Which Powerlifting Program is Best For You?
There are seemingly countless bodybuilding and powerlifting programs out there, some are good, some are meh, and some are amazing. Now deciding which one is the best really comes down to what works for you.
Generally speaking, there are certain programs that are best for certain levels of experience. For example, take someone that has never trained a day in their life, and a person that has 10 solid years of lifting experience. Do you think you should put the beginner on the same program as the advanced lifter? Probably not.
So below I will be going over some of the best programs for beginners, and intermediates. I assume if you’re reading this you fall into one of these two categories.
So, lets start with beginners.
You should be choosing a simple linear periodization program where you do the same exercises every week, but the weight is increased by 5 to 10 pounds.
There are a ton of these programs out there, you can even make your own, but I recommend you follow a legit proven routine.
Beginner Programs
StrongLifts 5×5
This is one of the simplest routines out there and it’s good for those who have never picked up a weight before, or for anyone that is just starting to lift after a long hiatus.
The routine is simple, you do 5 different lifts, split between 2 days, 3 times per week. The exercises are all compound which is great for gaining strength, and packing on muscle. On this program you will squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press, and barbell row.
The main goal of this routine is to gain a good foundation of strength. Read more about stronglifts here. Get the book here.
Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 for Beginners
The next program I’m going to recommend is 5/3/1. This program is also used by intermediate lifters, but this one is modified specifically for beginners.
5/3/1 is set up around the squat, bench, overhead press, and deadlift, with assistance work of your choosing.
You will need to find your max, or projected max on those lifts, and then follow the program using 90% of your max. This is done in order to prevent stagnation too early in the routine. Check out all of the details here. Get the book here.
Intermediate Programs
Simple linear progression doesn’t have the same effect on advanced lifters as it does on beginners. When you first begin training, any sort of muscle stimulation is going to increase growth/strength. Advanced lifters have already gone through that phase and attained their beginner gains, now adding strength is an increasingly hard thing to do. But it can be done with the use of intelligent programming.
Jonnie Candito’s 6 Week Program
If you haven’t heard of Jonnie Candito, head on over to his YouTube channel and check him out. He’s strong as hell, and puts out a lot of great content.
He put together a 6 week training program that he designed, and has used himself.
The 6 week program will have you lifting 5 times per week for the first 2 weeks. 4 times per week for weeks 3-4. And 3 times on week 5.
When I did this program I saw good results in both squat and deadlift. My bench did not see any progress though, which is a common complaint others have with this program. Consider modifying the bench portion of this program if you don’t see progress.
This program is good for natural lifters because it’s an upper/lower body split, meaning you will be doing squats and deadlifts on day A, and bench, back, and shoulders on day B. You can find the spreadsheet on his website.
He also has a linear program that is aimed more towards beginners, but I can’t say much about that since I have no experience with it.
Texas Method
This is a great program for intermediate lifters. Can also be used for beginners as well.
This program will have you in the gym 3 times per week. Doesn’t sound like a lot but each day is actually a full body workout.
Monday is a volume day where you do all 3 of the big lifts.
Wednesday is a light day where you squat, overhead press, chin up, and glute-ham raises or back extensions
Friday is intensity day where you squat, bench, and power clean.
This is a great routine for continuous progress. Lifters typically add 5-10 pounds per week on lifts. Five pounds is more practical for lifts like bench and overhead press, whereas you’d want to aim for a 10 pound increase each week on deadlifts and squats. More on the Texas Method here. Get the book here.
Smolov
Just a note, Smolov and Smolov Jr aren’t routines you can continuously run. They are very taxing on the body.
If you really love to punish yourself, Smolov is for you. This is a Russian squatting program that has been known to add 100+ pounds to your squat over a period of 13 weeks. You will be squatting up to 4 times on some weeks, and all the rest of the weeks 3 times.
Your whole body will ache. Doing anything else after your squat sessions will be challenging. This will test you mentally more than anything.
But if you’re willing to put in the work and make it through the pain, you will be rewarded greatly. Many lifters (myself included) choose to only do the base mesocycle which is only 3 weeks long, and get great results. I ran the base mesocycle and added 60 pounds to my squat. That’s 20 pounds per week.
Most people think of this as a peaking cycle, and say you will lose some of your strength gained on this program. That is true for the majority of people, but you can still keep a lot of what you gain on this program. I highly recommend this to anyone that has low squat numbers. Get the spreadsheet here.
Smolov Jr
This is a program you can do for pretty much any lift, except for deadlift probably. Training the deadlift 4 times per week will not end well most likely
Most people run Smolov Jr for Bench but it can be done for any lift. You will be lifting 4 days per week, and yes it is almost just as brutal as normal Smolov. I ran Smolov Jr for bench and had a pretty decent increase of 15 pounds.
Both Smolov and Smolov Jr are great for breaking through plateaus or really focusing on bringing up a certain lift.
Here’s a Smolov Jr calculator.
Sheiko
Sheiko is a strength program designed by legendary Russian coach Boris Sheiko. It comes in seven different variations. 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 39, and 40. All of them are fairly similar in that you will be squatting on Monday and Friday, deadlifting on Wednesday, and Benching on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
On a lot of the workouts, you will be performing the same movement twice. So for instance on week one of sheiko #29, you will start by benching, then squatting, then back to benching.
It sounds like an odd way of training, but it has produced some amazing results for powerlifters.
There is also a 4 day program for beginners, intermediates, and advanced lifters. Intermediate and advanced programs come with the option to do small, medium, or large loads depending on what you prefer. I couldn’t find downloads to any of the 4 day programs except for the advanced medium load, but I know they are available on the Sheiko app which is available for ios and Android.
Personally, I only have experience running the 3 day program for lifters over 80 kg. I have had great results with this. I have been running it for close to a year. It has done wonders for my bench, and has helped me really perfect my technique.
Click here to download a spreadsheet of all the different Sheikos.
4 day program (advanced medium load).
Coan/Philippi 10 Week Deadlift Routine
For the first 4 weeks of this program you’ll be doing circuit work with stiff leg deadlifts, bent over rows, pull downs, and good mornings. You get 90 seconds rest between exercises and 2-3 minutes rest between circuits, doing 3 circuits total and 8 reps for each set. It is brutal. And all of this is done after working up to a heavy double on the deadlift and a lot of speed pulls.
Weeks 5-9 the weights get heavier, and the circuit work you did in weeks 1-4 is still performed, just not in a circuit, and for less sets/reps.
The first time I did this program I had pretty great results. Before starting I tested my max at about 475 lbs. At the end of the program I pulled 525 for a smooth, but challenging single. Then a week later hit 529 in a meet. That’s a good 50 lbs that I added in 10 weeks.
This program can be done continuously, just don’t expect to gain as much as you do your first time through it.
Here’s the program calculator.
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In closing, I would just like to mention that if you’re getting great results from any of the above methods, don’t change anything. Keep running these programs until you stop making progress, then find a new program.
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