Workout Summary
Main Goal:
Increase Strength
Workout Type:
Split
Training Level:
Intermediate
Days Per Week:
4
Equipment Required:
Barbell, Bodyweight, Cables, Dumbbells, EZ Bar, Machines
Target Gender:
Male & Female
Author:
Workout Description
The 100% powerlifting workout. This workout is specifically designed for guy competing in powerlifting competitions. This doesn't mean you can't use it, this workout is great for increasing your strength.
This workout is not for muscle mass, it's purely for strength gains. You may experience muscle gains, but you will benefit much more from a bodybuilding workout. You must train with a spotter for this workout because you're training heavy with weights close to your 1 REP MAX on almost every set.
Daily Workout Schedule:
| Day 1 - Monday - Chest & Back | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chest | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Barbell Bench Press | 5 | See instructions |
| Dumbbell Bench Press | 4 | 8, 6, 6, 4 |
| Weighted Chest Dip | 4 | 4-6 |
| Back | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Seated Row | 5 | 10,8,8,8,6 |
| Notes | ||
| Bench press: Warmup 10 reps of 50% 1 REP MAX. 4 sets of 2-3 reps 75-95% 1 REP MAX. Last set do your 1 REP MAX. | ||
Tuesday: Rest Day/Abdominal Work
| Day 2 - Wednesday - Legs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legs | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Squat | 6 | See instructions |
| Leg Curl | 4 | 4-6 |
| Leg Extension | 4 | 4-6 |
| Standing Calf Raise | 4 | 15 |
| Notes | ||
| Warmup. 6 sets total. First 4 sets, 2-3 reps 90% 1 REP MAX. 5th set 1 REP MAX, 6th set increase 1 REP MAX. | ||
Thursday: Rest Day/Abdominal Work
| Day 3 - Friday - Shoulders and Triceps | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shoulders | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Military Press | 4 | 6 |
| Incline Bench Press | 4 | 6 |
| Dumbbell Front Raise | 4 | 8 |
| Triceps | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Close Grip Bench Press | 4 | 10, 8, 6, 4 |
| Lying Tricep Extension | 4 | 6-8 |
| Day 4 - Saturday - Legs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Legs | ||
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Deadlifts | 6 | 6-8 |
| Leg Curl | 4 | 10 |
| Smith Machine Lunge | 5 | 6 each leg |
| Standing Calf Raise | 5 | 10-15 |
Sunday: Day Off - Take a Break
Comments (183)
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Posted Mon, 09/27/2010 - 16:07
So for this routine are we doing our maxes every workout isnt that too much volume?
Posted Mon, 09/27/2010 - 19:22
Hi Taran,
You are not working to your max during these workouts. Constantly pushing yourself to your 1RM isn't always good for your central nervous system.
Posted Tue, 09/28/2010 - 14:38
Sorry Steve just confused a bit, on the workout notes it says the last set should be your 1 REP MAX, so im assuming every week you are hitting your 1 rep max for the last set.
Posted Wed, 09/29/2010 - 16:01
Sorry, I meant to say "not working to your max". My apologies.
Posted Thu, 09/30/2010 - 23:35
can i add rolling tricep extensions and dips
Posted Tue, 10/05/2010 - 13:46
Hi Garrett,
Dips are a solid choice.
I'm not sure which exercise you mean by rolling extensions. Do you have a link?
Posted Sat, 10/02/2010 - 05:45
i was hoping you could post more info on deadlifts. i was taught to do a straight leg deadlift. so, i was wondering which is more beneficial for making strenght gains?
Posted Tue, 10/05/2010 - 13:43
Hi Jeffrey.
Standard deadlifts are better for overall strength. For more info on deadlifts, check out this link:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/deadlifts.html
Posted Sun, 10/03/2010 - 19:57
Hey Steve, I'm curious as to why deadlifts are done in the 6-8 rep range while squat and bench work right up to your 1RM.
Posted Tue, 10/05/2010 - 13:44
Hi Jacob,
Heavy deadlifts are very taxing to the central nervous system and body in general. It's best to limit the amount of near 1RM sets you do with them.
Posted Sat, 10/09/2010 - 01:41
good....very good
Posted Sun, 10/10/2010 - 06:06
can you reduce this routin to 3 days per week ?
Posted Thu, 10/14/2010 - 09:26
Hi Talai,
I would drop the second leg day, move deadlifts to your back training, and structure the workout as follows:
Day 1 - Chest & Back
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Legs
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Shoulders & Triceps
Days 6&7 - Rest
You could also move shoulders and triceps to Day 4 to give triceps an extra day of rest before your next chest workout.
Posted Thu, 10/14/2010 - 21:55
hey I was wondering I am getting back to a power lifting routine after a long 3 years I have a variation of workouts to keep up with muscle confusion, however I have gained about 10 percent body fat and I cant take it off no matter how hard i try... any suggestions?
Posted Mon, 10/18/2010 - 13:31
Hi Mo,
Here are a couple articles that should help:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/your-go-to-guide-for-cutting-f...
https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/how-to-create-a-bodybuilding-...
Posted Fri, 10/15/2010 - 22:01
what exercise can i replace Weighted Chest Dip with?
Posted Mon, 10/18/2010 - 13:33
Hi Matt,
I would try incline bench press.
Posted Mon, 10/25/2010 - 19:35
how do you figure out your percentages, is there a chart or something i can buy?
Posted Mon, 10/25/2010 - 21:29
Hi Blake,
You multiply the percentages by your one rep max for that lift.
Posted Thu, 10/28/2010 - 18:32
Can I do deadlifts in a 4-6 rep range with muscle failure?
I'm used to do deadlifts in a lower rep range.
Posted Sat, 10/30/2010 - 12:40
Hi BT,
You can use the 4-6 rep range, but I would never advise training deadlifts to failure.
Posted Thu, 10/28/2010 - 18:35
forgot to ask this:
on friday it says "Last set do your 1 REP MAX" at benchpressing.
which benchpress should be done with 1RM? incline or close grip?
Posted Sat, 10/30/2010 - 12:43
That applies to Monday only. I am correcting this error.
Posted Thu, 11/18/2010 - 21:12
It kind of seems like adding that many sets and high reps of the assistant lifts might make it more of a bodybuilding style routine. Is this the case?
Posted Mon, 11/22/2010 - 12:40
Hi Andy,
Many powerlifting approaches use assistance work that could easily fit into a bodybuilding workout.
Posted Wed, 11/24/2010 - 12:47
Hey guys I'm just curious on how much weight and muscle do you think this will put on someone? I am confused for how there is only 5 sets for Back and I don't see any clean and presses here. Just curious .. this will be my first powerlifting routine I have ever really done besides football workouts.
Posted Wed, 11/24/2010 - 13:54
Hi John,
if you train hard and eat properly you can gain about 15 pounds of muscle your first year of lifting, give or take.
Regarding back, there are actually 11 sets. Deadlifts work the upper back hard.
Posted Wed, 11/24/2010 - 21:32
Great thank you. I also have another question. Is there a place in here I could throw some powercleans or hancleans in? And is there a printable version of this?
thanks andy.
Posted Thu, 11/25/2010 - 09:05
Hi Andy,
I suggest doing a few less sets of deadlifts, and adding cleans in after them.
And no, sorry, no printable version as of right now.
Posted Sat, 11/27/2010 - 20:17
Hi steve, I'm a bit confused about the training notes for the bench and squat, it says for the last set of bench do your 1 rep max and for the squat set 5 is your max and set 6 increase your max. That does not sound right could you please go into more detail.
Posted Thu, 12/02/2010 - 13:15
Hi Frank,
Set 1 - Warmup - 10 reps of 50% of your 1 REP MAX
Sets 2-5 - 4 sets of 2-3 reps @ 75-95% of your 1 REP MAX
Last set do your 1 REP MAX once.
Posted Fri, 12/17/2010 - 15:25
Thanks for the percentages
Posted Fri, 12/17/2010 - 15:28
how would you use chains and bands in a strengh workout
Posted Sun, 11/28/2010 - 00:53
I am a teenager and have been weightlifting for 3 years. I am wanting to be in the U.S. Army but I just don't want to pass the PT test I want to max it out and get alot more muscle but lose the fat. What routine and eating programme is best for me?
Posted Thu, 12/02/2010 - 13:16
Hi Tim,
Th PT test focuses on situps and pushups. The best way to get better at these exercises is to training them numerous times per week. A weight training program can help some, but the best way to improve on pushups is to do pushups.
Posted Tue, 11/30/2010 - 21:16
There are 4 sets of 2-3 reps on the bench press. Do you recommend staying at the same weight for all 4 sets or adding a little each set? And i also was wondering the same thing about say the deadlift sets too. there are 6 sets of 6-8. Should i change weight or stay the same?
Thanks, Andy
Posted Thu, 12/02/2010 - 13:20
Hi Andy,
I would use the same weight. It will keep things simple, and cut down on down time. Pick a percentage of your 1RM that works best, and when your max goes up you can increase the weight for these sets.
Posted Thu, 12/02/2010 - 07:18
Would it be wrong to train back on the other days
Posted Thu, 12/02/2010 - 13:20
I would have to see the complete program to comment...
Posted Fri, 12/10/2010 - 17:25
I noticed there is no direct bicep workout in this program. I am currently doing a 4 day body split like this:
M - Chest & Biceps & Abs
T - Quads and Hamstring
Th - Shoulders & Triceps & Abs
F - Back & calves
I believe the powerlifting mainly comes from the number of reps. Power lifting doing fewer with heavier. I went heavy recently and notice significant benefits from doing 8-12 rep down to 5-8 reps.
Also, I take all sets to as near as failure as possible with a 60 sec breather between and combine large and small muscle groups on each day to try not to over tax the CNS.
If all your looking for is power, then make sure you get the big 3 Bench, Squat and deadlift. If you want more balance use more exercises with less sets (3 per exercise). I do around the same amount of sets, but add other exercises to hit all parts of the muscle group (aka bench press, incline dumbbell flyes with decline dumbbell press hits all 3 major areas).
Anyway, good post, will add to my info. Thanks
Posted Tue, 01/04/2011 - 13:46
Great, informative site. Thanks for the information.
Posted Mon, 01/17/2011 - 20:58
Why would you do bicep curls when power lifting? The bicep is not designed to move that way. Same thing with; tricep extensions, leg extensions or any other machine for that matter. One puts their body in a "Fairy tail" like position while using machines and isolation work, it confuses the nervous system when trying to power lift. Whoever came up with this, has not studied how the body works, the process of overloading one's system, functional strength, etc. If one wants to focus on power lifting, then they should not do bodybuilding style lifts. The body was designed to work as a unit and should be trained like one, when power lifting.
Posted Tue, 01/25/2011 - 03:21
I have a question regarding increasing weight. For ex. I just trained day 1. My 1 RM on the bench press is 315. My warm up was 155, I did me 2nd set with 245_275_275_285 and finished off hitting my 1 RM of 315 successfully. Does this mean I should increase weight? Or should I wait until I can successfully hit 315 more then once?
Posted Sat, 02/26/2011 - 18:37
I do not have the cables for the seated row. What do you recommend. Also, being sore after workouts, do you recommend running to reduce soreness bc of lactic acid buildup? Thanks
Posted Sat, 02/26/2011 - 21:34
I do not have cables for the seated row. What can I do as a substitute? Also, should I run after workouts to reduce soreness because of lactic acid buildup?
Thanks!
Posted Fri, 03/04/2011 - 14:16
I am coming back to the sport of powerlifting after over a 15 year layoff. My right hand has suffered 3rd degree burns twice down to the bone. This make it extremely painfull to bench and hold bar position on squat and deadlift. My appetit is hingry to compete so I must. I won two world titles in my earlier years, ow in submastera going raw I look forward to the challenge.
Posted Mon, 03/21/2011 - 11:37
How is this a power lifting workout? The person who wrote this has no idea how the body works or what power lifting is. Using machines and bodybuilding routines, such as bicep curls is not power lifting. Doing bicep curls actually weakens the arms. Perhaps, people should consult a strength and conditioning coach if they want to learn how to power lift. Here is an example of a power lifting workout;
Power Cleans
Dead Lifts
Good Mornings
Push Press
Pull Ups
Push Ups
Bent over rows
Seated Russian Twisters
Four-point planks
Posted Mon, 04/02/2012 - 20:38
not trying to start anything just stating something, where do you see above anything to do with bicep curls or anything like that? Second powerlifting includes bench press, where is it you have bench on your list?
Posted Tue, 03/22/2011 - 16:57
What amount of time between lifts?
Posted Tue, 03/29/2011 - 20:32
Could the weighted chest dips be replaced with incline dumbbell bench? Also, I'd like to add in a bicep exercise. Which would be the best day to add that?
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