SBD Days: Worth the Hype?

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

An SBD day is when you train all three powerlifting competition lifts (squat, bench, and deadlift) in the same session.

Doing multiple SBD days per week is currently trendy - but that and other high frequency, hyperspecific training styles that are popular right now aren't the best training approaches for most people.

Here's why you probably shouldn't be doing multiple SBD days per week. Strength comes from two big factors: one is muscular size, and the other is your ability to recruit and utilize that muscle all at once (that is, your technical and neurological efficiency). Having most of your training volume devoted to just barbell lifts and variations of the big three may address the efficiency component of strength pretty well, but it's not the best way to put on muscle mass. To do that, you need an exercise that takes the target muscle close to failure and through a fairly full range of motion. The barbell lifts don’t meet these criteria because they don't take a specific muscle close to failure, and in a powerlifting context we’re often minimizing range of motion to allow us to lift more weight. Well-chosen accessory exercises are much better for this.

So SBD days may lead to progress for a while as you get more efficient at the lifts from practicing them frequently, but in the long run you will be bottlenecked because you haven't prioritized putting on muscle.

The Importance of Muscle Mass

A study by Tromaras et al., done specifically on powerlifters with 3+ years competitive experience, showed significant correlation between lean body mass and one rep max strength (on squat, bench, and deadlift), as well as significant correlation between changes in lean body mass and changes in one rep max strength 1. This is evidence that not only is muscle mass closely tied to powerlifting performance, but also that increases in muscle mass are associated with improved performance.

Another study by Ye et al. looked at the relationship between skeletal muscle mass and performance in male, national level, drug tested, single-ply powerlifters (with an average of 9 years experience). They found strong linear correlations between muscle mass and lifting performance in all three lifts and the total, in all weight classes. Their study suggested that in male powerlifters, increasing 1 kg of skeletal muscle mass might be comparable to increasing 5-8 kg on squat and deadlift and increasing 3-5 kg on bench press 2. Let's switch over to talking in pounds and scale those numbers up: that's saying if you added 20 lbs of muscle mass, you could reasonably add 100-160 lbs on your squat and deadlift and 60-100 lbs on your bench press!

Also, just pause and think about it for a second - most world class powerlifters are JACKED. They may not be as lean as a bodybuilder who is about to step on stage, but in terms of general muscular size they are on par with bodybuilders. As examples, we have recently seen some powerlifters hop back and forth between powerlifting and bodybuilding and do quite well in both. Brianny Terry and Hunter Henderson, some of the strongest women ever, have both recently won IFBB pro cards in bodybuilding and set all time world records in powerlifting.

So, whether you want to rely on scientific evidence or observation of trends amongst top performers in the sport, everything points to the importance of muscle mass for being a great lifter.

Technical Skill and Neural Efficiency

Muscle mass is one component of strength - but how well does doing multiple SBD days address the other component, technical and neurological efficiency? It seems like they would do this well, since more frequency means more chances to practice. However, practice is only really useful if it is above a certain weight and difficulty threshold.

The goal of powerlifting is to get better at heavy near maximal lifts, so for the practice to transfer back to lifting maximal weights well, a certain level of intensity is necessary. It's not possible to draw a hard and fast line of what is or isn't useful practice that's likely to carry over well, but I would generally say that sets should be at least an RPE of 6 (aka 4 reps in reserve or less) and at least 70% 1RM 3. A set below this minimum level of intensity is likely too light and too easy to really transfer well to lifting maximal loads from a skill perspective. Similarly, in terms of the neural adaptations to training, your body's ability to lift maximal loads is probably best improved by lifting fairly heavy and challenging loads, not super light ones.

This leads us to another problem with doing multiple SBD days. In order to do really high frequencies you have to start reducing intensity. If you are going beyond 2-3 times per week frequency on a movement, generally some of the days need to be significantly less intense. But is it really even worth doing more days at that point if you need to scale down the intensity just to allow for more frequency? Probably not, since now it isn't as stimulative for what you need in terms of skill and neural adaptations. You're likely better off with fewer days at greater intensities rather than fluffing your program up with more days that include intensities too low to be useful.

Why Are SBD Days Popular?

There are currently some successful and famous IPF lifters doing multiple SBD days, and that leads viewers to consider doing the same. However, just like in any sport, there are going to be professional athletes who are successful in spite of something they do, not because of it. Therefore it is better to look at what has helped the majority of athletes reach a high level in that sport rather than picking out or listening to a few individual anecdotes, like the small handful of lifters doing this style of training currently.

The most famous example of someone who does many SBD days per week is Agata Sitko, so let's use her as an example for a minute. For starters, her doing 6 SBD days per week was not her coach's idea or perception of the optimal training style for her; it was her own request, and he was simply willing to work with it 4.

Agata Sitko also has multiple different factors in favor of being able to handle more frequency. That is because one of the biggest considerations when determining how much training stress someone can handle (from some combination of frequency, intensity, and volume) is the absolute load they are lifting. She is drug tested, around 140-165 lb bodyweight, and a woman. Generally, being drug free, smaller in bodyweight, and/or female are all factors that mean lighter absolute loads relative to a similarly world class, untested, heavier bodyweight, and/or male lifter.

Additionally, she is short and she further minimizes range of motion with her lifting technique, so the bar is not traveling much distance each rep. Someone taller and/or with different technique may be moving the bar two or three times as far, and that starts to add up over the course of multiple sets and workouts. Shorter lifters with less range of motion, like her, may be able to handle more volume and/or frequency because of this.

Agata Sitko deadlifting

If you compare Agata to the polar extreme - untested, heavier bodyweight, male powerlifters of a comparable caliber - you will see that NONE of them are doing a similar 6 SBD day approach. That is because when the absolute load and range of motion are greater, the training stress increases and recovering from that high frequency becomes unrealistic.

For example, let's contrast this with Colton Engelbrecht (the biggest raw powerlifting total of all time) and Danny Grigsby (the biggest raw deadlift of all time in a powerlifting meet). Both of these guys only squat, bench, and deadlift once per week each, and these lifts are spread out over separate days rather than all on the same one.

The main point here being, while I still don't think 6 SBD days is the best approach for Agata Sitko, she is one of the few people who may be able to do it with good results. Lifters can handle more training stress if they are using lower absolute loads and shorter ranges of motion. Relative to other world class powerlifters, she embodies these factors. However, if these factors do not apply to you, then this training approach probably isn't advisable for you.

Conclusion

The current high frequency and specificity trend in powerlifting is leading many people into a race to reach a glass ceiling as quickly as they can. Yes, it may work for a while, but you will likely plateau because you run out of room to get significantly more efficient and you'll realize you should've been prioritizing adding muscle mass all that time. Additionally, the more days per week you do the main lifts (beyond 2-3x/week), you will need to start dialing down the intensities, and it may no longer be as productive for skill and strength.

Doing multiple SBD days isn't the answer. Finding a more moderate frequency that is specific to your individual factors (plus pushing lots of accessories hard) is!

Even if you are someone who could benefit from high frequency, don't skip straight to doing multiple SBD days - there are better ways to do it. Just disperse the frequency that seems best for you over the days you have available to train. I'll give a few examples below.

People lifting higher absolute loads, or who are a combination of other factors like: being untested, male, more experienced, or older... will often do well with 1-2x per week on all three lifts.

People lifting lower absolute loads, or who are a combination of factors like: being drug free, female, less experienced, or younger... will often do well with 2-3x per week on all three lifts, generally leaning towards 2 for deadlift and 2-3 for squat and bench press.

If you train four days a week, you would probably be well served with an upper/lower split that looks something like this:

Day 1 - main squat plus secondary deadlift

Day 2 - secondary bench

Day 3 - main deadlift plus secondary squat

Day 4 - main bench

If you train three days a week, doing upper/lower plus SBD day may work well (so you still get 2 squats, benches, and deadlifts per week). It might look like:

Day 1 - main deadlift plus secondary squat

Day 2 - main bench

Day 3 - main squat plus secondary deadlift and secondary bench

You'll notice I included an SBD day in the second example! This article isn't saying SBD days are terrible and never have any applications. In fact, I do one SBD day per week for the UAH collegiate team that I coach, so I can see all the competition lifts at our weekly team practice. However, for the reasons we covered in this article, doing ALL of your workouts as SBD days is probably not the best.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email or Instagram DM.

If you're looking for a training plan, I wrote the Powerlifting Fundamentals Program with a moderate frequency of main lifts (2 squats and deadlifts, 3 benches per week) and an emphasis on accessories to put on muscle mass. It checks all the boxes we discussed in this article in terms of what's necessary to help you become a better lifter. If you'd rather get something tailored to you, to best suit your goals and needs, I also offer online coaching and custom training plans. Please reach out if I can ever help you on your powerlifting journey!

Best,

Michael Elrod-Erickson

Founder and Head Coach, Premier Power & Performance

--------

References:

1. Tromaras, K., Zaras, N., Stasinaki, A. N., Mpampoulis, T., & Terzis, G. (2024). Lean body mass, muscle architecture and powerlifting performance during preseason and in competition. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 9(2), 89. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk9020089

2. Ye, X., Loenneke, J. P., Fahs, C. A., Rossow, L. M., Thiebaud, R. S., Kim, D., Bemben, M. G., & Abe, T. (2013). Relationship between lifting performance and skeletal muscle mass in elite powerlifters. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 53(4), 409–414.

   
   

3. Nexus Performance Australia. (2025, May 1). S1E8 - Should you do “SBD” training days? ft. Thomas Lilley. YouTube. https://youtu.be/BLPY5SzwhHk?si=Eza9ZYpw28_ag8WF&t=2021 (33:41)

   
   

4. Reactive Training Systems. (2024). Powerlifting paradigms: Coaching Agata Sitko and managing volume with Pawel Jurczynski. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_HGL6FAiFI&t=276s (4:36)

   
   

5. Nuckols, G. (2016). Powerlifters should train more like bodybuilders. Stronger by Science. https://www.strongerbyscience.com/powerlifters-should-train-more-like-bodybuilders/