IN T E R M E D I A T E

THE SERIOUSLY STRONG PROGRAM

www.seriouslystrongtraining.com
WELCOME

The Intermediate Program introduces interesting loading patterns, periodized

programming, and more calculated growth.

Intermediate programs progress slower (necessarily) than beginner programs but they
make up for it with customizability that keeps you interested.

You’re ready for an intermediate program if you meet the following criteria:
• You have been lifting the core lifts consistently (3× a week) for more than 3 months
• You have established 5 rep maxes in the squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead
press
• Your 5 rep maxes are at least at the intermediate level according to the calculator at
Symmetric Strength
• You can no longer do all 5 sets of 5 reps at the prescribed weights in The Seriously
Strong Beginner Program. This means you are beyond the beginner gains stage.

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KEY ELEMENTS

Pre-Programmed
As long as you have your 5 rep maxes established you can plug them into the excel sheet
to receive 12 weeks of workouts. You will know exactly what you will be doing each time
you step into the gym.

Appropriate Progression
The program’s load increases on the big lifts are done as a percentage. In the beginner
program the increases are always 5–10lbs, but in this intermediate program the
increases are relative to the totals you are lifting. Heavy lifts like the squat & deadlift will
progress faster than lighter lifts such as the bench & overhead press.

Core Lifts Focus

The core barbell lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, and row) hit all of the major
muscle groups in the body. Using these lifts multiple times a week ensures you don’t
allow any weak points to develop.

Data Driven
The Seriously Strong Intermediate Program is data driven just like everything we do. The
sets are programmed to increase in difficulty according to the data you input for your lifts.

Ramping Sets
You can not do 5×5 indefinitely. At some point in the beginner program, you began to fail
on the 5th set. Then you failed on the 4th set. Then the 3rd set.

This failure is due to your body’s inability to perform at max effort repeatedly.

The Seriously Strong Intermediate Program addresses this issue by ramping up to a

heavy set for the day. This allows you to conserve your energy & effort for the heaviest
set of the day.

Increased Volume
At this stage in the game you’re an intermediate weightlifter, and will probably have been
lifting for 6+ months consistently.

If you want to continue progressing as quickly as possible you need more than three
hours of strength training per week.

This program is still 3 days per week but the workouts are up to 90 minutes long.

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 INTERMEDIATE
THE SERIOUSLY STRONG PROGRAM

This is the basic layout for the program. The attached excel spreadsheet is where you will
input your 5 rep maxes for the actual weights you will be lifting and recording.

MONDAY
EXERCISE SETS/REPS This is a tough day because of how many
reps you have to hit on the heaviest set
Squat 5 ×5
for squat and bench. The bicep & tricep
Bench Press 5 ×5 work will allow for additional volume in the
Barbell Row 5 × 10 arms without wearing you out significantly
or taking too long to recover between
Biceps 3–5 × 10–20 sets. Core training will be discussed in the
Triceps 3–5 × 10–20 next section.

Lateral Core 3–5 × 8–12 Another tough element to Monday is that

you are expected to do your increased
Extension Core 3–5 × 8–12
weight from the previous Friday for 5 reps.

WEDNESDAY
EXERCISE SETS/REPS Wednesdays start with squats to allow for
Squat 4 ×5 some warm-up and more technique practice.
The squats are kept light to allow energy for
Deadlift 4 ×5 your main lifts. The overhead press & deadlift
Overhead Press 4×5 both ramp up to a heavy set over 4 sets.

Vertical Press 3–5 × 8–12 On Wednesdays you will do a vertical pressing

movement for the shoulders & triceps, vertical
Vertical Pull 3–5 × 8–12
pulling to focus on the lats, and romanian
Romanian deadlifts to get additional posterior chain work
Deadlift 3–5 × 8–12
critical for your squats and deadlifts.

FRIDAY
EXERCISE SETS/REPS
Each Friday marks a new high in
Squat 4 × 5; 1 × 3; 1 × 8
weight. Your heaviest set for the day
Bench 4 × 5; 1 × 3; 1 × 8 will be for three repetitions. This eases
you into a new weight, and on Monday
Barbell Row 5 × 10
you must lift it for five repetitions.
Horizontal Press 3–5 × 8–12
Fridays are a big volume day because
Horizontal Pull 3–5 × 8–12 of how many sets & reps of compound
Rotational Core 3–5 × 8–12 movements you will be doing. This
is perfect for Friday because you will
Flexion Core 3–5 × 8–12
have all weekend to recover.

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THE LIFTS

Squats
Use the low bar squat. There is a
plethora of information regarding the
low bar squat in our Serious Guide to
the Low Bar Squat.
Rows
Rows will develop your back & biceps.
It’s a simple movement that can be
done with minimal equipment for
maximum gain.

Nothing will build your legs like a good Your barbell row should be a
low bar squat. It is the single best bodybuilding style row.
solution to chicken legs.

Prepare yourself for massive quads and Deadlifts

bulging hamstrings.
Here is a video playlist for the low bar
squat that covers everything you need
to know about it.
Bench Press
You’ve probably done the bench press
before. Which means you’ve probably
done it wrong. If you haven’t already,
check out the Serious Guide to the
Bench Press. It will cover everything
you need to know about the bench
press when first starting out.
There is also a convenient bench press
video playlist for you to watch.
Use the conventional deadlift. The
conventional deadlift teaches the hip
hinge pattern and focuses on posterior
chain development. Sumo deadlifts are
great, but they are too similar to a low
bar squat. With the amount of squatting
you will do on this program it would rob
your posterior chain of much needed
development to include another very
similar movement (sumo deadlifts).
Check out the Serious Guide to the
Conventional Deadlift for technique,
pointers, and more information.
Watch the Seriously Strong Training
Conventional Deadlift Playlist on
YouTube.

Overhead Press
Scrap the overhead press you see most
places. There is no need to bring it all
the way down to your shoulders or
press it all the way overhead to lock out.

When first learning something we want

as few moving parts as possible to
maximize simplicity. Once you have the
basics down you can increase difficulty.

Your overhead press should begin at

your chin, follow a near vertical, linear
path, and end with soft elbows.

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THE LIFTS
Horizontal Pressing
Movements like the bench press where
you push weight away from your body
in the horizontal plane. This plane refers
to your body and not it’s orientation
(seated vs. lying down). Dumbbell bench
press, incline bench, and chest press
machines are all examples of horizontal
pressing. The primary muscles you will
work in these lifts are the pecs, triceps,
and front delts.
Horizontal Pulling
Movements like the barbell row where
you pull weight toward your body in
the horizontal plane. Dumbbell rows,
cable rows, and low row machines are
all examples of horizontal pulling. These
movements will focus on the biceps,
forearms, and middle back.
Vertical Pressing
Movements that cause you to press
weight overhead. Overhead press,
seated dumbbell overhead press,
military press machines. Vertical presses
develop the triceps, front delts, and
middle delts.
Vertical Pulling
Movements that require you to pull
your arms from overhead towards
your shoulders against resistance.
Lat pulldowns & pullups. When
done correctly these exercises will
develop your lats better than any other
compound exercise.
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Core Training
It’s time to begin focusing on core
training when you have reached
intermediate status.
I encourage you to download the SST
Core Training Guide, but I will briefly
cover what you should be doing on
Mondays and Fridays. There will be no
dedicated core training on Wednesdays
because the deadlifts & romanian
deadlifts will tax your core sufficiently.
There are four primary functions of the
core (lateral bending, forward bending,
backward bending, rotational twisting),
and you will split those between
Monday and Friday.
Superset them with the accessory work.
Mondays
3–5 × 8–12 Lateral Core Movement
(oblique focused)
3–5 × 8–12 Extension Core Movement
(low back focused)
Fridays
3–5 × 8–12 Rotational Core Movement
(oblique focused)
3–5 × 8–12 Flexion Core Movement (abs
focused).
FAQ

How should I eat?

All eating questions are covered in the Serious Guide to Nutrition available on the
Seriously Strong Training website in the guides section.

What’s a good lateral/rotational/flexion/extension movement?

Download The Serious Guide to Core Training to have all of your questions answered.

What if I can not workout longer than 60 minutes?

First, move your core training to another day. Monday’s core work becomes Tuesdays.
Friday moves to Thursday. Superset your accessory work (everything after bench/squat/
deadlift/overhead press/row). This means do the biceps/triceps work together. Do the
vertical press/pull on Wednesday as a superset. Friday’s horizontal press/pull should
be supersetted as well. If those two moves don’t solve your issue then focus on the
programmed lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, and row) only and do as much
accessory work as time allows.

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USEFUL LINKS

The Serious Guide to the

BENCH PRESS

The Serious Guide to the

CONVENTIONAL DEADLIFT

The Serious Guide to the

LOW BAR SQUAT

The Serious Guide to

CORE TRAINING

The Serious Guide to

NUTRITION

The Seriously Strong

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

The Seriously Strong

BEGINNER PROGRAM

The Seriously Strong

ADVANCED PROGRAM