introduction week to this strength training template. None of the weight will be truly max effort. Rest assured you will be doing plenty of heavy lifting, and accessory work. Here’s the first week below.

The green blocks are squat pattern movements. The blue blocks are hinge pattern movements, and the gray blue are accessory lifts. Red blocks are upper body pulling, where as grey is upper body pushing. Now you know the secret code for this program!

You can do this program five days in a row, or you can do something like 3 on, 1 day of rest, 2 on, 1 day of rest. It doesn’t matter how you do this program, just get all the work done in one seven day period.

The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program: Week 2

For the percentage based lifts, I’ve elected to go with a linear periodization model. That means that the reps will remain these same, but the percentage relative to the one rep max will increase each week. This doesn’t apply to the accessory work.

It’s ok if you can’t do every single movement as I’ve written it. I expect that some athletes will have to modify, or scale the work that is written. I recommend that you read this article where I cover how to scale workouts correctly. It’s not as simple as most people seem to think.

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The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program: Week 3

You should feel fairly comfortable with this style of programming by week three. That’s why I’ve changed the rep scheme for the accessory work! It keeps the program from getting too boring, without jumping around so often that you won’t make strength gains. A big part of gaining strength, in a particular lift, is practicing the lift under heavy load. This causes your muscles to increase in neural efficiency.

This program is designed to ensure that you practice your core lifts at least twice per week. I’ve also included variations of these lifts, like the sumo deadlift. This allows you target different muscle groups, so you can strengthen muscles that provided assistance to the regular movements. You can’t just focus on the prime movers, your smaller muscle groups need love too!

The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program: Week 4

This week is where it starts to get very heavy. I’ve introduced the the concept of technical max. This is the heaviest weight you can lift with technically perfect form. These aren’t super slow, grinding reps, where your back looks like a question mark. The goal of a technical max is to allow you to work up to almost a 1RM weight, and become more proficient at that intensity of load.

Technical maxes also provide valuable psychological training. Most athletes have some apprehension as they approach one rep max loads. This is because they only rarely work this heavy, and there is a fear of failure. If you take a few weeks to acclimatize yourself to working with these loads, you’ll find that you have much more confidence when it comes attempting your one rep max in week 7.

The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program: Week 5

The percentages continue to climb and you will see more technical maxes this week. I don’t expect that you will PR each week on the TM. It’s ok if you do, but humans naturally have swings in their strength levels. I need you to be smart and not attempt lifts that you know you won’t get, just to try and beat last weeks weight on the technical max. It’s ok if you do, it’s just not mandatory.

By this week you’ve been lifting for a little while without a break. It’s ok if you start to feel a little beat up. You can mitigate these issues by taking an extra rest day if you need. You can also try and increase your sleep and eat a few hundred more calories. Don’t go crazy here!

The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program: Week 6

This is the heaviest week of the training program, as it’s the last week prior to the 1RM attempts. Make sure you are spending time warming up, and concentrating on your warm up sets. This isn’t the week to shortcut your warm ups or cool downs.

I’ve added an extra set to your assistance work as well. By now you’ve definitely increased your strength, so you can handle the extra volume. Realize that each session will last a little longer. I also recommend taking a sports drink with you so you can consume some carbs during the workout. You’ll find you have a bit more energy this way.

The 7 Week Free Strength Training Program: Week 7

It’s the week you’ve been waiting for. Hopefully all of your hard work has paid off. You’ll notice that session 26 is a complete rest day. You can go for a walk, or do other light activity, but don’t try and add in extra work because you think that might help somehow.

I recommend following the warm up plan. You can add in a few more warm ups if you want. I have never seen an athlete miss a heavy lift because they were too warm. I have seen athletes miss lifts because they didn’t warm up adequately.

It’s a good idea to only take three attempts at setting a new PR. Your first attempt should be a small PR. Your second should be what you really want, and the third should be an aggressive goal. Don’t keep making attempts after three, otherwise you run the risk of injuring yourself. One rep max attempts are hard on your body, so don’t abuse it by making 30 attempts at a lift. Next, let’s talk about recovery and nutrition.

If you love strength training programs, then check out my most popular functional strength plan.

How Should You Eat to Gain Strength?

You don’t need to eat a huge caloric surplus to gain strength. In fact, there are only two methods to gain strength. You can build muscle mass, and you can build neural muscular efficiency. Only the building of muscle mass really requires extra calories, primarily in the form of protein.

I recommend that you read my ultimate nutrition guide to get an understanding of what good nutrition looks like. You’ll also benefit form downloading my nutrition calculator. Most athletes will do well using the muscle gain tab. You can also go with the maintenance tab, if you’re more worried about putting on mass.

Recovery for Strength Training Programs

You don’t need to do anything fancy to recover well from your training. Make sure you’re eating well, sleeping 7-8 hours a night, and drinking adequate amounts of water. These are the basics of recovery, and will provide you with the largest benefit in your search to gain strength.

However, there are a few methods you can use to augment your recovery. First, I recommend that you spend 10 minutes after each session to cool down. Go for a walk, or do some easy movement on the cardio machine of your choice. I’m talking very easy effort, around 60-80 watts. This increases circulation and allows you to start clearing metabolic waste products, jump starting the recovery process. You’ll feel better as well.

Lastly, you can wear compression tights. Researchers aren’t exactly sure why they help recovery, but they have shown that wearing tights while working out, and afterwards can reduce muscular soreness. It also helps you build more muscle mass. I was skeptical of this research, but after trying it, I do feel much less sore, especially on leg day!

Final Thoughts

You now have everything you need to push your strength to new levels. Remember that small adjustments in the program aren’t likely to matter much. It’s more important that you consistently work hard, and pay attention to the work outside of the gym, as much as the lifts inside of the gym.

If you have any questions, or comments about the program, you can 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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