porky little keg
MuscleHead
- May 21, 2011
- 1,225
- 647
I keep seeing this and it's driving me nuts. So, please, let me help.
Being a powerlifter or training for powerlifting isn't a function of just lifting heavy, it's a change in the way you approach all training.
You CAN have a great physique and be a powerlifter. You can be healthy and be a powerlifter, and powerlifters DO train body parts like a bodybuilder does...
BUT
If you are a powerlifter then all training is aimed at improving the core lifts. You train movements, not body parts.
Training a squat involves training the movement as well as the muscles in the leg and posterior chain. Sure, I'll do leg extensions, but only if a quad imbalance is hindering my squat.
I keep seeing people post training logs that say they're for training squat, but in a 90 minute session there might only be 20 minutes of squatting.
My team has raw, single ply, and multi ply men and women on it. We were well represented at the arnold and are well known in the sport. How we train is very similar to how other top teams train. I've visited most of them. I've trained with most of the top guys. This is a universal truth not just my opinion of what I do in a garage by myself.
A squat day is 3-5 hours. On a heavy day a ( for example) 4 hour session is spent with about 3 hours of squatting and an hour tops of auxiliary work. I might do a variation of the squat to build a weakness in addition to regular straight bar squats. I might do some deadlift work as well...... but most of the time is spent with some sort of bar putting some sort of weight on my back.
Everything revolves around the main lifts. A squat and deadlift day and a day for auxiliary work to build the squat/deadlift. A bench day and a day to do auxiliary work to build the bench.
I train my back but there is no back day. I train my shoulders but there is no shoulder day. Those are both part of a bench or bench auxiliary day.
Take a step away from the 5 day, body part split we all learned from Flex Magazine. Powerlifting training is about training movements.
To be successful you need to change your mentality first.
Also, because I will recommend this to fix every single problem you will ever have - go find a team to train with. Nobody makes it to a legit national championship by training in a commercial gym by themselves.
Being a powerlifter or training for powerlifting isn't a function of just lifting heavy, it's a change in the way you approach all training.
You CAN have a great physique and be a powerlifter. You can be healthy and be a powerlifter, and powerlifters DO train body parts like a bodybuilder does...
BUT
If you are a powerlifter then all training is aimed at improving the core lifts. You train movements, not body parts.
Training a squat involves training the movement as well as the muscles in the leg and posterior chain. Sure, I'll do leg extensions, but only if a quad imbalance is hindering my squat.
I keep seeing people post training logs that say they're for training squat, but in a 90 minute session there might only be 20 minutes of squatting.
My team has raw, single ply, and multi ply men and women on it. We were well represented at the arnold and are well known in the sport. How we train is very similar to how other top teams train. I've visited most of them. I've trained with most of the top guys. This is a universal truth not just my opinion of what I do in a garage by myself.
A squat day is 3-5 hours. On a heavy day a ( for example) 4 hour session is spent with about 3 hours of squatting and an hour tops of auxiliary work. I might do a variation of the squat to build a weakness in addition to regular straight bar squats. I might do some deadlift work as well...... but most of the time is spent with some sort of bar putting some sort of weight on my back.
Everything revolves around the main lifts. A squat and deadlift day and a day for auxiliary work to build the squat/deadlift. A bench day and a day to do auxiliary work to build the bench.
I train my back but there is no back day. I train my shoulders but there is no shoulder day. Those are both part of a bench or bench auxiliary day.
Take a step away from the 5 day, body part split we all learned from Flex Magazine. Powerlifting training is about training movements.
To be successful you need to change your mentality first.
Also, because I will recommend this to fix every single problem you will ever have - go find a team to train with. Nobody makes it to a legit national championship by training in a commercial gym by themselves.
