Understanding RIR and RPE: Autoregulation for More Effective Training

Introduction

If your strength training program doesn't include either RIR or RPE, it probably should. Without one or the other, your training plan is incomplete, and this article will explain why.

RIR is an abbreviation for Reps In Reserve, meaning how many reps shy of failure you are stopping. For example, 2 RIR is stopping when you think you could've done two more reps.

RPE is Rate of Perceived Exertion. In the powerlifting world, it is generally a value on a scale of 1 through 10, where RPE 10/10 is maximal. RPE is often used similarly to reps in reserve, so RPE 10 means you couldn't have done another rep if you tried, RPE 9 means you could've done one more, RPE 8 means you could've done two more, etc. So RPE is basically ten minus the number of reps left in the tank. However, not everyone uses RPE this way - some people simply use it as a one through ten subjective difficulty rating, so you should always make sure you know which definition is being used when discussing RPE or following a training plan based around it.

RIR is my personal preference for two reasons. First, there's no possible confusion as to which version of the RPE scale you're using (subjective difficulty or reps remaining). Second, if you're describing how many more reps you think you could do, why not keep it simple and just say that value rather than complicating it and saying ten minus the reps remaining? RIR wins for simplicity.

Many people's first response to RIR/RPE is something like "Aw dude, that sounds complicated," but I promise it isn't. Whether you realize it or not, you've used RPE before. Your first day ever in the gym, you grabbed a weight and went "Woah, that was a little too heavy" or "Yeah, I could go up a bit more." These are both perceived exertion. RPE/RIR just aims to quantify and clarify this in a way that can be easily communicated between people.

Benefits of RIR/RPE

Here's why every training plan should have either RIR or RPE - they are prescriptions of difficulty. They tell you how hard the set should be.

You may be wondering, "Can't I just use percent of one rep max for that?" But no, it isn't the same. Percent 1RM simply prescribes a specific weight, not a desired difficulty level. There may be an assumption behind that percentage of how hard it will be, but there are some factors that can influence whether or not it actually is the intended difficulty.

For example, imagine you went on a really long and tiring hike yesterday, stayed up all night preparing for a presentation, and/or your significant other broke up with you and you're distraught - all of these things may impact your performance in the gym (likely negatively). Conversely, imagine you are super well rested, fed, and relaxed, because you've been having a perfect week - you might be ready to perform extra well. If your training plan only includes percentage of one rep max (1RM), you're expected to do the same weight regardless of which of these two situations you are in, even though the difficulty of that set would likely be different in the two scenarios.

In the negative scenario, you would probably want to dial it back a little bit since you likely won't be performing your best. In the positive scenario, you may be able to push a little extra if the weights are moving really well. This is the concept of autoregulation - having your training adjust to your performance on that given day.

RIR and RPE allow for autoregulation because we are saying how challenging of a set we want rather than what specific weight to use. Your set of three reps with 2 RIR may be 350 lbs on a good day, but could be adjusted down to 330 lbs on a bad one. This gets the desired training effect even on that day you are fatigued, rather than using a fixed weight that would've been extra hard compared to intended. Furthermore, if you are having a rough day but force the fixed percentage weight, you're beating yourself up with a harder than intended session and fatiguing yourself even further, potentially making the situation worse.

It's important to realize though that autoregulation should be done based on performance and not emotions. There have been many days where I felt tired or just not 100% when going into the gym so I may have expected to dial back, but then the weights still moved amazingly well so I stuck to the plan or even pushed it. There have been other days where I was excited to train but the weights just weren't moving as quickly or easily as normal, so I had to pull back a little bit. Make sure you're autoregulating based on how lifting is feeling rather than on your generalized emotional feelings. We want to adjust training IF factors outside the gym are reducing performance, not on the assumption that they will, because oftentimes you'll still perform okay. Therefore, regardless of how you expect the session to go, it is important that you pay attention to how your warmup sets are actually moving so that you can make the right call for what weight to use for your work sets. The very first few light warmups sets are much less important, but as you get closer and closer to your working weight the warmup sets should get more telling as to how the day will be.

There are a few other benefits to RIR/RPE beyond just autoregulation. First, you won't know your 1RM for every exercise. You likely have some idea on squat, bench, and deadlift, but how about variations like a floor press or a tempo squat with a 4 count lowering and 2 count pause? We don't need to know a 1RM for every exercise and variation, and we definitely don't need to test it every time before programming a new exercise - instead we can just prescribe a desired difficulty with RIR or RPE.

RIR/RPE also adjusts for progress in a way that %1RM doesn't, which is especially helpful for beginners who may make rapid progress as they start lifting. Similarly, even if you aren't new to training but you start doing an exercise you haven't done much before, you may make lots of progress on it quickly. In either of these scenarios, the RIR/RPE is a target difficulty rather than a specific weight, so it adjusts with your changing strength level.

Additionally, there is some individual variance in terms of what %1RM someone can do for different rep ranges. Some people are better at higher reps, and others better at lower reps. For example, newer lifters tend to be disproportionately good at higher rep ranges because their lower rep, heavier weight sets are still limited by their developing coordination and movement patterns rather than true strength output. RIR and RPE can adjust for these individual differences in ability at various rep ranges because we are prescribing a desired difficulty for the set rather than weight.

If you plan to compete in powerlifting, another benefit of using RIR/RPE is that it teaches you to be reflective of how much more you think you've got. This is incredibly helpful on meet day when you need to choose a weight for your next attempt.

How to Use RIR/RPE

So how do you know what weight to use for a target RIR/RPE?

Well, how do you know what weight to use on any exercise? You estimate it based on what weight you've done before, how many reps that was versus how many you're after today, and how hard it was the last time versus the target difficulty today.

Here are a few useful pointers. Generally, 1 RIR or RPE point is going to be about 3-4% of 1RM. To illustrate this, your max double is probably about 96-97% of your 1RM, your max triple is probably about 92-93%, and so on.

So if you did a set of three reps at 3 RIR last week, and you're after a set of three at 2 RIR today, you can likely go up about 3% of 1RM.

Also, there are charts for getting a rough estimate of what weight might be about right for your rep range and RIR/RPE target, like this one.

However, it is important that you don't rely only on a chart like this for determining what weight to use every time. If you do, you are just turning the RIR/RPE back into a percentage based program and losing all the benefits that we have already covered. This type of chart is intended as a tool, not a crutch. Use it to get a rough idea what weight might be right to use, but then adjust based on your performance.

The key to getting better with RIR or RPE, like most things, is practice. That requires you take a second to reflect after each set, including warmups. Right after you set the bar down, take a split second to think about how well it was moving (speed, ease, and cleanliness of the reps) and how many more you think you could've done.

Sometimes you will "overshoot" and choose a weight that was heavier than intended, and after the set when you reflect you'll realize you probably couldn't have done as many more reps as the target RIR. However, you live and you learn for next time.

Other times you may "undershoot" and the weight you chose was easier than planned. If it was within about one point of the target and you feel fatigued, you can call it close enough and move on. Just know to go up a little more the next week. If you don't feel too fatigued and/or it was more than one point away from the target, then just add weight and take another set to hit the target difficulty.

Starting with RIR/RPE

Every set you do has an RIR/RPE and is also a percentage of a one rep max, regardless of whether you choose to pay attention to one or both of these. I got this concept from Thomas Lilley of ZeroW and I love it. Just because you aren't programming with RIR/RPE doesn't mean that they aren't there, and the same goes for percentages. They will both always be present.

If you want to use RIR/RPE for the benefits we've discussed, the simplest way to get started is to begin paying attention to it. If you're using a percentage based program you can continue following it, but take a moment after each set to reflect and score it on the RIR or RPE scale. Then, as you get better over time at assessing this, you can decide if you'd like to switch to a program centered around RIR/RPE rather than percentages.

Conclusion

RIR and RPE are prescriptions of difficulty rather than weight, so they allow for adjusting loads in order to get the desired stimulus of the day. They let you autoregulate for fatigue and fluctuations in strength. They adjust for individual variances in strength at different rep ranges, account for rapid progress on movements you're new to, and can be used on movements where you don't know your 1RM. And as a bonus, using them gets you better at reflecting on how much more you have in the tank for when you need to pick attempts on meet day. If you're used to using %1RM for your training plan, RIR or RPE could be what you need to take your training to the next level!

Feel free to reach out if you have questions. Also, if you're interested in trying an RIR based training plan, you can check out my Powerlifting Fundamentals Program. It has all the key elements we discussed in this article built into it to help you become a better lifter. Or if you want something tailored to you, to best suit your goals and needs, I also offer online coaching and custom training plans.

Best,

Michael Elrod-Erickson

Founder and Head Coach, Premier Power & Performance

Peaking & Tapering for Raw Powerlifters: Combating the 3 Most Common Mistakes

If you'd rather get this information in video form, click here. If not, keep reading below.

As a powerlifter, you want to be as strong as possible on meet day. That's the goal of peaking - structuring your training to try and maximize performance on that specific day. Part of maximizing your performance is backing off training before the meet - that's the taper. But you have to know how to do it right.

When we train, we are increasing our fitness, skill, and strength; however, we also get fatigued. The goal of tapering is to cut back on training in the right amounts and at the right time relative to the upcoming meet to reduce this fatigue while keeping fitness, skill, and strength high, so we can have our best performance possible. We are after that goldilocks sweet spot. If you taper too little or too late, you may still be fatigued, and that means you can’t fully express the strength that you have. And if you taper too much or too early, then sure you’ve gotten rid of fatigue, but you've also detrained (lost a significant amount of strength and skill).

Many powerlifters are unintentionally ruining their meet day performance in the last few weeks of training because they're tapering too much or too early. Often this is because the advice on how to peak and taper that they're following is outdated and/or misapplied. A lot of advice on peaking was originally intended for equipped lifters (single or multi-ply suits), not for raw. Equipped lifters need a longer, more aggressive taper because they are lifting heavier weights (and more than their bodies could without the equipment). However, following similar advice and tapering timelines will cause a raw lifter to seriously detrain by meet day.

Peaking is a balancing act, and the strength and skill component is more important than the fatigue one. Consider this – If you’ve been hitting PRs in the gym during meet prep, then you’re already performing well despite carrying some fatigue. If you taper too much/too soon, you could very well ruin the good thing you’ve already got going for yourself. I would rather go into the meet with a little fatigue left (similar to how I train in the gym the rest of the year) than taper too much, detrain, and end up low on skill and strength but with minimal fatigue. As an extreme example: someone who never worked out in their life would have very little fatigue, but they’d still be a shit lifter on meet day. Don't be so worried about getting rid of fatigue that you also detrain a lot and suck.

There are three common errors that cause people to detrain. Fix these for better meet day performance:

1. Taking your last heavy lifts too far out from the meet

2. Cutting accessories too far out from the meet

3. Not doing anything the week of the meet

Mistake 1: Taking your last heavy lifts too far out from the meet

Taking your last heavy lifts too far out from the meet means that the skill of lifting heavy, and those strength adaptations, are detraining for longer and so have dropped off too much by meet day. I would rather take my last heavy lift a little lighter but closer to the meet than too far out.

When you should take your last heavy lift will be dependent on variables like strength and skill level, age, sex, body size, whether you use PEDs or not, and training history. However, the majority of these can all be boiled down to absolute load – the more weight you lift, the further out from the meet your last heavy lift should probably be. Another way to think about it is to ask how long will it likely take you to fully recover and get back to peak performance. If you’ve ever taken a really heavy deadlift and the next week felt weak and tired when you went to deadlift again, then you know what I’m talking about. In that case, it clearly takes you more than 7 days to recover from something of that level.

Deadlift and squat both tend to take fairly comparable amounts of time to recover from, but maybe slightly more for whichever you’re stronger at. If you deadlift way more than you squat, then your deadlift probably needs a bit longer to recover. However, if your squat is significantly heavier than your deadlift, it may be the opposite.

Bench press tends to take much less time to recover from than deadlift or squat. This is probably because bench is lighter in absolute load, is upper body rather than lower/full, and is often trained with higher frequencies.

One other thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need to completely rearrange your training in order to get the last heavy lift to fall on a certain day relative to the meet. There’s a range in which it would be okay to take it. Also, you can extend that range a bit by going either a smidge lighter (if it is closer to the meet) or a smidge heavier (if it is further out from the meet). This way, you can keep training on your normal days of the week by scaling the intensity up or down as needed based on if it's on the lower or higher end of how far out from the meet you are. For example, if I wanted my last heavy squat to be 14 days out from a Saturday meet, but I normally squat on Wednesday, I could just take it 17 days out instead and bump it up 0.5-1 RPE rather than completely rearrange my program and what days I train.

An important note, especially for stronger individuals, is that “last heavy lift” can be a misnomer. If you are taking your heaviest lift of prep multiple weeks out from the meet, you may need another moderately heavy lift between then and meet day. Let’s use Eric Lilliebridge squatting 1000 lbs in wraps as an example. He may need to take his heaviest squat 3 weeks out. However, he should still work up to something like his last warmup (around RPE 6, or in this case around 750-800 lbs) the next week (two weeks out from the meet). Then one week out from the meet he may work up to just 500 lbs or so, sticking to something really easy and not very fatiguing but still getting a few reps in to stay sharp. However, if you squat 300 lbs and your last heavy squat is 10 days out, you might only squat once more with like 200 lbs the Monday of meet week and be done, in which case the 300 lb squat really is your "last heavy squat".

Lastly, your heaviest lift of prep doesn’t always need to be an RPE 10, maximal lift. We are trying to peak performance on the platform at the meet, not in the gym, so that often means leaving a little bit in the tank during training. We just want to go heavy enough to help gauge where your strength is at and to prepare you for heavy weight on meet day. Often times that means a single at RPE 9 / 1 RIR.

Here are a few example profiles.

These illustrate three things:

1)      How far out I would probably take the heaviest lift based on individual factors.

2)      How the heaviest lift doesn’t need to be maximal/RPE 10 every time.

3)      How you can scale the intensity up or down to move the heaviest lift further out from or closer to meet day to match your training schedule.

Lifter 1:

110 lb/50 kg bodyweight, 15 year old female with maxes of 138 lb/62.5kg squat, 77 lb/35 kg bench, 155 lb/70 kg deadlift.

Last heavy deadlift: 7-10 days out at RPE 9

Last heavy squat: 7-8 days out at RPE 9 or 5-6 days out at RPE 8

Last heavy bench: 7-8 days out at RPE 10, 5-6 days out at RPE 9, or 4 days out at RPE 8

Lifter 2:

182 lb/82.5 kg bodyweight, 20 year old male with maxes of 400 lb/180 kg squat, 265 lb/120 kg bench, 500 lb/225 kg deadlift.

Last heavy deadlift: 12-14 days out at RPE 9 or 9-11 at RPE 8

Last heavy squat: 10-12 days out at RPE 9 or 7-9 days out at RPE 8

Last heavy bench: 7-9 days out at RPE 9 or 5-6 days out at RPE 8

Lifter 3:

308 lb/140 kg bodyweight, 60 year old man on PEDs, with maxes of 600 lb/272.5 kg squat, 390 lb/177.5 kg bench, and 550 lb/250 kg deadlift

Last heavy deadlift: 12-16 days out at RPE 9 or 9-11 days out at RPE 8

Last heavy squat: 12-16 days out at RPE 9 or 9-11 days out at RPE 8

Last heavy bench: 9-11 days out at RPE 9 or 7-8 days out at RPE 8

Mistake 2: Cutting accessories too far out from the meet

A lot of people stop doing any sort of accessory exercises way too early - sometimes a whole month out from the meet. There are multiple issues with this. It drastically drops your volume and training stress, which often leads to people peaking well before the meet, and then by meet day their fitness and strength have already dropped off a lot.

Also, cutting accessories makes you much more vulnerable to injury. One of the reasons for accessory exercises is movement variability – to train and load some positions other than just the competition lifts to keep mobility and and motor control through a fuller range of motion than the limited bit that we go through in the competition lifts.

Lastly, you’re also stunting your long term growth. If you do 2-3 meets a year and you cut your accessories a month out, that’s 17-25% of the year that you’re missing out on the chance to be using accessories to build muscle and strength.

Realistically, you probably don’t need to dial your accessories back much at all until about one week out, or at most 1.5-2 weeks out. Most people just dial them back way earlier because they’re lazy. They don’t want to work hard on accessories after also having just done heavy main lifts. The fix to this is to push your main lifts harder during the offseason, so you’re used to doing hard work on both main lifts and accessories at once. However, during the offseason we don’t want to be just hammering away with heavy competition lifts year round, so use load limiting variation (like tempo, close grip, SSB) and higher reps, but keep the relative intensity high (like RPEs 7-10). This kind of offseason will prepare you well for the stress of meet prep.

I generally don’t change anything with the accessories till one week out, and then I cut almost all of them. I may keep just a few accessories for muscle groups that aren’t otherwise being trained (like one or two upper back movements towards the start of the week, for 1-2 sets at RPE 5 ish), but I cut all the work for things that are still being trained (like pressing, quads, hamstrings, etc.).

Mistake 3: Not doing anything on meet week

The last big mistake I see people make is doing literally nothing the week of the meet. Sure we want to dial back a good bit and not generate fatigue, but picture this – think back to the last time you were on vacation or sick and didn’t go to the gym for 5-7 days. Did you feel great the first day back, or did you feel kind of stiff and maybe a bit achy and/or uncoordinated?

You can still do a little bit of stuff the week of the meet to keep your technique sharp and your body moving and primed for the day without generating a ton of fatigue.

I like to have athletes take a few last squats and deadlifts on Monday, and some bench on Tuesday (like 3-4 sets of 1-3 reps with around 50-60% 1RM), with just a little accessory work as described in the previous section (such as one of the upper back movements they've been using recently in prep for 1-2 sets at RPE 5 ish, and maybe a little core and arms at a similar low volume and intensity).

These light workouts are also a good chance to try and prepare yourself for meet day by listening to some crowd noise audios from YouTube. On the platform you can’t wear your headphones like you’re probably used to doing in the gym. You won’t have control over what music you’re hearing and you won’t have the headphones to block out any surrounding noise. People will probably yell random cues at you – with supportive intentions, but rarely are those cues actually helpful. So you want to be prepared for this and able to just tune everything out. Switching from your music to a crowd noise audio right before doing your sets of squat, bench, or deadlift is one way to prepare for this. If you have a lot of athletic experience, this may be totally unnecessary; however, I’ve found it helpful for people who don’t have much of a sporting background and aren’t used to performing in front of a loud audience.

Similarly, if this is your first meet, consider wearing your singlet for one or both of these sessions. Try and get comfortable with the weird outfit, so on the platform isn't the first time you've ever had it on.

As for the rest of the meet week - on Wednesday, I'd suggest that you rest. On Thursday, do just some super light movements. Run through all your usual upper and lower body warmups, plus do 2 sets of goblet squats, dumbbell bench press or pushups, and dumbbell RDLs (all very easy, like 10 RIR/ 0 RPE at like 10% 1RM). This way you're not generating any real fatigue but you will feel good on meet day. On Friday, rest.

All of these days are assuming the meet is on a Saturday, like most are. If it isn't, simply adjust your timeline accordingly so they are the same spacing to your competition day.

Conclusion

If you’re hitting PRs in the gym, you’re currently being successful in spite of the fatigue from training, so you don’t need to make too drastic changes during your taper in order to do well on meet day. Don’t get so caught up in trying to reduce fatigue that you cut your training too much/early and end up also reducing your fitness, skill, and strength in the process and ruin your meet. Remember to take your last heavy lifts a little closer to the meet, wait longer to cut your accessories, and keep moving during meet week.

Hopefully you found this article helpful, and best of luck at your upcoming meet! If there’s any way I can help, please reach out. You can also contact me with any questions. If you’d like help planning your meet prep, I offer coaching services.

Best,

Michael Elrod-Erickson

Founder and Head Coach, Premier Power & Performance

5 Key Concepts for Young Powerlifters

With so much information about powerlifting available, it can be hard to know what to focus on, especially if you're newer to the sport. My goal with this article is to cut through all the noise and distill down the key concepts that will help you take off and thrive while your counterparts struggle to make much progress.

Obviously you will need to follow a good training plan, be consistent for a long time, and develop good technique in order to be successful in powerlifting - everyone knows that. However, these five concepts will help accelerate that process for you, and learning them early on in your career will help you achieve more in this sport than you could otherwise.

Number 1: Intent

The first thing you need to understand when you are training for powerlifting is that lifting is no longer just a means to an end.

Most people are lifting weights to build muscle, be healthier, and look better. However, as a powerlifter, it's no longer about just these things. Lifting is now a skill that you are trying to master, and skills require practice.

To improve upon the skills of squat, bench press, and deadlift, the first step is to make your technique repeatable. Imagine you are a basketball player and want to get better at shooting free throws. You'd do the same routine every time - something like two dribbles, line the ball up in your hand, then shoot. We want that same approach to lifting. You should approach the bar, set up, and execute your lift the same way every time.

Where many people go wrong with this is they don't focus or actually try unless the weight is heavy. On their warmups or lighter days, they just get under the bar and pick it up - they're not focused on using this as an opportunity to improve and engrain that skill.

I have been told that I lift very robotically. On all of my sets, I take the same steps for my walkout. I breath the same way. I move with a fairly consistent level of speed and control. It looks the exact same every time, regardless of the weight. I've also had people make jokes about how I'm turning red and having veins popping out even though it is just 135 pounds, my first warmup weight. The thing is, though, how much tension you create and how much force you put into the bar is independent of what weight is loaded on it. You can still get TIGHT and push with 500 pounds of force even when there's only 135 pounds on the bar. Don't wait till it's heavy to start trying - you should focus and try hard every time you get under the bar. Give every weight the same level of respect; that is how you should be warming up and training.

Additionally, since these are skills we're trying to master, realize that you can't train your squat, bench, and deadlift heavy all the time. At max loads and during really hard sets, technique starts to break down. Therefore, if you are training very heavy too often, it will be hard for you to practice and engrain performing the lifts well. That's why submaximal work is very important, and why the majority of your main lifts should be done at more moderate intensities.

Number 2: Learn to Gauge Intensity

Many people don't know how hard they should be pushing or what weights to be using.

It's not that people are soft and don't want to push hard. Instead, they just don't have a well calibrated scale of what they're capable of, and that tends to result in the main lifts being too heavy/hard and the accessories being too easy/underloaded. For example, on their main lift, which was supposed to be a moderate single at RPE 8 (2 reps in reserve), they end up failing. Meanwhile on their accessory exercise, a set of leg extensions to failure, they end up stopping when it gets uncomfortable, even though they could've squeezed out 8 more reps if they just kept going and tried really hard.

So how do we fix this?

The single most important thing for improving this is reflection. After each set, take a second to think about how many more reps you think you could've done. This is your opportunity to check how accurate your weight choice was for hitting your planned difficulty and to learn for next time.

Another tool is filming your sets and watching them back afterwards. This can be helpful in that sometimes lifts feel heavy but when you watch them back you realize it was moving really well and you probably could've done more than you thought. Or, sometimes it's the opposite. Maybe you were really hyped up for the set and after you finished it you thought to yourself that you could've kept going for another rep or two. Then you watch the video and realize the last rep was really slow and ugly so you definitely wouldn't have gotten another. Sometimes videos can help ground you and combat any emotional influence on your assessment of the intensity.

From a programming standpoint, one thing that can help lifters learn to gauge intensity better is to do some sets to failure, AMRAPs (as many reps as possible), or lower RIR sets. Seeing and feeling what you're capable of can be helpful in learning how close to that point of failure you are on the submaximal work.

Number 3: Muscle Mass

Some old school powerlifters like Greg Panora and Louie Simmons would say stuff like "If you want to get strong, the first step is to actually look like you lift" or "You should look like a god of war in your singlet on meet day," and there's a lot of validity to that.

This isn't just bro science either - it's physiology. Muscular strength has two components: how big your muscle is, and how well your nervous system can recruit and utilize it all at once.

So sure, you can get stronger without building more muscle by improving the neurological component and getting more efficient. However, your maximum strength potential - the ceiling - only goes up by getting bigger muscles.

When it comes to building muscle, you need well chosen accessory exercises that are pushed hard. Unlike the main lifts, we are just using these as a means to an end - a way to get jacked - so they should be treated differently. We want movements that require less skill, that are more stable, that have a big range of motion, and where the target muscle is the limiting factor. For example, a hack squat machine will let you work the quads way better than a barbell back squat will, because it is stable and lower skill. The hack squat isn't going to be limited by your bracing or back strength, like the squat likely would be. Also, being in the perfect position isn't as challenging or necessary, so you can push the hack squat harder.

Exercises that train muscles in the lengthened position are also good because they typically cause more growth. For example, Maeo et al. (2021) found that the seated hamstring curl resulted in +14% hamstring growth compared to +9% from the lying hamstring curl. So for biarticular muscles (those that cross multiple joints), this should be a factor in choosing the best accessory exercises.

If you are interested in learning more about accessory exercises, I presented a live seminar on the topic a few months ago, and there is a recording available here. It includes an hour and a half video presentation on how to choose the best exercises for your needs, as well as a list of recommended exercises. The list has a few suggested movements for all the major muscle groups, plus a short description of what makes each exercise effective and/or tips for how to perform it. Check it out!

In addition to accessory exercises, the other key thing for building muscle is eating enough. You will struggle to put on size if you aren't eating a sufficient quantity of calories to fuel growth!

Number 4: Learn to Create Tension

The three competition lifts are just as much about keeping the rest of the body static as they are about moving the weight with the working body parts. A great analogy I got from Seth Albersworth is, "Would you rather hit something with a baseball bat or a pool noodle?" We need to make sure that our body is the baseball bat - that is, stiff and transfers all that force from the swing well - rather than getting loose and floppy like the pool noodle.

Creating tension is the key to keeping tight and transferring force effectively into the bar. However, many newer lifters struggle to create this tension, ESPECIALLY when they don't have heavy weights on the bar that force them to get tight. Ultimately we want to get to a point where you can create lots of tension independently of what weight is on the bar.

There are a few commonalities in how/where we need to create tension in the competition lifts:

1) Bracing

You want to expand your abdomen outwards into your belt as you breath in, while limiting any upward shrugging of the shoulders or ribcage. Then, further lock this in by actively pressing out into the belt in all directions.

What's described above is the action you should be trying for when you brace, but realize that the position you're in is also important. Your best brace will happen when your ribcage is directly stacked over your pelvis (like a neutral spine position, or even in a little bit of flexion). If you are arched or excessively rounded, you will not be able brace well. This is because muscles are strongest in more moderate lengths, so in either extreme, then one side (abdominals vs low back) is too short and the other is too long to be strong.

Realize that breathing and bracing may look slightly different on the bench press than the squat and deadlift. That's because the weight is never being transferred through the spine - it just goes straight down from the bar to hands to shoulders to bench. So, bracing can be different for this lift. On the bench press, I would focus more on using your breathing to expand the ribcage as big as you can, so you can have a higher touch point and the bar doesn't have to travel as far.

2) Scapular Retraction and Depression

The scapula are your shoulder blades. Retraction is pinching them together/backwards, and depression is pulling them downwards, towards your butt.

In the squat, regardless of if it's high bar or low bar, you want to do both of these things as hard as you can to create a tight upper back. Then lock that in by pulling the bar down into your back. Similarly, on bench press, we need both of these two actions to set the shoulders in place, get a big arch, and be in a strong position to press from.

The deadlift is different though - we only want depression and not any retraction. Pinching the shoulders back would make the arms shorter and increase the range of motion the bar has to travel. Also, you probably aren't strong enough to maintain that retraction at maximal loads. So instead, the goal is just to pull the shoulders straight down towards your hips. This gets the lats tight, which will help stabilize the spine and keep you from getting rounded over, as well as keeping the bar from drifting away from your body.

3) Head Packing

This is probably the most overlooked of the three. Head packing is pulling your head backwards, like making a double chin. This helps create more stiffness and tension through the upper back. Plus, your head is heavy - if it is hanging out way out in front of your body, it can shift you forwards in a way we don't want. I like to cue "head back" or "double chin" on both squat and deadlift.

On bench press it looks a little different, but still applies. If you're watching the bar with your eyes and you lift your head up, you will flatten out and lose some of your arch. Head pressure back into the bench not only helps prevent this, but also helps to keep the shoulders pulled down and together. You don't need to press your head back into the bench as hard as you can, just enough that it is staying down and tight.

The other big thing to understand is that these elements of creating tension are not just skills; there's also a strength component to these motions. If you are getting rounded over and losing your brace during heavy deadlifts, it's not that you just aren't good at the skill of bracing - you're probably also too weak to hold the position. If you are losing your upper back tension on squat and getting rounded over, you likely aren't strong enough to maintain that position under heavy loads. So, the fix to these issues isn't just drills, like some light banded movement in your warmup. The fix is to train these motions. Exercises like chest supported rows will improve your retraction. Lat pulldowns will strengthen your depression. Copenhagen side planks and sit-ups will build your bracing strength.

Choose exercises over drills. Worry less about some sexy warmup drill from Instagram and more about building strength in these motions.

In addition to creating tension at the body parts we want to remain static, another important thing for newer lifters is to get better at staying tight throughout the lift and controlling the bar. Variations of the main lift that emphasize this can be really helpful! Examples include:

Squat: tempo squat, pause squat, and front squat

Bench: tempo bench, Spoto press, and long pause bench

Deadlift: pause deadlift (just off the floor) and controlled eccentric/soft touch deadlifts

Number 5: Understand Pain

You will inevitably experience pain. However, how you respond to this can either derail your training and leave you making no progress or can make it a fairly insignificant bump in the road.

Pain does not always mean there is an injury or damage. That is a misunderstanding of what the cause of pain is. Learning more about pain will help you be able to better analyze it when it occurs and handle the situation more appropriately.

I wrote an article on this topic, so I will link that here rather than rehashing all the points.

Understanding Pain for Strength Athletes

Conclusion

If you train with intent, learn to gauge intensity, build muscle mass, create lots of tension, and develop a greater understanding of pain, you'll be able to go further in this sport and achieve great things.

Please reach out if I can ever help you on your powerlifting journey!

If you're looking for a training plan, I just released my Powerlifting Fundamentals Program. It has all the key elements we discussed in this article built into it to help you become a better lifter. Or if you want something tailored to you, to best suit your goals and needs, I also offer online coaching and custom training plans.

Best,

Michael Elrod-Erickson

Founder and Head Coach, Premier Power & Performance