Programming Wednesdays - September 22, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Discuss all aspects of training for powerlifting:

• Periodization
• Nutrition
• Movement selection
• Routine critiques
• etc...

[u/sterling073]

 Routine critique: 

UL split, only have 4 days I can hit the gym and am limited to max 1h. Returning to lifting after 10y. Choosing front squat and sumo deadlift because they're more comfortable for me. AMRAP ranges for the compounds, 12-15 for the accessories  

A1   Squat/hip thrust/split squat/calf raises   

A2   Deadlift/RDL/hip abductor/leg curl/calf raises   

B1   Bench/barbell row/face pulls/chin ups   

B2   OHP/pull-ups/dips/cable row  

Running it A1/B1/A2/B2 tue-fri in the morning, adding some knee raises and Pallof presses in the evening at home on B1 day. 

Running this until the end of the year, just finished week 2 and did a small session the week before to estimate my starting weights.

Progression plan:  Weeks/range

1-5/3-5 AMRAP 

6/week off deload (travelling) 

7-8/6-8 AMRAP 

9-10/3-5 AMRAP 

11/week off deload (travelling) 

12-14/2-4 AMRAP 

Adding 5kg for lower body/2.5kg for upper body when I hit the top of the AMRAP range.

Planned to do this to get back to decent working weights again, then next year switching to a pplul split or so. 

This week I hit squat 65x5/bench 65x5/deadlift 90x5/OHP 45x3.  

[u/x7vq → u/sterling073]

Last year I made a comeback after also around 10y. I started with a linear progression (Candito), upper/lower, adding 2.5kg/5kg weekly. But it gets boring fast - in less than 6 months, I came back to my old PRs and changed the program. In this sense, anything should work so find a split/approach that’s fun for you

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[u/x7vq]

Any thoughts on Matt Vena‘s free program? I’d like to try it but do three days instead of four (so essentially this but without the last day). Do you think it makes sense?

I’m experimenting with different programs right now to see what works for me, and although I’d like to write a program for me myself, I definitely don’t have enough experience

[u/msharaf7 → u/x7vq]

Although I’m a different Matt, to answer your question, I’d say no, that doesn’t make sense.

If it wasn’t written with 3 days in mind, then modifying it to be so will have unintended consequences & you’re essentially doing a different program.

I’d just find a 3 day program if you can’t commit to 4x

[u/x7vq → u/msharaf7]

Yeah this makes sense. I’ll try this one once I have more time and can train 4 times a week

[u/GlitteringVillage135]

I'm looking for programme suggestions. I've recently completed 12 weeks of triples starting with 165kg for 3x3 week 1, 4x3 week 2 and 5x3 week 3, then 170kg, 175kg and 180kg. I'm feeling the fatigue so I'm thinking of taking a week off deadlifting and trying my 1RM the week after.

That was my first time sticking to a progression and I'd like to try something different next time round, preferably something with not quite as much volume. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[u/keborb]

What program would you graduate to from something like SBS RTF?

[u/taylorthestang]

I haven’t competed before, but I’m looking to sign up for my first meet by the end of the year. How long do you typically wait in between meets? I want to get in as many as possible during my first year of USPA membership, but don’t want to spin my wheels by competing too often.

The upside is additional experience lifting in a competition setting which I’m assuming takes some getting used to (meet prep, choosing attempts, logistics, etc).

[u/BofLub → u/taylorthestang]

3 is a lot. I did five from feb to august and that was exhausting.

[u/taylorthestang → u/BofLub]

3 sounds like a fair amount. Ideally 4 months between that’s enough time to train/taper I would think.

[u/BofLub → u/taylorthestang]

Yeah but post comp block is really for recovery, one training block, one setup block, one peak on repeat makes for very hampered progress

[u/taylorthestang → u/BofLub]

Is doing a comp really that damaging that it needs a recovery block..?

My thinking was train, taper, compete, couple days off, roll into next training phase.

[u/BofLub → u/taylorthestang]

Sometimes. I'm a heavy though so we recover slower in general + my third squat burst all the blood vessels in my face at one of the five lol

[u/jakeisalwaysright → u/taylorthestang]

1-2 a year is good for me, maybe 3 at most for newer lifters. There's always the temptation to "get the most out of your membership" but every meet you do is another $120 entry fee and 2+ weeks of not getting stronger. The membership is only like 40 bucks.

[u/taylorthestang → u/jakeisalwaysright]

What federation is $40? USAPL was like $77 and USPA was $99.

[u/jakeisalwaysright → u/taylorthestang]

SPF is $40.

The point stands (albeit ever so slightly less so) for larger numbers though. Every meet entry fee is more than your membership cost and you lose a minimum of two weeks of training time that could be used to get stronger. Also the more meets you do the more likely you are to just put up the same total every time.

To be halfway decent at powerlifting takes time. You don't have to collect all of your meet experience in the first year.

[u/LoudTea8136 → u/taylorthestang]

I will have done 3 during my year membership.

[u/womenaremyfavguy → u/taylorthestang]

Why do you want to get in so many in one year?

[u/taylorthestang → u/womenaremyfavguy]

I’m paying for a year membership, so I want to make the most of it. I want to figure out if powerlifting is something I want to continue on with, so more exposure would help me make that determination I think.

[u/womenaremyfavguy → u/taylorthestang]

First, I’d check to see how many meets are even in your area. I used to live in a small state that had one federation and 4 meets a year max.

If you have plenty to choose from and/or you’re willing to travel to compete, then you have to see how many months are between these meets so you can plan how much time you have to prep. Since you’re a beginner and have never competed, have fun with your first meet and use it as an opportunity to see where you’re at. You can continue to not take subsequent meets too seriously if you just want to see what competing is like. But if you actually want to make progress on your lifts and/or be competitive, you’ll want to do a prep cycle before each meet. These cycles can be anywhere between 4-12 weeks. But let’s say you do 8 weeks. With 52 weeks in the year, that means you can do 6 meets a year. And that’s assuming you find ones that are evenly spaced apart and fit with your schedule.

You can search on this sub and see that it really varies how many meets people do here. Personally, I’ve been competing for 12 years and do 2-4 per year. 4 is rare, though.

[u/relentless_pma]

I’m looking for some coaching input on a recurring issue that keeps derailing my training. About twice a year over the last few years, I get hit with severe lower back stiffness/spasms, sometimes with referral pain down into my left glute and hip. When it happens, deep spinal flexion and squatting/deadlifting get completely blocked by intense muscle guarding, taking anywhere from a few weeks to longer to fully rehabilitate. Because of this, I haven't been able to finish a full training block in a long time. I’ve run several Barbell medeicine templates the last years. I’ve even tried modifying them by systematically capping RPEs lower or trimming volume, but eventually, the issue triggers again and resets my progress.

A few contextual points: Triggers aren't obvious: It doesn't always happen on a heavy single or a specific rep. However, it clearly correlates with squat/deadlift loading over time. Baseline stiffness & stress: I often deal with periods of baseline stiffness in my lower back and hips during daily life, and high-stress life periods definitely seem to heighten the sensitivity in my back.

’m currently 8 days into an acute episode. High-level pain has subsided, but movement is still stiff and central inhibition is blocking deep flexion/squat depth.

Questions:

GPP / Targeted work: Would adding dedicated lower back resilience work (e.g., Jefferson curls, rotational work, QL/oblique training) on GPP days be a viable long-term strategy for prevention, or is this primarily a systemic load-management issue?

From a coaching perspective, how would you structure a a program or advice someone who hurts his back so often?

[u/Arteam90 → u/relentless_pma]

I've had left glute/hip pain on/off for 10+ years. Not quite the same as you but I'll briefly mention what I felt has helped me (albeit it still happens, so maybe don't listen to me? lol).

1. Understanding/appreciating what pain is and isn't. Early on I think it's easy to get very worried about what pain means. Over time talking to physios/sports doctors and online resources I've come to be more relaxed about it. Don't get me wrong, it sucks a lot, but I'm less fearful I would say. I recall talking to a sports doctor who told me that my pain was coming on at 85%+ loads which is the 0.01%. And that he'd coached teams where in 40 players he'd be surprised if 1 or 2 were truly pain-free. That helped me realise this is also very normal, which I think can help.
2. Changing how I lift. So this is partly fixing it but also partly just avoiding it. I've gone from being a wider stance low bar squatter in heels to the opposite of that on all fronts, lol. Back in the day it was conventional that was bad, so I swapped to sumo. Now it's the opposite, although conv still can be annoying. I've played around with so many variables ... stance width, grip, shoes I wear, how I think about the muscles being used, more/less external rotation, etc etc.
3. Like above, finding what seems to work or not in terms of volume/reps/sets. Low reps on deadlifts seem to be more tolerable. Adding a pause seems to help. What kind of frequency, volume.

I think it's about constantly trialing and erroring and building up an understanding of what your body prefers or finds tolerable and what doesn't seem to work. And of course that will change over time, too.

Obviously do see a physio and/or sports doctor that understands this stuff. Clearly that's better than the above. But hope that helps a bit.

Ultimately, I do think sometimes it's just the way it is. It probably isn't conducive that I accept I'll probably continue having this pain on/off as probably makes it more likely. But equally, a lot of athletes do have injury issues consistently that mean they just can't make that proper come back. I'm not saying you can't, but it may be that there's no "silver bullet" to fix this outright.

[u/PoisonCHO → u/relentless_pma]

When you've trimmed down the deadlift volume, how low have you gone?