Building strength is the cornerstone of powerlifting, which demands athletes lift the heaviest weights possible in the deadlift, bench press, and squat. Following a structured strength program designed by an elite powerlifter can help lifters amidst plateaus reclaim strength gains. (1)
Two-time world powerlifting champion and strength coach Panagiotis Tarinidis recently shared his training methods in a sample one-month strength program.
Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is one of the most effective strategies for building strength. Depending on goals, whether to build muscle mass or enhance strength, increasing weight or the number of reps is a reliable way to achieve them. (2)
Integrating progressive overload into training offers four benefits that significantly contribute to strength development:
- Stimulus Adaptation Increase
- Central Nervous System (CNS) Training
- Tendon Stiffness
- Mentality
Stimulus Adaptation Increase
Training acts as a stimulus, prompting the body to adapt. Gradually increasing stimulus promotes muscle growth and strength. Insufficient or stagnant training can lead to training plateaus, characterized by a stalled rate of progress.
Progressive loading ensures workouts remain challenging, driving continuous improvement.
Central Nervous System Training
The CNS plays a crucial role in strength training, as its efficiency in activating muscle fibers directly impacts movement quality and force production. Progressive overload, which involves practicing specific movements and gradually increasing the challenge, helps train the nervous system to perform more effectively.
Tendon Stiffness
Stiffer tendons enable more efficient force transfer from muscle contractions to the bones. They enhance performance in explosive movements.
Progressively overloading the tendons increases their load capacity and resistance, ultimately promoting stiffness in the positions that matter most.
Mentality
Tracking muscle size, strength, and athletic performance changes can be challenging without clear metrics. Progressive overload offers a straightforward method to measure progress, providing tangible results and a mental boost to train toward continuous improvement.
Progressive Overload Tips
Tarinidis offered four tips for effectively applying progressive overload in your training routine:
- Set a Time Frame
- Start with the Right Weight on the Bar
- Challenge Yourself
- Know When to Stop Your Strength Cycle
Set a Time Frame
Building strength requires progressively adding weight to the bar, but this approach has limits — no one can increase weight indefinitely.
Establishing a defined time frame helps structure the strength cycle effectively. Experts recommend a duration of four to eight weeks for optimal results.
Start with the Right Weight
Choosing the right starting weight is essential for effective strength training. Using too little weight may limit progress by failing to stimulate the necessary strength adaptations, while starting too heavy can lead to excessive stress, fatigue, and potential setbacks.
The key lies in striking the perfect balance — selecting a weight that challenges you enough to support progressive overload without compromising form or recovery.
Challenge Yourself
Begin your strength cycle by keeping three to four reps in reserve during your top set. As you progress through the cycle, gradually increase the intensity by reducing those reserved reps, aiming for more challenging weights as you approach the program’s peak.
Know When to Stop Your Strength Cycle
Injuries often occur when the body is pushed too hard for too long, disrupting recovery. An effective strength cycle typically spans four to eight weeks and should begin with carefully chosen weights to build a solid foundation. At the end of this cycle, it’s crucial to include a deloading phase, giving the body time to recover from the demands of intense training.
However, if someone hasn’t achieved their initial goal by the end of the cycle, they may feel tempted to extend it. This can lead to forcing unsustainable progress and creating unnecessary challenges. As Tarinidis emphasized, not every strength cycle needs to end with a personal record — progress is a journey of balance and patience.
Sample Training Program
This two-day program is designed to boost strength and can be applied to any lift. However, it is specifically tailored to target and improve bench press performance.
| Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four | |
| Day One — Top Sets & Back Off Sets | 1 x 3 @ 82% | 1 x 3 @ 86% | 1 x 5 @ 89% | 1 x 3 @ 82% |
| 3 x 6 @ 70% | 3 x 6 @ 75% | 3 x 6 @ 75% | 2 x 6 @ 70% | |
| Day Two — Top Sets & Back Off Sets | 2 x 1 @ 88% | 2 x 1 @ 91% | 1 x 1 @ 95% | 1 x 1 @ 98-100% |
| 2 x 5 @ 80% | ||||
| 2 x 5 @ 78% | 3 x 5 @ 78% | |||
| 1 x 5 @ 70% |
Focus on higher one-rep max percentages with lower reps during your top sets to build strength effectively. For back-off sets, reduce the weight and increase the volume, allowing for the refinement of technique and greater technical adaptations.
More Powerlifting Content
- Sonita Muluh (+84KG) Hits Squat and Bench Press PR Doubles in Training
- 3 Pro Powerlifting Tips to Build a Bigger Squat
7 Old-Timey Feats of Strength That Still Impress
References
- Latella, C., Teo, W. P., Spathis, J., & van den Hoek, D. (2020). Long-Term Strength Adaptation: A 15-Year Analysis of Powerlifting Athletes. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 34(9), 2412–2418. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003657
- Plotkin, D., Coleman, M., Van Every, D., Maldonado, J., Oberlin, D., Israetel, M., Feather, J., Alto, A., Vigotsky, A. D., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2022). Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations. PeerJ, 10, e14142. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14142
Featured image: @thepanash on Instagram
