STRONG IN A FLASH—8 WEEKS TO A MEET

By Shane Robert

The gym I train at has become something of the “powerlifting gym” in the city. There aren’t a lot of gyms in San Francisco that cater to heavy lifters, so it makes sense. People who want to get strong tend to congregate together. Iron sharpens iron. That sort of thing. Because there are enough people at the gym who compete, some of these lifters, neophytes through and through, get the itch to compete as well. They often sign up with little knowledge of powerlifting, other than the fact that you try to lift the heaviest squat, bench, and deadlift that you can.

Because of their inexperience, they sign up for a meet that is scheduled to happen (at least in powerlifting circles) quite soon. In an ideal world, we would have at least 12 weeks to lead into the meet. More than that would be even better. Unfortunately, it often ends up being less than that. Since I am the old head at the gym and the progenitor of the powerlifting culture there, it usually falls on me to help plan their training to help them make the most progress going into the meet.

I found myself in a very similar situation just last week. A big group of lifters has signed up for a March meet, and a few last-minute stragglers decided to join in. That means we only have 8 training weeks to get them to their best. Not ideal, but doable. Below is one example of how to set up an 8-week program to get you to your best. It follows simple principles of linear periodization (starting with higher volumes/lower intensity and working toward lower volume/higher intensity) but makes sure to spend a lot of training time in the 80%+ range to maximize neurological adaptation, something that is very important in this short time window.

Even if you don’t have a meet coming up, this could be a fun change of pace for 8 weeks to peak you to a new 1 rep max.

NOTE: Do pull-ups every day for 3x6, but add a rep every 3rd session

WEEK 1

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 80 5x5 AMRAP on last set	Squat 80 5x5	3 board or SlingShot work up 5@9, then 5x5 w/80% of top set	Deadlift 80x5, 75x5	Close Grip Bench 60 5x8
Incline 60 5x8	Deficit Deadlift 60 5x8	Wide Grip 60 5x8	Pause Squat 60 5x8	Overhead Press 60 5x8
Lateral Raise 2x12	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 2x12	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x15
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x12	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 2x12	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 2x12	Seated Cable Rows 3x12

WEEK 2

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 82.5 4x5 AMRAP on last set	Squat 82.5 4x5	3 board or SlingShot work up 5@9, then 82.5 4x5	Deadlift 82.5 x5, 77x5	Close Grip Bench 62.5 4x8
Incline 62.5 4x8	Deficit Deadlift 62.5 4x8	Wide Grip 62.5 4x8	Pause Squat 62.5 4x8	Overhead Press 62.5 4x8
Lateral Raise 3x12	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 3x12	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x15
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x12	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 3x12	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 3x12	Seated Cable Rows 3x12

WEEK 3

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 85 3x5 AMRAP on last set	Squat 85 3x5	3 board or SlingShot work up 5@9, then 85 3x5	Deadlift 85x5, 80x5	Close Grip Bench 65 3x8
Incline 65 3x8	Deficit Deadlift 65 3x8	Wide Grip 65 3x8	Pause Squat 65 3x8	Overhead Press 65 3x8
Lateral Raise 4x12	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 4x12	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x12
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x10	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 4x12	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 4x12	Seated Cable Rows 3x10

WEEK 4

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 87.5 2x5 AMRAP on last set	Squat 87.5 2x5	3 board or SlingShot work up 5@9, then 87.5 2x5	Deadlift 87.5 x5, 82.5 x5	Close Grip Bench 67.5 2x8
Incline 67.5 2x8	Deficit Deadlift 67.5 2x8	Wide Grip 67.5 2x8	Pause Squat 67.5 2x8	Overhead Press 67.5 2x8
Lateral Raise 5x12	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 5x12	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x12
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x10	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 5x12	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 5x12	Seated Cable Rows 3x10

WEEK 5

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 90 5x3 AMRAP on last set	Squat 90 5x3	3 board or SlingShot work up 3@9, then 90 5x3	Deadlift 90x3, 85x3	Close Grip Bench 70 5x5
Incline 70 5x5	Deficit Deadlift 70 5x5	Wide Grip 70 5x5	Pause Squat 70 5x5	Overhead Press 70 5x5
Lateral Raise 2x8	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 2x8	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x10
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x8	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 2x8	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 2x8	Seated Cable Rows 3x8

WEEK 6

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 92.5 4x3 AMRAP on last set	Squat 92.5 4x3	3 board or SlingShot work up 3@9, then 92.5 4x3	Deadlift 92.5 x3, 87.5 x3	Close Grip Bench 72.5 4x5
Incline 72.5 4x5	Deficit Deadlift 72.5 4x5	Wide Grip 72.5 4x5	Pause Squat 72.5 4x5	Overhead Press 72.5 4x5
Lateral Raise 3x8	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 3x8	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x10
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x8	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 3x8	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 3x8	Seated Cable Rows 3x8

WEEK 7

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 95 3x3 AMRAP on last set	Squat 95 3x3	3 board or SlingShot work up 3@9, then 95 3x3	Deadlift 95x3, 90x3	Close-Grip Bench 75 3x5
Incline 75 3x5	Deficit Deadlift 75 3x5	Wide Grip 75 3x5	Pause Squat 75 3x5	Overhead Press 75 3x5
Lateral Raise 4x8	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 4x8	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x8
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x6	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 4x8	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 4x8	Seated Cable Rows 3x6

WEEK 8

DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	DAY 4	DAY 5
Bench 97.5 2x3	Squat 97.5 2x3	3 board or SlingShot work up 3@9, then 97.5 2x3	Deadlift 97.5x3, 92.5 x3	Close-Grip Bench 77.5 2x5
Incline 77.5 2x5	Deficit Deadlift 77.5 2x5	Wide Grip 77.5 2x5	Pause Squat 77.5 2x5	Overhead Press 77.5 2x5
Lateral Raise 5x8	Hack or Front Squat 60 5x8	Rear Delt Raise 5x8	Leg Press 12,10,8	Pulldowns 3x8
DB Triceps Extensions 12,10,8	DB Rows 3x6	Triceps Pushdowns 3x10	Bent Over Barbell Rows 3x8	French Press 3x10
Curls 10,8,6	Leg Curls 5x8	Incline DB Curls 3x8	Leg Curls 5x8	Seated Cable Rows 3x6

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NYC Apt Home Gym, Thanks to Agile Rack

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STRONG IN A FLASH—8 WEEKS TO A MEET

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