Heavy/Light/Medium
Training
Part 7: How to Design a Powerlifting Program Using the H/L/M System
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At the beginning
of February, I started this series on H/L/M training using the methods of the
late, great, and, hell, legendary Bill Starr. For now, I believe this will be the last in
the series, although I will still probably do a few more here and there when
there is interest or when I think of a subject.
Also, April 7th was the 10-year anniversary of his death, and
I have the intention of using this series—along with other articles and essays
that I’ve done in the past—to publish a book on Starr sometime later this month
in honor of him.
Since this is—as
the subtitle above indicates—the 7th part of this series, you might
do well to familiarize yourself with the previous installments. At the very least, read parts 1 through 4, as
those cover similar concepts as this article, and it will allow you to see the
difference in training the squat, the press, and the pull for “general”
strength training as opposed to a powerlifting regimen.
Here are links to
the first 6 parts:
Part Two – upper body training
Part Three – training the squat
Part Five – variations and advanced training
With that out of
the way…
Starr’s system is
not implicitly designed for powerlifting.
It can, in its basic structure, contribute to increasing the powerlifts,
especially if a lifter has never used it before or if a lifter is new to
training and, therefore, hasn’t really trained his powerlifts. However, if a lifter has reached the
“advanced” or even “intermediate” phase of her training, then she will need to
make some adjustments for the system to be truly effective as a
powerlifting-specific program.
First, we will
discuss training methods that should be incorporated for all three lifts. Second, we will discuss each lift and how it
should be trained, because what works for one lift won’t work for the
other lifts. In fact, each lift should
be trained a bit differently from the others.
As we look at the specifics and subtleties of each powerlift, we will also
look at some example programs.
Training Methods for All Three Powerlifts
Let me clear the
air about something before we go any further.
Powerlifting is a sport for testing your one-rep max on the three powerlifts. This, I know, is quite obvious. The problem is that a lot of guys, gals, and
even strength coaches (who could, you know, be guys or gals) use this
kind of training with the hopes of improving their performance in a sport or in
order to simply get bigger and all-around stronger. But the truth is that powerlifting is often
not good for those things. If you’re a
high school football coach who uses powerlifting training with the goal of
improving your team’s performance on the field, you may be sad to find out that
it doesn’t help that much. You may have
the strongest team in the state—at least for a one-rep max on the three
powerlifts—and still lose every one of your games. Nope, powerlifting training is good for,
well, powerlifting. Seems obvious, I
know, but as I have written before, obvious is missing from a lot of
American lifters’ minds. Now, having
said that, it is good to occasionally train like a powerlifter even if
you’re not one. A bodybuilder, for
instance, would do well to spend a couple months of the training year following
a program such as one of the following.
The radically different stimulus—especially if she were doing a
high-volume split routine beforehand—will create better gains when she returns
to her regular hypertrophy-oriented workouts.
With that out of
the way, since the goal of powerlifting training is to increase one’s 1-rep max
on the three competitive lifts, the lifter needs to occasionally use lower
repetitions than even Starr’s standard 5x5 training. The program in our last entry on “getting
bigger,” for example, uses multiple set of 5 reps and 8 reps. (That program is the one you should be
using if your goal is hypertrophy utilizing the H/L/M system.) Those are too high for the powerlifter. In fact, 5 reps is the upper limit of
what a powerlifter should be using. Now,
there are occasional exceptions—a week or two here or there using higher
reps to give the body a needed break—but they are just that, exceptions. Also, each lift should be trained with
slightly different set/rep combos, but we’ll get around to that shortly.
One technique
that powerlifters need to use on all three lifts is partial rep
training. Partials have a couple of
advantages/benefits. First, they allow
the lifter to get accustomed to the feel of weights even heavier than their
one-rep maxes. Second, they help to
build strength around a lifter’s “weak points,” as you are going to always
have a weak point that will need to be constantly monitored and accounted for
in training.
As one gets more
advanced, speed work may also be necessary. As a lifter gets stronger, he runs the risk
of also getting slower. Often a
powerlifter will miss a lift not because he’s weaker, but because he has
become slower. He has the strength
to move the weight but lacks the speed to get it from point A to point B, so to
speak.
If all of this is
at all confusing, hopefully it will start to make more sense as we look at the
individual lifts.
The Squat
Train the squat
three times each week. Unlike in other
programs where, when you reach an “intermediate” stage, you then switch over to
some different exercises on the light day and then, eventually, the medium day,
many powerlifters find that they do just fine by squatting and squatting
only. I write “many,” because there
are some powerlifters who will do better by training the squat with
something different than just the traditional back squat,
Even if you do
choose to do nothing other than the squat as your core movement, this doesn’t
mean that you won’t do other squatting movements. It just means that you will do them in
addition to the squats. Good
assistance movements would include bottom-position squats (my personal
favorite, assuming the you have the flexibility to be able to do them), front
squats, pause squats (using various-length pauses), and box squats (using
different height boxes), and rack squats from heights above parallel. And if you do choose to do different
movements other than the regular back squat as your core lift, then any of
those would work well as your primary movement for your light or medium days.
Here are a few example
programs that will work well for building the squat:
The Squat and Nothing-but-the-Squat Program #1
Monday – Heavy Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Work up over 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps. The last set should be “all-out.” If you get 5 reps on this last set, increase
the weight at the next Monday session.
Wednesday – Light Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps. Work up over 3 progressively heavier sets to
the same weight used on your 3rd set on Monday. Stick with that weight for your 3rd
through 5th set.
Friday – Medium Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps. Work up over 4 progressively heavier sets to
the weight used on your 4th set from Monday. Use that weight for both your 4th
and 5th set.
The Squat and Nothing-but-the-Squat Program #2
Monday – Heavy Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Same as Program #1
Wednesday – Light Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Same as Program #1
Friday – Medium Day
Squats: 4 sets of 5 reps; 1 set of 3 reps. Work up over 4 progressively heavier sets to
the weight used on your 4th set from Monday. On your 5th set, do a triple with
a weight heavier than your 5th set on Monday. One the following Monday, your goal will be
to use this weight used for the triple as your final set of 5 reps.
The Squat and Nothing-but-the-Squat Program #3: Advanced
Training
Advanced
squatters—even if they do well by squatting only—need to incorporate speed work
to keep them from getting slower as they get stronger, a common occurrence for
more advanced lifters. This program takes
care of that by incorporating different forms of speed work on the heavy and
medium days.
Monday – Heavy Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Same as Programs #1 and #2.
Squats: 8 sets of 2 reps.
When you are finished with your 5x5, drop down in weight to what you
used for your 4th set and commence to do 8 doubles with that
weight. Make sure each rep is done with
perfect form but do each rep as fast as possible while maintaining that good
form. Rest only about one minute between
sets.
Wednesday – Light Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Same as Programs #1 and #2.
Friday – Medium Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Same as Program #1.
Squats: 4 sets of 3 reps.
After completing the 5x5, drop down in weight to what was used for your
3rd set (this will be the same weight as your heaviest sets on the
light day) and do 4 sets of triples. As
with the 8x2 on Monday, do these with speed and perfect form.
Squat and Assistance Work Program
Although some
powerlifters need nothing more than the programs above, most will do well with
some assistance work thrown in. The less
you are “built” for the squat, then the more this is the case. Here’s an example program with this in mind.
Monday – Heavy Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Progressively heavier sets, the same as the first programs.
Partial Squats: 4 sets of 3 reps. Once you are finished with the heaviest set
of 5 reps, set the pins in the rack so that you are now doing partials, using
about ¾ of the range of motion of your full rep. Start doing progressively heavier triples
until you work up to one all-out set of 3.
If your last set of 5 reps on full squats was done with, say, 350
pounds, then you might do partial triples with something such as 375, 395, 405,
and 425 pounds.
Wednesday – Light Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Same as other light days on other programs.
Friday – Medium Day
Squats: 4 sets of 5 reps; 1 set of 3 reps. Work up over 4 progressively heavier sets to
the weight used on your 4th set from Monday. On your 5th set, do a triple with
a weight heavier than your 5th set on Monday. This is the same as your medium day from
program #2 above.
Pause Squats: 3 sets of 5 reps. Once you finish your last set of 3 reps, drop
down in weight to what you used for your 3rd set. Do 3 sets of 5 with this weight, pausing for
2 or 3 seconds at the bottom. Explode
back to lockout after the pause.
Squat and Assistance Work + Speed Program
The program below
is only for advanced lifters, as you will have a “harder” light day than
what you have been accustomed to so far.
Do the following program the same as the one above with the exception of
the light day, which now becomes your speed day.
Monday – Heavy Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Partial Squats: 4 sets of 3 reps.
Wednesday – Light (Speed) Day
Squats: 8 sets of 2 reps.
After a couple of warm-up sets, load the bar with the same weight used
on your 3rd set of the heavy day.
So far, of course, this would be the same as any other “light” day. However, now do 8 sets of 2 reps, moving the
bar as fast as possible on the concentric portion of the lift.
Friday – Medium Day
Squats: 4 sets of 5 reps; 1 set of 3 reps.
Pause Squats: 3 sets of 5 reps
“Same But Different” Advanced Program
Here’s another
advanced program that is particularly good for lifters who are not built
for the squat. I call it “same but
different” because you are going to still use squats for your core lifts on
each day, but they will be different from the regular back squat.
Monday – Heavy Day
Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
Partial Squats: 4 sets of 3 reps.
(This day is the same as the two programs above.)
Wednesday – Light Day
Bottom-position Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps. Work up to a max set of 5 reps that is no
more than 80% of your top set on the heavy day.
If your top set on the heavy day was 350, then you would do no more than
280 here. Truth be told, you probably
won’t be able to do 80% on this movement even if you tried! But if for some odd reason, you are
able to do more than 80% on this movement, don’t.
Friday – Medium Day
Front Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps. Work up to max set of 5 reps that is no more
than 90% of what was used for regular squats on Monday. As with the bottom-position squats on your light
day, this would probably be an impossible task anyway.
Overhead Squats: 4 sets of 3 reps. When you are finished with the front squats,
drop down in weight and do 4 sets of 3 hard sets (using the same weight
on each set) of overhead squats.
The Bench Press
When you are
finished with the squatting portion of your workout, it’s time to move on the
bench press. Unlike with the squats, I
don’t want you to, at any point, train your bench press more than twice
weekly. Instead, you will do overhead
work on your light day.
Here are a few
example programs. Unless otherwise
noted, 5 sets of 5 reps is always 5 progressively heavier sets of 5 reps.
Just the Basics #1
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps. Work up to the weight used on your 4th
set on Monday for your 4th and 5th set here.
Just the Basics #2
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Bench Presses: 4 sets of 5 reps; 1 set of 3 reps
Just the Basics #3
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Advanced Program #1
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Board Presses (using either 2 or 3 boards): 4 sets of 3
reps. When you are finished with your
last set of 5, add weight to the bar and do 4 straight sets of 3 reps. How much weight you add for board presses
will depend on whether you use 2 or 3 boards and will also depend on whether or
not you are working a sticking point in your bench press. It’s also a good idea to do 2 sets with 3
boards, drop the weight a little, and then do another 2 sets with 2 boards. If you are highly advanced, then you
can do as many as 6 or even 8 sets of this movement.
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Bench Presses: 4 sets of 5 reps; 1 set of 3 reps
Pause Bench Presses: 5 sets of 3 reps. When you finish your heavy triple, drop down
in weight to what you utilized for your 3rd set of 5 reps, and do 5 speed
sets of 3 reps. Before blasting
your press back to lockout, pause on your chest for a count of 2 or 3 seconds
at the bottom of each repetition.
Advanced Program #2
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Board Presses (using either 2 or 3 boards): 4 sets of 3 reps
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps. Do these for straight sets. Select a weight where you know you can get 1
set of 5 reps, but the following 2 sets will be a struggle to complete for 5
reps. Add weight at the next session
when you get 5 reps on all 3 sets.
Friday – Medium Day
Bench Presses: 4 sets of 5 reps; 1 set of 3 reps
Pause Bench Presses: 5 sets of 3 reps
Advanced Program #3
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Board Presses (3 boards): 5 sets of 3 reps
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Incline Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Board Presses (2 boards): 5 sets of 3 reps
Advanced Program #4
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Board Presses (2 or 3 boards): 5 sets of 3 reps
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Bottom-position Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Incline Bench Presses:
5 sets of 3 reps (straight sets)
Advanced Program #5
Monday – Heavy Day
Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Board Presses (2 or 3 boards): 5 sets of 3 reps
Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses: 4 sets of 6 reps (straight
sets)
Wednesday – Light Day
Barbell Overhead Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Bottom-position Bench Presses: 5 sets of 5 reps
Incline Bench Presses:
5 sets of 3 reps
Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses: 4 sets of 6 reps (straight
sets)
The Deadlift
Of the 3 powerlifts,
the deadlift should be trained the most infrequently. In fact, advanced powerlifters would probably
do well by training it no more than once every two weeks. At least, you shouldn’t train your competitive
style of deadlifting more than that. If
you deadlift conventional, then train that once every two weeks. If you compete using a sumo stance, then
train that style once every two weeks.
If you’re not advanced,
then you will still do just fine, I believe, by training it no more than once a
week.
Here are a few
programs that are good examples of what you should do from beginner to more advanced
powerlifter:
Basic Program #1
Monday – Heavy Day
Conventional Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps. Perform 5 progressively heavier sets, working
up to a max triple.
Wednesday – Light Day
Power Cleans: 5 sets of 3 reps. Work up to a max triple over 5 progressively
heavier sets. The power clean has a good
carry-over to the deadlift, and it will help to develop speed without actually
doing speed work.
Friday – Medium Day
Stiff-legged Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps, all progressively
heavier.
Basic Program #2
Monday – Heavy Day
Conventional or Sumo Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps. Alternate back and forth between the two
styles of deadlifts from one week to the next.
Wednesday – Light Day
Power Cleans: 5 sets of 3 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Romanian Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps
Advanced Basics Program
Monday – Heavy Day
Conventional or Sumo Deadlifts: 5 sets of 3 reps. Alternate back and forth between the two
styles of deadlifts from one week to the next.
Power Snatches: 5 sets of 2 reps. These are all straight sets. Use a weight where 5 reps would be really
tough.
Wednesday – Light Day
Good Mornings: 5 sets of 3 reps
Friday – Medium Day
Power Cleans: 5 sets of 3 reps
Speed Deadlifts: 5 sets of 2 reps. Use a weight that is around 50-60% of your
one-rep max for all 5 sets
Advance Program #1
Monday – Heavy Day
Conventional or Sumo Deadlifts: 8 sets of 3 reps. Alternate between these two styles from week
to week, same as the programs above. The
difference here is, obviously, the increase in volume. Do ramps of 3 reps over 8 sets. If you reach your max set of 3 before you hit
8 sets, stick with that weight until you do get 8 sets.
Good Morning Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps. These should all be straight sets. Use a weight where 7 to 8 reps would be tough
for one set. If you’re not familiar with
this movement, the plane of motion should essentially mimic your conventional
deadlift.
Wednesday – Light Day
Power Snatches: 8 sets of 2 reps, all progressively heavier.
Dumbbell Power Cleans: 5 sets of 3 reps (straight sets)
Friday – Medium Day
Romanian Deadlifts: 8 sets of 3 reps, all progressively
heavier.
Power Cleans: 5 sets of 3 reps (straight sets)
Advanced Program #2
Monday – Heavy Day
Conventional or Sumo Deadlifts: 8 sets of 3 reps.
Rack Pulls: 4 sets of 3 reps. When you finish with your last set of 3 reps
on your “regular” deads, start your rack pulls with a weight that’s even
heavier. Work up over 4 progressively
heavier sets for a max set of 3.
Wednesday – Light Day
Power Cleans – 8 sets of 3 reps, all progressively heavier
Power Snatches – 5 sets of 2 reps (straight sets)
Friday – Medium Day
Deficit Deadlifts – 8 sets of 3 reps, progressively heavier. For these, do them either conventional or
sumo, the same stance used on the Monday workout for the week.
Good Morning Squats: 5 sets of 5 reps (straight sets)
Concluding Thoughts
Keep in mind that
you will be squatting, bench pressing, and deadlifting all on the same day. That might seem like a lot of work, but it’s
one of the great things about Bill Starr’s methodology. You will find that it easily prepares you for
meet day, when you will, of course, be competing on all the lifts on the same
day. Once you work up to more advanced
training, meet day is an absolute breeze.
I would refrain
from adding extra work to the sessions, such as additional biceps or lat
work. You can certainly do those
movements if you have built up the work capacity to handle them in addition to the
powerlifting training, but they’re not “necessary.”
The only thing
you might want to add to the workouts are some loaded carries and/or some heavy
abdominal work, but you don’t need to go overboard. A set of farmer walks on your heavy day and a
set of sled drags on your medium day are good enough for the carries, and a set
or two of weighted sit-ups on all three of the days should be enough.
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