PNP: PowerliftingToWin Novice Program By Izzy Narvaez www.PowerliftingToWin.com
Table of Contents Introduction…1 The Focus of This Book…1 The PowerliftingToWin Novice Program…2 Phase One…2 General Physical Preparation…2 Conditioning…3 Mobility…3 Phase Two…4 Programming…5 Adding Reps…5 Adding Weight…6 Stalling…8 Full Program Summary…9 Program Explanation and Justification…11 Justification…11 Specificity…11 Overload…11 Fatigue Management…12 Individual Differences…12 FAQ…13 Conclusion…14 Conclusion…14
Introduction Before we begin, I’d like to provide some context for the program that follows. First, I cannot assume that you have found your way to this program through the PowerliftingToW PowerliftingToWin in Programming Series.. Series With that said, understand that I am not presenting this program as the one, singular option for all novice lifters to follow. I am not saying that this programs “works” and other novice programs “don’t work”. Similarly, Simila rly, I am not claiming that this program is perfect or without faults. What I have endeavored to do here is create a program that is as close to “optimal” as possible for novices with an interest in competitive powerlifting and maximal strength. In my view, nothing is ever finished; nothing is ever perfect. We can ALWAYS improve. That ideology holds true for this program as well! I fully expect to revise, edit, and improve this beginner powerlifting program program based on the real world feedback that I receive from lifters who use the program. program. To be explicitly clear, this is a program that is intended strictly for novices with an interest in competitive powerlifting. powerlifting. While the program will work quite well for those interested in general strength and hypertrophy, virtually everything about the program is optimized for the sport of powerlifting. It just so happens that getting stronger and bigger are peripheral effects of training for the best possible powerlifting total. total. The program that follows is the result of three years of research and experience in working with novice strength athletes. I am a certified Starting Strength coach and thus quite familiar with that method and its drawbacks for powerlifting purposes. purposes . I’m also I’m also a former gym owner. Out of the two dozen or so novices that I have directly worked with in person, more than half were able to finish their novice phase on the squat above 315lbs for three sets of five. Of the other half, not a single one stuck to training for more than three months. Using the same principles that will be described in this program, a quarter of my
novice trainees finished their linear progression with squats at, or above, 405lbs for a set of five. I personally concluded my novice phase at 445lbs 445lbs for five reps on the squat. squat. I do not say this because I find it impressive. I say this to impress upon you the fact that the principles employed in this program are proven to work by real world results. results. As such, I have full faith and confidence that your hard work and effort will be rewarded should you decide to follow the PowerliftingToWin Novice Program. Program .
The Focus of this Book In this first edition of the PowerliftingToW PowerliftingToWin in Program for Beginners , only the actual constituent elements of the programming will be covered. While I personally consider technique, gear, nutrition, psychology,, and a basic understanding of powerlifting rules of paramount importance to a novice’s psychology quality of progress, an exhaustive discussion of each the aforementioned aspects of training is beyond the scope of this text. Rest assured , in the future, I will be releasing a “handbook for powerlifters” which will cover all of this information in great detail. I’ll provide step by step instructions for maximizing your strength all the way through to the advanced stages of training and beyond. For now, if you’d like more information on such subjects, please check out the article series on PowerliftingToWin.com.. You’ll find a plethora of resources and guides covering a multitude of PowerliftingToWin.com powerlifting-centric powerlifting-centric topics.
The PowerliftingToWin Novice Program Let’s take a look at the actual program and then we’ll begin to discuss the reasoning behind its construction.
Phase One: The “True Novice” Mon, Wed, and Fri: (same workout all three days) Squat: 2 sets of 3-6 reps Paused Bench Press: 3 sets sets of 3-6 reps Sumo Deadlift: 1 set of 3-6 reps Sat: General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #1: 7 minutes to do as many reps as possible General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #2:7 minutes to do as many reps as possible High-Intensity, Interval Interval Training: 7 intervals intervals of ~20sec with 100sec 100sec of rest between efforts Mobility Work: 10 minutes minutes
As you can see, the basic program of the template is simple, but quite different from what you may be used to seeing in programs such as Starting Strength or StrongLifts or StrongLifts 5x5. 5x5 . In Phase One, you’re going to squat, bench, and deadlift three times a week. For the squat, you’ll perform two sets of three to six six repetitions (2x3-6); (2x3-6) ; for the bench, you’ll perform three sets of three to six repetitions (3x3-6); (3x3-6) ; and, for the deadlift, you’ll perform a single set of three to six repetitions (1x3-6).
GPP Protocol: General Physical Preparation On Saturdays, you’ll perform two general physical preparation exercises (GPP) in a “cluster set” fashion. You’ll pick an exercise, a weight, and then you’ll have seven minutes to accumu late as many reps as possible. How you decide to rest between sets is up to you. Your goal is to maximize the work you get done. Aim for 30-60 total reps and try to pick a weight that facilitates that rep range.
When I do GPP exercises in this fashion, I personally use 20-30s of rest between each effort. For example, if you wanted to do bodyweight chin-ups, chin- ups, you’d aim for as many reps as possible on the first set without reaching failure. You’d then wait 20 -30sec and you’d go again. By the end of the seven m inutes, you’ll probably only be able to crank out one, two, or three at a time. That’s okay. In terms of exercise selection for the GPP work, I’d prefer that you select from a wide range of compound movements unless they’re only exercises. There are only a few rules: rules : no barbells and avoid compound utilizing bodyweight. One of the best ways to determine which GPP exercises you want to do that day is to ask yourself what muscle groups you feel are “neglected” by the rest of your training. For me, that is pretty much always lats and abs. I generally choose things like Chinups, Pullups, DB Rows, Ab wheel rollouts, situps, and planks. However, you might decide to do side lateral raises, DB Curls, DB Flies, pushdowns, lunges, leg curls, leg extensions, or even calf raises. Just stay away from things like DB Bench, DB Shoulder Press, Leg Press, and anything else that can be loaded fairly heavy. Other than that, I’m purposely being vague here. I want you to do a variety of different things. Have fun with it. Try new things. Develop movement patterns. Build up some of of your favorite muscle groups. groups. What you do with these these two exercises is up to you. Remember, Boris Sheiko has his novices doing more than half of their overall work as GPP . Don’t listen to people who tell you that GPP is just a waste of time and recovery resources. GPP is one of the primary ways that you’re going to develop your overall athletic capability and it will also help improve your body composition. Contrary to popular notions, the very best weight class powerlifters are all lean and athletic. This isn’t an accident. Better athletes perform better. It is that simple. GPP helps us ensure basic athletic competence and motor skill. Do your GPP. As a brief note, if you’d like to avoid going to the gym on Saturdays, you can just do body weight exercises for all of your GPP. This is perfectly acceptable. Pushups, situps, lunges, and chin-ups, if you have a way to do them, make for great exercises to rotate on GPP work. For conditioning, you could do sprints. Hill sprints are great.
HIIT Conditioning Protocol Following your GPP, GPP , you’ll be doing conditioning work using a high intensity, interval style of training (HIIT). You’ll perform seven intervals. The high-intensity part should last 15-20 seconds per effort with 75-100s of rest. Aim for a 5:1 rest to work ratio. Acceptable options here are: pushing the prowler, pulling a sled, hill sprints, weighted flat sprints, elliptical machine against resistance, C2 rower, stationary bike against resistance, hitting a tire with a sledgehammer, or any other modality that you can come up with that facilitates HIIT training. What you’re really aiming for is your muscles to be the limitation rather than your ability to breathe; your limbs should be the things burning -- not your lungs.
Mobility Work Protocol For mobility work, I want you to pick one or two exercises that you feel will help improve your positioning on one of the powerlifts. You You may decide to work on opening opening your hips so that that you can stand wider on your sumo deadlifts or squats. You may decide to work on your ability to brid ge in order to improve your bench press arch. You may decide to do shoulder dislocations in order to help you bring your squat grip closer. You may stretch out any muscle groups that feel tight, stiff, or sore. The point here is not necessarily to become a “supple leopard”. I don’t want or need you to be able to do a perfect ass-to-grass ass-to- grass Olympic style squat. The point here is to ensure that you’re able to get into optimal positions on all of your lifts. By spending just a few short minutes per week on your overall
mobility, you’ll not only avoid injuries, but you’ll eventually be able to perform the competitive powerlifting movements movements more competently which which will allow for the use of of more weight as well.
The Point of the Saturday Workout The point of the Saturday workout is to help you develop your overall athleticism and to improve your body composition. The GPP work will aid in hypertrophy, fun, variety, and, most importantly, it will help teach you new movement patterns that will force you to coordinate your muscles in ways that they haven’t been used before. The conditioning will improve your ability to recover between sets while lifting. Your regular workouts won’t take as long. With improved recovery, you’ll be able to handle more ov erall work without fatiguing. This is important as you advance into the intermediate stages of training and beyond. Additionally, despite despite many people’s misconceptions, to be a good powerlifter, you need to be lean. You need to have a good body composition. Powerlifting is a weight class sport. If you’re competing in higher weight classes due to excess fat, you’re hurting your chances to set records and win important meets. This book will not be including nutrition information, but look for the nutrition section to develop on PowerliftingToWin.com very soon. As with the GPP, the mobility work is in place to ensure that y ou don’t lose the ability to move competently. There are far too many powerlifters who completely neglect this aspect of performance and they end up not even being able to tie their own shoes without great difficulty. By keeping a minimum of mobility work in the program, we avoid needlessly messing around with long stretching routines while simultaneously giving giving ourselves the opportunity to perfect our positioning for each lift. If you can use a big arch in the bench press, press, or are flexible enough to really really open your hips with with a wide sumo stance, you’ve gained a competitive advantage in p owerlifting. And THAT is why we do mobility. All this said, the Saturday workout is optional although I strongly recommend that you do it. If you’re just feeling too beat up and tired at the end of a long training week to do another additional workout, I’d rather I’d rather you just rest than consciously skip your Saturday workout. When people consciously skip a workout, they tend to feel like failures and they abandon their program entirely. While missing one of your main lifting sessions is absolutely unacceptable for any reason, do not sweat it if you decide to skip a Saturday workout. It should go without saying that those who do the Saturday workout consistently will get better overall results from the program than those who are putting in less work.
Phase Two: The “Advanced Novice” Mon and Fri: “Heavy Day” Squat: 3 sets of 3 to 6 reps
Paused Bench: 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps Sumo Deadlift: 2 sets of 3 to 6 reps Wed: “Light Day” 3-Second Pause Squat : 2 sets of 3 to 6 reps 3-Second Pause Bench: Bench : 2 sets of 3 to 6 reps Tue and Sat: GPP, Conditioning, Mobility General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #1: 7 minutes to do as many reps as possible General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #2:7 minutes to do as many reps as possible High-Intensity, Interval Interval Training: 7 intervals intervals of ~20sec with 100sec of rest between efforts Mobility Work: 10 minutes minutes
If you’re confused, don’t worry I’ll explain how, why, and when we move to Phase Two in the following paragraphs. In Phase Two of the program, you’ll notice that the volume of the squat, bench, and deadlift workouts is markedly increased. Rather than doing three sets on the bench press, you’ll be doing five. The squat and deadlift increase to three and two work sets respectively as well.
Wednesday Light Days You’ll also note that the We dnesday session is quite different. Instead of performing the big three, you’ll be performing only two lighter variations for a reduced amount of volume. Specifically, you’ll perform two sets of three to six reps on the three count paused bench press and the three count paused squat (meaning you you pause for three seconds at the bottom). As I said in the PowerliftingToW PowerliftingToWin in Programs Series Series,, the idea of true black and white “categories” for trainees is inaccurate. There are different levels of novices, intermediates, and advanced trainees; everyone exists along a continuum. While an early novice might be able to recover from a workout in 48 hours, an advanced novice starts to need more time. Additionally, as they become adapted to their workload, they’ll start to need more volume to elicit progress. When both of these factors are combined, the advanced novice simply needs more time to recover. By adding Wednesday as a light day, both due to th e decreased volume and the fact you can’t go as heavy on paused movements, we give our more “advanced” novices additional recovery time. Instead of 48 hours between “heavy” workouts, they now have 72 full hours. This simple adjustment allows these “advanced” novices to continue on with basic, linear progression for a whole lot longer. Wednesday is to be progressed independently of Monday and Friday. For your first Wednesday workout, use ~75% of that Monday’s work set work set weights. We’ll discuss the specifics of progression in a later section. section.
GPP Protocol: Phase Two In addition to the Saturday workout, a second day of GPP and conditioning is added on Tuesday. This day will function in the exact same manner as Saturday. In Phase Two, it is mandatory that you perform at least one GPP workout per week . You may perform both if you wish, and I’d strongly encourage you to do so for optimal results, but you must do at least one. Whether you do it on Saturday or Tuesday is not of particular importance. That said, I’d recommend Saturday if you’re only going to do one. If you do it on Tuesday, your Wednesday Pause Squats will suffer a bit. In the grand scheme of things, that’s okay because Wednesday is supposed to be lighter anyways. However, again, if you’re going to do just the one GPP workout, Saturday is probably slightly preferable.
Programming: When to Add Weight “Three to Six Reps” Unlike most other novice programs which typically call for the exclusive use of the five rep set and only manipulate weight on the bar, within certain limitations, limitations, we’re going to get as many reps as possible with the the weights that we use for each workout. Now, I don’t want you to EVER go to failure. In fact, my preference is that you use technique as your guide. Rather than asking if you can do one more rep, ask if you can do one more rep with proper technique. Don’t attempt reps that will result in poor technique unless it is absolutely necessary or something you did accidentally.
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) One of my primary goals for this program is to get you thinking about the concept of “rate of perceived exertion” (RPE). RPE is a subjective subjective metric that tells tells us how hard a set was. Here’s how it works: RPE Scale: 10: 10: No reps left 9.5: 9.5: Maybe one rep left 9: One rep left 8.5: 8.5: Maybe two reps left 8: Two reps left 7.5: 7.5: Maybe three reps left 7 : Three reps left 6 : More than three reps left Now, for novices, you’re incredibly incredibly unlikely to to accurately rate your RPEs. Nonetheless, Nonetheless, I want you to get into the practice of doing so. If yo u can learn this skill during your novice phase, you’ll be able to skillfully employ autoregulation during your intermediate phase . The importance of this advantage cannot be understated. Make sure you take learning RPEs very seriously. After each set, you’ll write down the weight you did, the amount of reps, AND the RPE of the set. My preference is for you to try and hit an RPE 9 on your working sets. Try to leave one rep in the tank. Save that last rep. Now, it is okay if you accidentally do an RPE 8 or an RPE 10. It is just that your goal should be to shoot for RPE 9 on each set. That said, if you HAVE to do an RPE10 just to get your minimum reps, you should go for that RPE10. If you can’t get the required minimum amount of sets and reps, only then would we begin to make programmatic changes. Having to do RPE10’s is not reason enough. We’ll discuss what to do when you can’t get your minimum reps la ter in the book.
Simultaneous Double Progression Next, we’re going to discuss discuss the method by which which you actually progress progress on this program. Let me define two terms first: progressive overload and double progression. Progressive overload is simply adding more weight to the bar over time. Linear progression is a form of progressive overload where a fixed increment is added to the bar each workout. Double progression on the other hand is a method of progression whereby first you try to increase the amount of r eps eps you can do with a weight and only once you’re able to hit a certain amount do you actually add more weight to the bar. The PowerliftingToWi PowerliftingToWin n Novice Program is going to make use of a concept that I’m going to call simultaneous double progression. Unlike traditional double progression which often has a lifter performing the same weights weights over and over until they’re they’re capable of a certain amount of reps, we’re we’re goi ng to simultaneously progress both the weight and the amount of reps we do on each exercise. You’re going to be adding weight to the bar every single training session. However, the rate of increase will depend on how many reps you’re able to get with the weight you used in the previous workout.
The Progression Protocol: The following chart demonstrates how to add weight on the program: if you got X amount of total reps on your last workout, you add Y amount of weight to that exercise for the next session. Please note that the Workout Calculator Spreadsheet will do all of this for you.
Phase One: Squat Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 6 Reps: +2.5lbs 7-11 Reps: +5lbs 12 Reps: +10lbs
Bench Press Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 9 Reps: +2.5lbs 10-17 Reps: +5lbs 18 Reps: +10lbs Deadlift Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 3 Reps: +2.5lbs 4-5 Reps: +5lbs 6 Reps: +10lbs Phase Two: Mon/Fri “Heavy” Days Squat Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 9 Reps: 1.25lbs 10-17 Reps: 2.5lbs 18 Reps: 5lbs
Bench Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 15 reps: 1.25lbs 16-29 Reps: 2.5lbs 30 reps: 5lbs Deadlift Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 6 reps: 1.25lbs 7-11 Reps: 2.5lbs 12 Reps: 5lbs Wed “Light Day” 3-Count Paused Squat and 3-Count Paused Bench Total Reps Completed / Weight to add next workout: 6 reps: reps: +1.25lbs 7-11 reps: reps: +2.5lbs 12 reps: reps: +5lbs
Micro Plates
I want to make one thing explicitly clear: if you’ you’re not using microplates microplates,, you’ you’re not doing the PowerliftingToWin Novice program – program – period, period, point blank. Microplates are an absolute necessity so that you can progress at a slow enough rate to also attempt to add reps simultaneously. If you try to do this program without microplates, you’ you’ll stall early and you’ you’ll blame the program, but it will be your fault. You can pick up the exact set of microplates that I personally use by following this link . You Determine Your Own Progress In order to use this protocol, simply note the amount of reps you successfully completed on the last workout and find the corresponding weight increase. For example, if you’re in Phase One, and you get 9 total reps on the squat, you’d add 5lbs for the next workout. If you only got six reps, you’d only add 2.5lbs. If you smoked the weight and got 12 reps, you’d add 10lbs. In this manner, unlike other simple linear progressions, you can determine the rate of your own progress. At the beginning, beginning, if you push hard ha rd and get all your reps, you’ll take bigger jumps. Towards the end, the jumps will start to get smaller. Instead of a linear curve, your progress will resemble something more like exponential decay which is a lot closer to the reality of how adaptation works. So you think this rate of progress is “too slow”? Prove it. Add reps! Earn those big jumps if you want them. It is up to you.
What is “Stalling”? Okay, let’s discuss what to do when you “stall”. On this program, a “stall” is anytime you cannot complete the minimum amount of sets and reps for a given exercise. You must get at least three reps on all of the sets. Even if, for example, you got 5 reps, 3 reps, and 2 reps, this would still constitute a stall. Three reps is the minimum for any set. Many novice programs ask you to fail at a weight three times before you can say you’re “stalled”. I refuse to advocate this approach because it forces you to accumulate many, many failed reps. Not only is this demoralizing, it engrains failure and poor technique. If even one time you cannot get the minimum reps, you have stalled. If you’re entirely sure that the workout was a fluke, because perhaps you only got two hours of sleep or didn’t eat all day, you can try again one more time at the very most.
What to do when you “Stall” On this program, we’re going to take stalls very seriously. When you stall, two things will happen. One, you’ll drop the weight down 10% on that exercise; and second, you’ll switch over to Phase Two. The only exception is if you are gaining substantial amounts of weight. If you are bulking, you may reset and stay in Phase One for one more round. As soon as you stall again, switching to Phase Two is mandatory. Here’s how the process works. For example, if you’re in Phase One on the bench press and, at a weight of 225lbs, you manage only 3 reps, 3 reps, and 2 reps on your three sets, you’d drop the weight to (225*.9=) 202.5lbs. You’d also move into Phase Two. If you stall on either squat or deadlift, you will reset the weight on BOTH exerc ises even if you only stalled on one of them. You will also still implement the Phase Two changes for both exercises regardless of whether or not you stalled on both exercises. The reason for this is that both squat and deadlift heavily tax the lower body. If you reset one, but not the other, you don’t give your lower body a chance to actually recover. Additionally, if you’re switching over into Phase Two, the volume is going to go up. By resetting both exercises, you give yourself a chance to work your way into the higher volumes on each exercise. You just have to remember
there is a relationship between squats and deadlifts that doesn’t exist between squats and bench or deadlifts and bench. Once you stall on Phase Two, you can reset 10% and then run Phase Two again, or you can move onto intermediate programming. I am not a believer in endless stalls and resets. In my experience they accomplish little besides wasting time. A reset works because it helps accumulated fatigue to dissipate. If your program is causing you to overreach, and you change absolutely no variables, you’re going to start overreaching at approximately the same place you did before unless you’re gaining su bstantial su bstantial amounts of of weight. weight . If your program isn’t enough volume for you to progress anymore, you’ll stall in almost exactly the same place because you haven’t gotten any stronger. In both cases, the reset doesn’t particularly help ; you have to actually change something else: programming, nutrition, nutrition, other recovery factors, etc. If you’re already already eating right and sleeping sleeping well, there isn’t much you can do besides move on to the next stage of programming. Don’t worry about trying to squeeze every last drop out of your novice phase. Usually, you’ll just end up spinning your wheels and wasting valuable time that you could have spent making progress on an intermediate program.
How-To Do The Program Summary: The PowerliftingToWin Novice Program Phase One: The “True Novice” Mon, Wed, and Fri: (same workout all three days) Squat: 2 sets of 3-6 reps Paused Bench Press: 3 sets sets of 3-6 reps Sumo Deadlift: 1 set of 3-6 reps Sat: General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #1: 7 minutes to do as many reps as possible General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #2:7 minutes to do as many reps as possible High-Intensity, Interval Interval Training: 7 intervals intervals of ~20sec with 100sec 100sec of rest between efforts Mobility Work: 10 minutes minutes
Phase Two: The “Advanced Novice” Mon and Fri: “Heavy Day” Squat: 3 sets of 3 to 6 reps
Paused Bench: 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps Sumo Deadlift: 2 sets of 3 to 6 reps Wed: “Light Day” 3-Second Pause Squat : 2 sets of 3 to 6 reps 3-Second Pause Bench: Bench : 2 sets of 3 to 6 reps Tue and Sat: GPP, Conditioning, Mobility General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #1: 7 minutes to do as many reps as possible General Physical Preparation Exercise Exercise #2:7 minutes to do as many reps as possible High-Intensity, Interval Interval Training: 7 intervals intervals of ~20sec with 100sec 100sec of rest between efforts Mobility Work: 10 minutes minutes
Workout Performance: Get as many reps possible per set. Do not go to failure. Do not attempt reps with poor technique. GPP and Conditioning:
GPP : Pick two non-barbell, non-compound exercises (unless bodyweight). Appropriate choices include exercises such as: pushups, dips, chin-ups, pullups, situps, lunges, calf raises, flies, lateral raises, curls, pushdowns, leg extensions, hamstring curls, and DB Rows. For each GPP exercise, pick a weight and get as many reps as you can in seven minutes. Aim for approximately 30-60 reps. Rest however you want. Conditioning: Do seven “intervals”. Sprints/intervals “intervals”. Sprints/intervals should be ~15-20sec each with ~75sec-~100sec rest. Aim for a 5:1 rest to work ratio. The Weight Progression Protocol: Phase One: Squat Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 6 Reps: +2.5lbs 7-11 Reps: +5lbs 12 Reps: +10lbs
Bench Press Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 9 Reps: +2.5lbs 10-17 Reps: +5lbs 18 Reps: +10lbs Deadlift Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 3 Reps: +2.5lbs 4-5 Reps: +5lbs 6 Reps: +10lbs Phase Two: Squat Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 9 Reps: 1.25lbs 10-17 Reps: 2.5lbs 18 Reps: 5lbs
Bench Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 15 reps: 1.25lbs 16-29 Reps: 2.5lbs 30 reps: 5lbs Deadlift
Total Reps Completed / Weight to add for next workout: 6 reps: 1.25lbs 7-11 Reps: 2.5lbs 12 Reps: 5lbs The “Stalling “Stalling” ” Protocol: Definition: Definition: Failing to get at least three reps on all work sets. Phase One: One: Reset 10% and move to Phase Two. Phase Two: Two: Reset 10% and move on to Intermediate Programming.
The Explanation of the PowerliftingToWin Novice Program In the PowerliftingToWi PowerliftingToWin n programming series , I set out to explain some of the foundational principles behind proper proper powerlifting programming. programming. Namely, the discussion discussion centered on specificity, specificity, over load, load, fatigue management, and individual differences. I’m going to present a highly summarized version in the following paragraphs. If you’d like a more thorough analysis of each principle, I’m going to direct you to the PowerliftingToWin website .
Specificity The training principle of specificity dictates that you get what you train for. If you run marathons, you’ll become better at running marathons. If you train for hypertrophy, you’l l get hypertrophy. If you train for maximal strength, you get maximal strength. Of course, there is often carryover between various physical qualities, qualities, but, nonetheless, one one of the most important aspects aspects of a program is that it is designed designed specifically to help a trainee reach their goals. Anything less than specificity results in non-optimal levels of progress. With that in mind, it is important to note that, to my knowledge, there isn’t a single widel y available beginner program explicitly designed for the novice powerlifter – until until now. Many popular beginner programs such such as Starting Strength, Strength , StrongLifts 5x5, 5x5 , and GreySkull LP were designed to produce general strength strength gains. Because of this, the programs programs contain many sub-optimal sub-optimal practices for powerlifting. In particular, these programs feature a 1:1 press to bench ratio. While this may make sense for those concerned with balancing development of different aspects of the upperbody, for an aspiring powerlifter, it is incredibly incredibly important to put put the majority of the upperbody upperbody training emphasis emphasis on improving the bench press. After all, the bench press is a contested lift and the press is not. For this reason, the bench press is featured across all three days in the PowerliftingToWin Novice program . Along a similar vein, these more general programs often include lots of barbell rows or power cleans as exercises to rotate alongside the deadlift. While these are great general strength builders, they have little to do with powerlifting. In this novice program, instead of spending precious recovery resources on these exercises, those resources are just directed towards doing more deadlifting instead. This leads to a bigger deadlift and thus a bigger total. Additionally, because these programs are focused on general strength and/or other goals, they often prioritize the squat far ahead of the deadlift. In many of these programs, you’re typically doing anywhere from six to ten times more total squat repetitions than deadlift repetitions. Frankly, this just doesn’t make any sense for a powerlifter. While it is true that improving the squat will do more to improve the deadlift than vice versa, nothing improves the deadlift at a faster rate than doing more deadlifts. The deadlift typically makes up 40% of a powerlifter’s total – more more than any other lift. As such, in the PowerliftingToW PowerliftingToWin in Novice program program,, the deadlift makes up a much larger portion of the overall lowerbody work. As one last note about specificity, I’d also like to point out that the overall frequency of the powerlifts is higher higher on this program than virtually virtually all of the other commonly commonly used novice routines.
Alongside the fact that the movements are always performed in the same order they would be at a competition, the program is just far more specific to powerlifting than the currently available alternatives.
Overload The training principle of overload is simple: you have to do more than you’ve done before to keep getting better. In some way or fashion, you must add reps, weight, volume, decrease rest times, or otherwise do something to make your workouts progressively more difficult over time. If you fail to do this, the body will stop making further adaptations and you’ll stop making progress. Most novice programs employ linear progression as their overload method. In linear progression, you simply add a fixed increment to the bar every single workout. The rate of improvement thus resembles a straight line – line – a a linear curve. The reality is that linear progression is a bit of a farce. Organisms adapt at a decreasing rate over time. The early beginner is going to make progress more quickly than a beginner who has 3-6 months of training. It doesn’t make real good sense to have both populations using the same fixed increments for progress. Additionally, Additionally, the entire idea that you you get a fixed amount of performance performance increase after each workout is wildly inaccurate. Performance fluctuates and there is no way to accurately predict exactly how much stronger the last workout may have made you. The PowerliftingToWi PowerliftingToWin n Novice Program overload method addresses these issues. Phase One features larger incremental jumps than Phase Two. Additionally, lifters are encouraged to add both repetitions and weight simultaneously. simultaneously. Because of this, lifters are not limited by a predetermined, fixed rate of progress. If they’re capable of progressing faster, they’ll “prove it” by adding repetitions. When they add these repetitions, they’re then allowed to take bigger weight bigger weight jumps as well. In combination, these factors allow the lifter’s li fter’s progress curve to more readily resemble their true rate of adaptation rather than merely trying to force fit a linear curve onto a pattern that really resembles something more akin to exponential decay.
Fatigue Management The training principle of fatigue managements states that you have to strike a balance between how much work you do and how much you allow yourself to recover. For novices, generally speaking, full post-workout recovery happens somewhere within 24-72 hours. The newer the lifter is to training, the closer that number will be to 24. The further along they go, the closer it gets to 72. We want to take advantage of this recovery ability by working out as soon as recovery occurs; more overall workouts and recoveries means more overall p rogress. If you can put your body through more cycles of adaptation, you accrue more results. It is really that simple. Programs that don’t force novices to set frequent PRs result in needlessly slow progress. Many novice programs allow 48 hours between sessions. This will work well for the majority of novices. However, later stage novices won’t be able to keep up. Rather than prematurely moving these lifters to intermediate programming, “Phase Two” of the novice program presented here by here by PowerliftingToWin introduces a “light day” on Wednesday’s. Compared to Phase One, which allows for only 48 hours of recovery between heavy sessions, this allows Phase Two novices to have a minimum of 72 hours of recovery. This subtle adjustment allows the more advanced novice to continue with simple programmatic methods for much much longer than they otherwise otherwise could have. The most important point to note here is that no unnecessarily complex programming methods are introduced for the training of novices. Novices can set PRs (nearly) every time they step into the gym. Their program should allow for that and the PowerliftingToWi PowerliftingToWin n Novice Program certainly does.
Individual Differences The law of individual differences states that everyone will respond differently to any given stimulus. Even if you and I do the exact same training method, we will not progress at exactly the same
rate. Even if we have the exact ex act same hormonal profile, sleep habits, and nutrition plan, we still won’t recover at exactly the same rate. Everyone is different. Some people need more volume than others. Some people progress faster than others. Hell, even with the same person, some days are just better than others. The PowerliftingToWi PowerliftingToWin n Novice Program truly shines in terms of individual differences compared to most of the novice alternatives out there. Rather prescribing a fixed rate of progression for every single trainee, trainees’ individual differences determine how fast they will progress. If they’re particularly gifted, they’ll add reps and weights simultaneously with ease. This will lead to bigger jumps and faster progress. For those who are less less gifted, the program will will accommodate them with a smaller smaller rate of progression that they they can keep up with. Additionally, the volume on this program is autoregulated to a large degree. Because you’re not doing a fixed fixed amount of reps per set, on good days, you’re going to accumulate more reps and, on bad days, you’ll accumulate less. If the last workout beat you up really badly, you’ll get less reps on the next workout and, hopefully, that will give you time to recover a bit. This can all happen without you “stalling” because there is a minimum range in place rather than an absolute, specific number. If you find yourself on a roll, you’ll be able to take advantage of it. If you find yourself having a shitty couple of weeks, the reps will be down and you’ll be forced to take smaller jumps until you can get get through it. Most novice programs simply ignore the law of individual differences. The PowerliftingToWin Novice Program doesn’t: the program is designed to fit you; you don’t have to fit the program.
Anticipated Questions How do I determine my starting weights? Work up to a weight that is challenging for you to maintain proper technique. You should still be able to fully maintain proper technique, but it should require medium to hard effort to do so. If you need resources on proper powerlifting technique, see our Powerlifting Technique Video series . Technique will be addressed more fully in a future future release of this book. If you’ve lifted before, you should have some idea about where to start. Nonetheless, the above advice still applies to you as well. I’d recommend trying to learn powerlifting technique if you haven’t already.. already How should I warm up? Please consult the workout calculator spreadsheet. All warmups are calculated for you. How long should I rest between sets? Three to five minutes. What kind of gear should I use? I’d recommend a belt, knee sleeves, powerlifting sleeves, powerlifting shoes, shoes, wrist wraps, and chalk as the bare minimum minimum essentials in terms of gear. For a more comprehensive analysis and discussion of each of the aforementioned items, check out the PowerliftingToW PowerliftingToWin in powerlifting gear series . How should I eat? As of this writing, PowerliftingToWin.com currently does not have any publicized nutrition advice. For now, I’d recommend that you eat to achieve YOUR goals. This program does NOT necessitate bulking – although obviously obviously you will get better results if you gain some mass. Be on the lookout for a full nutrition series from PowerliftingToWi PowerliftingToWin n -- coming soon.
Do I have to use the sumo deadlift? Can I pull conventional? Pulling conventional is just fine. I recommend Sumo, though. You’ll be able to better handle the volume. Why are the Bench Presses paused? In powerlifting, you’re required to pause all bench press reps. TnG bench is thus less specific t han paused bench. Why is there no overhead pressing? In my experience, the overhead press doesn’t help the powerlifting style bench press very much at all. For those who use the wider grips and arched backs typical of a powerlifting style bench press, a narrow gripped overhead press just doesn’t provide a tr emendous tr emendous amount of carryover.
Frankly, a press isn’t that specific to the bench. Remember, this is a powerlifting program designed explicitly to help produce the fastest possible gains on your powerlifting total. Introducing an overhead press day because of some misconceived notion about “balance” and “shoulder health” would detract from the possible bench gains you could be making. As such, there is no overhead pressing. You can address any imbalances you feel are present with your GPP movements. How do I peak for a meet? Novices do not need any sort sort of a complicated peaking plan. plan. During the week of the meet, meet, instead of repping out your sets, do the minimum reps only while practicing following the commands used by your particular federation. Doing Doing only the minimum reps will will allow any fatigue to dissipate and lead to a better better performance at your meet. Practicing the the commands will make sure that following the rules is is second nature to you at the meet. Why Paused Bench and Pause Squats on Wednesday? Wednesday is intended to be a lighter day. There are two ways to ensure this: 1) use percentages to make sure the lifter doesn’t load heavy weights on the bar, 2) reduce volume and pick exercises that don’t allow for as heavy of weights to be used.
Three count paused bench and three count paused squats will force the lifter to use lighter weights, but are still highly specific to powerlifting. In fact, few things are better for technical development than paused movements. They teach you to stay tight like nothing else. Additionally, this still keeps the Wednesday workout as a challenge. If you just use the percentage method, it can often feel like the Wednesday workout is completely pointless and boring. We avoid the psychological trap trap of feeling like the “Wednesday workout workout doesn’t matter” matter” by introducing challenging challenging pause movements. Where can I find out more about best practices for Powerlifting? www.PowerliftingToWin.com
Closing Thoughts Well folks, there you have it: PowerliftingToWin.com PowerliftingToWin.com’’s take on the optimal novice program for Powerlifters. Again, I’m not claiming this program is perfect, but I do believe that you are now armed with the single best beginner program for Powerlifters anywhere on the internet. This program is, and will continue to be, offered completely for free. If you appreciate the work I’ve put into the program, and you’d like to show support, then all I’m going to ask is that you share the program. Post it on your favorite favorite forums, Facebook, Twitter, Twitter, or where ever you hang out online. online.
PowerliftingToWin’s chief aim is to grow the sport of powerlifting by helping people achieve their goals. The accomplishment of that aim is best served if as many people see this program as possible. I am aware that PowerliftingToWin is about to be FLOODED with questions about this program. Unfortunately, I know that I cannot handle the sheer volume of questions by myself. As such, I have decided to launch the PowerliftingToWi PowerliftingToWin n forums forums.. If you’d like your questions answered, please feel free to sign up for the forums and join in on the discussion. Going forward, I will not be answering YouTube comments and the commenting feature on PowerliftingToWin.com is going to be disabled. The only way to ask me questions directly will be through the PowerliftingToW PowerliftingToWin in forums forums.. If you’re interested in doing this program, please do me the tremendous favor of starting up on a training log on the PowerliftingToWin forums. forums . In this manner, I can be sure to specifically help you and your log will serve as evidence of how effective the program is. Lastly, I just want to thank every last one of you who has already liked, shared, or posted PowerliftingToWin PowerliftingToWi n content all around the internet. The PowerliftingToWin community is just getting started, but, with people like you as members, I know for a fact that we will be able to spread high quality information about powerlifting all across the globe. Thank you so much for your support! Sincerely, Izzy Narvaez www.PowerliftingToWin.com
