The key difference between powerlifting and other strength sports is the unconditional priority of strength over other functions of the human body. This raises questions: how to specialize your training to achieve maximum results in strength indicators? What kind of training program is needed for a powerlifter? What diet and rest regime do you need? How to protect yourself from injuries and what sports nutrition works and will really help you achieve good strength performance? This will be discussed in this article.
Basic Principles of Strength Training
Deadlifts
In powerlifting, training is of a strength nature. This means that the athlete must gradually increase the intensity of the training and increase the tonnage of weights lifted. As for the work regime, unlike bodybuilding, where an athlete tries to work one or several muscle groups during a workout and performs 3-4 working approaches in 10-12 repetitions, a lifter trains one or two competitive movements in 4-5 approaches in each lesson 3-6 repetitions each.
Competitions: when the reasons to feel sorry for yourself end
It turned out that for amateurs like me, there are a bunch of federations in a variety of areas - from bodybuilding among members of, for example, a network of fitness clubs, to kettlebell lifting. You choose a tournament, pay the entry fee (the amounts are, most often, very humane) and start preparing.
Was I scared to enter the first competition in my life? Very!
Believe me, the realization that in a couple of months I will be entering a competitive position (and I chose, of course, the most “lazy” discipline - the bench press) is great energizing. And the thoughts of feeling sorry for yourself, benching less, or not showing up for training at all don’t even arise in your head. Was I scared to enter the first competition in my life? Very! But as it most often happens, all these fears turned out to be exclusively in my head, nothing to do with reality.
Amateur championships involve exactly the same regular “goers” to fitness centers, they just figured out the main secret a little earlier: competitions are an excellent motivation for those who, for example, have already lost weight or pumped up. There are no challenges left in everyday life. You are already the slimmerest person at the class reunion, and your biceps are larger than those of those occupying the neighboring sun loungers on the beach. This means it’s time to challenge yourself and enter your first competition.
It’s quite simple for running enthusiasts - almost everyone who goes beyond “a couple of runs in the summer while the weather is good” sooner or later signs up to participate in marathons. So, those who have chosen to train with hardware need to quickly adopt this experience. Believe me, you won't regret it!
Daily and nutritional regimen in powerlifting
Since training with heavy weights takes a lot of strength and energy, the athlete should take care of adequate nutrition and rest. The basis of a powerlifter’s diet should be “complex” carbohydrates, which replenish the body’s energy reserves and serve as fuel to repair muscle fibers damaged during training. There are enough such carbohydrates in cereals, starchy vegetables, and baked goods. Unlike bodybuilders, lifters should not be afraid of “simple” carbohydrates, which abound in sweets and baked goods, as they serve as a good source for quickly replenishing energy immediately after a workout.
In second place in the diet of a strongman are proteins, which are used as building material for damaged muscle fibers. Protein-rich foods include poultry and fish, eggs, and dairy products.
Fats come in third place in nutrition. They are necessary to maintain immunity, for the normal functioning of ligaments and joints, etc. Monounsaturated fats, which are rich in seafood, nuts, and seeds, are especially useful.
The ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in a powerlifter's daily diet should be approximately 50/35/15%, respectively.
Sleep is also an integral part of a lifter's recovery. Security forces must sleep at least 8-10 hours a day, and it is advisable to allocate at least one hour for daytime sleep. After all, muscles do not grow during training, but during rest from them.
Work out on your own or with a trainer
There is only one answer to this question - only with a coach. Self-training can be an option if you simply want to improve your strength and physical capabilities. For this purpose, the equipment and conditions offered by gyms will be sufficient. Just do basic exercises, focusing on the three main elements, this can already be considered amateur powerlifting.
If you want to reach at least the title of candidate master of sports, which serves as the first line of professionalism, then you cannot do without a coach. A competent specialist will help you build periodization and build the program so that it is effective and thoughtful. Enormous responsibility is placed on the coach at the stage of primary work with the wards, when the technique of performing exercises is honed. Often, athletes only begin to move on to working with weights after 3-5 months; before that, all attention is paid to mastering the technique.
Therefore, effective training can only be done with a trainer, and I advise you to initially look for a competent specialist so as not to waste your time.
Tips for choosing a trainer and gym
Where to start mastering submarines? From choosing a gym and a trainer. Important tips will help with this:
- Don't look for bodybuilding gyms. You will only be truly taught in sports sections of powerlifting.
- A good trainer will never start training you without weightlifting weights.
- Take an interest in the achievements of the coach’s players and his reputation.
- Never evaluate a PL coach based on appearance alone.
- The hall must be equipped with power frames, special coverings, racks and equipment.
Remember that a PL coach is not a model of muscle mass, it is first and foremost your coordinator, mentor and teacher. He does not need to demonstrate abs or 50 cm biceps, only knowledge and real experience in training athletes.
Creating a powerlifting training program
Frequency of classes
The specific nature of strength training requires more rest time, both between sets and between sessions.
If a bodybuilder needs 30-60 seconds to repeat the exercise, then a lifter needs from 2 to 4 minutes.
And before performing the next exercise, you will need up to 5 minutes of rest. As for the number of visits to the gym per week, the optimal number will be 3 or 4.
Selection of exercises
The three pillars of powerlifting are the squat, bench press and deadlift. They are also called basic exercises. Without them, it is impossible to obtain monstrous strength and impressive muscle volumes. A powerlifter's arsenal should also include auxiliary exercises that are designed to eliminate weaknesses when performing competitive movements. These include hyperextensions, leg presses, barbell bends, pull-ups, dips, etc.
Periodization of loads
In powerlifting, you cannot linearly increase the weight on the bar from workout to workout; this method will certainly lead to a state of overtraining and can discourage any desire to train further. It is worth using the method of periodizing the load. The method consists of alternating loads, that is, heavy workouts are replaced by light ones, and those in turn are replaced by medium ones. This periodization can be used both weekly and monthly. For example, in the first week an athlete squats 100 kg in five sets of 6 repetitions, in the second - 60 kg in three sets of 8 repetitions, in the third 80 kg in four sets of 5 repetitions.
Go to the “dark side”: anabolic steroids and protein cans
At this stage, some guys (and sometimes representatives of the fair sex), by the way, turn to the so-called dark side - anabolic steroids. Explaining to yourself that you have exhausted your “genetic potential.” Although in the overwhelming majority of cases it’s not a matter of genetics at all, but the need to modify and intensify the load, review nutrition, rest regimen and much more. But change is always difficult, so we subconsciously try to avoid it.
However, the majority shows prudence and prefers not to interfere with hormonal levels. They go to the gym, buy cans of protein and stay in the same condition, give or take. Which in itself is just great, but...
Photo: Valeria Barinova, “Championship”
Examples of Powerlifting Training Programs
An example of a training program with periodization in a weekly cycle, with three workouts per week:
Monday
1. Squats with a barbell on the shoulders 20 kg * 10 times, 40 kg * 10 times, 60 kg * 8 times, 80 kg * 3 reps * 8 times.
2. Close-grip bench press 20 kg * 10 rubles, 40 kg * 10 rubles, 50 kg * 3 sts * 10 rubles.
3. Bend-overs with a barbell on the shoulders 50 kg * 3 p. * 8 r.
4. Hyperextension without weights 4 p. * 15 r.
Wednesday
1. Deadlift 20 kg * 10 r., 40 kg * 10 r., 60 kg * 8 r., 80 kg * 8 r., 100 kg * 3 p. * 8 r.
2. Barbell row on straight legs 60 kg * 3 p. * 8 r.
3. Pull-ups 50 reps in any number of sets
4. Roman chair crunches 50 reps
Friday
1. Bench press 20 kg * 10 r., 40 kg * 10 r., 60 kg * 8 r., 80 kg * 3 p. * 8 r.
2. Dips without weights 50 reps
3. Squats with a barbell on the front 20 kg * 10 rub., 40 kg * 10 rub., 55 kg * 8 rub., 75 kg * 3 p. * 8 rub.
4. Hyperextension without weights 4p. * 15 rub.
Definition of penetration
This term is usually used to refer to the maximum weight that an athlete can lift or perform in each of the three basic exercises. This indicator is dynamic, because it depends on the quality and quantity of training and their effective effect on the body.
Based on the principle, there are three types:
- light workouts, which are used as intermediate between strength loads and heavy weeks with maximum weight benching;
- average;
- heavy. Here the emphasis is on performing loads with different types of weighting. The share of the repeated maximum here will be about 90 percent of the total.
It is possible to perform drilling on all muscle groups even in one day, and many specialists practice this. But here you need to give the muscles time to rest, so you need to take long pauses between loads. Before each super-heavy approach, you need to warm up the muscles well and bring the body into the tone necessary for work.
Another feature is to perform it with a gradual increase in weight between approaches. In some loads you will need the help of a partner.
Injury Prevention in Powerlifting
Lifting belt
To avoid injuries, you should not try to master the technique of a new exercise on your own, but ask for help from a coach or an experienced athlete in the gym. If the technique is followed, the risk of injury is very small. You shouldn’t try to increase the weight on the barbell too quickly; everything needs to be done correctly and in a timely manner. To protect your lower back, you should use a weightlifting or powerlifting belt. To protect your knees, you can use special or medical knee pads. To protect the hands, there are hand bandages.
Common mistakes
If you do everything correctly and under the supervision of a coach, then the number of mistakes will be kept to a minimum. If we highlight the main ones, I advise you to avoid the following mistakes:
- Don’t train in the “bodybuilding style”; with this approach in the PL you will not achieve anything.
- Don't start training right away. A warm-up and a few light sets followed by increasing the weight are considered an absolute necessity. Muscles need to be warmed up and joints need to be more lubricated before doing any strength work.
- Don't study on your own. Always listen to the coach. If his experience is in doubt, change him to another specialist. Uncontrolled activities will lead to negative consequences or lack of results.
- Don't try to memorize all the working weights. Keep training diaries. They will help you clearly track your progress and not stop developing.
- Don't compare your results with others. Compete with yourself first.
Execution technique
It is important during the training process not to forget about the correct execution. When bench pressing, be sure to monitor your posture and body position, because the distribution of the load throughout the body depends on this.
Beginning athletes should perform exercises with the bar together with a coach, so that they have the necessary safety net at any time. Each exercise should begin with a warm-up approach. It uses a weight that is slightly lighter than in the main workout.
Warming up helps to tone the muscles and bring them into active movement. Loads during work are increased gradually; there is no need to chase heavy weights right away, as this can negatively affect your well-being.
