Choosing an effective strength training program is one of the keys to building muscle and strength.
Picking the best one for you is easier said than done, though.
Every option has bells and whistles, and it can be tricky to understand which is right for your goals and preferences.
This article will clear up the confusion.
In it, you’ll learn what a strength training program is, why they’re effective for building muscle, what makes a good strength training plan, the 12 best strength training routines, how to choose which is best for you, and more.
Table of Contents
What Is Strength Training?
Strength training involves lifting weights to increase whole-body strength.
What makes strength training different from other forms of weightlifting is:
- It greatly prioritizes compound exercises.
- It emphasizes training with heavy weights in low rep ranges.
- It encourages regular progression.
This approach is fundamental to strength training because it’s the most effective way to get stronger.
Powerlifting vs. Strength Training
While powerlifting and strength training are similar, strength training has broader goals. Powerlifting is a sport that focuses on lifting as much as possible on the squat, bench press, and deadlift, with specific rules about how you lift the weights.
Conversely, strength training aims to increase strength across various exercises without the constraints of weight classes, judging criteria, and so forth.
Why Choose a Strength Training Program?
Strength training isn’t just for getting stronger; it’s also a powerful way to build muscle.
Research shows that strength training, which emphasizes heavier weights and lower reps, is as effective for muscle growth as high-rep, low-weight routines. The advantage is it also increases strength more efficiently.
Moreover, most find it more practical—performing a few sets of heavy squats is less demanding than doing sets of 15+ reps, for example.
What Makes a Good Strength Training Program?
To get as strong as possible, your program must include the following:
- Progressive Overload: Lifting progressively heavier weights over time is the most powerful stimulus for muscle growth and strength gains.
- Volume: Your program must include enough volume (sets) to stimulate growth without causing overtraining or injury. It should also balance the volume so you develop all the major muscle groups in your body (not just your legs, back, or chest, for example).
- Frequency: The best strength training programs schedule workouts to optimize recovery and growth, ensuring you work each muscle group regularly but not excessively. A solid guideline is to train each muscle group at least two days per week, with at least one rest day between sessions training the same muscles.
- Rest: Taking longer rest periods between sets (3-to-5 minutes or more) allows you to lift more weight more safely for more reps and sets, which is the best way to get bigger and stronger and remain injury-free.
- Fun: Enjoying your weight lifting workouts is key to long-term consistency. Your strength training routine should include exercises and workouts that keep you motivated and looking forward to training.
The Best Strength Training Program #1: Bigger Leaner Stronger
Bigger Leaner Stronger is a strength training routine created by Mike Matthews.
The routine is for men new to proper, structured strength training or intermediate lifters coming from a minimalist training program who want to boost muscle growth by following a more rigorous regimen.
There are 5-, 4-, and 3-day Bigger Leaner stronger routines, and each workout revolves around 2 or 3 heavy compound exercises, followed by several isolation exercises to add volume to muscle groups that men usually like to emphasize.
The key to the Bigger Leaner Stronger training program is it’s a simple and reliable way to get stronger over time.
You achieve this by aiming to lift more weight or do more reps every time you train. Once you reach the upper limit of your target rep range, you increase the weight, start at the lower end of your rep range, and continue this cycle.
If you’re a man new to strength training and want a simple program to get you stronger, fitter, and in better shape than ever, Bigger Leaner Stronger is an excellent solution.
The Bigger Leaner Stronger Workout Routine
Below is the 5-day Bigger Leaner Stronger workout routine, though there are also 3- and 4-day routines included in the book.
For a complete guide to the Bigger Leaner Stronger program, including the 3- and 4-day routines and more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
The Ultimate Guide to the Bigger Leaner Stronger Workout
The Best Strength Training Program #2: Thinner Leaner Stronger
Thinner Leaner Stronger is a strength training routine created by Mike Matthews.
The routine is for women new to proper, structured strength training or intermediate lifters coming from a minimalist training program who want to boost muscle growth by following a more rigorous regimen.
There are 5-, 4-, and 3-day Thinner Leaner stronger routines, and each workout focuses on 2 or 3 major compound exercises, plus some isolation exercises to work on muscle groups that women typically like to focus on.
Like the Bigger Leaner Stronger program, Thinner Leaner Stronger uses a simple but effective progression method where you aim to lift more weight or do more reps in each workout, ensuring you get progressively stronger over time.
In fact, much of the Thinner Leaner Stronger program’s structure is similar to Bigger Leaner Stronger. The main difference is that Thinner Leaner Stronger emphasizes lower body training over upper body training since most women prefer this. It also uses higher rep ranges because women typically handle higher reps better than lower reps.
If you’re a woman new to strength training and want a straightforward program to help you gain strength and build muscle in all the right places, Thinner Leaner Stronger is an outstanding option.
The Thinner Leaner Stronger Workout Routine
Below is the 5-day Thinner Leaner Stronger workout routine, though there are also 3- and 4-day routines included in the book.
For a complete guide to the Thinner Leaner Stronger program, including the 3- and 4-day routines and more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
The Ultimate Guide to the Thinner Leaner Stronger Workout
The Best Strength Training Program #3: Starting Strength
Starting Strength is a 3-day strength training program written by renowned coach Mark Rippetoe.
It’s popular—especially among new weightlifters—because it’s straightforward, effective, and adaptable to various fitness goals. In other words, whether you want to get strong, build muscle, or enhance athletic performance, Starting Strength has you covered.
You do 3 full-body workouts weekly, alternating between 2 different workouts each time you train. Each session includes 3 compound exercises, which you typically perform for 3 sets of 5 reps. The only exception is deadlifts, which you perform for 1 set of 5 reps.
Progression is straightforward, too: Add 5-to-10 pounds to an exercise whenever you can complete 3 sets of 5 reps. Although exceptionally simple, this progression method ensures you rapidly gain strength when new to strength training.
At bottom, Starting Strength offers a no-frills, highly effective foundation for beginners eager to build strength and muscle quickly.
The Starting Strength Workout Routine
The Starting Strength workout routine moves through different phases, but this is how you start:
For a complete guide to the Starting Strength program, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
An Expert Guide to Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Program
The Best Strength Training Program #4: StrongLifts 5×5
StrongLifts 5×5 is a simple and effective 3-day strength training plan developed by Mehdi Hadim.
It draws inspiration from Bill Starr’s influential 1976 program, Bill Starr’s 5×5, which emphasized building full-body strength rather than focusing on isolated muscles.
StrongLifts 5×5 is a simplified “beginner” version of Starr’s original routine, and the weekly schedule and exercise selection are almost identical to Starting Strength.
The main differences are that in StrongLifts 5×5, you replace power cleans with barbell rows, deadlift on a different day, and do 5 sets instead of 3.
The progression scheme is also slightly different. In Stronglifts 5×5, you increase the weight only if you completed 5 reps in all 5 sets of an exercise in the previous workout.
For example, if you did 5 sets of 5 squats last time, you’ll add more weight to your squats in the next workout. If you didn’t manage to complete all 5 sets of 5, then you keep the weight the same for your next session.
StrongLifts 5×5 is a time-tested program that helps you build strength efficiently, making it an excellent option for those new to heavy strength training.
The StrongLifts 5×5 Workout Routine
Here’s the StrongLifts 5×5 workout routine:
For a complete guide to the StrongLifts 5×5 program, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
An Expert Guide to the StrongLifts 5×5 Program
The Best Strength Training Program #5: The Classic Push Pull Legs Routine
Strength training programs that follow the “push pull legs” blueprint have been among the most popular routines for decades.
The primary reasons are they train all major muscle groups, allow plenty of time for recovery, and are customizable depending on your goals, schedule, and experience level.
They’re easy to understand, too. At bottom, a push pull legs strength training routine involves three types of workouts:
- Push workouts, which train all the main upper-body muscles that push things away from your torso.
- Pull workouts, which train all the main body parts involved in pulling things off the floor or toward your torso.
- Legs workouts, which train all the main lower-body muscles.
Within that basic layout, you have a lot of room to play around with different exercises, progression modalities, training frequencies, and set and rep ranges. In other words, push pull legs is more of a general workout template that you can customize to fit any goal or experience level.
The Classic Push Pull Legs Workout Routine
Below is the classic 3-day push pull legs workout routine:
For a complete guide to the push pull legs routine, including 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-day routines and more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
The Ultimate Guide to the Push Pull Legs Workout Routine
The Best Strength Training Program #6: The Texas Method
The Texas Method is a strength training program tailored for intermediate weightlifters.
Created by Olympic weightlifting coach Glenn Pendlay, it’s more of a training framework than a rigid set of exercises.
It’s perfect for those who have maxed out the gains from beginner programs because it slows the rate of progression, which is vital if you want to continue gaining strength after your first 6-to-12 months of training.
The program involves 3 full-body workouts per week, each focusing on 3 compound exercises. Across these workouts, you’ll concentrate on six key compound exercises in total, varying the number of sets and alternating the exercise order weekly.
Unlike other strength training programs on this list, the Texas Method employs a form of daily undulating periodization, meaning it varies workout intensity and volume throughout the week. We don’t need to get into the specifics of how or why this works, but it’s a proven way to keep stimulating strength and muscle gains over time.
The Texas Method is an outstanding strength training program for people who’ve graduated from Starting Strength or 5×5 but can still set personal records (PRs) about once a week. It’s also a good introduction to more advanced training methods that will come in handy as you progress as a lifter.
The Texas Method Workout Routine
Here’s a well-rounded Texas Method workout routine that many people follow:
For a complete guide to the Texas Method program, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
An Expert Guide to the Texas Method Workout Program
The Best Strength Training Program #7: Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1
Wendler’s 5/3/1 is a strength training program devised by accomplished powerlifter Jim Wendler.
He designed 5/3/1 as a streamlined alternative to the overly complex and demanding regimens prevalent in powerlifting circles. The result is one of the best all-around strength training programs for intermediate lifters aiming to graduate to more advanced strength levels.
Like the other workout programs on this list, 5/3/1 centers on a handful of compound exercises, which you complement with accessory work to target weaker areas.
The unique aspect of 5/3/1 lies in its structured approach to progression. Instead of chasing new PRs every week, 5/3/1 uses a style of periodization that has you setting new PRs every 3 weeks. This ensures slow but consistent progress.
All in all, 5/3/1 is a great way to dip your toe into more advanced programming when you stall on a simpler program. It’s a balanced, well-thought-out plan that promises solid strength gains over time.
The 5/3/1 Workout Routine
There are many ways to organize the 5/3/1 workout routine. Below is a version called “Boring But Big.” According to Wendler, it’s the most popular way to organize the 5/3/1 routine.
Explaining the 5/3/1 progression scheme is beyond the scope of this article, so to keep things simple, I’ll just call any sets that use this method “5/3/1 sets.” As such, the table below won’t show you exactly how much weight to lift for your 5/3/1 sets, but it will give you a basic idea of the 5/3/1 routine’s structure.
For a complete guide to the 5/3/1 program, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
Get Strong Fast With the 5/3/1 Strength Training Program
The Best Strength Training Program #8: Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine
The Generic Bulking Routine is the brainchild of fitness writer, researcher, and coach Lyle McDonald.
This intermediate routine isn’t just about getting stronger; it’s about adding muscle size with a balanced mix of high-intensity, low-rep weight training and low-intensity, high-rep weight training. In other words, it’s a strength-focussed step into more advanced bodybuilding training.
The plan alternates between upper- and lower-body workouts 4 days a week, incorporating 3-to-4 compound and 2-to-3 accessory exercises in each session.
The progression scheme is similar to the Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger programs, except McDonald recommends starting each cycle with 2 weeks of “submaximal” training, followed by 6 weeks of trying to add weight to the bar as often as possible, before deloading and starting again.
If you’re an intermediate or advanced lifter (1-to-5+ years of training experience), and you’re ready to focus on building muscle (while continuing to get stronger), this is one of the best programs you can do.
Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Workout Routine
You can customize the Generic Bulking Routine in countless ways, but here’s a version that works well for most:
For a complete guide to Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking routine, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
An Expert Guide to Lyle McDonald’s Generic Bulking Routine
The Best Strength Training Program #9: The Classic Upper Lower Training Program
The classic upper lower routine is a proven strength training program that many weightlifters turn to once their newbie gains are behind them.
It’s popular because it has you training your entire body at least twice a week, which is optimal for hypertrophy; allows for plenty of rest between workouts, so you go into every workout feeling fresh; and limits soreness and fatigue, ensuring your training is high-quality.
It divides your training into upper- and lower-body workouts. In upper-body workouts, you train all of the muscle groups in your upper body; in lower-body workouts, you train all of the muscle groups in your lower body.
Traditionally, the upper lower split is a 4-day routine with two upper- and two lower-body workouts weekly. That said, the routine is flexible, so you can easily rearrange workouts into a 2-, 3-, or 5-day upper lower split if this better suits your schedule and goals.
Like the classic push pull legs routine, it’s more of a template than a specific plan. You can use various exercises, frequencies, and sets and reps schemes while staying within the basic framework.
So, if you want a flexible and proven approach to gaining strength after your first 6-to-12 months of training are under your belt, the classic upper lower routine is a worthy consideration.
The Classic Upper Lower Workout Routine
You can tinker with the classic upper lower routine in many ways, but the routine below works well for most:
For a complete guide to the upper lower workout routine, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
The Best Upper Lower Split Workout Routines for Gaining Muscle and Strength
The Best Strength Training Program #10: Eric Helms’s Novice Bodybuilding Program
The Novice Bodybuilding Program is a 4-day strength training program created by natural bodybuilder, coach, author, and researcher Eric Helms.
It’s for people new to strength training or who’ve never followed a structured strength training program but want to build muscle and strength. Although it’s technically a “bodybuilding” program, you do enough sets in the 5-to-8-rep range to significantly increase your strength.
Structurally, it’s similar to the classic upper lower routine. What makes it slightly different, however, is it gives you numerical guidelines for how hard each exercise should feel. These numbers are known as ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), and they represent how hard a set feels on a scale of 1-to-10.
The main benefit is that it’s a simple way to gauge how hard you should train on any given day; if a weight feels heavy, you can adjust accordingly—something percentage-based programs don’t allow.
For an accessible and adaptable strength training plan that helps you gain strength and bring up muscle groups many strength training routines neglect, Eric Helms’s Novice Bodybuilding Program is a top-tier choice.
Eric Helms’s Novice Bodybuilding Workout Routine
Helms doesn’t give you specific exercises for the Novice Bodybuilding routine because it’s meant to show beginners a way to set up their program. However, turning this example into a detailed plan is easy if you stick to the book’s advice. Here’s the structure you should follow:
For a complete guide to Eric Helms’s Novice Bodybuilding workout routine, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
An Expert Guide to Eric Helms’s Novice Bodybuilding Program
The Best Strength Training Program #11: Reverse Pyramid Training
Reverse pyramid training (RPT) is a style of training that involves doing the first set of an exercise with heavy weights in a low rep range, then each subsequent set with progressively lighter weights and higher reps.
RPT has been around for decades, but it was popularized by fitness coach, writer, and intermittent fasting aficionado Martin Berkhan.
Typically, RPT plans include 3 weekly workouts that begin with 1-to-2 compound exercises in the reverse pyramid style. Once you finish these RPT sets, you usually do 1-to-2 accessory exercises using straight sets in a higher rep range.
The benefits of this approach are that it combines heavy lifting for strength and lighter sets for muscle growth in a simple, time-efficient workout.
So, if you want to maintain or slowly gain strength and muscle mass, this program is for you. It’s relatively simple to follow, adjustable based on how you’re feeling on a day-to-day basis, and is ideal for those with little time to train.
The Reverse Pyramid Training Workout Routine
There are other ways to set this up, but the following is one of the most common, simple, and reliable ways to get into reverse pyramid training:
For a complete guide to reverse pyramid training, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
The Complete Guide To Reverse Pyramid Training
The Best Strength Training Program #12: The Greg Nuckols Beginner Strength Training Program
Greg Nuckols has a knack for condensing complex training concepts into practical advice, and his Beginner Strength Training Program is no exception.
Like several other strength training plans on this list, the Beginner Strength Training Program involves doing 2-to-3 compound exercises and 2-to-4 accessory exercises in each of your 3 weekly workouts.
What sets it apart is its highly structured approach to progression: each week, you cycle through workouts using 70%, 75%, and 80% of your training max.
In the final set of each compound exercise, you aim for as many reps as possible (AMAP). Your performance in these AMAP sets determines how you adjust your weights for the following week, ensuring you progress only when you’re ready.
If you like knowing exactly how much to lift in every workout, being systematic, and constantly tweaking your training program, then you’ll love this program.
The Greg Nuckols Beginner Strength Training Workout Routine
You’ll rotate between the following 3 workouts every week for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks you start over at week 1 with slightly heavier weights, and rinse and repeat.
For a complete guide to the Beginner Strength Training Program, including more detailed information about progression, rest times, scheduling, and more, check out this article:
The Complete Guide to the Greg Nuckols Beginner Program
How to Pick a Strength Training Program
Choosing the right strength training program can seem daunting. Here’s some practical advice from Greg Nuckols to guide your decision:
- If you’re regularly setting new PRs every 1-to-2 weeks, stick with your current strength training routine. Only consider a change if you haven’t hit a new PR in over a month.
- If you’ve not progressed in any lift for over a month, find a new program with slightly more volume (e.g., more sets, exercises, workouts, or a combination of all these variables).
- If you constantly feel weak or unmotivated, ensure you’re getting enough sleep—progress stalls without proper rest, regardless of the program.
- If sleep is adequate but progress has plateaued for over a month, opt for a new program with a bit more volume (e.g., more sets, exercises, workouts, or a combination of all these variables).
- If you’re well-rested yet still feel weak or lack motivation, consider a program with less volume (e.g., fewer sets, exercises, workouts per week, or a combination of all these variables).
Scientific References +
- Mangine, Gerald T., et al. “The Effect of Training Volume and Intensity on Improvements in Muscular Strength and Size in Resistance-Trained Men.” Physiological Reports, vol. 3, no. 8, Aug. 2015, p. e12472, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4562558/pdf/phy20003-e12472.pdf, https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.12472.
- Schoenfeld, Brad J., et al. “Effects of Different Volume-Equated Resistance Training Loading Strategies on Muscular Adaptations in Well-Trained Men.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 28, no. 10, Oct. 2014, pp. 2909–2918, https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000000480.
- Schoenfeld, Brad J., et al. “Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol. 31, no. 12, Dec. 2017, pp. 3508–3523, journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2017/12000/Strength_and_Hypertrophy_Adaptations_Between_Low_.31.aspx, https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000002200.
- Henselmans, Menno, and Brad J. Schoenfeld. “The Effect of Inter-Set Rest Intervals on Resistance Exercise-Induced Muscle Hypertrophy.” Sports Medicine, vol. 44, no. 12, 22 July 2014, pp. 1635–1643, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0228-0.
- Grgic, Jozo, et al. “Effects of Linear and Daily Undulating Periodized Resistance Training Programs on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” PeerJ, vol. 5, 22 Aug. 2017, p. e3695, https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3695.
