Powerlifting squat program

All powerlifters have at least one thing in common: they all want to become stronger in the fastest and most efficient way. Powerlifting programs and schedules vary widely, depending on such variables as experience, age, commitment, gender, and genetics. Unfortunately, many of the programs offered in magazine articles represent the methods of the person presenting the program. Also, many long-term powerlifters forget the basic needs and views of those just starting; they offer advice to beginners that is more suitable to lifters with two or more years of experience in both training and competition.Experienced powerlifters have learned, through years of training, what works best for them. They know which exercises have helped them and which exercises have not. They know when to work through pain and when to back off and rest a painful area.
The programs they use and the schedules and goals they set reflect this experience.Older powerlifters may have gray or thinning hair, wrinkles, glasses, or hearing aids. However, none of these conditions adversely affects the muscles or the strength-gaining capacity of the muscles. Their worst problem is the well-meaning people who tell them to take it easy and make excuses for them when they fail. People are told that it takes elderly people (whatever that age is) longer to recover from a set, workout, and injury. However, this is true only if you are not conditioned for a hard workout. This is also true for poorly conditioned young people - it has nothing to do with age. These myths are built on lack of knowledge about the capabilities of elderly people.
Personal trainers and doctors usually play it safe and tell their clients and patients what they have heard other people say - to take it easy. All the recent research indicates that muscle tissue of older people responds the same to training as muscle tissue of young people. Also, injured muscle tissue in an older person will heal at the same rate as muscle tissue in a younger person if the treatment and rehabilitation are the same. We should quit babying elderly people and encourage them to push their limits. Don’t caution them any more than you would caution a young person. Who decides the point in a person’s life when they become elderly? Is it 40, 50, 60, or what? We have all seen 40-year-olds who look and act old, and we have seen 70-year-olds who look and act young. If a person’s only "disease" is age, that person should not be encouraged to take it easy. If you are in this category and people try to get you to slow down, stay away from them. Although these people mean well, they are not doing you any favors.Female lifters encounter two major difficulties. First, almost all exercises and programs are tailored to male lifters. Second, female lifters have difficulty finding competition. Even in states with more than 100 lifters at their state championship meets, there will only be 6 to 10 women distributed across several weight classes. Also, they are not usually taken seriously as strength athletes, which discourages most women from participating in the sport.Commitment and personal life are very important in this sport. In some sports, such as swimming or gymnastics, the top competitors are in their teens or early twenties and still living with their parents. In powerlifting, most athletes are well into their thirties when they achieve national prominence. It is in these years that the obligations of work and family life also become demanding. Without a strong commitment and strong support from family and friends, many potentially great lifters drop out of the sport.Beginners search for the one perfect program and quickly learn that there is not one program but many different programs that accomplish the same things. Many beginners will switch training programs often on the advice of their training partners, other powerlifters in the gym, or articles in powerlifting magazines. Sometimes beginners will switch to the program used by the person who beat them in the last meet. After several training cycles and competitions, beginners will learn what works best for them and be able to develop a training program that produces the best results. All people are different and need to make adjustments that will fit their needs.This chapter offers training programs for the squat, bench press, and deadlift. These programs are basic programs to start with and, if followed, they will increase strength. However, you don’t want to just gain strength, you want to gain strength the fastest and most efficient way possible. Therefore, you are encouraged to continue learning and experimenting with your program in order to develop the ideal program for you. Lifters who compete usually train in the order of meet competition: squat, bench press, and deadlift. Some people perform the squat and deadlift once a week and others perform them every 10 days. These sessions are spaced so that every three to five days they are performing either a squat or deadlift. The reason for this is that both exercises use the same muscles and both are very strenuous exercises that require at least three days of recovery. The bench press is usually performed two times each week, three days apart, and includes a heavy day and a light day.Squat Training ProgramThe squat is the most difficult of the three lifts to learn properly. Bar placement, foot placement, hand placement, body positioning, breathing, use of the belt, and strokes (the down and up movements) all have to be learned properly or you will never become a great squatter. You should make a habit of practicing proper techniques during every training session. It is an advantage to have a knowledgeable training partner who will constantly remind you of the proper techniques and instantly correct you if you do the exercise incorrectly.A beginner should remember that the amount of weight lifted is not as important as proper techniques. Once you have mastered the proper techniques, you will find the amount of weight you are able to lift will increase rapidly. Proper technique also reduces the possibility of injuries.This program consists of a light, medium, and heavy phase with a "max out" at the end of the heavy phase. The time for each phase is (1) five weeks of a light phase, consisting of 3 sets of 8 reps; (2) three weeks of a medium phase, consisting of 3 sets of 5 reps; and (3) two weeks of a heavy phase, consisting of 3 sets of 2 or 3 reps.Light PhaseThis phase begins with 1 or 2 sets of 10 to 12 reps for a warm-up. This weight should be approximately 50% of your maximum. During your warm-ups, ask your partner to correct you on the spot if you make a mistake, especially in the depth of your lift. This is the time to find your feel for the correct technique and should be carried over into your workout reps.After the warm-up, proceed to your workout weight, which should be a weight that you can lift eight times with the last lift requiring a total effort on your part, which is near failure or failure. Remember to always have a competent spotter while squatting. During any part of this cycle, if you can do additional reps, you should add weight. If you train with a weight that is too light, you will not gain strength and muscle at the fastest possible rate.Example (Assuming your max is 200 pounds)2 x 100 x 12 (2 sets lifting 100 pounds doing 12 reps)3 x 125 x 8 (3 sets lifting 125 pounds doing 8 reps)Support WorkSupport work is used to strengthen muscles in areas that are not getting enough stimulation during the squat. Examples of these muscles are the quadriceps (front of leg), hamstrings (back of leg), adductors (inner leg, or groin), abductors (outer leg), and calves (lower leg). You should use a weight that you can lift for 3 sets of 8 after doing a warm-up.Medium PhaseThe medium phase also starts with a good warm-up before proceeding to the workout weight. This phase sometimes requires a transition set or a set somewhere between your warm-up and workout weight but no more than 1 to 3 reps. The workout weight is a weight you can lift five times, reaching near failure, or failure on the last rep each time.Example (Assuming a 200-pound max)2 x 100 x 121 x 125 x 3 to 53 x 150 x 5Support WorkYou should continue your support work during this phase. The amount of weight should increase in proportion to the increase in your workout weight (10%, 15%), and the reps should be reduced to match your workout reps.Heavy PhaseThe heavy phase also starts with a warm-up phase and possibly two transition phases of 1 rep each before proceeding to the workout weight. The workout weight is a weight you can lift two or three times, reaching near failure or failure on the last rep of each set.Example (Assuming a 200-pound max)2 x 100 x 12 1 x 175 x 11 x 140 x 1 3 x 195 x 2 or 3Support WorkSupport work should not be done during this phase because of the intensity of the workout. However, if you want to continue doing support work, use lighter weights with 5 to 8 reps.Max Out or CompetitionAt this point of the cycle, you should either be entering a competition or testing yourself by doing the maximum amount of weight you are capable of, to determine how much strength you have gained. Either way that you decide to test yourself will be a good indicator of your improvements. Take about one week off and start again in the light phase and continue doing cycles until you have reached your goals.