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Powerlifting: How many sets [Article]

Posted by Pascal Landshoeft

Oct 2, 2019 9:30:00 AM

Closeup portrait of a muscular man workout with barbell at gym-1

Powerlifting: How many sets

 
Most of the times you will be operating between three to six sets per exercise. The occasional outlier will be to either phase into or phase out a program.
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What is your why 

 
Before we go into the details of  how many sets to do for powerlifting, let me ask you a couple of questions:
 
  • Why do you want to powerlift
  • Why do you want to change your body
  • What happens when you do
  • What happens if you don't
These questions are essential to your personal success. Research shows that people who write down and reflect on their goals are more likely to achieve them. When was the last time you did this? Many people go about their lives like this:
 
  • What do I want
  • How do I get it 
  • Why do I want it 
This is a pretty good way to go insane. What you want changes hundreds of times a day. It depends on who you are with, what you do and where you are. Also, what you want is not always the best thing to reach your goals. Do you want to make that cold call? Probably not. Do you want that Domino's Pizza combo meal including the big coke? Absolutely! Will that make you look like Sylvester Stallone? Yes, the Copland version. Putting what you want at the center of attention will spread your resources thin and scatter your time between too many activities. Chase all rabbits at once and you will catch none. Something interesting happens when you flip these questions on their head:
 
  • Why do you want something
  • How do you get it 
  • What needs to be done
This way you will focus on what matters and makes a difference in your life. Your thoughts and actions will become more connected and success more likely as a result of it. If you want to know how this works on a psychological level 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 little daily activities. Rituals which keep you on track and create success. Since I started journaling my marriage has improved considerably and my salary has increased. The best one I could find is the self journal from best. Check it out via this link. 
 

What is your goal

 
When you want to decide how man sets to do in powerlifting it is important to know what your current goal is to move the needle
 
  • Getting bigger
  • Getting stronger
Both of these have very different approaches when it comes to deciding how many sets you are going to do.
 
Getting bigger is all about packing on muscle because you are too small for your frame or your weight class. To achieve this you will eat a lot and do more sets at a generally lower weight. You will border on German Volume Training which asks for 10 sets of ten repetitions at 50% to 60% of your one repetition maximum. You could also call this phase of your training a bulk.
 
Getting stronger is a different skillset. Here the focus is to pack as much power as possible in the smallest amount of space. You might even be on a cut. To achieve this goal you usually operate between three to five sets at higher intensities somewhere between 75% to 95% of your one repetition maximum. This is the general overview in terms of which goose you are currently chasing.
 

Accessory and the three big lifts

 
A proper powerlifting program usually has the three main lifts and accessory work scheduled. The three main lifts are the bench press, squat, and deadlift. Accessory lifts can be:
 
  • Romanian Deadlift
  • Snatch grip Deadlift
  • Block Pulls
  • Workouts with bands
  • Workouts with chains
  • Safety bar Squat
  • Spoto press
  • Tricep extensions
  • Lat pulldowns
  • Barbell rows
  • Dumbbell Rows
  • Good mornings
Accessory work is usually scheduled for higher rep counts at a lower intensity while the three big lifts come in at higher intensity. This is why you usually do more sets on the big three and fewer sets on the accessory work.
 

Ten sets

 
Ten sets of anything already borders cardio in the world of powerlifting. These templates are popular to build muscle or at the beginning of a longer peaking cycle to build up the volume. Ten sets are sound when your main goal is to grow bigger.
 

Eight sets

 
Eight sets is usually a watered down version of the ten approaches. You save some time and do not feel as exhausted. A structured program around eight sets is Gironda 8x8.
 

Five sets

 
Sets of five are very popular for beginner programs like Stronglifts 5x5 and Starting Strength. The strike a good balance between hypertrophy and strength development and that is why they are so popular. If you could do no other program ever in your life again, probably pick something that works with sets of fives. 
 

Three sets

 
Sets of three either have a high rep count above ten or are very high in intensity. Accessory work is usually planned in as three sets of twelve to fifteen of curls or any other type of isolation exercise. If you are looking at 3x3 it is usually time to push your one repetition maximum.
 

Two sets

 
Rarely to be found in the program for the average joe. In more sophisticated programs this either indicates a deload week or a peaking cycle. When the sets get that low you are either pushing to perform on the platform soon or you are exhausted from a previous cycle.
 

One set

 
Very rarely used. This is usually some whacky warm-up or cool-down exercise. Sometimes it can also be the top set. For example, I like to add one extra set if I miss my planned volume for the day and load the bar with something light to bang out three times the tonnage in a lighter weight of what I missed. Let's say I miss a 100kg bench press rep on the last set. I usually add one more set at 60kg doing at least 5 reps to bring the volume to 300kg.
 

Powerlifting: How many sets

 
You should be operating between three to six sets in most cases with the occasional outlier above or below for special purposes.

Topics: Powerlifting