Programme · Intermediate · 4 days a week
Calgary Barbell 8-Week
Calgary Barbell 8-Week is a common intermediate powerlifting programme. 8-week powerlifting meet peak — accumulation, intensification, taper. VALDA has it in its programme library: start it and VALDA sets up the sessions and starting weights, then moves you through the block week by week.
Free to start, 1 programme at a time. Already have the app? Open in VALDA takes you straight to it. In the app it's listed as “Calgary Barbell 8-Week Peak”.
Is Calgary Barbell 8-Week for you?
Intermediate competitive powerlifters peaking for a meet they have about nine weeks out. Assumes a base is already built — this programme sharpens, it does not accumulate.
At a glance
- Level
- Intermediate
- Goal
- Powerlifting
- Time
- 4 days a week, ~75–90 min a session
- Length
- 9 weeks
An eight-week competition peak in two blocks — an intensity block of heavy clusters with back-off volume, then a peaking block where the main lifts become one top set to RPE and volume hung off it — followed by a meet-week taper. It is the second and fourth blocks of the Calgary Barbell 16-week, lifted out for lifters who do not have sixteen weeks.
4 sessions
| Session | Exercises |
|---|---|
| Week 1 · Monday |
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| Week 1 · Tuesday |
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| Week 1 · Thursday |
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| Week 1 · Friday |
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Sessions from the first block (Week 1 — Block 2). Later blocks change the loading.
The block
- Week 1 — Block 2
- Week 2 — Block 2
- Week 3 — Block 2
- Week 4 — Block 2
- Week 5 — Block 4
- Week 6 — Block 4
- Week 7 — Block 4
- Week 8 — Block 4
- Week 9 — Taper Week
Four sessions a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Bench four times a week, squat and deadlift three, always alongside their competition variations — paused, pin, feet-up, touch-and-go, high bar. Weeks 1-4 pair a heavy cluster with lighter back-off sets in the same session; weeks 5-8 replace the cluster with a single top set to RPE 8 and volume off it.
How the weights move
Percentage work is referenced off a training max of 95% of your 1RM. RPE-anchored sets are chosen on the day. The programme ends two days out from the platform — the meet is the test, and there is no max-out week.
Starting weights: Working sets are percentages of a training max, set at 95% of your estimated one-rep max.
Calgary Barbell 8-Week, with the maths done
- Sessions set up from the programme, ready to log
- Starting weights worked out from the programme's own rules and your estimated maxes, with a default where VALDA has no history yet. You can change any of them
- Moves you on to the next week of the block when you finish the current one
- Log sets from your phone, Apple Watch or Wear OS watch
Calgary Barbell 8-Week questions
Who is Calgary Barbell 8-Week for?
Intermediate competitive powerlifters peaking for a meet they have about nine weeks out. Assumes a base is already built — this programme sharpens, it does not accumulate.
How many days a week is Calgary Barbell 8-Week?
As VALDA runs it: 4 days a week, ~75–90 min a session.
How does progression work on Calgary Barbell 8-Week?
Percentage work is referenced off a training max of 95% of your 1RM. RPE-anchored sets are chosen on the day. The programme ends two days out from the platform — the meet is the test, and there is no max-out week.
Can I run Calgary Barbell 8-Week in VALDA?
Yes. It's in VALDA's programme library: start it and VALDA sets up the sessions and starting weights, then moves you through the block week by week. You can start it on the free plan, 1 programme at a time. Automatic progression: Free: 6 sessions · Pro: unlimited.
Is VALDA affiliated with Bryce Krawczyk?
No. VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bryce Krawczyk. This page describes the programme as VALDA runs it.
Where Calgary Barbell 8-Week comes from
Written by Bryce Krawczyk, founder of Calgary Barbell and a Canadian record holder in the deadlift and total. He distributes both Calgary Barbell peaking templates free, which is the only reason you can browse this one here — the programme is his, and VALDA just carries it. His coaching, his own app and the rest of his work are at calgarybarbell.com. Widely used by intermediate and advanced competitive powerlifters.
VALDA is not affiliated with or endorsed by Bryce Krawczyk. The programme belongs to its author; this page describes it as VALDA runs it.
This page describes a common training programme for information. It isn't a personal prescription.