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Layne Norton’s PHAT workout routine has gained popularity in recent years due to its efficiency in building power, increasing strength, and boosting muscle mass simultaneously. By focusing on main compound lifts and adding accessory lifts, you can fight off boredom in the gym, get seriously better in a short amount of time, and improve at both powerlifting and bodybuilding.

PHAT is an intermediate or advanced-level workout program that focuses on major compound lifts, followed by accessory exercises that help with hypertrophy. The main focal point of this program is to establish a base foundation of strength and power.

What Does PHAT Stand For?

PHAT, or power hypertrophy adaptive training, is an intermediate gym program that combines bodybuilding and powerlifting to increase size, strength, and power. Dr. Layne Norton, the co-founder of Outwork Nutrition supplements, created this training plan.

What is the PHAT Workout?

The PHAT workout program is based on a mesocycle, a period during which a person focuses on developing one or two main muscle groups. A mesocycle typically runs between four and six weeks and helps individuals choose normal weights to facilitate muscle mass, boost strength, and reload as required.

During PHAT, the workouts are the same for the duration of the mesocycle. The difference is that the load or speed of the exercises fluctuates based on the day and the training week.

The PHAT workout is a 5-day plan based on power, upper or lower body, and hypertrophy.

Day 1 is an upper-body power day, including exercises like bent-over rowing, weighted pull-ups, rack chin-ups, flat dumbbell presses, bench presses, weighted dips, shoulder presses, and skull crushers. The compound lifts feature three sets of three to five reps, whereas the accessory exercises are typically two sets of six to 10 reps.

Day 2 focuses on lower body power training, including squats, leg extensions, Romanian deadlifts, leg curls, standing calf raises, and seated calf raises. The compound lifts feature three sets of three to five reps, whereas the additional lifts are usually two sets of six to 10 reps.

Day 3 is a programmed rest day to let the user recover before the hypertrophy sessions.

Day 4 is back and shoulder hypertrophy, including exercises like bent-over rows, chin-ups, cable rows, dumbbell rows, pulldowns, dumbbell presses, and upright rows. The main lift features a 6x3 for strength, whereas the additional lifts feature set and rep ranges typically three sets of eight to 12.

Day 5 is a lower body hypertrophy day, focusing on squats, hack squats, leg presses, leg extensions, RLDL, lying leg curls, seated leg curls, and calf raises. The main lift is six sets of three reps, whereas the other compound lifts are three sets of eight to 12 reps. The accessory lifts for smaller muscle groups are usually two sets of 12 to 15 reps.

Day 6 is a chest and arms hypertrophy day that focuses on flat dumbbell press, incline dumbbell press, hammer strength chest press, cable fly, preacher curl, concentration curl, spider curl, tricep extension, and cable press down. The main lift is 6x3, whereas the additional main lifts are three sets of eight to 12 reps. The accessory lifts are two sets of 12 to 15 or two sets of 15 to 20 for hypertrophy.

How Long Are PHAT Workouts?

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The main lifts will take a lot of time since the workout uses heavy weights to test a person’s strength and power. For example, you will do three to five sets of three to five reps on power days, but each set will be around 90% of your maximum potential. This means that you need approximately five minutes of recovery between sets.

Furthermore, after the power portion, you still need to do hypertrophy and speed accessory exercises. Considering warmup sets, recovery periods, and setting up/unloading the bars and machines, every workout will take 60 to 90 minutes.

How Many Days a Week is PHAT?

The PHAT program is five days per week. It splits the main muscle groups and alternates between upper/lower body and hypertrophy/power. The other two days of the week are used for rest to recover between the heavy compound lifts in every session.

How Long is the PHAT Program?

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Every PHAT workout takes an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the intensity of each set and the recovery time between working sets. Including the warmup sets, each workout is at least one hour long. Most people who do the PHAT program dedicate eight to 12 hours a week to the gym.

Then, the PHAT program uses a four to six week mesocycle in which the exercises stay the same but the intensity, reps, and sets change. This gives everyone a chance to adjust weights as necessary to increase the intensity, followed by a deload week to facilitate recovery.

After a mesocycle is over, the next PHAT mesocycle begins.

Is PHAT Training Effective?

PHAT workouts can be very effective for those looking to build muscle, strength, and power.

One of the main reasons this workout is so effective is periodization. Periodization ensures that you hit all of the major muscle groups without overbuilding muscle on one part of your body, preventing imbalances and muscular fatigue. Periodization focuses on a pre-set number of sets and reps with designed rest periods to allow for recovery between heavy lifts.

It also helps to ensure you gradually increase the difficulty over time without sudden jumps. This can help you slowly gain strength every week by increasing by 2 to 2.5% of the load without going too fast and risking injury.

Another reason the PHAT training program is effective is the method of concurrent training. Concurrent training involves using different training goals simultaneously for a more efficient and well-balanced approach. Since this training plan uses hypertrophy and power, it helps with long-term powerlifting potential, bodybuilding physique, and athletic performance.

Next, the PHAT training program gives lifters and moderate athletes tons of practice in the gym with compound lifts, accessory lifts, and understanding their bodies. This will help people gain confidence and grow more as time goes on. Since you are doing the same main lift twice per week, you will see much bigger gains in a quicker time frame than with other more sporadic programming.

Is PHAT Good For Beginners?

The PHAT workout routine is not the best choice for beginners, as it requires ample time, setup, and knowledge of exercises. Since the exercises are often detailed compound movements with a very small margin of error, they are better for intermediate and advanced lifters.

Beginners should become comfortable with the basic movements, such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, and rows, before starting the PHAT program.

Who Should Avoid the PHAT Program?

A few people should avoid the PHAT program for safety and effectiveness. Beginners who are not used to working out or who do not know the proper form might find the exercises too hard and complicated to understand. Without a spotter, some of the lifts can be heavy and dangerous.

If a person has not worked out in the past or has done only light exercise without resistance training, the heavy compound lifts and abundance of accessory lifts can be too hard for beginners to recover from.

Furthermore, for those who enjoy training at home, the PHAT program requires too much equipment for easy, at-home use. It requires barbells (affiliate link), dumbbells (affiliate link), machines, cables, and other tools that most people don't have at home.

In addition, if you are strapped for time or only like to spend 30 minutes in the gym before work, this program isn’t the best choice. The PHAT program focuses on heavy lifts and accessory lifts, all of which require time and effort to set up and execute. Since each exercise has numerous sets and reps, each PHAT workout will take at least one hour or more every time you step foot in the gym.

Final Thoughts

The PHAT workout routine is effective and focuses on building power, strength, and hypertrophy. By creating a strong base with main lifts and enhancing speed through quick movements, individuals can then add high-rep accessory exercises to build muscle mass.

This program by Dr. Norton is effective not only for intermediate lifters but also for bodybuilders and powerlifters who want to maintain a muscular physique and continue to build strength.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the PHAT and PHUL programs?

The PHAT and PHUL programs are similar, as both focus on strength and hypertrophy. The PHUL workout consists of four days split into two power days and two strength days with an upper and lower split. Splitting the workouts into upper and lower is to keep the intensity high and focus on compound lifts.

Is PHAT good for hypertrophy?

The PHAT routine is a great workout plan for hypertrophy training, as it uses the correct set and rep ranges to facilitate ample muscle growth. It also uses compound lifts, followed by accessory lifts that are high in sets and reps. By using main movement patterns coupled with hypertrophy-focused exercises, individuals can gain strength and power and increase their muscle mass size.

The regular variation and different accessory lifts, such as cable pushdown vs. tricep extension, are excellent for hypertrophy by frequently changing exercise. Performing six to 20 repetitions with only one to two minutes of total rest is the best way to burn your muscles and go close to failure.

What is a PHAT split?

A PHAT split incorporates seven days in the program, with five working days. The main training splits include lower body power, upper body power training, lower body hypertrophy, chest and arms hypertrophy, and back and shoulder hypertrophy. By incorporating a rest day on day 3, you can recover from the power output before hitting hypertrophy and working until near failure.

Main image credit: Ivan Samkov / Pexels

The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this article.