This 10 week powerbuilding program is modeled off of basic 5/3/1 with inspiration from GZCL and BBB for accessories. On this program you’ll hit a major compound movement (for powerlifters, likely your competition movement plus one additional) for one top set of an AMRAP before moving on to accessory exercises.
Table of Contents
10 Week Powerbuilding Program Overview
| Program Name | 10 Week Powerbuilding Program |
|---|---|
| Program Goal | Hypertrophy, Strength |
| Days per Week | 4 days |
| Program Length | 10 Weeks |
| RPE or % of 1RM | % of 1RM |
| Intensity | 77% to 105% of 1RM |
From the spreadsheet:
The goal is to not burn out on competition movements so as to hit each day fresh and able to hit a rep PR. Meanwhile you’ll get in your volume and back-up work on non-competition movements to strengthen weak points and build muscle.
Your Tier 2 movements will be similar to your competition movements, but just different enough to keep you from building up repeated stress in the movement pattern.
Your Tier 3s will be smaller, isolation movements and exercises done with a metric butt ton of volume to pack on muscle. Supersets are used frequently to save time.
Workouts are split upper and lower, and you’ll do deadlift accessories after squats, squat accessories after deadlift, bench accessories after OHP, etc. in order to increase lift frequency and allow for better recovery by not overdoing any one particular lift.
Related: What is Powerbuilding?
Program Overview
- Length: 10 weeks, progressed in 3 week cycles
- Split: Upper/lower
- Structure: One AMRAP top set on the main lift, then accessory work
- Loading: Training max percentages on Tier 1, RPE on Tiers 2 and 3
- Levels: Intermediate or Advanced exercise selection, chosen in the sheet
- Based on: 5/3/1, with GZCL tier structure and BBB-style accessory volume
The three tiers are what make it a powerbuilding program rather than a pure strength one. Tier 1 is your competition lift, taken to one AMRAP top set so you can chase a rep PR while fresh. Tier 2 is a close variation, run at RPE 8. Tier 3 is isolation work at RPE 7, and that’s where most of the size work happens.
Progression is on a 3 week loop: run the cycle, then raise your training maxes (the sheet defaults to 10 lbs on lower body lifts and 5 lbs on upper body). Start the Tier 2 and 3 weights lighter than you think you need, since the accessory volume adds up fast.
10 Week Powerbuilding Program Instructions
- Choose “Intermediate” or “Advanced” Level on the “Exercise Selection” sheet. See note below on the difference.
- Choose your exercises on the “Exercise Selection” sheet. You can override the drop down boxes by hard-keying in something different if your choice is not listed.
- Input your maxes for your chosen Tier 1 exercises.
- Populate your starting weights for your chosen Tier 2/3 exercises. T2 should be @ RPE8 and T3s should be @ RPE7. When in doubt, START TOO LIGHT!!
- Each week, input your AMRAP numbers into column O. The Calculated 1RM is for reference.
- After each 3 week cycle, up your training maxes in column V. It is currently set to add 10lbs to lower body lifts and 5lbs to upper body lifts. You can override this formula with a manual entry if you wish.
- Optional: Record the date and your body weight in the darker cells. Body weight goes in the middle cell. In column A, you will receive a weekly weight average.
10 Week Powerbuilding Program Spreadsheet
