Powerlifting relies on percentage of an individuals one-repetition maximum (1RM). These percentages will allow an individual to progress in relation to their strength while avoiding injury to there bodies. Using the correct percentages will allow an individual to increase the amount of weight that they can lift one-repetition maximum, but using incorrect percentages will stall their progress or even lead to an injury.
The intensity that an individual use for powerlifting will be different based off the specific goal that an individual have for there training. For individuals looking to gain muscle masses, people use loads of around fifty percent of the one-repetition maximum. Using lighter loads for powerlifting allow for an individual to perform more repetitions to increase muscle mass.
How to Use One-Rep Max Percentages in Powerlifting
Loads of around seventy-five percent of the one-repetition maximum are use for strength phases. These phases allow an individual’s nervous system to learn to better recruit the muscle fiber within their body. Intermediate lifter typically use these phases to gain strength while avoiding burnout.
Training charts exist for each phase of powerlifting, and these training charts detail the percentages of the one-repetition maximum for each phase as well as the number of repetitions and rest time between sets. A program for powerlifting can be organized into a cycle that an individual performs each year. An individual can perform a general preparation phase first with high repetitions and moderate loads.
After this phase, an individual can perform a hypertrophy phase to build muscle, perform a strength phase with higher loads with less repetitions, and then lastly perform a peaking phase with heavy single repetition lift leading up to a competition in powerlifting. Programs that utilize linear progression are common within powerlifting, but undulating progression is also a common program within powerlifting competitions. For competitions, there are specific strategies for the weights that an individual will lift during three attempts.
For the first attempt, the strength is the weight that an individual can lift easily. This first attempt will boost the confidence that an individual has for the remaining lifts. For the second attempt, an individual will perform near-maximal weight with the lift.
Finally, for the third attempt, the individual will attempt to lift a new personal record. Many new lifters for powerlifting may make the mistake of choosing a heavy weight for the first attempt. To avoid injury, as well as to ensure that they can complete all three required attempts with the weight, an individual should of perform the first attempt with a lighter weight.
Not all lift use the same intensity or volume as other lifts. For instance, squats and deadlifts use larger muscle group so can allow for higher intensities and volumes than lifts like the bench press that involve smaller muscles. Additionally, there are various lifting accessory, such as lifting belts and knee wraps, that alter how an individual perform a squat or other lift.
Even if an individual uses these accessories during competitions, they should train “raw” most of the time. Warm-ups and deloads are utilized by powerlifting programs. Warm-ups use an empty barbell and can gradually increase to the weight that an individual will use for their sets.
These warm-ups allow an individual’s central nervous system to prepare for the heavy weight. Deloads reduce the intensity or volume for training for connective tissue to recover. If an individual continually train at high intensities without allowing time for deloads, they may suffer an injury due to the fatigue that high intensities can cause in the body.
Various training programs exist and use the information described above in different ways. For linear programming, an individual increase the weight that they lift each week. New lifters use this type of training.
For the conjugate training program, an individual alternates days of lifting with the highest weight and speed lift. Advanced lifters implement conjugate training programs. For the undulating training program, an individual changes the intensities each day to avoid plateau in strength.
Additionally, a training program should be based on the individual’s training maximum rather than their one-repetition maximum. The training maximum is ninety percent of an individual’s one-repetition maximum. Using this percentage allow for better control over fatigue and effectiveness of training.
An individual can use the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale for powerlifting to adjust the training with the bodys readiness. While the percentages are used for the foundation for training, the RPE allow for adjustments to the weight that is lifted if an individual feels that they are tired that day. Additionally, nutrition is another important component of powerlifting.
An individual needs to consume enough protein and calories to allow their bodies to recover from the training performed and to increase muscle mass. If they dont consume enough protein and calories, they will struggle to perform well during their training session.
