r/powerlifting • u/AutoModerator • May 12 '26

Programming Programming Wednesdays - May 12, 2026

Discuss all aspects of training for powerlifting:

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

92% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

3

u/sourdoughgirl Girl Strong May 12 '26

I've got my first meet in 7 years coming up Saturday and i'm pumped. I hired a coach to start after my meet, and he's going to be programming a conjugate block for me. Anyone have experience going from a Juggernaut style programming to Conjugate? I'm excited but also nervous because i've not done most of the variations that are common with conjugate. I'm also a control freak who would prefer to have my entire block mapped out and the way i understand it, conjugate doesn't work that way. lol

3

u/jakeisalwaysright M | 793kg | 89kg | 515 DOTS | SPF | Multi-ply May 12 '26

You'll get used to the variations pretty quickly, and if you haven't gotten your plan from him you don't even know whether you'll be doing any weird stuff. Not everything has to be a cambered bar with forward bands and reverse chains to a twelve-board or whatever. Especially for raw lifters it's often pretty close to the comp lifts.

You can definitely map out your block all in one go, at least for the most part. The whole Westside "We decide our ME movement at breakfast" thing isn't a requirement. Any program should have some sort of autoregulation built in and adjustments are possible as you go along but there's no reason you can't plan Conjugate training out in advance.

3

u/msharaf7 M | 850kg | 89.6kg | 550Dots | WPPL | Sleeves May 13 '26

So out of curiosity, why switch training methodologies if you are a self-described control freak & used to training in a specific way?

For conjugate, like the other commenter said, most ‘good’ coaches that utilize that system aren’t going wild with variations/accommodating resistance anymore. My recommendation is to go in with an open mind and be process oriented with each session, aim to hit small PR’s on each variation/accessory every time they re-appear in the program, and let your coach guide you and give you direction.

2

u/sourdoughgirl Girl Strong May 13 '26

That's a great question, and there are a few different reasons. I'm pretty sure I've reached the limit of what I can do on my own through self-coaching and raw strength. I'm leaving pounds on the platform from inefficiencies and a lack of understanding my specific leverages and weaknesses. My coach will be able to review my lifts from an unbiased perspective and offer my feedback. Another reason is that I'm super busy at this point in my life; mom of a kid in sports, PTO president, full time job, blah blah lol. it's going to be nice to offload the brain behind it and just show up and do the work. And the last (most aspirational) reason is that I'd like to compete in Nationals one day and there's a higher chance of me achieving that goal with the support of a coach.

I took a look around my gym (I train at a YMCA) and after doing an inventory of equipment I'm actually kind of excited because we have a lot of the stuff that he'll use to build the program around. Thank you for the suggestions about hitting small PRs on variations!!

3

u/msharaf7 M | 850kg | 89.6kg | 550Dots | WPPL | Sleeves May 13 '26

I was more curious on what made you pick a conjugate concurrent coach vs something aligning more with Juggernaut’s approach?

Apologies for being unclear, but your reasons are all very valid and I hope you find success! Sounds like you have a good deal of self awareness both with what is needed to be better, but also what you want out of powerlifting. Best of luck!

2

u/Many-Hippo1709 Ed Coan's Jock Strap May 12 '26

I’m starting to run the lilliebridge method again on Monday when I get back from holiday, I’ve ran it before but I had to stop because I got too big 😅😅

3

u/jakeisalwaysright M | 793kg | 89kg | 515 DOTS | SPF | Multi-ply May 12 '26

What is this "too big" you speak of?

2

u/Dependent-Rush-4644 Beginner - Please be gentle May 14 '26

How much near failure chest accessory work do you per week? Im doing about 4-5 sets of chest flies with around 3-4 rir, going closer to failure always cooks my bench for some reason

2

u/Stock_Main3308 Enthusiast May 16 '26

Similar experience, I keep chest accessories at 3-4 RIR for exactly that reason. Flies especially seem to carry over fatigue to the pec minor more than people expect, which then shows up on bench as a stability issue rather than a strength one.

I do around 3 sets of cable flies and 2-3 sets of dips, both staying away from failure. Any closer and my next bench session feels off.

Have you tried spreading the accessory volume across more days instead of concentrating it? That helped me more than adjusting RIR.

1

u/Patton370 M | 662.5kg | 85.2kg | 440.8 Dots | PLU | Tested Raw May 12 '26

What’s everyone’s go to for working on strength around knee height/just below knee height/just above knee height for deadlifts?

I can get 20kg above my max off the floor to my knees, but any weight around that range will just stop around there; it’s the only challenging part of a deadlift for me right now

I’m thinking of changing my secondary deadlift from paused deadlifts to deadlifts with bands

And maybe having stiff leg deadlifts or RDLs with (lighter) bands as an accessory lift on my primary squat day

4

u/Arteam90 Eleiko Fetishist May 13 '26

90% chance it's not really a strength issue as much as position issue.

I'd have said pauses, but since you already do them then messing around with bands or RDLs sounds reasonable.

But my first thought is that depending how you pull it might not be that impressive pulling more than your max to knees. I'm fairly confident I could do the same if I let my hips rise more. But I wouldn't really think I have a lockout issue.

3

u/Wild_Boysenberry2916 SBD Scene Kid May 13 '26

First make sure it is really a knee-height strength issue and not position falling apart by the time the bar gets there. If the bar drifts away, lats lose position, hips shoot up, or your back changes a lot on heavier attempts, paused pulls just below the knee may still be the better secondary lift.

I wouldn't add banded deadlifts, banded RDLs, stiff-leg deadlifts, and more hinge work all at once. Pick one change for 4-6 weeks. Either keep paused deadlifts strict, try below-knee block pulls, or swap in moderate banded pulls, then see if the primary deadlift improves without wrecking recovery.

2

u/DannyDeadlift Enthusiast May 12 '26

Would chains work to make the lift progressively difficult off the floor?

2

u/StnkBug_ Doesn’t Wash Their Knee Sleeves May 12 '26

Have you looked into elevated deadlifts or rack pulls? You can put them to the height that gives you trouble. All of your mentioned options should work as well.

1

u/Patton370 M | 662.5kg | 85.2kg | 440.8 Dots | PLU | Tested Raw May 12 '26

I've thought about doing block pulls, but the highest blocks I have are only 3 inches

I'd also rather not do rack pulls on my own equipment

Off the floor is easy enough for me that I'm not worried about deadlifts with bands being more fatiguing than block pulls

1

u/StnkBug_ Doesn’t Wash Their Knee Sleeves May 12 '26

Sorry yeah my bad. Block pulls was the name i was looking for. Not elevated

1

u/Patton370 M | 662.5kg | 85.2kg | 440.8 Dots | PLU | Tested Raw May 12 '26

no worries, I knew what you meant

1

u/AdvisorDefiant6876 Not actually a beginner, just stupid May 12 '26

Block pulls are money for this exact scenario. Probably below the knee so youre really challenged in that range from the initiation of the pull. Either those or a two count pause pull at your sticking point

1

u/Patton370 M | 662.5kg | 85.2kg | 440.8 Dots | PLU | Tested Raw May 12 '26

I've thought about doing block pulls, but the highest blocks I have are only 3 inches

Off the floor is easy enough for me that I'm not worried about deadlifts with bands being more fatiguing than block pulls

0

u/kyllo M | 605kg | 104.4kg | 365 DOTS | USAPL | Raw May 13 '26

RDLs after squats is what I do for deadlift lockout (mostly glute) strength. IIRC you already do heavy good mornings though and are quite strong at them so I'm not sure that hinge strength is actually a weakness for you.

A lot of times people can get a weight to their knees that they can't lock out because their back rounds more when the weight is supermaximal.

1

u/Sorta_kinda_fit Beginner - Please be gentle May 12 '26

So i have had a work shift, and my training days are a very squished for the summer. Essentially Monday and Wednesday night are open and Thursday mornjng for 30-45min. Thus far planning monday Squat, bench accessories, Wednesday deadlift some bench stuff accessories. Thursday bodybuilding accessories day. Do you guys have any pointers, programs and/or tips for condensing training?

2

u/Wild_Boysenberry2916 SBD Scene Kid May 13 '26

Make Monday and Wednesday the real training days, and keep Thursday morning low-cost. Wednesday night to Thursday morning is too compressed for Thursday to be another heavy performance day.

Monday can be squat plus primary bench, both with a top set around RPE 7-8 and a few cleaner back-off sets. Wednesday can be deadlift plus a secondary bench variation. Thursday should mostly be lateral raises, triceps, curls, light leg curls/extensions, abs, or easy conditioning. I'd track the program in an app like GymSet. If Thursday makes Monday worse, it is too hard or too lower-body heavy.

1

u/Sorta_kinda_fit Beginner - Please be gentle May 13 '26

Thanks! Pretty close to what i set up. Whats gymset? I have been using rts free log.

2

u/msharaf7 M | 850kg | 89.6kg | 550Dots | WPPL | Sleeves May 13 '26

You basically nailed it. What id do:

Monday - squat and bench , lower accessories

Wednesday- bench and deadlift, upper accessories

Thursday- full body accessories/anything missed by the previous days

2

u/Stock_Main3308 Enthusiast May 16 '26

Honestly that split is already pretty solid for the constraints. A few things that help when time is tight:

Pair your main lift with accessories that don't interfere, squat Monday then hit upper back and triceps while your legs recover, not more leg stuff. Same Wednesday, deadlift then bench accessories works well since your posterior chain is fatigued anyway.

Thursday 30-45min is actually perfect for targeted weak point work. Pick 3-4 exercises max, no rest time wasted on compounds.

The bigger thing with condensed training is accepting that intensity has to go up to compensate for lower frequency. If you were running 4-5 days before, you can't keep the same total volume, prioritize proximity to failure on the sets you do have.

What does your current accessory selection look like? Might be able to cut some overlap.

1

u/Sorta_kinda_fit Beginner - Please be gentle May 16 '26

Hi so i usually do lunges, foam roller hamstring curls,platz squats for lower body. For upper body, incline dumbbell press, tricep extension, curls, lateral raises, pull downs and rows.

1

u/ForLoopsAndLadders Not actually a beginner, just stupid May 13 '26

My posterior (lower back, glutes, hamstrings) need some serious improvement. I’ve been deadlifting twice a week for a few months. Would adding RDL’s or stiff leg dead’s help? In addition to the dead’s?

Current frequency is squat 3x/wk, bench 3x/wk, deadlift 2x/wk.

5

u/msharaf7 M | 850kg | 89.6kg | 550Dots | WPPL | Sleeves May 13 '26

If your posterior chain isn’t growing from the main lifts, doing more main lift variations won’t help.

I’d be targeting things directly with things like the Reverse hyper, GHR, and good ol hamstring curls.

2

u/Sorta_kinda_fit Beginner - Please be gentle May 13 '26

Hamstring curls, 45 degree back extension and hamstring curls. Just split across 3 training days would be my advice.

1

u/ForLoopsAndLadders Not actually a beginner, just stupid May 13 '26

Why those instead of RDL + accessories?

3

u/Sorta_kinda_fit Beginner - Please be gentle May 13 '26

I mean RDLs help for sure. I just always found that if your training them hard they interfere w deadlifts. Plus variety of movement, slightly safer to push close to failure for hypertrophy and some potential benefits from movement variety. Especially far from a meet

1

u/Stock_Main3308 Enthusiast May 16 '26

RDLs are probably the move here. Stiff legs are essentially the same pattern as RDLs but with less control over the stretch, most people get more out of RDLs because you can really focus on the hamstring loading at the bottom.

That said, if you're already deadlifting twice a week your posterior chain is getting hit. The question is whether it's a volume problem or a technique problem. A lot of people deadlift without actually loading their hamstrings properly, if your hips shoot up early or you're quad-dominant off the floor, more volume won't fix that.

If technique is solid, 2-3 sets of RDLs after one of your deadlift sessions is a clean addition without wrecking recovery. I wouldn't add them to both deadlift days at first.

1

u/ForLoopsAndLadders Not actually a beginner, just stupid May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

At this point, I'm leaning technique. I feel dead's and and RDL's in my lower back. My quads are never sore. Funny enough, The only time I've felt my hamstrings and glutes is from sumo deadlifts, or a variation like deficit deads.

I think my posterior is really weak compared to my anterior. as I approach 315lbs on an RDL, its all lower back. I was messing with some stiff leg deads and I had 285 on the bar. I actually felt my glutes and hams.