Bodybuilding is a favorite of some people and join us on your powerlifting training. Some people love to change it up and hit the
muscles at different angles. There are some people who want to just move heavy stuff. Bench, deadlift and overhead press are the three main exercises. You may be in this group if you love the idea that you can generate pure strength without worrying about isolations and bodybuilding details. That’s fine.
Frequency is the key to getting big on these main lifts. If you want to become good at a sport, you have to spend most of your time doing it. Over the years, I have seen guys say they want to improve at these lifts but only train once a week. Or they do it multiple times a week.
This article will give you clear guidelines for building a powerlifting program me that will help you build strength and size. Check out the podcast episode How To Become The Strengthens Guy (Or Girl) in Your Local Gym if you haven’t done so already to get an idea of what I am about to say.
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Warming Up
Before I go into detail about how to create a powerlifting training programme, I believe you need to know the importance of a proper warm-up (or priming). If your lift that day is the bench, then you should do some mobility and activation exercise that target the muscles you want to get the best out of the bench that day. It’s not just about building muscle to get higher numbers. It’s all about activating your central nervous system to get it to fire up muscles that are more dormant.
Example – Perform 1-2 sets before increasing your weight on the bench
Shoulder Dislocations – 1×10
Band Rows 1×20
Keep in mind that once you have finished a work out, you will want to lock in your new range of movement. This is because you put the muscle under a load and a range of motion greater than before.
Example
Stretch your pecs for 2×15 seconds each side
Building a Foundation
If you are new to lifting and haven’t focused on the three main movements, I would recommend starting with a lower intensity and more frequent lifts. Do not just do squats and deadlifts 4-5 times a week. You will have unhappy joints. Increase your workload by doing one major lift per day.
Example
Day 1 – Bench Press – 3×10-15
Day 2 – Squats – 3×10-15
Day 3 – Barbell Shoulder press – 3×10-15
Day 4 – Deadlift – 3×10-15
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Accessory Movements
You can add accessory exercises to each lift once you become accustomed to lifting heavier weights and building your work capacity. These are ideal if you choose 2-3 exercises that directly target the body parts that may be holding you back.
Example
Try these exercises if your hamstrings keep you from hitting higher numbers on a squat-day:
Lunges – 3×8-12
Leg Press – 8×12
Leg Curl – 3×8-12
Frequency
You want to reach a point where you feel like you’re in the groove. Each main lift should be done twice a week. The first day should be more intense and the second should be less intense. Spread out your days to ensure you have enough recovery.
Example
Day 1 – Heavy Bench & Light Shoulder press
Day 2 – Heavy Squat & Light Deadlift
Day 3 – Heavy Shoulder Press and Light Bench
Day 4 – Heavy Deadlift & Light Squat
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Progressive Overload
You should always work at a percentage (80-90% for heavy lifts and 60-65% for lighter ones) when you do both types of exercises. As you progress through your program, increase the percentages and weight. Learn more here about powerlifting training.
Example
- Day 1 – (Heavy) Bench Press
- Week 1 – Four x five at 80%
- Week 2 – 6×2 @ 90%
- Week 3 – Beat Week 2 by 4×3.
- Day 3 – (Light) Bench Press
- All weeks 3×8-12 at 65%
- Peaking phase
The peaking phase will see you focusing on the main lifts only 2-3 days per week for a few weeks. The main lifts will be the focus of each day in terms to max out.
Example
Day 1 – Deadlift Focus at 90 % and other lifts between 70 – 80%
Day 2 – Bench Focus at 90%, and other lifts between 70-80%
Day 3 – Squat focus at 90%, and other lifts between 70-80%
Then, in the following weeks, you can increase your maximum.
This was a lot to take in, but I hope it clarified a LOT of things about how to program a strength and size-oriented powerlifting program. This article will give you all the information for powerlifting training that you need to start building your own program for powerlifting Training.
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