Powerbuilding has become a contentious topic. Is it the holy grail of training or an abomination?
If I had to bet, when you walked into the weight room for the first time, your goal was to build muscle and gain strength. Right?
Naturally, you wouldn’t think there was any distinction. Muscle and strength seem synonymous. The strongest people you know are typically the biggest. And your natural intuition is more right than wrong. There is a lot of overlap between training to be big and strong.
The term powerbuilding wasn’t popular until the last decade or so, but it didn’t need to be. Many bodybuilders from back in the day did a lot of strength work, especially during their early years: John Grimek, Arnold, Franco Columbo, and Lou Ferrigno trained hard and heavy. Many of them even competed in strength sports. It goes the other way, too. Old-school powerlifting routines of the 1970s and 80s had a bodybuilding feel.
But then, somewhere along the way, bodybuilding and powerlifting split. Bodybuilders started favoring machines and isolation work, and powerlifting became more about maximizing the powerlifting gear than gaining raw strength. Things got weird.
People in the bodybuilding community stopped squatting and deadlifting, fearing a thick waist and blocky look. Meanwhile, powerlifters called anything over five reps cardio. Luckily, people came to their senses and remembered that training for strength and muscle has more similarities than differences. And from there, powerbuilding was born.
For a while, powerbuilding was what all the cool kids were doing. It might even have been overrated for a time. However, fitness always ebbs and flows. Now, it’s popular to dismiss powerbuilding as a failed experiment. So, what’s the deal? Let’s find out.
What is Powerbuilding?
Before going too far, we need to specify what powerbuilding means. I define powerbuilding simply as a training method that blends strength training (powerlifting) with hypertrophy (bodybuilding).
It’s a training style perfect for people with both strength and muscle-based goals. That can mean a physique competitor doing a powerlifting meet in their offseason or someone interested in general strength but looking jacked. I don’t put any strict parameters on it. If you want to be strong and jacked, you can be a powerbuilder.
That said, I do have a few requirements for true powerbuilding methodology:
- Barbell training—typically the squat, bench press, deadlift, and close variations—must be a priority.
- Your strength goals must be in the 1-3 rep range, which is why barbell training is a priority. Sure, you can hit a new 1RM on a dumbbell bench press or a hack squat, but it’s not the same.
- The program must target every major muscle group (i.e., calves, side delts, etc.).
How to Build Muscle
There is a ton of overlap between training to build muscle and gain strength. In fact, the powerbuilding approach materialized in the mid-2000s with a marriage between natural bodybuilding and raw powerlifting. During this time, many people in the evidence-based bodybuilding community even believed that incorporating powerlifting training was optimal for building muscle.
Let’s take a step back.
What do we know about building muscle? In a basic sense, we know that progressive mechanical tension is critical. In essence, this means you need to do more work over time. However, from a muscle-building perspective, you have to earn the right to apply more tension to your muscles. How do we do that?
For one, training must be hard enough to stimulate growth. Research shows you don’t need to train to failure to make gains, but you should train close to failure [1].
Additionally, you need to perform enough volume, measured by working sets, to provide enough repeated stimulus for continued growth. Research indicates you want at least ten hard sets per week for each muscle group[2]. However, some can get away with less, while others need more.
In terms of rep ranges, the old thought that muscle growth occurred best in the 8-12 rep range was too narrow. Research shows muscle can grow using various loads and reps [3]. In practice, anywhere between 6 and 20 rep sets work great for building muscle.
How to Gain Strength
First off, what is strength? It can be harder to nail down than you might think. There are multiple ways to look at it—for instance, absolute strength vs. relative strength. Let’s focus on absolute strength or the maximum weight you can lift for one repetition. That is what powerlifting is all about.
To maximize strength, you need to build muscle, expose yourself to heavy loads, and optimize your technique.
- Build Muscle: Remember when I said there was a lot of carryover between muscle and strength? Muscle growth plays a significant role in strength development, as larger muscles have the potential to be stronger. For example, adding muscle to the chest, shoulders, and triceps can boost strength in exercises like the bench press. Early on in training, strength gains occur fast due to neurological efficiency. The more experienced you become, the more critical building muscle is to improve your strength.
- Lift Heavy: Focusing on lifting heavy weights, especially in sets of 1-3 reps, is key to getting stronger in those rep ranges. Getting good at singles is a skill. The more you practice the specific movements in the rep range you want to improve (like 1RM squats or deadlifts), the better you’ll get at them. The good news is that peak session intensity is more important than average session intensity for strength. This means you can get by with less strength work than you think as long as it’s heavy.
- Technique Optimization: Technique is a significant factor. It’s not just about performing the movement correctly but also about doing it most efficiently. Recording your lifts or getting a coach can help you improve.
Three Ways to Set Up a Powerbuilding Routine
Taking what we know about building muscle and gaining strength, three main ways exist to set up an effective powerbuilding routine.
1: Start Heavy and End Light
Let’s start with the most popular and likely most effective way to do it. It’s simple. You begin the workout with the main lifts—squat, bench press, deadlift, or a close variation—and train them heavily in the 1-3 rep range. After the day’s primary exercises, you continue with accessory work with higher reps to accumulate volume and build muscle.
This setup works well. Jim Wendler and 5/3/1 popularized this way of training. For a lot of people, it was their first introduction to percentage-based programs with built-in progressions. With 5/3/1, you go in and hit your main work for 1-5 reps, depending on the week, and follow it up with high-rep assistance work.
Recently, Dr. Pak’s research on minimalist strength training has provided evidence that this method is a viable option. The study showed that competitive powerlifters could increase their strength in one rep maxes with only a single at 9-9.5 RPE, followed by two sets off three at 80% of the top single [4]. Keep in mind that this was with no accessory work. All they did was the single and two back-off sets – twice a week for squats, three times a week for bench presses, and once for deadlifts.
What’s more, they showed that subjects following the same schedule but only performing the singles at 9-9.5 RPE could also make strength gains. There is not as much progress as the group doing back-off sets, but there is still some.
So, to recap.
Do a heavy single at 8-9 RPE
Follow it up with a couple of triples at ~80% of the top single.
After that, do bodybuilding training.
2: The DUP Approach
Next up is the Daily Undulation Periodization model. Back in the day, Layne Norton’s PHAT program popularized this way of training. Layne deserves a lot of credit for popularizing powerbuilding. He was one of the first guys with a large following to compete at a high level in natural bodybuilding and powerlifting.
With this style of training, you split up your training week between heavy powerlifting days and light bodybuilding days.
It’s best explained through an example. Here is a sample 5-day powerbuilding split.
Monday: Upper
- Bench Press: 4 sets x 3-5 reps
- Overhead Barbell Press: 3 sets x 3-5 reps
- Barbell Row: 3 sets x 5-7 reps
- Lat Pulldown: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Dips: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Preacher Curl: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
Tuesday: Lower
- Back Squat: 4 sets x 3-5 reps
- Deadlift: 3 sets x 3-5 reps
- Leg Press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Leg Curl: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Standing or Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Cable Crunch: 3 sets x 10-20 reps
Wednesday: Push
- Incline Barbell Press: 4 sets x 8-10 reps
- Flat DB Bench Press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Cable Crossover: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Dumbbell Side Raise: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Lying Triceps Extensions: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Friday: Pull
- Pull-ups: 50 reps in as few sets
- Dumbbell Row: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Barbell or Dumbbell Shrug: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Barbell Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Incline Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Reverse Pec Deck: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
Saturday: Lower
- Front Squat or SSB: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Barbell or Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets x 8-10 reps
- Leg Extension: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
- Weighted Back Extension: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Standing or Seated Calf Raise: 3 sets x 12-15 reps
- Leg Raise: 3 sets x 10-20 reps
Notice the first two days of the week are strength days, while the last three days are hypertrophy days.
3: Individual Hypertrophy and Strength Phases
Lastly, the periodization approach. General periodization cycles generally start with higher volume and transition to less volume and more intensity over the course of a couple of months. So, a general periodization model works well with what we are trying to do.
Start out with a hypertrophy block with high volume and a focus on muscle building. After a block or two, switch to a strength block and focus more on maximizing strength. You are not powerbuilding in the traditional sense, but every 8 or 12 weeks, you have training dedicated to strength and muscle building.
The detraining effect is the biggest argument against this way of training and why DUP and Conjugate programming are often favored over linear periodization.
If you stay in a hypertrophy block too long, you lose strength; if you are in a strength phase too long, you can lose size.
However, there is a way around that issue. One option is to do heavy singles during the hypertrophy phases. Remember, the minimalist strength study group made progress by only doing singles at around a 9 RPE. So, work up to a single on the squat, bench, and deadlift at an 8 or 9 RPE, roughly 90-95% of a 1RM. Do this before your hypertrophy work. At a minimum, this is enough training at a high enough intensity to maintain 1RM strength.
During the strength phases, losing muscle is much less of a concern. You can maintain muscle on much less volume than you need to build it. Plus, performing a high volume hypertrophy phase before a strength phase can increase work capacity along with building muscle. You can handle a little more volume during strength blocks with a higher work capacity, so feel free to add some work for the biceps, calves, and side delts.
Benefits of Powerbuilding
What makes powerbuilding so great? Here are three of the main benefits:
- Build Muscle and Gain Strength Simultaneously: The most significant benefit is obvious, and deep down, it’s what everyone wants. And since it’s possible, power building is a great option for most folks. You get to improve your performance on the big lifts, plus end the session with a nasty pump.
- More Progress: Some will argue this, but many people see better progress when powerbuilding than focusing exclusively on bodybuilding or powerlifting. We saw this a lot early on. When powerbuilding first became a thing, natural bodybuilders saw physique changes like they hadn’t seen in years. Why? Focusing on getting stronger is a great objective way to gauge and track progress. Strength is measurable. Keep in mind that beating the log book doesn’t only mean increasing our 1RMs. It can, but it can also mean improving your 6RM or 8RM.
- Enjoyment: Look, the older I get and the more clients I work with, the more I value enjoyment. It’s hard to beat someone who genuinely looks forward to training. I get that this is subjective, but most people like powerbuilding. If nothing else, it’s a nice change of pace from exclusively focusing on building muscle or powerlifting.
Downsides of Powerbuilding
As much as I like powerbuilding, it’s not without flaws. Here are a few downsides:
- Longer Sessions: Powerbuilding workouts don’t take as long as pure powerlifting sessions, but they are considerably longer than bodybuilding workouts. The fact is, the big compound lifts take a long time, especially if you are strong. Not only do they take longer to warm up, but you need to rest longer between sets.
- Less Efficient Progress: You can make fantastic progress with powerbuilding. However, it may take you longer. A straight line is generally the fastest way from point A to point B. Focusing exclusively on muscle building or powerlifting is your best bet to make progress as fast as possible.
- Beats You Up: The most significant downside for those who have been in the iron game for decades is that it will beat you up. Hitting the compounds heavily, followed by a bunch of assistance work, is a recipe for success when you are young and healthy. However, the older you get, the more you must pick your battles. I’m not saying powerbuilding will get you hurt, but it’s probably not the best path for longevity.
Powerbuilding Tips
Finding the best powerbuilding program is only half the battle. Here are a few tips to get the most out of the approach.
- Prioritize one at the start: It helps to prioritize muscle or strength early on. What I mean is that you should start with exclusive powerlifting or exclusive bodybuilding training. In recent years, we have seen this play out well in practice. If you start bodybuilding and build a lot of muscle, it’s easy to transition to powerbuilding while maintaining muscle on less volume. Or, if you start powerlifting, you have the strength but have muscle groups that have been underdeveloped that respond well to powerbuilding. Although I currently compete in powerlifting, I was much more interested in bodybuilding when I first started training. Spending years building muscle was an asset when I eventually switched to powerlifting.
- Have A Main Thing: To effectively powerbuild, you always need to have a priority—not a permanent priority but a current priority. It’s hard to effectively power build if you try to attack muscle and strength equally. It’s easier if your goals are at least 60/40 strength to muscle or muscle to strength.
- Progressive Overload: This shouldn’t be a surprise, but progressive overload is the key to powerbuilding. The setup has no magic; the only magic is the extra emphasis placed on performance. The beauty of power building is that it leans into the benefits of chasing numbers. Culturally, most lifters care more about how much they bench press than how much weight they use on a cable fly. Therefore, it’s easier to apply more effort to barbell work.
Is Powerbuilding For Everyone?
Is powerbuilding for everyone? Almost.
Anyone can effectively use powerbuilding to gain muscle and strength over an extended period. The only group of people who might not benefit from a powerbuilding approach is advanced lifters. Advanced lifters usually need more work in one area to make progress. They can still power build but might not have the time. For example, many high-level powerlifters squat three times, bench three or four times, and deadlift once or twice a week. Throw in a few close main lift variations, and you will already have a full slate.
However, for everyone else, you can have your cake and eat it too. Despite what you may have heard online, powerbuilding is still an effective way to train for most of the population.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
PS – If you want a complete powerbuilding system, check out my best-selling program, Absolute Progress.
Grab a copy here: https://kylehuntfitness.shop/collections/programs/products/absolute-progress
Author: Kyle Hunt
Email: KyleHuntFitness@gmail.com
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References
- Grgic, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., Orazem, J., & Sabol, F. (2022). Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 11(2), 202-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2021.01.007
- Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of sports sciences, 35(11), 1073–1082. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197
- Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 31(12), 3508–3523. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002200
- Androulakis-Korakakis, P., Michalopoulos, N., Fisher, J. P., Keogh, J., Loenneke, J. P., Helms, E., Wolf, M., Nuckols, G., & Steele, J. (2021). The Minimum Effective Training Dose Required for 1RM Strength in Powerlifters. Frontiers in sports and active living, 3, 713655. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.713655