The entire Intermediate Powerlifting program is primarily run through a spreadsheet. Please follow the outlined steps below to set up your first month of training.
Step 1: Download the spreadsheet
Download Intermediate PowerLifting Spreadsheet
Step 2: Input data
Go to the Setup tab in your spreadsheet. There are 5 steps you must complete before your program is ready. Not following these steps correctly may result in errors in your training program. Please take your time to input data.
Bodyweight. Enter your current bodyweight in either pounds or kilos.
1 RM calculator: In order to calculate you’re 1RM simply input your latest Personal Record (PR). A PR attempt should be a reflection of your current ability and therefore should have been found in the last 1-3 weeks. If you do not have current PR’s for your squat, deadlift, bench press, and overhead press then you’ll need to have your next training session dedicated to getting these.
Note: If you used pounds for your bodyweight, use pounds for bar weight. If you used kilos for bodyweight, use kilos for bar weight.
Increments: If you select the yellow cell for increments a drop down will appear.
Bodybuilding Movements: Select the bodybuilding movements you would like to use for this 1-month cycle. I have already added my suggestions but you are free to have some creative liberty with these to best suit where you want to focus on building muscle. For example, if you know your area of weakness is deadlifts you’ll want to program your bodybuilding movements around building up the kinetic chain. Feel free to contact me if you’d like some help with suggestions.
First Day of Cycle: Input the first day of training in MM/DD/YY format. If your first day is set as Monday your week will look like this:
Now it’s time to print your training log and throw it into your gym bag!
There are a few housekeeping notes:
Your month of training at a glance looks like this:
Each successive month you use the program you’ll want to make the following changes to your program:
If you hit all of your top sets for a primary movement (Squat, Deadlift, Bench, Press) then make the following increases to the 1 RM. You can do this by simply writing it in the 1RM column.
If you feel like you’re stalling on a movement you have a few options: