The 915 Workout Program Review

Author

Christian Thibaudeau

Special Focus

None

Specialty Equipment

None (although specialty bars, bands and chains, and dumbbells could be helpful when choosing assistance exercises)

Prerequisite Skills

• Back squat
• Bench press
• Deadlift
• Power clean or hang clean

Other Key Points

The 915 program was created by Christian Thibaudeau and designed to help the trainee add 15% to their major lifts in nine weeks (hence the name).

Strength is the main focus of this program, but a significant amount of hypertrophy (muscle growth) can also be expected in most lifters.

It follows a five day/week lifting schedule, where each day focuses on a different lift; bench press, squat, deadlift, power clean, and an extra day to do core work, vanity lifts (e.g., curls), and conditioning.

Every lifting session throughout the entirety of the program begins with the standard version of the movement of the day (i.e., barbell back squat, flat bench press, etc), however, the assistance exercises are cycled out every three weeks.

The program features squats and bench presses twice per week; one “strength” session and one “dynamic effort” session.  Dynamic effort sessions are performed at the end of the workout.  It features deadlifts and power cleans once per week.

Large emphasis is placed on assistance lifts to address weak areas of the movements, enhance strong areas, and overload the movements as well.  It’s up to the trainee to choose their own assistance lifts, though Thibaudeau gives thorough guidance and suggestions.

You must know your one rep max (1 RM) for back squat, bench press, deadlift and power clean before beginning this program; it’s based off of percentages.

The program starts with relatively high volume and low intensity, and slowly lowers the volume and increases intensity, leading up to a max effort test of each lift in the last week.

As Thibaudeau notes in his outline of the program on T-Nation, results are dependent on several factors; namely intelligent assistance lift selection, and proper sleep and nutrition.

Reviews, Results and Discussions

915 Program Review and Personal Impressions 

Reality Check

915 Workout Program Results