Streetlifting Program for Beginners and Intermediates

In this article, you get two effective streetlifting programs: one for beginners and one for intermediate lifters and above.

The workouts are available in our workout app, StrengthLog, where you can track your progress and follow along as you get stronger.

What Is Streetlifting?

What if calisthenics and powerlifting swiped right on each other and had a very jacked, athletic baby? That’s streetlifting.

It’s a full-blown sport with judges, weight classes, and federations like the International Streetlifting Federation (ISF) and the World Streetlifting Federation (WSF).

However, it can also simply be a way of training.

Just like you can be a powerlifter or bodybuilder even if you never plan to squeeze into a singlet or posing trunks in front of judges, you can also call yourself a streetlifter if your training focus is getting strong at the streetlifting exercises.

The Big Four of Streetlifting

The same way powerlifting has the bench, squat, and deadlift, streetlifting has its own competition lifts:

• Weighted Pull-Up: Dead-hang to chin over the bar, weight strapped to your waist.
• Weighted Dip: On parallel bars, lowering down until your shoulders are below your elbows and pressing back up to lockout.
• Weighted Muscle-Up: Pulling yourself up and over the bar while wearing weights. And it has to be strict, without leg drive or chicken-winging it.
• Barbell Back Squat: Because you can’t skip leg day, even on the street. Squat down until your hip crease goes below your knees, then back to full lockout.

There are different competition types, including Classic with only pull-ups and dips, and All4/4-Lift, where the athletes perform, as the name suggests, all four lifts.

The biggest difference between calisthenics and training for streetlifting is that in calisthenics, you use only your body weight, but in streetlifting, you do weighted bodyweight lifting.

Both training styles are awesome for building a functional, healthy body, but streetlifting is more about raw strength and has greater potential for muscle growth because you load the exercises.

And even though 75% of the competition lifts are bodyweight exercises, you won’t get the stink eye from your peers if you train for them with regular gym exercises.

Streetlifting Programs: Beginner and Intermediate+

These streetlifting programs are designed to maximize your strength in the four main lifts: pull-ups, dips, muscle-ups, and squats.

Both are available in our workout log app, which you can download with the buttons below:

• The first is a beginner program for someone who has basic strength training experience and knows how to perform the streetlifting lifts with proper form. This is a free program.
• The second is for intermediate-level lifters (or above) who either have strength training experience or have dabbled in streetlifting before and want to take it to the next level. This is a premium program.

The beginner program will take you from bodyweight mastery to your first competitive-style streetlifting training cycle, while the intermediate program can be used to prepare for an actual competition.

However, you can use them without ever considering competing in streetlifting. Both are excellent programs for building a strong, functional body for sports and everyday life.

Warm-Up (Do Not Skip)

Streetlifting puts a lot of stress on your elbows and shoulders.

Do this short warm-up routine before your sessions (applies to both the beginner and intermediate program):

1. Shoulder Dislocates (band or stick): 2×10
2. Scapular Pull-Up: 2×10
3. Scapular Dip (straight arm): 2×10
4. Wrist Circles/Stretches: 30–45 seconds
5. Pull-Ups & Dips: Do at least one set of bodyweight-only reps before strapping on weight.
6. Squats: Do a couple of ramp-up sets, starting light and increasing the weight set by set, before your first working set.

Beginner Streetlifting Program

This is a beginner program for anyone to get into streetlifting, whether you want to compete down the road or just get stronger in the four main lifts.

You don’t need any extensive strength training experience to start it, but you should be able to perform the following with good form (bodyweight):

• Pull-ups: 5–8 reps
• Dips: 8–10 reps
• Squats: 20 reps

If you cannot hit these numbers yet, it’s a good idea to build a foundation of strength with bodyweight exercises or a good beginner strength training program first.

If you can hit them, you are ready to start the Beginner Streetlifting Program.

The program uses a heavy/light/medium structure to manage fatigue.

On heavy days, you’ll do ~5 reps per set, on medium days ~8, and on “light” days, you’ll do 10+ (or as many bodyweight dips and pull-ups as you can crank out).

• Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday (or any three non-consecutive days).
• Rest: 3–5 minutes between heavy sets, 2 minutes for medium, 1–2 minutes for light. These numbers are just recommendations and guidelines, not set in stone. Feel free to rest longer or shorter if it feels good.

Workout 1

Heavy main lifts + core

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Pull-Up (weighted)	4	5
Bar Dip (weighted)	4	5
Squat	5	5
Hanging Leg Raise	3	12

Workout 2

Bodyweight pull-ups and dips + posterior chain + shoulder health

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Pull-Up (bodyweight)	4	As many as you can
Ring Dip (bodyweight)	4	As many as you can
Romanian Deadlift	4	8
Face Pull	3	12

Workout 3

Medium-heavy pull-ups and dips + squat accessory + core + muscle-up practice

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Banded Muscle-Up	3	3
Bulgarian Split Squat	4	10
Pull-Up (weighted)	3	8
Bar Dip (weighted)	4	8
Plank	3	60 seconds

Beginner Streetlifting Program Progression

Increase the weight when you can do the indicated sets and reps with good technique.

You did three sets of 10 with 150 lb. Next time, try for three sets of 10 with 155 lb.

If you only get, say, nine reps with 155 lb, that’s normal and expected. Keep at it, and you’ll be back at 10 before you know it. Then it’s time to increase the weight again. And so on.

Most people will not be able to increase the weights every workout, but strive to do one more rep than you did last workout.

Intermediate Streetlifting Program

This is an 8-week progressive streetlifting program for intermediate lifters and above.

It’s the ideal next step after a few months on the beginner program, but it’s also a great entry point for anyone with strength training experience looking to get into streetlifting.

For this program, you should be able to perform:

• 12+ strict bodyweight pull-ups
• 15+ strict dips
• 2 bodyweight muscle-ups with at least decent form

You train four days per week with a modified upper/lower split in two phases:

• Phase 1 (Weeks 1–4): Volume, Foundational Strength & Hypertrophy
• Phase 2 (Weeks 5–8): Increased Intensity, Maximal Strength & Explosiveness

• Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, or Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
• Rest: 3–5 minutes between heavy sets, 2 minutes for medium, 1–2 minutes for light. Like in the beginner program, use these recommendations as a general guideline, not absolutes.

Here’s a sneak peek of a sample week (Week 4) of the Intermediate Streetlifting Program in StrengthLog.

With a premium subscription, you get built-in progression week by week, and the rep, loading, and exercise scheme of weeks 5–8 is not identical to that of week 1. In addition, the number of sets per exercise will increase over the course of the program.

Workout 1

Pull focus

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Muscle-Up	3	3
Pull-Up (weighted)	4	6
Bar Dip (weighted)	3	8
Inverted Row	3	10
Hammer Curl	2	12

Workout 2

Heavy squats + core

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Squat	5	4
Romanian Deadlift	4	8
Bulgarian Split Squat	3	10
Hanging Leg Raise	3	12

Workout 3

Push focus + shoulder health

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Pull-Up (bodyweight)	4	As many as you can
Bar Dip (weighted)	4	6
Overhead Press	4	8
Face Pull	4	12

Workout 4

Squat volume + core

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Squat	4	4
Pause Squat	3	5
Back Extension	3	12
Kneeling Ab Wheel	3	As many as you can

Intermediate Streetlifting Program Progression

Here’s how to think about progression when following the program.

• For squats, percentage-based progression is clearly outlined in the app. StrengthLog will do all the calculations for you.
• For dips and pull-ups, we use reps in reserve (RiR) to gauge intensity. Basically, if the program calls for a set with 5 reps and 2 RiR, that means you use a weight you estimate you could do 7 reps with if you absolutely have to, but you stop at 5. StrengthLog will tell you exactly when and how.
• For other compound exercises (like Romanian deadlifts, split squats, overhead presses), try to add ~1–2.5 kg (2.5–5 lb) to upper-body lifts and ~2.5–5 kg (5–10 lb) to lower-body lifts when you can do all sets cleanly with ~1–2 reps in reserve.
• For accessory and isolation exercises (curls, extensions, laterals, etc.), increase the weight by the least possible amount (i.e., add the smallest plates you have) when you can do your target reps on all sets with good form and 0–2 RiR. You can train to failure if you want on these exercises.

After Eight Weeks

After eight weeks, you can simply start the program over. The first few weeks are lower in intensity, so it will be like a natural deload.

Or, if you feel run down, you can do a real deload week (cut sets and reps in half) before starting over with Week 1.

When to Graduate From the Beginner Streetlifting Program to the Intermediate Program

Knowing when to graduate from a beginner program to an intermediate one is the million-dollar question in all of strength training.

Switch too early, and you miss out on fast newbie gains. Switch too late, and you’re spinning your wheels, hitting plateaus.

As a beginner, you can do the same workout, eat a good meal, sleep, and come back two days later ready to lift a heavier weight.

Unfortunately, you can’t keep adding weight workout after workout, week after week, forever, or you’d be breaking powerlifting records in a year.

The Beginner Streetlifting Program will give you consistent gains for months, but you’ll eventually want to move up. You can stick with the beginner plan for however long you like, but it’s called a beginner plan for a reason. Eventually, your gains will slow down.

You are ready for the intermediate program when you can no longer add weight (or reps) week after week.

If you have reset your weight, made sure your diet is on point, and slept well, but you still stall out on your weighted pull-ups or dips for several weeks straight, it’s usually a good thing. It means your body is ready for more advanced training.

For most lifters, I recommend sticking with the beginner plan for 2–3 months, laying the groundwork.

Note that I’m talking about people without much prior lifting experience here. If you’re already an experienced lifter with months or years of consistent strength training under your belt, feel free to jump straight into the intermediate program. I recommend you do so.

Beginner gains are the fastest gains you will ever make in your lifting career, so you want to milk them for every lb they’re worth. But once your progress stalls and you’re feeling strong and ready, it’s time to graduate.

Follow the Streetlifting Programs in StrengthLog

These are two of the many proven programs in our workout log app, StrengthLog.

StrengthLog remembers what weights you used in your last session, and automatically loads them into your next one.

That makes it super easy to keep track of your weights and reps and make sure you’re on the fast road to progress.

Download it and start tracking your gains today!

StrengthLog is free, and so is the Beginner Streetlifting Program. For the intermediate plan, you’ll need a subscription to follow it in-app. We offer a 14-day free trial (no strings attached and no funny business) that you can activate in the app, so you can check it out before making a decision.

Final Rep

You’ve made it to the end of the article, which means one of two things: you’re either highly motivated to start streetlifting, or you’re procrastinating your actual workout. Either way, it’s time to move.

If you’re new to the game, start with the Beginner Streetlifting Program. If you’ve already got some iron under your belt, the intermediate program is the way to go.

Fire up StrengthLog, load up your program, and start logging. Because if it isn’t tracked, did those gains even happen?

Chalk up, grab the bar, and let’s get to work.

Want even more?

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get notified of new articles and get weekly training tips!

Leave this field empty if you’re human:

Or, you can view all our training programs here.

Last reviewed: 2026-01-23