PHAT: Power Hypertrophy Adaptive Training

How the week splits up

PHAT runs on a 5-day week: two power days up front, then three hypertrophy days, with rest days worked in. The layout is Upper Power, Lower Power, rest, Back and Shoulders, Lower Body, then Chest and Arms, with the last day off. Norton's idea is that the power days keep your strength climbing so you can handle heavier weights on the hypertrophy days, and the hypertrophy days pile on the volume that actually adds size. Most people run it Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, but any layout that keeps a rest day after the two power days works fine.

Power days (Days 1 and 2)

These are your heavy days. The main lifts stay in the 3-5 rep range for 3 sets: rows and flat dumbbell press on upper, squats on lower. After the main lift you move to 6-10 rep work on the supporting movements, things like weighted pull-ups, dips, hack squats, and stiff-legged deadlifts. Rest 2-3 minutes between the heavy sets so you're actually recovered. The point here isn't a pump, it's to move real weight and hold onto your strength.

Hypertrophy days and the speed sets

Each hypertrophy day opens with the same big lift from its matching power day, but done as speed work: 6 sets of 3 reps at roughly 65-70% of the weight you used for your power sets, moved fast and under control. After that you drop into the higher-rep hypertrophy work, usually 8-12, then 12-15, then 15-20 reps as you go down the list. Rest periods shrink to about 45-90 seconds so fatigue and a real pump build up. This is where most of the muscle-building volume lives.

How to progress

PHAT uses double progression, not fixed percentages like 5/3/1. On the power lifts, work in the 3-5 range and add weight once you can hit 5 reps on every set. On the hypertrophy work, pick a weight that puts you near failure inside the listed rep range, add reps until you reach the top of the range, then bump the weight and start again. Your speed-day load follows your power-day numbers: when the 3-5 rep weight goes up, so does the 65-70% you use for speed sets. Push hard but leave a rep or so in reserve on most sets. Grinding to failure on every set at this volume will bury your recovery.

Volume, recovery, and who it's for

This is a lot of work. Five sessions a week, high set counts, and both heavy and high-rep training in the same week ask a lot of your sleep and food. That's why PHAT suits intermediate and advanced lifters who already have a strength base, not someone in their first few months. If you're still adding weight to the bar every session on a beginner program like StrongLifts, stay there until it stalls. Beginners who jump straight to PHAT usually can't recover from the volume and would grow just as well on something simpler.

1. Day 1 · Upper Power — Bent-over row 3×3-5, weighted pull-up 2×6-10, rack chin 2×6-10, flat DB press 3×3-5, weighted dip 2×6-10, seated DB press 3×6-10, cambered-bar curl 3×6-10, skullcrusher 3×6-10
2. Day 2 · Lower Power — Squat 3×3-5, hack squat 2×6-10, leg extension 2×6-10, stiff-legged deadlift 3×5-8, lying leg curl 2×6-10, standing calf raise 3×6-10, seated calf raise 2×6-10
3. Day 3 · Rest — Rest or light cardio
4. Day 4 · Back & Shoulders (Hypertrophy) — Speed rows 6×3 @65-70%, rack chin 3×8-12, seated cable row 3×8-12, DB row or shrug 2×12-15, close-grip pulldown 2×15-20, seated DB press 3×8-12, upright row 2×12-15, lateral raise 3×12-20
5. Day 5 · Lower Body (Hypertrophy) — Speed squats 6×3 @65-70%, hack squat 3×8-12, leg press 2×12-15, leg extension 3×15-20, Romanian deadlift 3×8-12, lying leg curl 2×12-15, seated leg curl 2×15-20, calf work 3-4×10-20
6. Day 6 · Chest & Arms (Hypertrophy) — Speed flat DB press 6×3 @65-70%, incline DB press 3×8-12, machine chest press 3×12-15, incline cable fly 2×15-20, preacher curl 3×8-12, concentration curl 2×12-15, spider curl 2×15-20, close-grip bench 3×8-12, seated tricep ext 2×12-15, rope pressdown 2×15-20
7. Day 7 · Rest — Rest