strenos
Streetlifting is a strength sport where you hang weight from a belt and lift it for one rep. The core lifts are the pull-up and the dip, and some federations add the muscle-up and the barbell squat. As a beginner, spend your first weeks making your bodyweight reps strict. Then run a simple program on the belt and log every set with your bodyweight in it.
What streetlifting is
FinalRep describes the sport as growing out of calisthenics and street training, and its site notes it used to be called weighted calisthenics. You take bodyweight lifts, add weight and chase the heaviest single. In the max-weight formats you get three attempts per lift, one rep each, and your best good attempt counts. On the pull-up and the dip, your result is the weight on the belt. Lifters compete in bodyweight classes.
Which lifts are contested depends on the federation and the format:
| Federation | Format | Lifts |
|---|---|---|
| ISF (rules v5.2, October 2026) | Classic | Pull-up and dip, plus the total of both |
| ISF | Weighted calisthenics | Muscle-up, pull-up, dip and barbell squat |
| ISF | Multi-rep | Max reps in one 2-minute attempt with a kettlebell on the belt |
| FinalRep (site, November 2026) | All-4 | Muscle-up, pull-up, dip and squat |
| FinalRep | Shorter formats | One to three lifts, usually the pull-up and dip, sometimes with the squat |
These aren't the only federations, and the details differ from one to the next. Before you sign up for a meet, read the rulebook of the federation that runs it.
Federations also publish rank standards. ISF splits its tables by bodyweight class, and every federation has its own numbers. They deserve a page of their own, so this guide leaves them out.
What counts as a rep
Here's how the ISF rules (version 5.2, October 2026) define the two classic lifts:
- Pull-up. You start from a full dead hang with straight arms, no swing and your feet pointing down. The rep counts when your chin is over the bar, lower jaw above it. Overhand or underhand grip is fine. Mixed grip, false grip, kipping and kicking are not.
- Dip. You lower under control until your shoulder joint is at elbow level or below. Then you lock your arms out fully and hold until the judge's command.
- Belt and plates. Belt weight goes up in steps of 1.25 kg. Dry chalk is allowed. Straps, gloves and liquid chalk are banned.
FinalRep describes the same lifts in plainer words: a strict pull-up from a dead hang to the chin clearly above the bar, and a dip with proper depth and a full lockout. The idea is the same everywhere, but the wording isn't. Train to the rulebook of the meet you're aiming for.
These standards matter long before your first meet. Every max you estimate and every percentage you take comes from reps. Count reps a judge would turn down, and your program gets built on numbers you can't actually lift.
Your first months
- Make the bodyweight reps strict. StrengthLog's beginner streetlifting program asks for 5–8 strict pull-ups, 8–10 dips and 20 bodyweight squats before you start. If you're below that, keep building reps at bodyweight. Do every rep to the competition standard, not only on test day.
- Add weight with a simple program. StrengthLog suggests about 2–3 months on its beginner program, three days a week, if you have little lifting experience. While you still get stronger from one session to the next, pick a program that adds weight often. The r/Fitness wiki calls GZCLP a beginner-level linear progression, and it moves the weight after every good session.
- Slow down when the weight stops moving. Once you can't add weight every session, switch to a program that progresses weekly or monthly. That's common coaching practice, not a federation rule.
If your federation runs a four-lift format, the muscle-up and the squat need their own practice from the start.
The short answerMake your bodyweight reps strict first. Then add weight with a simple program and log every set with your bodyweight in it.
How to choose a program
Pick by how often you can still add weight:
| You still add weight | Program | What moves the weight |
|---|---|---|
| Every session | GZCLP | Every session where you hit your reps. A miss moves you to the next stage at the same weight |
| Every week | Texas Method or nSuns | On the Texas Method, a new heavy set of 5. On nSuns, your reps on the 1+ set at 95% |
| About once a month | 5/3/1 | Three weeks of waves and a deload, then a higher working max |
With a small belt max, percentages stop working. The steps get smaller than your plates, and most sets land on the same one or two plates. Add reps first and weight second until the max grows. Smolov Jr is a barbell program, and there's no reliable belt version of it.
The weighted pull-up program guide has a full sample week with numbers. For the broader comparison, see which strength program to run.
Log the belt with your bodyweight in it
On the pull-up and the dip you lift your body plus the belt. Your result is the belt number, but the math has to use the total. Log three things for every set: bodyweight, belt weight and reps.
Here's a beginner's month at 175 lb. The fifth column uses the streetlifting formula, which counts your bodyweight. The last one runs the Epley formula on the belt alone, a common mistake.
| Session | Bodyweight | Belt × reps | Total load | Max, bodyweight counted | Max, belt only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 175 lb | +45×5 | 220 lb | +76.5 lb | +52.5 lb |
| 2 | 175 lb | +45×6 | 220 lb | +81.7 lb | +54 lb |
| 3 | 175 lb | +50×5 | 225 lb | +82.2 lb | +58.3 lb |
| 4 | 172 lb | +50×6 | 222 lb | +87.1 lb | +60 lb |
The belt-only column puts you about 24 lb weaker than you are. Run 5/3/1 off the session 3 number from that column and your week 1 top set is +15 lb. Off the right number it's +32.5 lb. Session 4 shows the other half. You weigh 3 lb less, so the same belt adds up to 3 lb less in total. The formula uses the bodyweight from that day, so keep it in every entry.
Common beginner mistakes
- Loading the belt before the reps are strict. A plate on the belt won't fix a short rep. It only makes it heavier.
- Reps a judge won't count. Bent arms at the bottom, the chin short of the bar, a kip to get over.
- Training to the wrong rulebook. ISF and FinalRep run different formats. Know your meet's lifts and standards before you plan around them.
- Belt-only math. Percentages and max estimates from the plates alone are off on every set.
- Barbell-sized jumps. A belt takes one plate at a time, so your smallest step is half the barbell's.
- Straps, gloves and liquid chalk. ISF bans all three, so train your grip the way you'll compete.
How Strenos handles streetlifting
Strenos has a streetlifting mode for weighted pull-ups and dips. It runs 5/3/1, nSuns, GZCLP and the Texas Method on the belt, but not Smolov Jr. Every set comes from your bodyweight plus belt through a streetlifting formula. Strenos takes your latest bodyweight from the weight log or a workout. Belt weights round to the smallest plate in your gym, and program steps on the belt are half the barbell's. If your belt max is under 60 lb (27.2 kg), Strenos suggests a rep-based method in 5/3/1 and asks how many strict reps you get at bodyweight.
The log keeps weight, reps and RPE or effort for every set. It tracks your rep-max records, and you can attach video to a PR. On Apple Watch you check off sets, and after a plus set you dial in your reps with the crown. Your data stays on your phone and in your own iCloud, with no account. The workout log, the watch app and records are free for good, and the first week of any program is free.
