I think so. You could just have more fast twitch muscle fibers which help with more reps. I think.’
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You mean slow twitch?
That makes more sense. My sprints are slow as fuck
Back in the days I used this program to take my deadlift from 395 to 440:
I calculated the percentages using TM, but I think you should use your true RM given to your strength ratios. I also pulled some heavy singles (85–95 %) every now and then during the program to stay in touch with heavier weights. Block pulls or other overload movements will work as well. These could be done either before or after the working sets.
Just read your original post again. 17-year-old, 90 lbs. and chasing a 300-pound pull – holy fuck! To put this in context, the current IPF sub-junior world record in the -43 kg class is 130 kg (about 287 pounds).
Get a good powerlifting coach, if you don’t already have one. You seem to possess some world class talent, so seeking advice solely on online forums might be sub-optimal for you.
Thanks for the help, I’ll try the deadlift program.
Wow, I don’t really follow women’s records so I had no idea she was so close.
@anna_5588 All you need to do is really focus your training on powerlifting and you can be setting records in no time. I already laid out a program for another kid on here, if you can’t afford a real coach I can do the same thing for you. That deadlift program is OK but you need programming for all 3 lifts, it doesn’t need to be complicated either.
Thanks, I would really appreciate the help. You’re probably the most sane and helpful person on any online forum anywhere.
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Thank you for the compliment.
What sort of program do you want to do first of all? It seems like you are into higher frequency training, which can probably work well for you since you are young and small. How many days do you want to train per week? Do you prefer an upper/lower split or full body workouts? The main drawback with full body (as in you would squat and/or deadlift as well as bench or other pressing movement in each workout) is that it ends up taking more time in total, you have to warm up again for each exercise. If time is not an issue for you then that can work.
Do you have a meet planned?
Thanks again for doing this.
I would like a 6-12 week program with 5-6 sessions/week that targets all 3 lifts. Upper/ Lower splits seem to work best because I only have 60-80min/ session. I’m currently squatting and pressing 3x/week and deadlifting 2x/week and I’m recovering fine.
Also, my gym is very busy when I train, so I don’t really have reliable access to machines.
I would like to compete in the future, but I currently live in Shanghais. There’s no meets I can do in China (plus my parents don’t even know I lift). I just want to get as strong as possible.
I will try to sort something out for you this evening, I’m going to train in a couple minutes and I’m working the rest of the day.
Do you have reliable access to a squat rack and bench press? Those are the two main things you need, other than a barbell and plates. If you can’t use those when you need them then it is a major problem, maybe look for another gym.
Are you moving somewhere else in the next couple years or what? I’m sure there are some PL meets somewhere around there, Boris Sheiko posted something on Instagram not long ago about doing a seminar in China. Another thing to consider since you’re in China, weightlifting is big there and they are one of the dominant countries in the sport. I’m not telling you to give up on PL but if you have the opportunity to work with a WL coach then that would be worth considering.
Also, give me your 1rm’s for sq/bp/dl, if you don’t have a recent 1rm then heaviest PRs are fine. No need to max out unnecessarily. If you have videos of some recent lifts then post them on here, preferably something at 80% or more.
Squat: 185lbs
Bench:125lbs
Deadlift: 270lbs- hit PR last week
OK, so you said that you want to train 5-6 day a week. If you can commit to 5 that is better than aiming for 6 and missing workouts. What I would do is either get you to do a little more benching twice a week or a little less 3 times.
It looks like your squat is the one lift that is lagging behind. You mentioned that you have been squatting 3x/week (is this correct?) so it would lead me to think that maybe frequency is not necessarily the answer. For now I would have you squat twice a week, a heavier day earlier in the week and then higher rep work on the other day. Building up your quads will help you squat more than anything, and should help your deadlift as well.
Do you squat high bar or low bar? By any chance do you have access to a safety squat bar? Is there a leg press or hack squat machine at the gym? I’m not crazy about machines but leg press is a good way to get some more quad work in rather than grinding out ugly squats when you are already tired.
You are 90lbs, correct? How tall are you? As a girl you definitely don’t want to try to get big like some of the men in this sport, but adding a few pounds of muscle should pay off. The lowest female weight class in the IPF is 43kg, approximately 95lbs, in other federations it’s 44kg, so 97lbs. No, I don’t expect you to gain that much weight in a short period of time or get fat either.
It would be good if you can give me an idea of what your typical workouts have looked like recently so I can figure out how much volume to give you to start with. The plan will look something like this (you can switch the days of the week if necessary, this is just an example):
Monday: squat - work up to a heavy-ish top set then lighter volume work with short rest periods, like 65%x5x5 with 2 minute rest for example. Then a couple sets of high bar pause squats. Maybe some leg curls and/or ab work after, a few sets of lat pulldown (or chin ups if you can do at least 10 reps).
Tuesday: bench - more or less the same thing as for squat. Then wide grip bench for a few sets of 8-10, dips, flys, some upper back work like face pulls or rear delt flys.
Wednesday: Deadlift - same top set/volume work format. Then barbell rows for sets of 10-12 and quad accessory work (if no leg press or hack squat then Bulgarian split squats).
Thursday: either day off or another upper body day, I would make this day focused on triceps and shoulders.
Friday: Higher rep squats - in the range 8-10 reps to start. If you have a safety squat bar it would be perfect for this, other wise high bar squats. Then stiff leg deadlifts and another rowing exercise (either dumbbell rows or some sort of machine row/chest supported row, whatever is available).
Saturday: touch and go bench, then close grip, followed by overhead press (I would do this seated to save your back if possible), all for higher reps. Some direct tricep work and that’s pretty much it for the week. You could add some more light upper back work but I think that’s enough already.
This would just be the starting point, you would alternate periods of higher volume/lower intensity with the opposite until it’s time to peak for a meet. You could test maxes after 4-6 months but I don’t really care for the idea of maxing out in the gym for no reason, better to set PRs and know you are capable of more.
Sounds good!
My last workout (yesterday) was:
Deadlift: 5x5-225lbs - these felt a lot harder than usual.
Overhead Press: 5x(4 Strict+2pushpress)-75lbs (the bench at my gym broke)
5x(150m row, 20alt pistols, 15HSPU)-EMOM
10min of ab work
I squat high bar and do have reliable access to a squat rack but no special bars or band/ chain stuff. No hack squat machine either. There is a leg press but it also happens to be my gym’s personal trainers’ favorite. I’m currently doing some front squats and anderson squats as accessories, but not too heavy or much because I’m usually too tired after my actual squat sets+conditioning stuff to really go hard
I’m 5 ft 0
You could do front squats for your 2nd squat day, for now at least. Have you ever tried low bar squats? Most people can lift a bit more that way, it’s worth at least giving it a shot. If you can’t use the leg press when you need to then Bulgarian split squats are a good option. You can do them with dumbbells and rear foot up on a bench or something. If balance is an issue then find something to hold yourself up with one hand and hold one dumbbell in the opposite hand
You’re going to have to ease up on the conditioning, doing some is likely a good thing but too much will interfere with strength and hypertrophy gains. 20 minutes low intensity cardio (like a brisk walk or moderate pace bike ride) twice a week is pretty much the maximum. I seem to remember having this exact same conversation several times with you. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to get you fat or anything like that. Look at Marisa Inda for an example of a lightweight female powerlifter. Of course she could be your grandmother, but the point is that she is strong and in shape.
I’m guessing you probably have a real good work capacity from all the conditioning, what I would get you to do is keep rest periods short (except for leading up to and immediately after your heavy top sets), this is basically HIIT with weights and will build muscle too. To give you an example, in my last training cycle at the start for squats I was working up to a heavy triple then doing 65% for sets of 4 with 1 minute rest, the first week was 6 sets and the 4th week was 10. Not only was it brutal and resulted in a noticeable increase in aerobic capacity, it also got my legs growing.
I will get back to you later, I have to get ready for work right now.
Sounds good. I hate bulgarian split squats because they hurt so much, so I always “forget” to do them. It’ll be good to have them in the program. I’ve tried low bar squat, but my elbows and shoulders couldn’t take it.
Short rest periods sound good. I usually keep mine short anyways (between 1-3 minutes unless the weight’s really heavy). Sometimes, if it’s really light, like 6x2-150lbs squat, I’ll do the reps as cluster sets with 5 sec rests or the reps every minute on the minute
About the conditioning. It’s really mental. I started as a runner, then met a crossfit certified PE teacher, so it was always about the conditioning. I’m not afraid of getting fat; I’m afraid of loosing my fitness. Is there a way to prevent this?
Those are conflicting goals, you have to choose one or another. I don’t see Usain Bolt deadlifting 900 and I don’t see Yury Belkin running 100m in under 10 seconds.
Ahh okay- I guess I wanted way too much. I think strength is more important at this point. It should be easier to tone down the conditioning once I’m actually on a program
Thanks for the help
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