The main lifts
These are the core barbell lifts the program is built on. Tap any one for a full guide with form cues.
How the program works
Set your training maxes
Every percentage in nSuns comes off a Training Max (TM), not your gym-best single. Your TM is 90% of your true 1-rep max — enter your 1RM in the spreadsheet and it takes the 90% for you. If you're unsure of your maxes or you just want a safer start, set it a bit lower, around 85%. Given how much volume you're about to do, starting a little light is the smart mistake, because the top-set AMRAP will push your numbers up fast anyway. You keep a separate TM for each main lift (squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press) and for the secondary variations.
The T1 main-lift wave (9 sets)
Each training day starts with your T1 lift for nine sets, all calculated off that lift's TM: Set 1: 5 reps @ 75% Set 2: 3 reps @ 85% Set 3: 1+ reps @ 95% (the AMRAP top set — grind out as many clean reps as you can) Set 4: 3 reps @ 90% Set 5: 3 reps @ 85% Set 6: 3 reps @ 80% Set 7: 3 reps @ 75% Set 8: 5 reps @ 70% Set 9: 5+ reps @ 65% (back-off rep-out) The 1+ set at 95% is the engine of the whole program. The reps you hit there decide how much weight you add next week. The final 5+ set is just extra volume; don't let it wreck your form.
The T2 secondary wave
After the T1 you do a T2 lift, usually a variation of a different main lift: sumo deadlift on squat day, front squat on deadlift day, close-grip bench on a bench day, an incline or overhead variation on OHP day. The T2 runs a similar but lighter wave of about eight sets, ramping up to a set or two near 85% and then backing off into higher-rep sets (5 to 8 reps) around 65-80%. There's no near-max single here; the T2 is quality volume and a second or third weekly exposure to each pattern. That's where nSuns gets its frequency — most lifts get trained two to four times a week between T1 and T2 slots.
Weekly progression
You raise each Training Max every week, based on how the 95% top set went. Standard weekly increments: Overhead press: +5 lb (2.5 kg) Bench press: +5 lb (2.5 kg) Squat: +10 lb (5 kg) Deadlift: +10 lb (5 kg) How much you actually add keys off the reps you hit on the 1+ set. Get 0 or 1 reps and you hold the TM where it is — no increase that week. Get 2 or 3 and you take the standard bump above. Hit 4 or 5 and you can add a touch more; if you're regularly grinding out 6 or more, your TM is set too low and you can jump more aggressively. Fail the top set at 0-1 reps two weeks running and you drop the stalled lift's TM about 10% and build back. That weekly bump is exactly what makes this an LP, and it's also why it eventually runs out.
Accessories
nSuns doesn't script accessories tightly. After the main work, pick movements for whatever needs it and do roughly 25-50 total reps each: some pressing and triceps on upper days, rows and pulldowns for the back, curls, plus direct core and leg work. Keep it to a handful of exercises so you actually recover for the next session. The barbell work is doing the real load; accessories fill gaps and keep your shoulders and elbows healthy.
When you stall and how to deload
The honest truth about any linear program: the weekly jumps stop working once you're past the novice stage. When you start missing the top set week after week even after holding the TM, that's the signal. Take a deload week at lighter weights, or reset the stalled lift's TM down about 10% and climb again. If a reset only buys you a few more weeks, you've outgrown weekly LP and it's time to move to an intermediate program that progresses monthly instead of weekly, such as Wendler's original 5/3/1.
The weekly layout
- Day 1 · Bench — Bench press T1 — 9-set wave topping at 1+ @ 95%. Overhead press T2 (8-set wave). Triceps + chest accessories.
- Day 2 · Squat — Back squat T1 — 9-set wave. Sumo deadlift T2 (8-set wave). Hamstring, quad + core accessories.
- Day 3 · OHP — Overhead press T1 — 9-set wave. Incline bench T2 (8-set wave). Shoulder + upper-back accessories.
- Day 4 · Deadlift — Deadlift T1 — 9-set wave. Front squat T2 (8-set wave). Back + core accessories.
- Day 5 · Bench — Bench press T1 — 9-set wave. Close-grip bench T2 (8-set wave). Triceps + arm accessories.
Built and shared for free by the Reddit user u/nSuns, who adapted Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 into a higher-volume, weekly-progressing spreadsheet popularized on r/Fitness and r/nSuns.