Powerlifting Meet Prep

I am currently 1 week out from my first powerlifting meet. One of the major questions for new lifters is how do I prepare? There is loads of information out there and it can be hard to find out what the best plan may be. Here is what I did in order to prepare for my first meet. This may not be the best route but it has worked for me. To provide some background information I am a personal trainer, soccer player and newly powerlifter. I weigh 180 lbs with a max squat of 500lbs, bench 340lbs and deadlift 655lbs.

Training

I signed up for my meet fairly late so I only had about 9 weeks of prep which I had to cram a lot into. Generally I would recommend for the initial stages of your prep start with higher volume in your workout, as you start getting closer to the meet lower the volume and start focusing on less reps but heavier sets with the rep range between 1-3.

My first 4 weeks of prep I used a modified version of the 5×5 strength program. The next two weeks I tapered down to heavy sets of 2 reps. The seventh week I did heavy singles using an RPE of 8. Currently for my last week before the meet I am deloding and focusing on form. The weight and reps will depend on the person it always importing to cater your training to YOU! What works for one lifter may not work for the next.

Looking for another strength program, try Wendler’s 5/3/1 strength program.