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The original was posted on /r/weightroom by /u/CommonKings on 2024-03-23 21:21:40.

INTRO:

Here is the bottom line up front: Brian Alsruhe’s 4Horsemen is the most challenging and rewarding program I have ever followed. I left the gym after the very first workout thinking “how the HELL am I going to do another workout like that tomorrow?” After twelve weeks, I broke 41 individual rep PRs and set new all-time one rep maxes in all four big lifts. I’m bigger, leaner, more athletic, and most importantly, I am more confident under the bar.

If you asked me previously if I thought I was training and eating in a way to support my goals of being bigger and stronger, I would have undoubtedly said yes. However, and I think many of us suffer from this - I knew my internal governor always kept some in the reserve. 4Horsemen immediately took my internal governor out back and promptly put a bullet in its head. The program tears you down, and then FORCES you eat enough and train hard enough to survive.

TRAINING HISTORY:

I am a long distance runner turned lifter. I ran track throughout my youth, and have since competed in dozens of half marathons, marathons, and ultramarathons. In 2023, I finished two long distance treks with a 45LB ruck: a 26.2miler, and a 34 miler. In regards to lifting, I’ve followed countless programs in the past, including John Meadow’s programs, multiple iterations of Building the Monolith and Deep Water, and last year I ran SuperSquats. I have also Dan John’s 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge in seven days.

RESULTS:

The workouts in 4Horsemen primarily consist of conditioning, working up to a heavy single, a giant set with a main lift, an antagonistic movement, a core exercise, and some sort of cardio, and finish with an assistance finisher. In waves one and two structure of the program allows the trainee to hit rep PRs without centering the entire workout around one particular set. In wave three, the trainee does focus on attempting a new 1RM – but the supersets do not disappear, they are simply less intense. I am prefacing my result with these details because context matters. It is one feat to hit a PR after two minutes of rest first thing into a workout, it is another accomplishment entirely to hit a PR immediately after 10 cleans and a one-minute plank.

With all that said, I added 30LB to my squat, 15LB to my bench, 20LB to my deadlift, and 15LB to my overhead press, FINALLY achieving the bodyweight strict press. Some of my more notable rep PRs include a 315x20 Deadlift, a 255x20 Squat, and 160LB double on the strict press. I also turned each previous 3RM to AT LEAST a 5RM max during the program. Those rep PRs say nothing regarding the vast improvements in my conditioning and work capacity, as I was setting conditioning records for the various workouts as prescribed by Brian throughout the entire program. I uploaded the majority of the PRs onto YouTube.

NUTRITION AND RECOVERY:

Okay, this is where the program entered legendary status, because for the first time in my lifting career, I left the gym feeling completely satisfied. In the past, I would hit extra conditioning sessions or back work on off-days. However, with 4Horsemen, when I was not scheduled to lift, I simply was not lifting, and I didn’t care. This was a HUGE mental achievement for me, because it meant getting in great workouts while also having extra time with my wife.

In terms of diet, I told myself I would “keep it simple, stupid”. With that, I essentially split the program into two phases. The first phase, weeks one through seven, I was at home with my wife. For the first phase, nutrition simply consisted of three large meat-centric meals, with each day beginning and ending with a protein shake. My wife and I would order in about once a week and I refused to let my training obsession interfere – I just ate what we ordered together, whether it was Mexican, Chinese, etc. For weeks eight through twelve, I was traveling and staying in a hotel. I kept the same protein shake routine, ate an egg-centric breakfast at the hotel, and for lunch and dinner I would split a Walmart pre-made chicken. Yes, a whole chicken (and for less than six bucks, I might add). That was my entire nutrition plan. I was sore most days, but I would be ready to roll physically and mentally when it was time to smash the next workout. In terms of bodyweight, I did not weigh myself at all, but my wife said she saw the most notable growth in my legs, arms, and back. If I could sum up recovery for this program, it would be this photo my wife took of me cutting a STUPID amount of chicken one night for dinner.

MY EXPERIENCE/LESSONS LEARNED:

  • I learned fast not to “save” anything. I never WANTED to do conditioning BEFORE the heavy work, but Brian prescribes it like that for a reason. Give each portion of each workout the effort it deserves and you will reap dividends.

  • I grew mentally as much as I grew physically from this program. If you’re not growing mentally from 4Horsemen, please re-read point number one.

  • The cumulative fatigue catches up in the final wave, and I found that my AMRAP sets, specifically for the deadlift, struggled.

  • On that note above, I had 8 weeks of rep PRs every workout and I genuinely believe 4 weeks of heavier singles and less focus on the AMRAP is a good thing.

  • The program prescribes burpees the day before bench day, squats before squat day, etc. The crossover helps recovery.

  • Once I found my groove, I finished the workouts in exactly an hour or less.

  • The high intensity/“build” portion of each workout built my confidence with heavy singles.

  • My lower back and core can ALWAYS be stronger.

  • I have historically only used dumbbell rows. I got pretty damn strong with DB rows, but my back was severely lacking when it came to pendlay rows, bent over rows, etc. 4Horsemen made that abundantly clear with the amount of rowing variations.

  • The various components of each workout made me feel like an athlete again. The program prescribes jumping, lunging, pulling, pressing, etc. The sheer amount of plyometrics made me feel like a kid again.

  • Grinding a lift is a skill that I had to practice, as seen in this strict press.

  • I was able to run this in a commercial gym with minimal changes, sometimes I just had to be creative.

WHAT’S NEXT:

I loved every workout in this program, and the variation keeps things fun and exciting. I’ll be doing a one-week deload focused around calisthenics, and then I’ll be picking up 4Horsemen again from the very beginning.

TLDR: If you skipped to this, you’re dumb, because I put the bottom-line up front. Run this program.