Powerlifting Programming?

[Justin Smale]

I want to sign up for a powerlifting meet for shits and giggles this year, and I’m just curious what programming you’ve seen late notice or early intermediate excel with. I’ve read PPST and looked at a lot of the examples in there, and I’m sure I could choose a few that would work for me, but I just thought I’d ask if there was one model that you’ve seen work better than others for preparing people for powerlifting meets. I’d ideally like to train 4 days a week.

36 years old
180 lbs (up 5 in the past month and committed to put on more weight now)
325 sq/215 be/415 dl

[Michael Wolf]

If you're a late novice/early int, you're not competing in powerlifting - you're participating. So no advanced periodization, taper, and peaking schemes. Novice - just skip Friday's workout, make what was supposed to be your set of 5 your opener, and go up from there based on how it's going that day. For early intermediates some say the same thing.

I personally have early intermediates adjust a little bit for about 1 week prior: hit some singles the Friday or Saturday before, 7-8 days out, instead of the normal intensity or end of week training day. Then Monday of the meet, work up to your opener and do a back-off triple and 5 with about 15-20% less than you could do those sets at, based on your recent training data. Mid-week day is very light and easy, like 2-3 triples at 60-65%, and then end of week training day is replaced by the meet.

IOW - you don't do a "powerlifting prep" program as a novice or early intermediate. You run the LP, or your HLM, and make those small adjustments the week of/before the meet, and then resume training.

After the early intermediate phase, there's more to discuss.

[Justin Smale]

Thanks for feedback! I had a feeling I was probably overthinking things.

[Jordan Stanton]

Ooh i like that Wolf. Participating vs competing.

[Michael Wolf]

Ooh i like that Wolf. Participating vs competing.

Me too. I don't remember where I first encountered the idea of that distinction but I'm pretty sure I didn't think of it myself. However since I don't remember, I also can't credit anyone for it. But I do think it's a distinction that make a difference in several ways: how you might prepare for a meet, and also what other things in life you're willing to sacrifice for it.

[Justin Smale]

I have a quick follow up question about my programming I'm wondering if you could help out with here. So I'm running advanced novice LP for squats, standard LP for deads, Texas Method style for bench because I'm pretty positive my LP ended on bench, and doing a seated press as an accessory style movement (I mentioned in a previous thread I can't do standing press due to my basement ceiling height). My schedule is below:

Day 1: squats 3x5 (5 lbs heavier than previous workout), volume bench 5x5 (adding 5 lbs each time I can complete the weight at this volume)
Day 2: deadlifts 1x5 (5 lbs heavier than previous workout), light squats 3x5 (80% of Day 1), seated press 5x5, chins for 5 sets
Day 3: squats 3x5 (5 lbs heavier than Day 1), intensity bench 2x3 (10 lbs heavier than Day 1)

I have 2 questions relating to this.

1) Is there something better that I could be doing in the press slot on Day 2? If my focus right now is bench for a meet, should I be doing something similar to squats for my bench on day 2? Or is there a bench variant that would help me push my total up better than press? I know that long term and overall I should be pressing for balance, but if I can't press properly due to the ceiling height and if for the short term I want to focus on bench, is there something else that I could be doing?

2) I find it curious that my intensity day is so close to the weight I use on my volume day and I'm wondering if I mucked something up. I was doing one set of 5 at 15 lbs heavier and that worked when my weight was lower for a few weeks but I failed twice in a row at the intensity workout while I still could keep bumping up the weight for the volume. From what I've seen in other people's logs, a lot of folks use proportionally more weight on intensity than I am compared to my volume. I'm not even sure if this is abnormal, or if an answer actually exists for this, but again I just find it curious and am wondering what someone in the know thinks about it.

And thanks again for all the help you folks have offered to me and other chumps like me trying to chug along!

[Michael Wolf]

I'm glad you clarified your ceiling press issue: never assume I remember some kind of oddity like that from a previous thread.

I'd still say to keep that pressing in the day 2 slot. I don't think sacrificing long term good training protocol for a few lbs on your bench at your first ever meet is a good trade off, at all. There will plenty of time to bench more later. In fact, once your current programming runs its route, maybe you add a third bench day in, while keeping press as an accessory, so you have 3 bench and 1 press slot instead of 2 and 1. But that's WHEN it runs its route. Don't make the mistake of doing what more advanced lifters NEED to do to progress, and thinking it will speed up YOUR progress. Remember why they need to do it - because they can no longer progress doing less.

As far as #2, don't have enough info here to even attempt to discuss it intelligently.

[Justin Smale]

Sorry about the vagueness on question 2. This is only related to my bench as my LP is still working on squats and deadlifts. For example, my sets of 5 for the volume day two weeks ago were at 190 lbs but I failed miserably on a set of 5 at 200 lbs for my intensity day. After re-reading PPST I realized I probably should have switched to 2 sets of 3 before I failed on this, which I have done since and succeeded at 202.5 lbs last workout (when my volume weight moved up to 192.5 lbs). But I'm just curious if that's a comparatively small gap between my intensity and my volume workouts, or if that is roughly what should be expected. If this curiousity isn't worth the time to answer, please disregard

[malahane123]

Great Information

[Michael Wolf]

It does seem pretty close so we'd have to dig in and see. It sounds like you're moving volume day up every week, which doesn't allow a spread to form, and if unchanged, eventually leads to you not being recovered yet by intensity day to express your strength as well, which means the gap won't widen even if you're getting stronger. You might do 1 lb jumps on VD and 2.5 on ID, or else just increase VD every other week and see if that helps. Might need a bigger change than that but I'd start with the smaller first.