r/powerbuilding

I notice that a lot of bodybuilders are using low-volume approaches (1–2 hard sets) with simple double progression or linear progression. Why don't more powerlifters or powerbuilders use something similar? I know beginner programs often do, but once you get to intermediate or advanced levels, it seems like programming becomes much more complicated with higher volume and moderate-to-low intensity (percentages deloads etc..).

Why not keep it simple with low-to-moderate volume and high intensity?

For example:

• Squat: 2×5 or 3×5. If you get 5 reps on every set, increase the weight by 2.5 kg next week. Personally, I don't think double progression (like 5–9 reps) makes much sense on barbell squats because they're so fatiguing. I'd rather just progress the weight once I hit all my sets for 5.
• Deadlift: 1×5 only. Progress weekly with small weight increases.
• Bench and OHP: Either double progression or linear progression seems to work well.

My thinking is that if fatigue and volume are managed properly, why would someone stall? If someone stalls on a moderate- or low-volume, high-intensity program, wouldn't the first things to look at be recovery (sleep, diet, stress), too much accessory volume, or simply needing more rest days?

So my main question is: Is high volume really worth it for strength, or is it mostly necessary for some people because they can't tolerate high intensity as well?

I'd love to hear from people with coaching or powerlifting experience, because I'm trying to understand the reasoning behind more complex, higher-volume programming.

This isn’t an advertisement but instead a thank you to this coach I met on Instagram @ preston.ofitness, genuinely a great dude and nice guy that I think could help a lot of people achieve their goals, not only that but he recommended me to other coaches after I said I probably couldn’t afford his coaching. Just sharing as someone who follows him on instagram.

I've noticed that a lot of intermediate lifters hit a point where chasing aesthetics and chasing strength start pulling them in different directions.

For example, adding more volume gives me better muscle growth, but if I push volume too hard, my squat and deadlift performance suffers. On the other hand, when I run more strength-focused blocks, my numbers climb but my physique doesn't always improve the way I'd like.

Do you think it's possible to be great in both?

As a 5'7 16yr male whats the best weight class or the most optimal weight class for my hight, Ive cut down to 66kg and planning to bulk up and cut back down to 66lg

I’ve hit a bit of a wall with my deadlift and I’m struggling to work out why.
About 8 weeks ago I started following a proper powerlifting program. Since then my squat has gone from 140 kg to a comfortable 140 kg (re-matched it easily and expect more on test week), and my bench has gone from 97.5 kg to 107.5 kg, so both of those are progressing really well.
My deadlift, however, has gone the complete opposite way.
My previous PR was 155 kg. Recently I attempted 160 kg and couldn’t even break it off the floor. I then tried 147.5 kg on another day and couldn’t get that moving either, even though I’ve pulled 155 before.
For accessories I’m keeping things pretty minimal. I’m mainly doing the competition lifts, with paused deadlifts as my only deadlift accessory. I’m doing rows, with out accessories for back , but no direct hamstring work.
My warm-up before the 160 kg attempt was:
60 kg
100 kg
120 kg
140 kg
160 kg
Has anyone experienced something similar where your squat and bench keep improving but your deadlift actually goes backwards?
Does this sound like a programming issue, a recovery/fatigue issue, a technique issue off the floor, or could dropping all my accessories be the reason?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Hey guys, I recently created a !conjugate training! schedule app. I put a lot of thought into designing it based on my own training style. May I post the link here? Just so you know, it's completely free,

As you all know, it’s not an app meant to make money in the first place (I think it’s an app that only a very small number of people can use...). So, if you don't view this as a promotion, I’d like to introduce it.

Please give it a try and let me know if you find anything inconvenient so I can upgrade it.

That's all I wish to know, if its advisable to go to failure on all sets?

I did chest and triceps today, after doing 2 sets of bench press and 2 sets of machine chest press, both till failure, my triceps could barely move the weight they normally do.

So, should I have kept something in the tank for my triceps?

Just wrapping up my current program and I'm looking to get a bit more out of my bench. Over my life I've had one major shoulder injury on each side, so it's always been a bit of a weak lift for me.

What has gotten you a big bench? Don't say Smolov jr.

Regular BenchDay 1 3x5 Rpe 8-9

Pause Bench Day 2 3x6 Rpe 7-8

Larsen Bench Day 3 3x5 Rpe 6-7

I've been doing U/L split for 1 years. I focused on hypertrophy. But now im 20 and I really want to get stronger and bigger and maybe do powerlifting in future but I'm so new to this and I know nothing about all this if someone can tell me that would be a great help! Thank you guys

I just finished week 2 of Smolov Jr with 270 lbs x 10 x 3. By the end of the sets I was resting 12+ minutes and my final rep of the final set had a 6+ second concentric.

I used a true tested 1RM of 315lbs I hit at the cumulative of a bench every day run following the protocol on a Zourdos study. I only did +5lbs for week 2 vs week 1 as I didn’t think I had 10 in me. Maybe I started too heavy using a true peaked 1RM.

I know that it is at times advertised as saying you’ll have some of the roughest bench sets of your training career on this program but I feel like I might be taking that too far. Would it make sense to just repeat the weights next week? Bail on the whole program? Plough forward and hope some magic hits?

Hey, friends!

Quick question regarding single legwork as mentioned in the subject .

For context, I’m doing 531 deadlifts Tuesdays followed by BBB 5x10 (lower weight) squatting sets and the opposite on Fridays.

Forever recommends single-leg work on my Mondays OHP, and Thursday bench days.

Wouldn’t doing single leg work a day before deadlifting and squatting be taking a bit away from the bigger lifts?

Curious to see how others are doing on it - thank you!

I’m 20 years old with 2 years of gym experience focused on hypertrophy. For the last 12 weeks, I followed a program with a minimal strength approach, where I trained squat, bench, and deadlift once per week. I’ve really started to enjoy these three lifts and have decided to give powerlifting a try. What would be a good program for my situation?

45 yr old male.
BW 180 lbs
Goal: increase strength / maintain weight.

Maxes:
Squat 330lbs
Bench 265 lbs
Strict Press 150 lbs

Lifitng on and off most of my life. Have been very consistent the last year and a half. Went on a small bulk last summer and have gained a lot of strength since. I'm not competitive in anything. I don't care to increase bench press right now. Happy to maintain strength & chest size. Benching AND strict pressing is too much for me. Would rather stick with just strict pressing for now.

I don't do conventional deadlift. Only RDL as an accessory. Have gone as heavy as sets of 265 lbs x 6 reps. I also do good mornings (235 lbs x8)

New to 5/3/1. Used Claude to help me customize it. Here's what we settled on. Looking to start this new program Sunday June 6/28/2026.

Lifting every other day. This comes out to 3.5 workouts per week. I had been doing 4.5/wk for the last 3 months (lifting 2 days in a row then 1 cardio day, repeat). Looking to feel a little less beat up every day as well as incoprporate some HIIT and plyometrics on my non-lifting days, along with Zone 2 cardio and abs... maybe even some Yoga. Basically, looking for a more well rounded approach to strength & fitness. Not wanting to give up current size and strength.

Ideal workout length: 1.5 hrs, including all warm up

Workout 1: Squat (5/3/1 FSL) / RDL / Leg Curl / Incline Press or Dumbbell Bench Press / Cable Flye / Standing Calf Raise

Workout 2: Bent over row (5/3/1 FSL) / pull-ups / cable row / barbell bicep curl / Reverse pec-deck / shrugs / cable external rotation

Workout 3: Strict Press (5/3/1/ FSL) / weighted dips / incline dumbbell press or machine press / pull ups / lateral raise / reverse pec-deck / overhead cable extension

Yes, the little extra focus on back is intentional.

Would love your feedback & any recommendations.

Hey, I'm 16yo boy from Poland with 77,7kg bw.  My biggest dream since I started my gym journey 1,5 years ago was benching 100kg. When I started training I was skinny fat with a little muscle mass and benching only around 30kg (I knew it was awful result). I was really embarrassed because many people who weren't training could bench more. So, I focused on gym, improved my physique and strength and took my bench press from 30kg to 85/87,5kg 1RM since my start. My 17 birthday is going to be on October 21th and I have a goal to achieve my first 100kg before this time. Is it possible to earn 12,5kg from now? Two things that are keeping me from progressing are upcoming travels (I will be absent for 3 weeks in July) and the other thing is I got stuck at about 80kg for 3 reps. Fortunately, I will probably have access to gym throughout those 3 weeks. To give a background for my situation right now - I already had one 3 weeks absence in Gym because of abroad internship and short illness. I got down some kilos but now I'm already hitting 80kg for 2 so it's only one rep difference between best result before my absence after a month of recovery. Do You have any advice how I could improve my bench press? I'm already doing accessory exercises like weighted dips, OHP, JM Press etc. Also, as I said before I will probably have an opportunity to train like 3 times in a week or something like that while being in the other country so keep that in mind please. In this case I want to spend them on keeping my bench press. What do You think? Thanks in advance.

P.S. There is my progression plan that I want to try, let me know is it alright, I plan to keep +-  RIR 1 and also I consider trying wrist wraps because of my weak wrists but I don't know is it cheating or not for my first 100kg. Let me know should I bench 2 or 3 times a week, please?

25.06.2026

1s  75kg 4p

2s 75kg 4p

3s 75kg 4p

29.06.2026

1s 77,5kg 3p

2s 77,5kg 3p

3s 77,5kg 3p

02.07.2026

1s 80kg 2p

2s 80kg 2p

3s 80kg 2p

06.07.2026

1s 77,5kg 4p

2s 77,5kg 4p

3s 77,5kg 4p

09.07.2026

1s 80kg 3p

2s 80kg 3p

3s 80kg 3p

13.07.2025

1s 82,5kg 2p

2s 82,5kg 2p

3s 82,5kg 2p

16.07.2026

1s 80kg 4p

2s 80kg 4p

3s 80kg 4p

20.07.2025

1s 82,5kg 3p

2s 82,5kg 3p

3s 82,5kg 3p

23.07.2025

1s 85kg 2p

2s 85kg 2p

3s 85kg 2p

27.07.2026

REP OUT 80kg

I've been thinking about changing how I progress my main compound lifts (squat, bench, and deadlift) and wanted to get some feedback.

My goal with these lifts is strength only. I do my hypertrophy work separately with accessories.

The idea is:

- One heavy top set in the 3–5 rep range.

- Drop the weight by around 10–15% and do 4 back-off sets, also in the 3–5 rep range.

- I aim for 5 reps on every set over time. If I miss reps, I keep the weight the same next session and try to beat my previous performance.

- I only increase the weight once I've hit 5 reps on all 5 working sets (the top set + all back-off sets).

For example:

Week 1:

- Top set: 85 × 3

- Back-offs: 75 × 3, 3, 3, 3

Week 2:

- Top set: 85 × 4

- Back-offs: 75 × 4, 4, 4, 4

Week 3:

- Top set: 85 × 5

- Back-offs: 75 × 5, 5, 5, 5

Then I'd increase the weight (e.g. 87.5 kg top set and 77.5 kg back-offs) and repeat.

Does this seem like a good progression for maximizing strength, or is there a better way to structure it?

does anyone know how the fuck to work around or get rid of built up scar tissue in the pec? 4 years ago i was benching and felt a pain in my chest, knew it was a pec strain. kept restraining it working my way back up, guessing i didn’t give myself enough rest so stupidly i stop hitting chest for 3 months. i ended up getting all better at least i thought l did and went to start working on chest gradually again. after a month or so it happened again. fast forward 4 years later and it hasn’t stopped happening. i just starting going to PT and of course a few weeks in, i hurt it again after we start upping the weight. i never really thought about it but i probably just let so much scar tissue build up over time. i was young and stupid and wish i didn’t rest it for long periods of time.

It might just be me, but body control during incline press or any kind of overhead pressing movement is by far the hardest thing for me.

I've noticed that I can usually get through pull days and leg days pretty well, even when I'm tired or didn't sleep much the night before. But when it comes to push day, it feels like everything has to be on point. If my sleep, energy, or focus isn't there, the weights feel much heavier, and I end up feeling exhausted o

even getting a headache while lifting.

I have been training for almost 2 years and I am in a pretty good condition at 18, but I still struggle with push days at times eventhough my chest and arms are well developed and on point with the rest of the body.

Sometimes I do just Chest and triceps and leave shoulders for another day because my shoulders are tired after doing chest and It's frustrating when you can't lift the same as you usually do, per say I usually do shoulder press with 18-20 kg dumbell but sometimes I can struggle with 16.

Is this problem common?

I keep seeing a lot about MAPS. I have looked it up, but I can’t find anything on it. At all. The only thing I can find is people saying they love it. But, I can’t find anything details about its structure or how it works.

They are having a 2 for 1 sale and I’m interested in the 40+ and the Powerlifting templates. But, without even having a small peak into what I’m buying, I’m super hesitant.

Any insight?

I am very confused about the bar postion alot of people are saying different things. Just behind my top of shoulder there is a soft part/ muscle thats in between bones i am guessing thats the rear delt i am not sure i just put it there its very stable and i never had any issues with it .is this the correct spot?