The biggest difference between hypertrophy programs isn't the exercises, it's how the week is structured: how many days you train, how often each muscle gets hit, and whether heavy strength work is mixed in. Here are 14 free programs grouped by structure, with how many Boostcamp lifters have joined each one.
Choose by how many days you can train. 3 days: Greg Nuckols' Beginner Program (Hypertrophy variation) or Natural Hypertrophy's Novice program. 4 days: PHUL if you want strength too, or Alberto Nuñez's Upper Lower Program for pure size. 5 to 6 days: Reddit PPL or KONG. Dumbbells only: the r/Fitness Dumbbell PPL. All 14 programs below are free on Boostcamp.
"Joined" is how many lifters have started the program on Boostcamp. Ratings are the in-app average, with the number of ratings in brackets. Data as of September 27, 2026.
| Program | Split | Days / wk | Length | Level | Joined | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Nuckols Beginner Program Greg Nuckols | Full body | 3 | 12 weeks | Beginner | 14,117 | 4.20 (2,026) |
| Full Body Powerbuilding Split Dr. Swole | Full body | 3 | 8 weeks | Beginner to intermediate | 6,902 | 4.22 (462) |
| Ultimate Hypertrophy Programs: Novice Natural Hypertrophy | Full body | 3 | 12 weeks | Novice | 4,627 | 4.20 (619) |
| Bodybuilding Minimum Effective Dose Program Dr. Pak | Full body | 2 | 6 weeks | All levels | 2,895 | 4.13 (231) |
| Alberto Nuñez Upper Lower Program Alberto Nuñez | Upper / lower | 4 | 15 weeks | Beginner to intermediate | 17,958 | 4.19 (1,857) |
| Novice Bodybuilding Program Dr. Eric Helms | Upper / lower | 4 | 12 weeks | Beginner to intermediate | 3,028 | 4.18 (351) |
| Basement Bodybuilding: Upper Lower Program Basement Bodybuilding | Upper / lower | 4 | 8 weeks | Beginner to intermediate | 2,752 | 4.38 (237) |
| PHUL (Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower) Brandon Campbell | Power + hypertrophy, upper / lower | 4 | 12 weeks | Intermediate | 32,321 | 4.21 (3,121) |
| PHAT (Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training) Layne Norton | Power + hypertrophy, 5 days | 5 | 4-week cycle, repeatable | Intermediate to advanced | 16,020 | 4.31 (1,772) |
| Reddit PPL r/Fitness | Push / pull / legs | 6 | 12 weeks | Intermediate | 25,299 | 4.27 (2,588) |
| KONG: Savage Size in 12 Weeks Alex Bromley | 5-day split | 5 | 12 weeks (3 x 4-week blocks) | Intermediate | 20,483 | 4.36 (3,686) |
| Push Pull Legs Upper Lower (PPLUL) Dr. Swole | PPL + upper / lower | 5 | 8 weeks | Intermediate | 12,866 | 4.13 (1,239) |
| Intermediate Bodybuilding Program Dr. Eric Helms | 5-day split | 5 | 12 weeks | Intermediate | 7,937 | 4.19 (912) |
| Dumbbell PPL r/Fitness | Push / pull / legs | 3 | 8 weeks | Beginner to intermediate | 11,839 | 4.08 (983) |
Every session trains the whole body, usually with one or two exercises per muscle group. Because each muscle is hit on every training day, you get high frequency from very few gym days.
A 3-day full body program from Greg Nuckols with separate Strength and Hypertrophy variations. The Hypertrophy variation keeps the same simple structure with more volume for size.
Three full body days a week built to add both strength and muscle, from Dr. Swole (Bill Wong).
Natural Hypertrophy's 3x per week full body program for novice lifters, mixing compound and isolation work and using supersets to add volume while keeping sessions short.
Two 45-minute sessions a week, built for lifters who want to keep building muscle without the time commitment of typical "optimal" training volumes.
Alternate upper-body and lower-body days, typically upper, lower, rest, upper, lower. Each muscle is trained twice a week with room for more exercises per session than full body.
A 4-day upper/lower split from bodybuilding coach Alberto Nuñez, with variations that shift emphasis to arms and delts, chest and back, or quads.
A 4-day program based on the principles in Eric Helms' book The Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Training.
A 4-day upper/lower split aimed at adding mass and building an aesthetic physique. The highest-rated upper/lower program on this list.
Split the week into heavy, low-rep strength days and higher-rep hypertrophy days. PHUL and PHAT are the best-known examples: you build size while keeping a strength focus on the main compound lifts.
Two heavy power days (upper and lower) and two higher-rep hypertrophy days (upper and lower) each week. The most-joined free hypertrophy-focused program on Boostcamp.
Dr. Layne Norton's 5-day plan: two power days followed by three hypertrophy days. Sessions are the longest on this list, at about 90 minutes.
Push (chest, shoulders, triceps), pull (back, biceps) and legs, run twice through the week on a 6-day plan, or blended with upper/lower days on 5-day plans like PPLUL. Each session focuses on fewer muscles, so you can do more sets per muscle per session.
The unofficial r/Fitness push/pull/legs program, run twice a week with linear progression on the main lifts.
Alex Bromley's 12-week size program, built as three 4-week blocks. The most-rated program on this list, averaging 4.36 stars across 3,686 ratings.
Dr. Swole's 5-day hybrid: a push, pull and legs day followed by an upper and a lower day, so each muscle still gets trained about twice a week on 5 days instead of 6.
The 5-day follow-up to Eric Helms' novice program, based on The Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Training.
Built entirely around dumbbells, so you can run them at home or in a small gym. Progression comes from reps and set quality as much as from load, since dumbbell jumps are bigger in percentage terms.
A beginner-friendly push/pull/legs program using only dumbbells, 3 days a week in about 45 minutes.
Every program above is built into the Boostcamp app with its sets, reps and progression already programmed, so you open the day's workout and log against it instead of copying a spreadsheet. The free tracker covers RPE on every set, rest timers, PR badges and PR boards, and 10 free plate calculator uses. Boostcamp Pro ($59.99/year or $14.99/month) adds the Muscle Tracker's per-muscle volume heatmap and the Strength Score Level, Max and Balance views if you want to see which muscles are getting the most weekly volume, but you don't need it to run any program here.
All 14 programs are free in Boostcamp on iOS and Android, with sets, reps and progression already built in.
