Powerlifting training is usually on a three to five times a week schedule. Start with three and move gradually up to five over time.

Before we get into the details of how many times to train a week for powerlifting, let me ask you a couple of questions:

 

 

These questions make the difference between your success and failure. Research shows that successful people write down their goals and reflect on them. When was the last time you did this? Sure, it is more fun to binge on Netflix. But, when was the last time you focused on what mattered to you. When was the last time you formed the world around you rather it forming you? Many people go through their lives like this:

 

This will most likely drive you to insanity. Following what you want will neither make you happy nor fulfilled. What we want changes constantly based on what we see, hear and smell. Our senses influence to a huge degree what is most important in the moment at the expense of our long term goals. Our brains are wired this way to keep us alive. Always prioritize the moment over the future. However, this will not make you rich and or attractive. If you always spent the money in your hand and eat the food in front of you will not go far in life. Something interesting happens when you change the running order of these questions.

 

This way your most important goals will take priority rather than the immediate needs. Your thoughts and actions will become more connected. As a result, you will become more successful. If you want to know how this works on a psychological basis, read Daniel Kahneman's thinking fast and slow. Simon Sinek's TED talk on the golden circle will change your life.

 

It all starts with changing your daily routine. A good way to do this is journaling. The best journal I have found to help me is the self journal from best self. You can check it out via this link.

 

When it comes to powerlifting there are two main goals you can pursue:

 

While these two goals are not mutually exclusive, they do need different tactics to be successful. This also goes for how often in a week you will train. 

 

Getting bigger usually coincides with getting stronger based on the laws of physics. Getting bigger muscles is usually a function of many reps per set at a lower intensity and eating a lot. In this scenario, you are usually able to train more without getting fatigued as you have the necessary food and the workouts are not as taxing on the muscles as with higher intensities.

 

If you are training to get stronger for powerlifting you usually want to maintain your current weight or even lower it while increasing the weight you can move. In this scenario, you will eat a lot less, work at higher intensities with lower rep count and the whole thing becomes a bit more challenging. You probably will not go to the gym as often as when you are on a bulk.

 

One time a week is usually a waste of time. You might as well not do it all. Of course, it is better than doing no activity whatsoever but if you can only manage to get to the gym once a week to lift you either need to clean up your calendar or pick a sport that actually wants you to go to the gym more often.

 

Two times a week is great when your main interest is not powerlifting but some other sports and you do powerlifting to get some extra strength to perform better. You could be a martial artist, track and field athlete or footballer in this scenario. Your week is already busy enough with specific training sessions, games and fights. You do not want the added drag of too many powerlifting sessions beside endurance and conditioning in your week.

 

Three times a week is a solid option for beginners to intermediates who fully want to commit to powerlifting. Most beginner programs divide their schedule onto three days in the week. This is not too much to ask to begin with while still being effective to get results. Programs like Stronglifts 5x5 and Starting Strength are built around a three-day schedule.

 

This is either stretching out an original three-day program or one of the little more advanced intermediate programs. This is already a high commitment to powerlifting. The fourth day might also be used for stretching and other areas you want to focus on beside powerlifting.

 

Five times a week is a schedule that many serious lifters are on. They usually split the week into a block of three and two with a day of rest in between. Five sessions give you enough room to fit in the main lifts and accessory work without ballooning any session over one hour in length.

 

This split can also be used for a beginner who wants to do some cardio in parallel by doing 2 cardio sessions and three lifting sessions and mixing them up. (Lift-cardio-lift-rest-cardio-lift-Rest-Repeat)

 

Six times a week is for those who want to get in some special bar or grip work on top of everything else and dedicate an extra day to it. You can also stretch out a five-day schedule into this. When you train six times a week some trainers say that this is not enough time for recovery, especially for more advanced athletes.

Usually not recommended due to work-life balance and also to have your body rest at least one day a week. I mean, come on even god had a day of rest.

 

Most people should train between three to five days a week depending on how committed they are to see results.