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Russian Squat Routine

Intermediate 6 or 8 weeks 3 or 2 days/week Peaking Powerlifting Olympic Weightlifting

The six-week Soviet squat cycle, as Lift Vault lays it out in its free copy of the All Things Gym spreadsheet. Every set is at 80 percent of your 1RM or more. The reps climb first, then the load takes over, and the last session is an attempt at a new max. Lift Vault says to expect 5 to 10 percent on your 1RM. A Masters version runs the same idea over eight weeks at two days a week. Both are built into Ægir Iron and free to load.

What this program is

Three days a week on one lift. Sessions of 6 sets of 2 alternate with a session that climbs in reps, from 6x3 up to 6x6, all at 80 percent. Then the reps give way to weight: 5x5 at 85, 4x4 at 90, 3x3 at 95 and 2x2 at 100, and the cycle ends on a single at 105 to 110 percent of the max you started with.

Week Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 1 6x2 @ 80 6x3 @ 80 6x2 @ 80 2 6x4 @ 80 6x2 @ 80 6x5 @ 80 3 6x2 @ 80 6x6 @ 80 6x2 @ 80 4 5x5 @ 85 6x2 @ 80 4x4 @ 90 5 6x2 @ 80 3x3 @ 95 6x2 @ 80 6 2x2 @ 100 6x2 @ 80 1x1 @ 105-110

A 2x2 at 100 percent and a single above it are deliberate. The percentages are of the max you entered at the start, and the cycle is built to beat it. If you miss a session, pick up where you left off. If you miss a week, repeat the last week you finished.

The Masters version

For older lifters, or anyone who cannot recover from three heavy days a week. Eight weeks, two days a week, one lift. Every session opens with a set of 3 at 60 percent and a set of 2 at 70, which brings the average intensity down. Day 1 is then 6x2 at 80 every week. Day 2 climbs from 6x3 to 6x6 at 80 over the first four weeks, then 5x5 at 85, 4x4 at 90, 3x3 at 95 and a single at 100. If that single was clearly easy, the spreadsheet allows another at 105 and then 110.

At a glance

	Original	Masters
Length	6 weeks	8 weeks
Training days	3 per week	2 per week
Lifts	Squat, bench or deadlift alone, or all three	Squat, bench or deadlift
Loading	80 percent of your 1RM or more on every set	Two lighter sets at 60 and 70, then 80 percent or more
Ends on	A new max attempt	A single at 100, with optional attempts above it
Equipment	Barbell, rack and bench, and a back extension bench for all three	Barbell, rack and bench

Discipline	Powerlifting, also listed under Olympic Weightlifting
Source	The All Things Gym spreadsheet, as Lift Vault lays it out
Experience level	Intermediate
Price	Free for individual lifters and rostered athletes

Free for individual lifters and for athletes on a coach's roster. Coaches pay only for roster tools.

How it works in Ægir Iron

When you load the original you choose the lift: the squat, the bench or the deadlift on its own, or All three, which builds the spreadsheet as written. In that version every session has all three lifts and a back extension, with the bench and deadlift running the same grid one session ahead of the squat. Every row is priced from the 1RM you saved, so the weight is on the screen and rounded to the plate.

When the cycle is done, Advance Cycle offers the heaviest weight you completed for each lift as your new max. A missed attempt leaves the max where it was.

Weightlifters run it to build the squat behind the snatch and the clean, so the app lists it under Olympic Weightlifting as well. It has no snatch or clean and jerk in it.

Lift Vault's page prints week 3, day 1 as 6x2 at 85 percent. The spreadsheet it links has 80 there, like every other 6x2 in the program, and Ægir Iron follows the spreadsheet. The final attempt is a range on the page (105 to 110) and on the sheet ("110x1 or 105x1"). The app writes it at 105 with a note giving both, so the top of the range is not set as a target.

Original source

Ægir Iron's template is built from this source. Under it is what the template takes from it.

Risley K (2026). Russian Squat Program + Routine Spreadsheet (Original and Masters Versions). Lift Vault spreadsheet.The Russian Squat Routine's six-week, three-day grid at 80 percent of a 1RM or more (6x2 alternating with 6x3 up to 6x6, then 5x5 at 85, 4x4 at 90, 3x3 at 95, 2x2 at 100) ending on a max attempt at 105 to 110 percent, and the spreadsheet's three-lift version with its bench and deadlift grid and back extensionThe Masters version: eight weeks, two days, each session opening with 3 at 60 and 2 at 70 percent, day 1 at 6x2 and day 2 climbing to a single at 100 with optional attempts at 105 and 110

Start the Russian Squat Routine

Open Ægir Iron, go to Program and choose New Program, then the Program Wizard. On the first screen pick Powerlifting or Olympic Weightlifting, then choose Russian Squat Routine or Russian Squat Routine (Masters) from the cards under WHAT DO YOU WANT TO RUN? It is free on iOS, Android, and the web, with your data synced across all three.

Load the Russian Squat Routine free →