Training for Powerlifting in Under 5 Hours Per Week

Popular programs like Candito’s or Jamal Browner’s powerlifting routines, or even “AI” type apps like Juggernaut AI or Evolve are effective for some lifters who are trying to get stronger. However, they come at the cost of very lengthy workouts since most of how they generate results is through very high training volumes. While this approach can work for some powerlifters, it is just not a realistic approach for many of us who have businesses to run, kids to raise, partners to build relationships with, etc.

Here’s the 3 most common mistakes I see that lifters will make that cause their workouts to be too long and how to get platform-ready for a powerlifting meet (or just really strong) with less than 5 hours per week in the gym.

Mistake 1: The Shotgun Approach

One of the main ways that popular programs drive progression is by “covering all the bases” and including a bit of everything. This might mean that for developing a lift like the bench press, they will prescribe some shoulder work, some chest work, some tricep work and some upper back work on top of regular bench programming.

While this might check all the boxes for an effective program, there is likely a lot of wasted effort in there. If your weak point in the bench press is your shoulder strength, your best return on investment is to train bench press and focus on shoulder strengthening + hypertrophy. This more focused approach can mean as little as 1/3rd of the accessory volumes compared to the more general approach you see in a program that takes your time for granted.

Without assessing what’s holding you back, you’ll be stuck guessing and wasting time in the gym. Evaluate where your weak points are and make the large majority of your training revolve around fixing those weaknesses to “raise the floor”.

Mistake 2: Lifting Hyperfocus

If you only have 5 hours per week to exercise, it can be easy to fall into the trap of over prioritizing lifting and neglecting more general work (like cardio and/or conditioning work). This is especially true if you struggle to keep most of your rest periods in the 90-180 second range in between sets.

Longer rests (120-180 seconds) on most of your primary work is completely acceptable, but on backdown work, secondary work and accessory exercises you do not have to be 100% recovered to perform the next set.

With 5 hours available per week to train, spending 1 hour of that (ideally split across 2×30 minute sessions) to work on developing your overall conditioning with restricted rest intervals will not only help with overall recovery, but will also allow you to build training density. Imagine what you could do if you were able to get 14 working sets completed in one hour of training time compared to only 8 or 9 sets because you’re simply able to keep up with the training. That could be 50%+ more productive training time for you.

Conditioning work can be as simple as a brisk walk, a ruck, farmer’s carries or accessory work @ 50-70% of the normal weights and restricted rest periods. A simple template I like to work with is starting @ 1:5 work:rest ratio then gradually progressing towards a 1:2. In practice, this might be as follows:

• Week 1: Accessory work circuit (or cardio intervals) @50-70% normal load for 60 seconds, 5 minutes rest. Repeat until you run out of energy or 30 mins is elapsed.
• Week 2: Accessory work circuit (or cardio intervals) @50-70% normal load for 60 seconds, 4 minutes rest. Repeat until you run out of energy or 30 mins is elapsed.
• Week 3: Accessory work circuit (or cardio intervals) @50-70% normal load for 60 seconds, 3 minutes rest. Repeat until you run out of energy or 30 mins is elapsed.
• Week 4: Accessory work circuit (or cardio intervals) @50-70% normal load for 60 seconds, 2 minutes rest. Repeat until you run out of energy or 30 mins is elapsed.

*if you notice a sharp drop off in output (either cadence on cardio or number of reps you can do on accessory movements), then decrease the load and repeat the ratio/intervals next week. If you have not done this style of training before, consider starting with 10-15 minutes of total time.

Mistake 3: Progressing Everything

Maintaining strength and muscle mass can require as little as 1/3rd of the volume needed to build it in the first place.

If time is a limited resource for you, spreading yourself thin and trying to build your squat + deadlift in the same session or week will lead to slower gains compared to alternating weeks of squat and deadlift focus. For more detail on how to use this approach in your programming, refer to the below article

Alternating Periodization for Powerlifting – How to use it in 5 minutes

PS – here’s 2 ways I can help you prepare for your first powerlifting meet:

1. Follow me on Instagram (@strongeryoupt) for free lifting advice, programs and more powerlifting content. You can DM me the word “GUIDE” and I’ll get you a copy of “Your First Powerlifting Meet” – my guide that shows you strength standards and how to compete in powerlifting.

OR

2. Apply to join my “Platform-Ready Blueprint” and become a case study. We’ll work with you 1-on-1 to show you how to add up to 200 lbs to your total and compete in your first meet with less than 5 hours per week in the gym.

It takes less than 60 seconds to apply HERE in order to find out more information and see if you’d be a good fit.