Powerlifting Performance - 3 Commonly Neglected Areas
Having coached many competitive powerlifters for the last 3-4 years, I've noticed common areas in the realm of training and recovery that many strength athletes neglect. Either the importance of these areas have not been stressed enough by their coaches and the environment they lift in, or the athletes fail to see the impact it plays on their powerlifting performance.
GCPT Powerlifter: Wendy Yamazaki @ BCPA Provincials 2017
Having coached many competitive powerlifters for the last 4-5 years, I've noticed common areas in the realm of training and recovery that many athletes (especially beginners and intermediates) neglect. In the past, I've written about how athletes coming into powerlifting should treat it like a sport and focus on a more well-rounded approach to athletic development. This means including a wider variety of exercises into one's training program, and covering foundational bases such as work capacity and recovery capabilities before progressing onto high-frequency and highly-specific powerlifting programs.
This article will expand on few of those details by highlighting the 3 most neglected areas of training and recovery I see in athletes of all levels. Either the importance of these areas have not been stressed enough by their coaches and the environment they lift in, or the athletes fail to see the impact it plays on their powerlifting performance. These tips will benefit everyone from the beginners, to the most elite athletes.
#1 Work Capacity and General Endurance
The number one goal of any beginner powerlifter is to improve work capacity and general endurance. Being able to handle higher volumes of work will be lead to faster technical improvements, more muscle hypertrophy and higher recovery capabilities; 3 important areas that are crucial for building maximum strength in powerlifting.
An interesting observation I've made over the last few years, is that female lifters I've coached have a higher tolerance for volume, and as a consequence, improve their powerlifting technique at a much faster rate than men. The higher capacity for recovery in between sets and the ability to perform more repetitions without fatigue means more quality time under the bar - leading to faster learning. This might be because females tend to have a different training background than men before starting powerlifting, performing more circuit-based training and more dedicated cardio sessions throughout their powerlifting programs.
Regardless of your training background, what can you do to improve work capacity and recovery capabilities in the realm of powerlifting?
Higher Rep Sets - the most common way is to perform higher rep sets (8-12+ reps per set) for multiple mesocycles (weeks/months). Stay calm, and don't rush through the set - this will teach you how to breathe properly and build a higher tolerance to higher heart rates and lactic acid/lactate build up.
Increase Training Density - Training density refers to the volume of work done within a certain time period. To increase training density, simply do more work in less time. You can achieve this by reducing the rest times in between sets, or set a time limit/goal for finishing your workout. Other methods include super setting your accessory exercises or performing some form of active rest in between sets. This will also take away the fluff from your training sessions: talking to your friends for too long, getting side tracked with music selection, etc. Anything that may be considered a distraction.
Active Rest Days - Most novice powerlifting programs consist of 3-4 hard training days. That leaves another 3-4 days that can be dedicated to improving other physical attributes. This is where active rest days come in. The most common forms of active rest include mobility/range of motion training and low intensity steady state cardio (go for a walk, go for a bike ride, go for a swim). The point here is to keep the blood flowing, keep the muscles and joints warm without interfering with the recovery process of powerlifting. Low impact, low intensity cardiovascular training is a great way to build a strong aerobic system responsible for your recovery capabilities between sets and between training sessions.
Prime Your Mindset For Higher Effort Work - Don't fall into the trap of "powerlifters don't do cardio". This is something I bring up time and time again: don't allow the destructive culture of demonizing cardiovascular training in strength sports to hinder your progress and athletic development. Embrace the volume, treat yourself like a well-rounded athlete.
2. Accessory Work - Attention To Detail
Powerlifters spend A LOT of time and effort making incremental improvements to their sport-specific lifts. Grip and stance width, leverages, joint and torso angles, internal and external cues; these are all modifiable components of the powerlifts that are experimented with in order to produce the heaviest, most efficient lift possible. However, accessory work often becomes an afterthought and the technical demands of those exercises are often neglected.
My philosophy for powerlifting performance is to put the same amount of effort into the accessory work as you do the competition lifts. If an accessory exercise is supposedly prescribed to address the weaknesses of a powerlifter such as strengthening a certain range of motion on a particular competition lift, or strengthening a particular muscle, technique on the accessory work must be held to a higher standard. Powerlifting for me is not only about the squat, bench press, and deadlift, but also about building physical literacy - knowing your way around your own body. The athletes that perform pull ups, lunges, and other movement patterns with a higher proficiency get MORE out of the exercises than those who don't. Great lifters maximizing the transfer effect of accessory exercises. 4 sets of 10 reps done with a full range of motion with the right joint and muscle angles beat 4x10 done with poor form; despite the volume load being the same on paper. Accessory work done with focus and intent transfers more to powerlifting performance then accessory work performed half-asses or with poor technique.
When you're considered an intermediate athlete, that's when glaring weaknesses start to show and you have to start addressing them. Don't get lazy, search up some Youtube videos of proper form just as you would with the powerlifts. Pay attention to the details.
3. Sleep
Before supplements, ice baths, sauna sessions, and mobility routines were all the hype, there was sleep. Sleep is the greatest recovery modality and is the primary form of recovery you should be optimizing and focusing on.
I use a monitor/diary to keep track of my athlete's readiness and recovery and I've noticed a big correlation between low scores on sleep quality (2 to 3 out of 5) and poor training performance. Athlete's that consistently measure lower than 3 out of 5 on "Sleep Quality" record higher rates of perceived exertion (RPEs) per any given % of their 1RM and progress at a slower rate week to week. A lack of sleep or poor sleep quality cascades into higher stress levels throughout the day, more incidences of bad mood/irritability and can negatively affect an athlete's focus during training and everyday activities.
Here are some general recommendations to improve your sleeping quality and duration from years of experimenting and reading about sleep:
Aim for 7-8 hours+ of sleep (everyone probably knows this one)
Keep a consistent wake-sleep schedule
Sleep in a comfortably cold, quiet and dark room, this is an important tip for those who find themselves waking up frequently in the middle of the night
Considering using aids such as an air humidifier, ear plugs or eye mask/blindfold to improve sleep quality
Avoid drinking large volumes of liquid/water before bed if you find yourself waking up several times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom
Turn off electronic devices 1-2 hours before bed (something I struggle with, god damn Reddit...)
An alternative is to use a screen dimming app or an app that removes the bluelight from your devices (f.lux for Windows & iOS, Twilight for Android devices)
Avoid caffeine consumption close to bed time (can affect people up to 6 hours between caffeine consumption and sleep)
Practice good napping habits - this has shown to be beneficial for recovery and future performance
Consider supplements like ZMA, Vitamin D, Melatonin and even Cannabis to improve your sleep quality (if legal in your state/province/country).
Consider using a Sleep Tracking app which can promote higher quality sleep by making you more conscious about your sleep habits.
Below is a list of articles/podcasts/infographics that may help you:
"The Importance Of Sleep Quality and How To Improve It" - Examine.com
"Can Supplemental Vitamin D Improve Sleep?" - Examine.com
"Sleep Better: Practical Evidence-Based Recommendations" - Amy Bender on Sigma Nutrition Radio
"Recovery & Performance In Sport Infographics" - YLM Sports
No intricate periodizational methods or detailed technical breakdowns here, just foundational aspects of training and nutrition that I think are crucial for the long-term success of any strength athlete. Don't be afraid of performing training modalities outside of the big 3 lifts, and when you do, approach them with the same standard you would the competition lifts. Sleep well, eat well, train hard and recover harder.
The Building Blocks of Powerlifting Performance
First off, what is base building? It's a term I like to use to describe the rudimentary steps a beginner or intermediate strength athlete has to take in order to become successful 1, 3, or even 10 years down the road.
A few of the powerlifters I coach have just finished competing this month at BCPA Provincials and many are entering their so-called "off-season", so I thought I would take this time to talk about base building in powerlifting. First off, what is base building? It's a term I like to use to describe the rudimentary steps a beginner or intermediate strength athlete has to take in order to become successful 1, 3, or even 10 years down the road. Think of it as a pyramid, widening the base to support a much higher peak. It can also be applicable for lifters that may have not had the best competition cycle and need to go back to the drawing board to improve their training.
So in practice, what does it mean to build or widen your base?
It means putting conscious effort into investing in proper technique acquisition and developing the right habits and mindset for you to excel in your athletic career. In my mind, there are 3 things that must be addressed to create an environment where you reap in the most benefits from your training. Technical mastery, habits and consistency, and mindset.
Technical Mastery In Powerlifting
“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”
In a closed-skill sport like powerlifting that does not depend on anyone else except for yourself and the bar, technical perfection is more in-reach than many other sports. Unfortunately, the ego often gets in the way, causing some people to lift with brutally poor form until they get injured or hit a plateau. If injury or a high risk of plateauing doesn't scare you off, I don't know what will!
I used to be an advocate of performing the competition lifts (Squat, Pause Bench Press, Deadlift) once a week if you were a beginner. My train of thought was, save the higher frequency competition lifts for when you become stronger and enter your intermediate/advanced stages. Performing the competition lifts 1x a week was a common recommendation, but it seemed to always come from experienced, drug-enhanced lifters, who were able to fit in much more training volume within any given session and recover much faster than natural athletes.
Fast forward to today, I'm a big believer that training the competition lifts more frequently makes more sense because it is in line with the principle of specificity, and can be done when fatigue is managed.
Competition lift frequency - more is better
Exposing a beginner to the competition lifts 1x a week is just not enough practice. With my athletes, I prescribe a minimum 2x a week squatting, 2x a week benching and 1x a week deadlifting with an additional hip hinge movement on another day - preferably another barbell deadlift variation like a Romanian deadlift. While this may seem overwhelming for a beginner, it can be done if intensity and effort is controlled.
The first session will be focused on high effort work, where sets are in the 8-9 RPE range. The second competition lift session must be dialed back to a 5-7 RPE range depending on the experience level of the athlete. Any of the programming variables (sets, reps, intensity) can be rearranged, but the theme is to reduce the effort - essentially making it an "easy" day.
A higher frequency of exposure and performing more reps per week will benefit motor learning.
Technical improvements can be made in the absence of high intensity and effort, simply exposing the athlete to the competition lifts 1 more time a week, can do wonders. Squatting, benching and deadlifting once a week can still be beneficial for general strength training. However, if you're an aspiring powerlifter, consider increasing the frequency for faster learning.
Even intermediate or more experienced lifters aren't necessarily exempt from base building. If you're struggling to make technical improvements, read this write up I did on improving technique and the idea of using a technical breakdown threshold (TBT), which is more geared towards experienced lifters.
Consistency
“First we make our habits, and then our habits make us.”
You'll often hear adherence and consistency is everything. The most complex training programs will yield no results if you're not consistent with your training. Showing up to training sessions, completing training within a certain time frame, maintaining focus, good form and technique throughout the session, consistently consuming enough protein and calories.
In order to build successful lifting habits, you must create an environment where you can be consistent.
Consistency in regards to training frequency is one thing I want to talk about in particular. When deciding a training frequency (3 lifting sessions a week vs. 4x, 5x..), be conservative and pick the lowest one you're 100% sure you can maintain for the training cycle.
If you're on the edge about whether you should train 4x a week or 5x a week, pick 4x a week. Programs are designed to spread out training volume given a set training frequency. If you know your work schedule or other life commitments might get in the way of your training, missing a training session every week or other week can add up. You would be essentially missing a chunk of training load that could have been better distributed had you picked a training frequency of 4x a week. While a coach can modify training volume on the week-to-week basis, not all lifters have this luxury or access to a competent coach.
Mindset & persistence
What brings programming variables, technical mastery and consistency together? Mindset and persistence.
Elite-level strength acquisition takes a long time.
There will likely be someone stronger than you.
Training is not life.
Injuries are inevitable.
That's I would tell myself 3-4 years ago If I could time-travel. As an ex-powerlifting fanatic, I completely understand what it feels like to want to get as strong as possible in the shortest time frame possible, thinking "squat bench deadlift or die".
Elite level strength takes years and years to develop naturally (even when enhanced, actually). If you have good limb and spatial awareness or previous experience with weight training, you might be able to pick up the technique fairly fast. But being able to induce the physiological changes to your nervous system and muscles to tackle 2, 3, 4x of your bodyweight on your back or in your hands, takes time and patience. The earlier you come to terms with that, the better off you'll be when it comes to making decisions about jumping on a high-frequency program when you're not ready, or trying to peak and go heavy too often in your beginner and intermediate stages.
Mental persistence also plays a big role in athletic performance and success. Great athletes are able to face adversity, come back from injury, destroy their egos and doubts in order break through plateaus and have excellent performances. Try to see the positives in each situation, but be self-aware enough to know when you're overreaching when you shouldn't be.
Coming Back From Injury
The best tip I can give you is regarding injury, specifically coming back from an injury.
Many lifters feel the need to play "catch-up" after coming off an injury, doing more than they can handle and putting themselves in a downward spiral. I'm not an advocate of training through injuries, it does not develop mental strength nor improve your likelihood of strength success in the future. The best course of action is to wait for the pain to subside, identify how the injury came to be (accumulation of volume - overuse?, poor technique?, freak accident?), address the weakness, and allow several weeks of training before returning back to pre-injury training volumes and intensities.
This is what I like to call athletic maturity. Being able to keep your eyes on the prize, on the long term goal, and realize every injury is an opportunity to fix a missing link, or improve a weakness.
Just like strength itself, mental strength and persistence can have an innate or "natural" component, but of course can also be developed through repetition and hard work.
Better Long Term Athletic Development In Powerlifting
Powerlifting is unique in that it revolves around performing lifts that would be otherwise used as a form of physical preparation in other sports. The squat, bench press and deadlift are all lifts that are commonly used in sports like football and hockey to increase upper body and lower body strength. As a powerlifter though, your success depends on your strength on these big 3 exercises.
If you're going to powerlift, treat it like a sport. You need to be fit enough to play a sport, powerlifiting is no different. However...
Powerlifting is unique in that it revolves around performing lifts that would be otherwise used as a form of physical preparation in other sports. The squat, bench press and deadlift are all lifts that are commonly used in sports like football and hockey to increase upper body and lower body strength. As a powerlifter though, your success depends on your strength on these big 3 exercises.
Training Variation
Ask yourself: Are you in a position to practice the powerlifts with a high frequency? Or can you perform other exercises and round out your athletic abilities while still achieving similar progress?
Just like how athletes must be fit and strong enough to play their sport, powerlifters must be fit and mobile enough to perform the powerlifts. Many times, I see beginner powerlifters neglect all forms of general physical preparation - cardio, intervals, core work, improving overall movement quality, etc. Only until the novices have run Sheiko or Smolov, do they realize they're not cut out for highly-specific work just yet.
While I'm aware that trainees must practice the powerlifts frequently to become a better powerlifter, I'm a big believer in cross-training and including training variation when needed. The skill requirements for raw powerlifting are relatively low, compared to other strength sports such as Strongman events or Olympic weightlifting. Paired with the fact that there are many exercises that can mimic the powerlifting movement patterns, training variation can be very useful.
My clients who have had a history of playing multiple sports or clients who perform a wider variety of training (cardio, unilateral training, core training) in the off-season have been able to become more resilient to injuries, as well as be more successful when it comes to physical performance and mental health on the powerlifting platform.
Mental health and training monotony are big concerns in powerlifting as doing the same exercise over and over again can mentally bog down a trainee. If training isn't fun, why train?
In the last couple of months, I've seen powerlifters wanting to branch out and try different training modalities like Olympic weightlifting and calisthenics, its a great thing to see. Athletes almost always gain some perspective and learn a few things to apply to their own powerlifting training.
Offering some solutions
For novices and intermediate lifters: I urge you to do your fair share of general physical preparation. This means picking exercises that widen your athletic base, while keeping a degree of specificity as you want your physical attributes to transfer over to the sport of powerlifting.
These are my favorite exercises to include for overall athleticism (in no particular order):
Occasional long-slow steady state cardio workouts - FOR RECOVERY
Anaerobic cardio intervals on the assault bike or row ergo machine (60-90 seconds hard, 60-90 seconds easy, alternate) - FOR GENERAL WORK CAPACITY AND HIGH EFFORT TOLERANCE
Isometric core exercises to build core stability and strength, practice bracing and breathing techniques (RKC plank, pallof press variations) - FOR CORE STRENGTH AND STABILITY
Unilateral training (split squats, 1 legged RDLs, alternating dumbbell presses, 1 arm presses, etc) - FOR SYMMETRICAL STRENGTH AND IMBALANCES
For more advanced powerlifters: you've probably addressed general physical preparation properly, that's how you've progressed to become an experienced, advanced lifter. Variation can still be included. Aside from the powerlifting-specific variations, exercises that mimic the movement patterns of the powerlifters can still be used:
Squats - Quad dominant squat pattern
Bench Press - Horizontal Push
Deadlift - Posterior chain hip hinge pattern
Possible variations to use as accessories, during deloads, or in place of the big 3 when training around injuries.
Squats and deadlift alternatives (Front loaded squats, trap bar deadlift, prowler pushes, squat jumps, olympic lift variations)
Bench Press alternatives (weighted pushups, neutral grip presses).
Occasionally including these into your program can reduce the chance of over-use injuries and can be used as alternative exercises to perform around nagging hip and shoulder injuries. Exercises like the neutral grip presses can relieve shoulder stress, while trap bar deadlifts can still provide a high-intensity stimulus without taxing the lower back to the same degree as competition-style deadlifts.
Know when to specialize
Pre-competition is the best time to reduce the amount of variation you're doing, and ramp up the intensity and specificity of lifts. During this stage, the frequency of the competition lifts increase and unnecessary stressors that have already contributed to our athletic base are removed. Things like cardio, isolation exercises and most "bodybuilding" accessories start to decrease in volume in preparation for the higher intensity squats, bench presses and deadlifts.
Understanding training residuals are particularly important when it comes to peaking for a meet. We know that high volume training is required for hypertrophy, however, when it comes to maintaining that muscle mass, lower volume works - as long as intensity and effort is kept high.
This means that as you spend more time with the intensities 85% and above, performing 5 reps or less, you'll still be able to maintain that muscle mass. As a result, it is not necessary to implement "hypertrophy" days in hopes of building muscle, especially if a hypertrophy-focused phase has already been performed in the preparatory period.
Most Effective Way To Improve Lifting Technique
Learn the most effective way to improve technique for strength sports/
MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE LIFTING TECHNIQUE
In strength sports, lifting technique is one of the most important traits in creating a strong, injury-free athlete. Lifters of all levels and experiences will benefit from improving technique.
If you've ever lifted heavy, you'll notice at a certain % of your 1RM, your form starts to deteriorate. Let's call this the technical breakdown threshold (TBT).
For example, if your 1 rep max on the barbell back squat is 315lbs, and your form starts to breakdown significantly when you lift weights over 250lbs (~80%). 80% is your technical breakdown threshold.
Generally speaking, beginner and intermediate lifters will have a lower TBT compared to more advanced and experienced lifters. Case in point: Have you ever noticed that some top level lifters look relatively calm and controlled during 1 rep max attempts? While less-experienced lifters will show more form break down during 1RM attempts.
So how do we use the TBT to help us improve technique? Here's how to do it:
Volume Progression Right Below Your TBT
To improve technique and form over the long term, we must start right at, or right below your TBT. For most of you reading this, I recommend using a load 5% lower than your TBT and progressively overloading at that intensity by either increasing sets, or increasing reps over the span of a training cycle.
Using the same example above (315lbs 1RM), and a TBT of 250lbs (~80%), an 8-week training cycle might look like this:
Week 1: 3x5 @ 235lbs (75%)
Week 2: 3x6 @ 235lbs
Week 3: 3x7 @ 235lbs
Week 4: 3x8 @ 235lbs
Week 5: 3x5 @ 245lbs
Week 6: 4x5 @ 245lbs
Week 7: 5x5 @ 245lbs
Week 8: 1xTechnical AMRAP @ 250lbs
*technical AMRAP means performing as many reps as you can with acceptable form, be honest with yourself.
Let's Break It Down (No Pun Intended)
During Weeks 1-4, you'll be working with 5% under your TBT, which is 235lbs (75% of current 1RM). Each week you'll be adding 1 rep to each set. This slight increase in volume over the span of 4 weeks will allow you to practice and dial in your technique.
During Weeks 5-7, you'll be working with a weight JUST under your TBT (245lbs). By now, your form should have improved drastically (hopefully) enough to perform sets at 7-8 RPE at a weight thats near to your TBT. The goal here is then to be able to maintain proper form over the increasing number of sets.
On Week 8, you'll be performing a technical AMRAP @ your TBT (250lbs). Put the number of reps performed into a 1RM calculator... This will be your new max.
INCREASING FREQUENCY
Increasing frequency is another good way to increase volume of the lift you're trying to improve. For example, if your squat needs work, I recommend increasing your frequency to up to 3 times a week. You can work at different rep ranges on each day, but keep the intensity low. The more quality reps you can perform and the more bad reps you avoid, the better. Using the same 315lb 1RM in the examples above, 1 week of training may look like this:
Day 1: 3x6 @ 235lbs (75%)
Day 3: 3x12 @ 190lbs (~60%)
Day 5: 4x3 @ 235lbs (~75%)
The philosophy
These are only examples, as there are other strategies that can be used here. However, the overarching philosophy of this method should be:
Consistently working with a sub-maximal weight that you are comfortable with.
Keeping intensity relatively the same (below your TBT) and progressive overloading by increasing reps or sets, NOT intensity (weight).
Spending plenty of time performing reps at the same intensity will make you more aware of technical changes and improvements from week to week.
Use this early on in your lifting career or ASAP if form breakdown is an issue for you.
Use this in the "off-season" and not as preparation for a powerlifting meet.
Please note that the set and rep schemes listed above are specific to the % of 1RM at which technique breaks down in the example I used.