The Best Powerlifting Routines

Article by David LaMartina

If you’re looking to get as strong as possible, or even if you’re using weight training as a means to an end of a great physique, powerlifting training is extremely beneficial. There are tons of weight lifting programs out there, but all of the successful things have one thing in common – they focus on gaining lots of strength! Here is what you should look for in the best powerlifting routines:

1. Focus on the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift

If you’ve been in the powerlifting game for long, or even if you’re researched the sport itself, this will be a no-brainer to you. However, it’s surprising how many people (don’t be ashamed if this is you!) are unaware that they should be doing the basic power exercises in their powerlifting routines.

These important exercises are the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Even if you are not training specifically for powerlifting, and many of you probably are not, you should always focus on variations of these movements for maximum muscle growth.

All good powerlifting routines (or bodybuilding routines, for that matter) will have you performing various squats, presses, and deadlifts to build most of your muscle mass. Gaining strength on these basic movements will take you further than any other supposed “bodybuilding” technique when it comes to building lots of muscle mass.

2. Use Many Methods of Weight Lifting

You have probably heard about using low reps, high reps, medium reps, etc. These are often referred to as the different “methods” of weight training. Though people often try to categorize these methods as “powerlifting training” or “bodybuilding training,” successful lifters and physique builders of any type use a combination, not just one.

Using very heavy weights with which you can only perform 1-3 (and sometimes up to 5) reps is referred to as the maximal effort method. This is what most people think of when they think powerlifting routines – heavy weights, very few reps.

Using light or moderate weights for sets of 8, 10, 12, or even more reps is usually referred to as the repetition, or repeated effort method. This is what people traditionally think of as “bodybuilding” training. However, powerlifters, competitive and recreational, use this method to build up their muscle mass, as well.

The third method of importance is called the dynamic effort method. This is when you use a weight that is around 50-60 percent of your max for a given movement and perform sets of 1-3 very fast reps. Though this method can be great for building speed, it is best left to very advanced lifters.

3. Eat to Grow

The most important piece to the muscle-building puzzle is eating. You must eat more food than your body expends each day, so that your body can use the surplus to build NEW muscle tissue, and not just repair what you already have.

Eating enough food is one area in which competitive powerlifters tend to outdo bodybuilders and other fitness enthusiasts. Many trainees, even advanced ones, will often avoid eating enough to gain muscle for fear of fat gain, as well. While this is a legitimate concern, you can’t be worried about it so much that it inhibits your muscle gains.

You should be eating 2 times your bodyweight in protein grams per day (that’s a lot!), as well as enough carbs and fats to supply the additional energy to train and grow. Focus mainly on “clean” sources of food such lean meats, fish, grains, oils, nuts, and produce. However, don’t be afraid to cheat on your diet every once in a while. You’re already going for a calorie surplus, it’s not like a few hundred extra at one meal is really going to hurt you in the long run.

4. Keep Learning More About Powerlifting

To keep getting stronger and gaining muscle, you must always keep learning about powerlifting, strength training, and other aspects of muscle building. Talk to powerlifters and bodybuilders in your area, go to powerlifting meets and bodybuilding competitions, and keep reading everything you can online.

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Useful Powerlifting Dvds

Most people today are aware of the beneficial effects of regular fitness routines and try to make it a part of their lifestyle. However it would be wrong to assume that fitness only means rushing to the gym and lifting barbells. Fitness today is hardly confined to exercising and has extended itself in domains like books, DVDs, clothing etc. There is plenty of fitness DVDs available in the market that can provide valuable insights on fitness routines and the correct way to do the exercises.

An informative powerlifting DVD which one can opt for is Never Enough Bench! it throws light on the basic bench press template of the team and provides examples of dynamic as well as maximum effort bench movements. Additional features include discussion of aggressive triceps rehab program by Scott Cartwright and Mark Bell remembering about the high and low points of his career. In the last segment people can have a view at the gym which is filled with shirted and raw benching. The runtime of the DVD is 96 minutes.

Fitness maniacs can opt for Squat Workout where Louie Simmons explains in a simple and lucid manner the secrets of building squats and deadlifts. The best part is that one can watch Westside lifters performing the exercises live in the gym. Exercises like glute-ham raises, arch back, and good mornings are also included. This two tape program runs for approximately three hours.

Never Enough! Squat and Deadlift Edition is perfect for those who are serious about powerlifting training. Mark Bell who writes as JackAss online and also makes an appearance in the renowned documentary Bigger Stronger Faster discusses about the different powerlifting methods that he has learnt in his lifetime. He admits that he has been taught a number of techniques by Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell. The interesting fact is that Mark makes it a point to discuss every lifters technique during the series of maximum and dynamic efforts training sessions. Viewers will definitely identify with Super Training team that were formed in the year 2005 and is based in Sacramento. The members of this powerlifting team consist of people who vary widely in terms of age, experience, heights and weights.

This DVD also has got some interesting additional features. Scott Hoss Cartwrigh-a team member who provides an insight about single-ply meet where he totaled 2204 lbs. He also informs the people about the factors that contributed in achieving this honor. Then there is the famous power lifter Chad Aich who discusses at length about his fitness routines and credits Westsides template for improving his teams potential. This DVD runs for two hours and eleven minutes.

Another interesting DVD that should find a place in a fitness enthusiasts rack is Training Secrets of Westside Barbell (Reactive Method). This DVD provides information on how to apply reactive ab contract methods to the powerlifting training routines as well as other sports where strength and speed are required. In fact this DVD will also be helpful to coaches in different kinds of sports. There are information on how to use weight releaser in the right manner and how to correctly add bands to the bar. The DVD will also help people in understanding how chains should be added to assistant work. This DVD runs for approximately one hour.

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Powerlifting and A.D.D

Article by Chris Smith

Okay, so I was sitting there at work the other and came up with a theory. I think for the most part, people starting out in powerlifting have A.D.D. I mean think about it, how many times has a beginner/intermediate lifter to the sport gone to the various forums looking for the holy grail? The ultimate program that is gonna pack on muscle and pack on pounds to the total, only to come back a week later and say “program so-and-so sucks, it doesnt work”, “this style of training is only for people on the juice”, etc….At least 5-10 times a week I bet, and thats quite a conservative number.

I know personally, it wasnt until I said “Screw it, I am gonna pick one powerlifting program and give it a good year of effort and see what turns up” that I started garnering the results I was after. And guess what happened? “

-My total went up-The muscle mass got packed on -I am stronger now than I was back in the days of 3 sets of 10, sipping energy drinks on the leg curl machine, all the while pondering the secrets of the powerlifting universe.

Now the program I use is based on the Westside Barbell style of training. This style has worked for me and keeps the iron game refreshing and new as the methodolgy is constantly changing and open for experimentation. That is not to say westside is the end all be all of powerlifting programs, its just that it has worked for me. There are other great programs out there such as Sheiko, Smolov, Coan/Phillipi programs, etc…the key is to seek them out, study them and make an honest judgement as to whether or not you think you can mold it to your needs.

Now back to the A.D.D side of things. A.D.D stand for Attention Deficit Disorder, and yes I have it. Whoop-dee doo, dont we all. A.D.D. is a term commonly used to describe the neurological disorder attention-deficit disorder (See, I picked up that I repeated myself, could it be A.D.D? Who knows, who cares, this is a Powerlifting article right?)

Below are some of the symptoms:

-Often does not pay close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in day to day activities -Often has trouble keeping attention on tasks (daydreams) -Often does not follow instructions and fails to finish projects and tasks (whoa, look at this new program, I think I’ll give it a go!!) -Often has trouble organizing activities (How many sets and reps do I need to do?) -Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn’t want to do things that take a lot of mental effort for a long period of time (such as following a powerlifting program to completion). -Is often easily distracted (and goes with the flavor of the week)

Now this is not an end-all be-all list of symptoms, but they are definitely characteristics of alot of people starting this sport, and others for that matter. Some blame their low totals, strength, and lack of follow through on “paralysis by analysis”, but which came first? The chicken or the Egg? Are you too scatterbrained to concentrate on one program at once? Or, do you read a ton of articles, get paralyzed, implement pieces of 5 programs into one crappy routine, then blame them all for your poor performance? Who knows?

So now the question is this, what can you do to get around this powerlifting A.D.D. thing? Well, there are many ways to address this. For myself, it was just having a long talk with myself on what it is that I want to accomplish, and deciding to quit using excuses for my pathetic strength levels. I quit saying that the only way to get strong is to go on the juice. I quit saying I need a group of people to train with to get strong (I train alone btw), and a whole host of other issues whereby I was placing the blame on external forces and not owning the responsibility.

The bottom line is this, powerlifting is about being honest with yourself and testing yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally (I often cry when I miss a weight, just kidding). If you try and kid yourself or place the responsibility on someone else you are either gonna get pancaked under a pathetic squat, get choked by a dropped bench press, or move to the head of the line of the geriatric look-a-like contest because you chose to ignore the finer points of deadlifting and now have a “crick-in-yer-back” look to you. Congratulations, the universe succeeded in its master plan of sabotaging your powerlifting dreams by not providing you with the holy grail that only elite lifters know the whereabouts of. Good for you.

Pick a program, give it time, and as Dave Tate states in his book “Under the Bar” have indicators in place to help you determine if you picked a winner of a program, or just picked a stinker. Keep your focus and maybe try and get a partner or person to hold you to your goals and wont let you pussyfoot around. The simple act of having somebody consistently ask you how your training is going will help to keep you honest. Well, thats about it from my neck of the woods, so until I submerge again….Keep it Dark, Keep it Heavy!!!

www.MartialArtsDVD.com – An Intensive In Depth Course on how to become “stronger than an ox” through techniques of Olympic style weightlifters. The series is available here fightinstrong.com
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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Basic Explanation of the Powerlifting Sport

Article by Marko Dimitrov

In a nutshell, powerlifting is a sport that involves strength training of the body with the goal of lifting as much weight as possible in the following three disciplines: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. Before this sport was officially formed there were events called the odd lifts, mainly concentrated in the USA. Odd lift meets usually included some of the three main powerlifting events with the combination of some other lifts, like continental clean & jerk, curl and other non standard lifts. Once established, powerlifting spread around many countries, especially becoming popular in UK and Russia.This sport involves training of strength and explosive speed abilities. In oppose to popular belief that having big muscles means being strong, in powerlifting quite the opposite stands true. Since men and women are divided into weight and age categories, each athlete is trying to develop maximal strength without changing his bodyweight which usually leads to creating a physique abnormally strong for its size and appearance. If you look at some of the World class powerlifters, like Jaroslaw Olech, who has only 75kg but can squat with five times his weight or bench with three times his weight, you’ll realize what I am talking about.Nutrition that follows powerlifting training is very specific and it can be considered similar to classic eating style of bodybuilders when dieting for a competition. It revolves around huge intake of protein to accommodate the recuperation and growth of the muscle tissue broken down by strenuous training. Amount of carbohydrates should be enough to keep body storage level of energy high for working out but still low enough so that the athlete does not add weight. Fat sources are kept to a minimum and usually only healthy fats are consumed.Powerlifting was divided to many federations, where each of them has its own rules of competition. For example, RAW federation forbids the use of appropriate apparel that is on the other hand allowed in IPF federation. IPF for example carries out anti-doping tests while WPO and WPC don’t. Also the difference can be between the lifts as well, like the depth of the squat or the style of the deadlift. Powerlifting is not yet a part of the Olympic community but it is on the way to become, although it is a part of Paralympics Games since 1984.Special apparel is used for training and competition to help the athletes lift more weight and prevent any possible injuries. This equipment includes weight belt, knee and wrist wraps, bench shirt, squat suit, deadlift suit, magnesium chalk, socks, singlet, special shoes and boots and deadlift slippers.Powerlifting is a sport not just for the biggest and strongest, but can be practiced by anyone regardless of age, gender or disability. Men and women can even pick it up when they are fifty and do it until their late seventies. If you have the opportunity, include it in your daily routine and after some time you will start to understand why people become hung up on it for life.

The Powerlifting Squat

You are doing a powerlifting squat if you place the bar lower down your back- below your deltoids and across your rhomboid. Your stance should be shoulder width and a little bit wider. Due to the shift in your center of gravity your torso lean will be more pronounced. This exercise places less stress on your knees and more stress on your lower back.

Think of it as if you were sitting down in a chair, and let your body put itself into the proper range of motion. It is ideal if you can be parallel, just do not do more than what your body wants you to. If your ankle flexibility, strength of your lower back or any other physical factors keep you from having full range of motion, then it will be necessary for you to abbreviate your range until your supporting muscles are flexible and strong.

Athletic Squat
This exercise is kind of a mixture between stress on the lower back and stress on the knee joint. This is an excellent movement to use in various phases of training.

The Sumo
In order to perform this exercise, you must take an extraordinarily wide stance. Never keep your legs pointed forward during this movement. If you do try to do this, you will twist at the knee joint. This will not only put stress on your knees, but it will also stretch and possible injure your ligaments.

Your feet need to point farther out than your natural stance. This way your legs will bend at an angle that will not allow the knee to twist or torque. The sumo will use more muscles on the inner thigh than a traditional exercise.

The Box
This is another variation of the traditional exercise. With this movement, you move down until you are sitting on a box or a platform. This will usually be placed just at or above parallel. You have to transfer all of your weight to the platform and then pause. Then you push upward. This technique will work your weakest range of motion by making you have a cold start from the platform. Squeeze your glute muscles to push upward while keeping your torso as vertical as you can.

The Ski
When you go down against the wall, this is known as the ski. You start by stepping about 2 feet away from a wall and assuming a natural stance. You then lean back into the wall. Hold this for roughly 20-60 seconds. You should work this movement in all areas, since you will only improve your strength in the areas that you are working.

A lot of people hold the start position, and then they slide down the wall several inches and hold this position for around 20-60 seconds. Then they slide down again until you finish the last rep either at parallel or even below.

There are many different variations on the squat, and each one of them has many benefits to help you reach your personal exercise goals!

Powerlifting Gear Pointers and Tips

Article by Ian Smalley

Usually people who are new to powerlifting take a while to pick up the techniques do to the three lifts well. In fact some new beginners are simply interested in learing how to do the lifts. However, there will come a day when you want to lift more weight and you become passionate about powerlifting, thus you are pasionate about powerlifting gear. That and the fact that about 80% of all poewrlifting federations use gear, Whatever reason powerlifting gear has taken over the sport I don’t really care. the truth is simply that if you watn to compete in a major federation outside of RAW then you had better learn how to use poewrlifting gear..

If you are totally new to poewrlifting competitions then chances are that you will simply lift in what ever federation has the most pull in your city, or just compete in whatever federation your friends at the gym lift in…and that’s just fine. Most guys start training and competing in single or multi ply because of that. So whatever ply you choose to lift in here are some pointers.

#1 – Powerlifting Gear makes you move more weight because you are more stablized-… we can throw all of that “support system” nonsense out the window and leave that in the ads where it belongs. The point of gear is to help take advantage of your body’s strengths and minimize its structural weaknesses, and result is that you move more weight. This is what poewrlifting has become about and if you aren’t interested in lifting a ton of weight you can keep on lifting RAW and no one will blame you. But for those of you who are okay with the support method keep on reading.

#2 – The Numbers Game- Single ply gear will add about 50 to 150lbs to your squat, 30 to 150lbs to your bench, and 50lbs or so to your deadlift. These are generalizations, as powerlifter bodies are different so different lifting styles will get different amounts out of the weight. Most single ply feds require a “walked out” squat so usually the rule is that whatever you can walk out you should be able to squat in a suit. Bench numbers will vary depending on mastery of the shirt and the rules for set up of the fed but expect to get AT LEAST 50 lbs over your raw. Squat suits don’t really help your over all lifting total but what they do do is help you get out of the sitting position and gain more momentum on the way up. But if you couldn’t pick up the weight before then you probably wont be able to now. Suits and shirts really just help you out of the bottom of the lift. In Multi ply gear you can basically just add another 100lbs to each lift. An added advantage to lifting multi ply is that most feds use a monolift to squat out of, so the walk out is eliminated. If you have 2 ply briefs and a 2 ply canvas suit on (4 plys of material), then 200 to 300lbs over your raw is not out of the question. Same on the bench. When I first started training in gear I bought a 2 ply Phenom and hit 500 at 185lbs bodyweight after 4 months of training with a 360 raw bench…so there you go.

#3- Powerlifting Gear Sucks- So I’m sure the beginners are salivating now and are pulling out there credit cards to order one of everything…BUT…the rest of the story is that gear only works because it is tight. Not tight like some underarmor shit you wear under your football pads, tight like your limbs go numb. Powerlifting Gear is extremely uncomfortable…it hurts to wear. It’s really hard to get into and out of, often requiring help from your training partners yanking and pulling on you, ripping your arm hair out. Your legs and arms get huge cuts in them which turn to scars. Your balls get smashed. If you’re reading this and calling bullshit then your gear is loose and you’re a poser. If you’re reading this and laughing because you are covered in scars and know it’s true then you are a powerlifter. If you’re reading this and are scared then you are a newb, and have lots of fun to look forward to.

Powerlifting Routines

“You will sense it; you will be awed by it; and your fellow men will indeed, as he has done for thousands of years, pay you homage”.

People do adore the powerlifters, be it because of their great physique or their strength. No wonder powerlifting training is becoming so popular these days. Such strength trainings are very beneficial; however, one must be focused, as powerlifting programs are often tiring. These programs also require one to gain lots of strength and follow some powerlifting routines.

The most important fact is to focus on bench press, squat and deadlift. It is a no-brainer for those who are already familiar with this sport form. Even though many fail to focus on their basic power exercises while framing their powerlifting routines, exercises like bench press, squat, and deadlift are essential for maximum muscle growth and one need not to be a powerlifter to incorporate these exercises in their workout routines.

Powerlifting routines require one to perform a number of bench presses, deadlifts and squats for building most of their muscle mass. When it comes to building muscle mass these basic exercises can help you to get the edge on other bodybuilding techniques.

Bench press helps in gaining strength for the upper body. Lie down on a bench; the back needs to be fully arched for forming a bridge. Make this bridge as higher as possible. Tightly squeeze the shoulder blades against each other. It will shorten the path of the bar and the lifter can lift more weight by using less strength. Drive the bar up by using the same technique.

Deadlift is a simple fitness exercise where one needs to learn and use proper techniques. The middle of the entire feet needs to be placed below the bar and the stance width must be comfortable. Place the hands shoulder width apart and grab the bar keeping the wrists and elbows completely straight. Relax the traps and while arching back place the hips lower enough to comfortably grab the bar. Hold the hip as high as possible; the middle deltoid needs to be slightly behind or right above the bar. In the second phase of deadlift includes contracting the hips forward and at the same time pushing the body entire weight from heels. Once the weight is above the knee level, place the knees in such a way to get a completely locked position. Follow the same technique while doing the descent.

Squat helps to reach the maximum lifting potential and to avoid possible injuries during powerlifting. Make sure the loaded bar is set at the chest level and settle it deep inside the palms. The grips width must be slightly wider than the shoulder width; this will create massive plateau in the trapezius muscles and upper back and will hold the loaded bar during the movement. Stand fully erect and touch the barbell with your chest; dive under to put the barbell on your back. It must be on the line where the rear deltoid meets. Now push it upwards and off the rack and then step back. While doing the second phase of squatting arch the back as hard as possible and look straight ahead to create a solid leverage point. While descending, unlock the hips first and then lower them down. Once the hamstrings are fully stretched, you can begin unlocking the knees.

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