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On August 21, 2022, over Instagram, powerlifter Amanda Lawrence shared footage of herself working through a raw paused deadlifttraining session. At the end of the routine, after completing pulls of 235, 240, and 245 kilograms (518, 529, and 540 pounds), the American athlete captured a 250-kilogram (551-pound) paused deadlift fora new personal record (PR).
Lawrence’s paused deadlift PR is just 10.5 kilograms (23.3 pounds) off her all-time best with a traditional raw deadlift. The competitor used a sumo stance with a mixed grip and donned a lifting belt for her paused deadlift strength workout.
Lawrence’s paused deadlift training and PR aren’t connected to any upcoming contest. Per the caption of her Instagram post, the powerlifter is smack dab in the middle of her off-season as she prepares for her next slate of competitions.
In that respect, 2022 has been a productive year for the world-class powerlifter. Lawrence came in first place in the 84-kilogram division at the 2022 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic Powerlifting Championships in early June. It is Lawrence’s third IPF World title in the last four years (2019, 2021-2022). A few months earlier, in April, she took home first in the same weight class in her debut at the 2022 AMP Classic Open Nationals.
Dating back to June 2019, Lawrence hascome in first place in eight straight competitions. Here’s a rundown of Lawrence’s latest running streak of excellence while the athlete prepares to tack on more accomplishments down the line. Note: In her six-plus-year career, Lawrence has only ever performed raw on a sanctioned lifting platform.
Amanda Lawrence (84KG) | Recent Noteworthy Performances
IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships — First place | 2019, 2021-2022
2019 USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Raw Nationals — First place | Juniors and Open
2020 USAPL Gainsgiving Open — First place
2021 USAPL Raw Nationals — First place
2022 AMP Classic Open Nationals — First place
Note: Lawrence’s status as a Junior athlete and in the Open at the 2019 USAPL Raw Nationals are both factored into her winning streak.
While she’s not preparing for any pending competition, Lawrence’s Instagram post of the paused deadlift PR has a hashtag of #Roadto600. It would appear the athlete is trying to achieve a 272.1-kilogram (600-pound) deadlift in the near future.
Notably, Lawrence is the IPF deadlift World Record holder with a pull of 260.5 kilograms (574.3 pounds) from the 2021 IPF Worlds competition. In the event that Lawrence successfully deadlifts 272.1 kilograms (600 pounds), the figure would unofficially exceed her IPF World Record by 11.6 kilograms (25.7 pounds).
Judging by the ease of her paused deadlift training session, it seems Lawrence is well on track toward achieving her ambitious goal.
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Some people go to the gym just to look good, and that’s a fine goal to have. They spend time and effort working various muscle groups to improve their aesthetics and reach their dream physique. Yet, some body parts aren’t always given the same attention as others.
Credit: Ruslan Shugushev / Shutterstock
Let’s be real. The calves are commonly ignored. That’s a shame, because not only do muscular calves contribute to a well-balanced, eye-pleasing physique, but they also support optimal knee and ankle health and performance. And what more simple exercise than the standing calf raise to develop this muscle group? Let’s take a look at this effective exercise, and learn how and why it should no longer be overlooked.
The standing calf raise is a pretty straightforward movement, but it’s certainly possible to have problems with performance. Let’s cover proper use of this machine to deliver complete calf development.
Step 1 — Get Into the Starting Position
Credit: Ascendancy Fitness / YouTube
Set your feet roughly shoulder-width apart on the block or step. Only the front halves of your feet should be on the step. Your heels should be hanging in the air. Keep your balance by holding the shoulder pads or support handles. Make sure your hands stay away from the weights and any moving parts.
Keep your knees bent and your back straight as you place your shoulders under the pads. Stand tall by pushing into the balls of your feet and straightening your knees. Keep your core tight to maintain a straight back.
Form tip: Adjust the shoulder pad height so you can stand upright with additional room to perform a full range of motion calf raise. When standing tall, you should be able to rise onto your toes while keeping a straight line from your shoulders to your feet. If you have to hunch over or bend your knees, the exercise won’t be as efficient.
Step 2 — Push Through the Balls of Your Feet
Credit: Jasminko Ibrakovic / Shutterstock
Push through the balls of your feet to raise your heels as high as possible. Keep your legs straight to prevent larger leg muscles from helping. Pause for one second at the top and flex your calves as much as possible. Keep your upper body stable. Resist any urge to shrug your shoulders while your feet move.
Form tip: Completely extend your ankles, pushing all the way to the top. The range of motion is relatively limited on this exercise because the ankle is a relatively small joint. Don’t reduce the range of motion further by stopping before your calves are fully contracted.
Step 3 — Lower Your Heels Slowly
Credit: Ascendancy Fitness / YouTube
Let your heels sink slowly towards the ground, dorsiflexing your foot (letting your heels drop below your toes). Your calves should be in a fully stretched position.
Stay in the stretched position for a second to prevent rebounding or momentum before repeating for additional repetitions.
Form tip: The stretch is an important component of calf growth, so don’t be afraid of feeling a stretch in the bottom position. However, some people lack ankle mobility and have limited range of motion. To minimize the risk of injury, use a slow, controlled speed and avoid dropping quickly into the bottom position.
Standing Calf Raise Mistakes to Avoid
When it comes to building muscular calves, mistakes will stop muscle growth in its tracks. If you want gains, performing each repetition perfectly is of the utmost importance. Here are the most common errors to avoid.
Fast, Rebounded Repetitions
This is the ultimate calf training sin. You might be tempted to use the stretch reflex (rebound) and rush through fast-paced reps in order to lift more weight or make the set easier, but this will just result in eternally puny calves.
Credit: Jasminko Ibrakovic / Shutterstock
The exercise’s range of motion is relatively limited, so if you rush through each rep, the time under tension will be minuscule, resulting in poor growth. This is reinforced by the fact that the calves typically have a lot of type I muscle fibers which respond better to longer sets and more volume. (1)
Avoid it: For optimal muscle growth, slow down the repetitions and don’t shy away from using pauses at the top contraction or in the bottom stretched position.
Cutting the Range of Motion Short
Performing a full range of motion has been proven optimal for muscle growth, especially in the lower body. (2) As such, you have to make sure you go as low as your ankles will allow and flex as high as you can during each repetition.
Credit: Jasminko Ibrakovic / Shutterstock
Short-changing the range of motion can be as bad for muscle growth as blasting through repetitions at warp speed. Calves can be a notoriously hard to grow muscle group. (3) If you want to progress, you will have to accept some muscle-building, muscle-burning discomfort, and ensure you squeeze the muscle through every possible fraction of an inch.
Avoid it: On every single repetition, sink as low as you can in the stretched position. Tension around your ankles will tell you when it’s far enough. Also, push through your toes and imagine your heels reaching the ceiling during the peak contraction.
Using Leg Drive to Move the Weight
Sometimes you can cheat the standing calf raise without even noticing, especially when going heavy. Leg muscles like the glutes and quadriceps are very strong and your body will instinctively “want” to use them to help move the weight, but that reduces the work done by the calves and reduces the muscle-building stimulus.
Credit: Jasminko Ibrakovic / Shutterstock
If your knees begin bending and straightening during the exercise, or if your body bends forward at the hips, you’ll be shifting focus away from the calves and onto other muscle groups.
Avoid it: Focus on a mind-muscle connection with your calves. Instead of just thinking about “lifting the weight up,” think about specifically pushing through your toes. Keep your body straight throughout the set and pay particular attention to your knees and hips.
Benefits of the Standing Calf Raise
Even though calf training is often overlooked, this exercise can find its place in most training regimens. Here are the most important reasons why.
Muscle Growth
The standing calf raise is one of the best lower leg exercises for hypertrophy. The standing position is an efficient way to target the gastrocnemius — one of the two heads of the calf muscle.
Because of the muscle recruitment and potential time under tension, standing calf raise can bring a significant visual change to your calf development. If there’s only one calf exercise you could do, this would be top of the list.
Explosive Power
If you care about athleticism or sports performance, this standing calf raise actually help. Calf training helps you jump higher and more frequently by allowing your body to produce more force, absorb more force eccentrically (during landing), and reinforce tendon strength and total-body stability so you are more resilient.
The lower leg muscles have an active part in the ankles and knees functions. Every movement that mobilizes these joints — such as running, kicking, tackling, and jumping — will benefit from calf training. Strengthening your calves will help you be a more complete and efficient athlete.
Healthier, Stronger Ankles and Knees
Standing calf raises can eventually improve your ankle mobility by gradually stretching your calves. The calves will also increase in size and strength, resulting in more control and resilience over the ankle and knee joints. (4)
This carries over to everyday life, since many people are on their feet all day long. It’s especially relevant if you walk, run, or play sports that heavily involve your legs.
Muscles Worked By the Standing Calf Raise
The standing calf raise is considered a single-joint isolation exercise, because the only movement should be at the ankle joint. The movement focuses training stress on a single muscle group — the triceps surae, more commonly known as the calves, which are the main muscles in the lower leg.
Gastrocnemius
The gastrocnemius is one of two heads of the calf muscle. Sometimes shortened to “the gastroc,” it runs from the back of your knees to your ankles. The gastroc is the larger of the two calf heads and it’s the one you see the most.
Credit: vladee / Shutterstock
Its function is plantar flexion of the foot (extending the ankle and pointing the toes down). It also plays a role to assist your hamstrings when bending your knees. This is a muscle heavily involved in running, jumping, and walking.
Soleus
The soleus is the other head of the calf muscle. This deeper section is located between the gastrocnemius and the lower leg bones. This muscle is significantly involved in plantar flexion (lowering your toes below your heels). The soleus isn’t as big, but it is relatively powerful and it’s crucial for running, walking, and standing tall.
Who Should Do the Standing Calf Raise
Those who completely avoid calf training are sorely mistaken, especially if they want complete physical development. Many lifters should introduce this exercise into their training because it has more to offer than just hypertrophy.
Bodybuilders and Physique Athletes
If you’re interested in an aesthetic, symmetrical physique, you should never skip calves. In fact, in the early days of classic bodybuilding, lifters would aim to have their calves as big as their arms. The legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger supposedly “calf-shamed” himself by frequently wearing shorts, so the constant sight of his relatively small calves would be motivation to train them intensely.
Many people still overlook calf training but, along with your forearms, they are the most visible parts of your body most of the time. In any case, if you’re chasing aesthetics, you cannot avoid working any body part.
Strength Athletes
Calf training won’t directly carry to your big lifts, but it can actually be very valuable to strength athletes. Indeed, the calves help knee and ankle stability, and this is especially true of the soleus because it is more active when your knees are bent — like in the squat.
Moreover, calf training can also improve ankle mobility, which is critical for proper squat mechanics and overall lower body health. If you’re a strength athlete who’s experiencing knee pain, has trouble reaching squat depth, or is experiencing instability when lifting, you should give calf training a go.
Sports Athletes
In athletics, injury prevention is key. Directly training the calves can result in calf muscles that can withstand more shock while improving ankle mobility and resiliency — especially with respect to the Achilles tendon, a vulnerable part of any athlete’s body.
Athletes experience constant stress on the ankle and knee joints when changing direction, sprinting, and performing plyometric movements on or off the field. These activities can be some of the most potentially dangerous movements one can perform if their body’s support structures aren’t durable. As such, if you’re an athlete that cares about knee or ankle injury prevention, you should train your calves.
How to Program the Standing Calf Raise
Being an isolation exercise that targets a single muscle group, it makes no sense trying to go super-heavy with this exercise because it’s less efficient and other muscles will be recruited.
Moreover, calves typically react better to a longer time under tension and higher volume, because they have a high proportion of slow muscle fibers. They are best trained with moderate-to-high rep schemes.
Moderate Weight, Moderate Repetitions
This is a classic, proven hypertrophy scheme. Three to five sets of eight to 12 repetitions will work just fine. The weight should be as heavy as you can handle to the rep range, but not at the expense of form. You should be able to control the weight at all times, achieve a full stretch, and be able to contract maximally without compromising the range of motion.
Light Weight, High Repetitions
Going lighter for higher repetitions is a surefire way to scorch your calves if you have trouble feeling them, and can serve as a great finisher. Two to three sets of 15 to 25 repetitions, reaching muscular failure at the last repetition, is a great way to accumulate volume and grow your calves.
Tempo Work
If you’re a more seasoned lifter, spicing up your calf training can spark new gains and motivation. Calves are particularly responsive to tempo training — manipulating the speed of the lifting and lower phases of each repetition.
For unprecedented soreness and muscle stimulus, try a two-part approach with several sets emphasizing the stretched position followed by several sets emphasizing the contracted position. Two to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitionswith a two-second pause at the bottom, followed by two to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions with a two-second pause at the top of the contraction.
Going Beyond Failure
If you’re an advanced lifter, you might still need to crank up your calf training to the next level in order to progress. Warning: The muscle burn will be uncomfortable, but tremendously efficient. This approach strategically uses partial range of motion repetitions after exhausting the muscle with a full range of motion, to increase the total time under tension.
Perform one to two sets of 10 repetitions to failure, followed immediately by 10 partial repetitions (doing only the lower half of the range of motion), and then hold the deepest stretch position possible for 10 more seconds.
Standing Calf Raise Variations
Whether you don’t have access to the standing calf raise machine or just want to spice things up, you’re covered. Here are variations that will share the same benefits.
Smith Machine Standing Calf Raise
The Smith machine is a great tool because it takes balance out of the equation and, as such, will be the closest variation to the basic standing calf raise machine. Grab a step or short block and place it directly under the bar, so you increase the range of motion and enjoy a nice stretch.
Set up like you would be doing a standard calf raise, with the front half of your toes on the step, and place the barbell across your traps or upper back, similar to a back squat position.
Leg Press Calf Raise
This is an awesome variation that allows you to focus on your calves with even more total-body stability. Not only is there no stabilization required, but you’re seated in a fixed position and only have to think about using your calves without any upper body involvement.
Sit in the machine and push the platform away. Position the balls of your feet on the bottom of the platform, so that the lower half of your feet are hanging. Keep your legs straight and simply push the weight away through the balls of your feet.
Single-Leg Standing Calf Raise
By working one leg at a time, we’re making the exercise more challenging and more focused on the working muscle. This variation can also help to improve balance, core bracing, and can address muscular imbalances. (5) (6)
Grab a dumbbell and hold it the same side as the leg you will be working. Step onto a platform with only the ball of your foot and let your other leg hang in the air. Use your free hand to hold an stable, stationary object (like a rack) for balance, then brace your core and perform the calf raise.
Standing Calf Raise Alternatives
If the standing calf raise bores you to tears, or if you want to stimulate your calves differently for a complete lower-leg workout, try these alternatives.
Seated Calf Raise
This machine is one of the most popular calf exercises and it complements the standing version. Because your legs are bent, you will focus more on the soleus due to the particular attachment points of the muscle around the knee joint.
An added benefit is that it’s nearly impossible to use your upper body, quads, or hips to cheat the movement. You can strictly focus on your calves. This machine works the exact same way as the standing calf raise, but you’re simply seated with the pad on top of your knees instead of your traps.
Squatting Calf Raise
This movement is ideal if you don’t have access to specialized training equipment. Hold a stationary object with both hands and squat down to parallel, or a bit lower if comfortable. Slowly raise your heels as high as possible before lowering them down to the ground.
Not only will this exercise train your calves, and especially your soleus, it will also challenge your balance, proprioception, and knee and ankle stability in a unique way. As you progress, you can try the exercise while holding a dumbbell or kettlebell like a goblet squat (keeping the weight against your chest).
Tiptoe Farmer’s Walk
If you’re the kind of person that loves functional training, give this exercise a try. Simply grab a pair of dumbbells and start walking on your toes. Keep your core braced, your shoulders pulled back, and chest up.
Rather than total repetitions, go for distance, for time, or until your calves give up on you. This is a fantastic way to end a workout and sneak in some extra work for your core, traps, and forearms at the same time. Bonus: you’ll also burn some calories.
FAQs
Do I need to work my calves specifically?
Yes and no. Calves are stimulated indirectly by many other exercises like running, lunges, and squats. So they’re somewhat activated as assistance muscles. But if you want to focus on increasing the size of your calves, you will have to target them directly.
Calves are a notoriously hard to grow muscle group, and indirect stimulus isn’t often enough to build impressive calves. Skipping direct calf training also means you’re missing out on the ankle and knee health benefits that come from stronger calves.
When should I train calves?
Most people do calf raises at the end of a workout, typically after other leg exercises or other larger body parts. It makes sense because calves are trained with single-joint isolation exercises, and you want to be as fresh as possible when you’re hitting your big compound exercises for other muscle groups.
If you consider your calves to be a high priority, you can hit them first in a session. This way, you’ll have the most energy to devote to these stubborn beasts, and you won’t risk “running out of time” to train them in a workout. It shouldn’t impact other lower body exercises too much. If it does, it’s a short-term issue until your body adapts.
How frequently should I train calves?
Calves are a very resilient muscle group and they can withstand a lot of punishment while also recovering relatively fast. Start with one weekly session. After a few weeks, if you don’t see any progress and feel that your calves can withstand it, increase to two sessions.
Repeat this process as much as needed. Do not be afraid of training them frequently. You can bump this number up to three or four sessions per week if needed, because calf training is relatively low stress on the rest of your body, unlike trying to deadlift four days per week, for example.
Stop. Skipping. Calves.
The standing calf raise machine is found in the corner of most gyms but it’s, sadly, underutilized. It’s a time-tested exercise that packs size onto a body part most lifters would conveniently ignore. Make room for this efficient exercise in your training, or just walk around in shorts until you’ve convinced yourself to fix the problem.
References
Edgerton VR, Smith JL, Simpson DR. Muscle fibre type populations of human leg muscles. Histochem J. 1975 May;7(3):259-66. doi: 10.1007/BF01003594. PMID: 123895.
Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J. Effects of range of motion on muscle development during resistance training interventions: A systematic review. SAGE Open Med. 2020 Jan 21;8:2050312120901559. doi: 10.1177/2050312120901559. PMID: 32030125; PMCID: PMC6977096.
Lawrence W. Weiss, Frank C. Clark, David G. Howard, Effects of Heavy-Resistance Triceps Surae Muscle Training on Strength and Muscularity of Men and Women, Physical Therapy, Volume 68, Issue 2, 1 February 1988, Pages 208–213,
Elias, John & Faust, Alfred & Chu, Yung-Hua & Chao, Edmund & Cosgarea, Andrew. (2003). The Soleus Muscle Acts as an Agonist for the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: An in Vitro Experimental Study. The American journal of sports medicine. 31. 241-6. 10.1177/03635465030310021401.
Cirer-Sastre R, Beltrán-Garrido JV, Corbi F. Contralateral Effects After Unilateral Strength Training: A Meta-Analysis Comparing Training Loads. J Sports Sci Med. 2017 Jun 1;16(2):180-186. PMID: 28630570; PMCID: PMC5465979.
Bradić, Josipa & Kovačević, Erol & Babajić, Fuad. (2011). Effects of unilateral strength training on balance performance.
Looking to satisfy a sweet craving but don’t want to forfeit nutritious ingredients? Our easy smoothie bowls are the perfect start to the day or even a mid-day, hearty snack. We’ve created two recipes that include a variety of fruits and vegetables such as raspberries, cauliflower, broccoli and more. Plus, both recipes include our Primal Kitchen Vanilla Whey Protein Powder for an added boost of protein.
Since these smoothie bowls also call for frozen fruits and vegetables the prep time is minimal. Using frozen fruits and vegetables will also make the smoothie bowls thick and spoonable. We’ve listed a variety of topping ideas to use as the finish touch but the sky’s the limit with toppings! Use your favorite nuts, seeds, fruit, or anything else you’d like.
How to make smoothie bowls
First you’ll want to gather al your ingredients together. For the pink smoothie you’ll start with cauliflower rice, raspberries and milk into a blender. If you’re looking to make the blue smoothie you’ll start with placing the broccoli, berries, and milk into the blender.
Then you’ll pour in the nut butter, flaxseed and Primal Kitchen whey powder. Blend on high until smooth. The mixture will be thick! Place the mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes or so while you prep your toppings.
Finally, spoon your smoothie into your bowl of choice and top with toppings. We recommend enjoying right away!
Pink Smoothie: Place the cauliflower rice, raspberries and milk into a blender. Pour in the nut butter, flaxseed and Primal Kitchen whey powder. Blend on high until smooth. The mixture will be thick! Place the mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes or so while you prep your toppings.
Blue Smoothie: Place the broccoli, berries, and milk into the blender. Pour in teh nut butter, flaxseed and Primal Kitchen whey powder. Blend on high until smooth, and place mixture into the freezer while preparing the toppings.
Spoon your smoothie into your bowl of choice and top with toppings and enjoy right away!
Notes
Use any combination of berries you like. Strawberries, blackberries and raspberries have lower overall carbs than blueberries.
Using frozen fruits and veggies will help ensure your smoothie is thick and spoonable. Start with ½ cup of milk and add more if needed to help the smoothie blend.
Frozen steamed zucchini is also a great lower carb option to add in!
I used full fat almond milk for this recipe but feel free to use any milk you’d like, or you could use water.
For an added protein/nutrition boost, add more protein powder or consider adding in some Primal Kitchen collagen protein as well!
The sky is the limit with toppings! Use your favorite nuts, seeds, fruit, or anything else you’d like.
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The 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals will take place on Oct. 8, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland. As a major contest on the strongman calendar, the respective elite athletes will show off their strength, conditioning, and power as they vie for the victory in Scotland.
On August 18, 2022, the Giants Live Organization Instagram page revealed the five events during this year’s single-day Giants Live World Tour Finals.
Shortly after the official events reveal, former Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) Champion (2016) Laurence Shahlaei and co-host Liz Mason broke down the expectations for each event on Shahlaei’s YouTube Channel.
Luke Stoltman is the defending champion of the Giants Live World Tour Finals. The rest of the field will try to dethrone the athlete.
2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals Event Rundown
Here’s a short rundown of every event during this year’s competition.
Dumbbell Press
Ever since the 2021 Rogue Invitational last November, Novikov has been consistently proficient with a heavy dumbbell press. However, Iron Biby, the current Log Lift World Record holder, could challenge Novikov. In an event with a time limit, Novikov might be the overall favorite.
Nicol Stone Carry
Potential contenders for the Nicol Stone Carry event victory include Andy Black and Kevin Faires. When Shahlaei possessed the similar Dinnie Stones World Record, Black was a training partner. Meanwhile, Faires possesses the current World Record on the Dinnie Stones (25 feet, eight inches) and Nicol Stones (22.2 meters). Some of the strongmen have never performed a Nicol Stone Carry, so Faires could sit in an especially strong position.
Many of the athletes on the Giants Live World Tour Finals roster possess some measure of proficiency as deadlifters. As the Axle Deadlift starts to roll into the second half of the contest, endurance could become a factor. In an event where everyone can excel, some of the competitors could elect to save their strength for the closing segments of the competition.
Anchor Carry and Chain Drag
The penultimate event of these Giants Live World Tour Finals will be a medley between carrying and dragging the anchor and chain. Speed and time will likely ultimately decide the victor of this event. For context as to potential winners, Evan Singleton (38.85 seconds) and Novikov (41.75 seconds) moved quite well during the 2022 Giants Live World Open medley variation. The pair very well might find themselves in a close battle during this portion.
Power Stairs
In a changeup from common strongman norms, the Atlas Stones will not close the 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals. Instead, it’s the Power Stairs.
Maxime Boudreault could be considered the favorite for this event after taking first place during the 2022 World’s Strongest Man’s (WSM) Power Stairs. Boudreault made it nine steps in 39.07 seconds, while eventual WSM champion Tom Stoltman wasn’t far behind (nine steps in 41.04 seconds). How Boudreault fares at this version of the Power Stairs will depend on its structure, but he might be an early safe bet for the win.
The 2022 Giants Live World Tour Finals present an intriguing number of storylines going in. For example, can Luke Stoltman defend his title from last year? Can Novikov continue a recent string of relative podium success dating back to Summer 2021? The strongman world will find out on October 8 in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Hello Mark,
I always enjoy reading your Sunday commentary. After reading this past Sunday, I wanted to tell you about my father, He will be competing again next year for the world record bench press at at 80 years of age. Invincible to me, he is a perfect example of someone who does not stop. Gym almost everyday and moving a body that can’t be explained at 80years of age. Let me know if you want to anymore updates! Take care! Btw… he benches just under 300 lbs”
On August 17, 2022, just four months post-injury, Ryjov performed a 225-pound (102-kilogram) bench press for 90 reps. The athlete performed softer lockouts of each rep and wore elbow wraps, but those might have been precautions to avoid further injury.
Ryjov called his AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) conditioning feat a “new World Record” in the caption of his Instagram post. However, it is unclear whose World Record mark he previously surpassed. (Larry “Wheels” Williams bench pressed 225 for 70 reps in 2018.) Ryjov also noted that he intended to capture 100 reps but racked up his barbell because he “miscounted” his number.
For context on Ryjov’s achievement, the 225-pound bench press AMRAP is a standard evaluative test of strength for professional football draft prospects during the annual NFL Scouting Combine. In July 2020, professional strongmen Brian Shaw and Robert Oberst tried their hand at the Combine record of 51 reps that Justin Ernest set in 1999. Oberst eventually locked out 42 reps while Shaw bettered his peer with 44. Even with his quicker lockouts in consideration, Ryjov has now roughly doubled both athletes on his bench press AMRAP.
While Ryjov usually shares footage of himself completing noteworthy pressing achievements — such as a 605-pound bench press with a five-second pause from November 2021 — he does have formal powerlifting experience.
Here’s a rundown of his first-place performance in the 110-kilogram division at the 2017 United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) SMG’s March Mayhem.
Daniel Ryjov (110KG) | 2017 USPA SMG’s March Mayhem Top Stats
Before he tore his triceps tendon, Ryjov was in a long-term pursuit of a 317.5-kilogram (700-pound) bench press, per his social media. Shortly before his injury occurred in May, the athlete attempted to bench press 306.1 kilograms (675 pounds) but could not lock out the weight.
At the time of this writing, Ryjov has not confirmed he would push for that milestone again. Additionally, even with this AMRAP bench press in the account, it’s unclear where Ryjov stands with his recovery. Nonetheless, just months after suffering a potentially devastating setback, it looks like the athlete is already pushing himself to be back on track and press eye-opening weight once more.
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In mid-July 2022, promising bodybuilder Michal Križánek switched from the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Elite Pro League to the National Physique Committee (NPC). Križánek’s motivation behind the switch was to obtain his IFBB Pro Card and gain eventual qualification for the 2022 Mr. Olympia. Judging by his latest physique update, his training progress for those ambitious goals seems to be going well.
On August 16, 2022, Križánek shared a post on his Instagram where his upper body and lower body mass have a balanced shredded look. According to the bodybuilder, he weighs 133 kilograms (293.2 pounds) in the photo.
Based on the NPC’s standards, to get his Pro Card, Križánek will have to qualify for and win at least one of the upcoming North American Championships or the National Championships. A top-five result in a National Qualifier would garner him a roster spot in the North American Championships. A top-three finish would place him in The National Championships.
The 2022 NPC North American Championships will take place on August 31 in Pittsburgh, PA. The 2022 NPC National Championships will take place on December 2-3 in Orlando, FL, as a potential last step before the Olympia.
In the event that Križánek earns his Pro Card in time, he will have to either win an IFBB Pro League contest or finish in the top three in points in the Men’s Open division by the time the qualification period ends on November 20, 2022. Notably, the NPC is the only amateur organization that the IFBB Pro League recognizes.
At the time of this article’s publication, Križánek has not confirmed his next steps and when he’ll compete in a necessary regional contest.
Should Križánek successfully find himself in December’s Mr. Olympia, he’ll be another noteworthy competitor in what is shaping up to be a stacked Men’s Open field.
From the qualification process to potential competitors, the obstacles ahead are set for Križánek. Now it’s just about him making the Olympia opportunity official.
The 2022 Mr. Olympia will take place on December 16-18 in Las Vegas, NV.
Featured image: @ifbbmichalkrizokrizanek on Instagram
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Perhaps you’ve seen a lifter pressing, twisting, or rowing a barbell by rotating it on end. Appropriately named, these landmine exercises produce lethally effective workouts. Landmine training is performed in settings from Division 1 college weight rooms to bodybuilding gyms to injury rehab clinics.
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The barbell is used for lever-based resistance — one end pivots on the floor or in a purpose-built sleeve as the lifter moves the loaded end through space. Make no mistake, this is not flashy “training for the ‘Gram” or some gross misuse of equipment.
The landmine provides opportunities for exercises with characteristics distinct from traditional free-weight training. The best part? Landmines offer versatility to train the entire body along with multiple components of fitness. Here, you’ll find the best landmine workouts for building serious upper and lower-body muscle, along with elite-level conditioning.
Landmine training (literally) leverages a simple piece of equipment for a wide range of exercises. Traditional barbell training is already versatile, so why use your barbell as a landmine?
Landmines provide a more predictable bar path than a barbell moving freely through space. In motor learning — the scientific field that studies movement and skill acquisition — this predictable bar path represents a “constraint.” That is, the landmine is constrained to move along an arced path.
This constraint helps a lifter to master the form of technical multi-joint lifts, such as the presses, rows, and cleans used in the workouts below. It also promotes more consistent movement performance. Constant movements, when performed under load, stimulate the target muscles exceptionally effectively. The result is a fast-learning curve and predictable gains in strength and size.
The arced bar path also alters exercise form compared to barbell training. Landmine presses keep the shoulder out of end-range flexion, an area of common restriction. Landmine rows encourage ideal shoulder blade movement “down and back.” Landmine squats virtually ensure we sit back into our hips with an upright trunk position, which demands textbook form.
Landmine exercises also appear to stress our joints differently than traditional free weight lifts. (1) Altogether, the landmine may be helpful if you have banged up knees or shoulders. Set your landmine and get ready for a different angle on barbell training.
Best Landmine Workout for Upper Body Muscle
The upper body landmine workout below is like a multi-course meal — a feast for your muscles. The meat and potatoes are compound exercises followed by isolation movements.
Compound exercises, or those involving multiple joints, are efficient because they train many muscle groups simultaneously. They’re also very effective for building strength because they allow you to move heavier loads than exercises training a single joint in isolation.
Upper body compound exercises are broadly categorized as either “pushes” or “pulls.” Pushing exercises involve driving a resistance away from the body and training the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pulling exercises involve drawing a resistance toward the body. These exercises train the back and biceps.
The compound exercises in this workout are structured as a series of push/pull supersets for efficiency. The final two movements are isolation exercises like a satisfying dessert after the main course. They train the glamour muscles that stretch our sleeves and broaden our frame.
Upper Body Training, One Arm at a Time
Due to the lever-based resistance of the landmine, your typical free weight loads and percentages will not be appropriate. It would be best to determine appropriate working weights that result in “hard” sets within the recommended repetition range.
To determine working weight for each exercise, perform two or more progressively heavier “work up” sets. Once you land on a weight that challenges you within the set rep range, stick with that load for your working sets.
Half-Kneeling Landmine Press
How to Do it: Assume a “half-kneeling” position with the working-side knee down. Hold the bar above your shoulder, brace your torso, and drive the bar up and forward along the natural arc of the landmine. Lower to the starting position.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-10 per arm.
Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.
Meadows Row
How to Do it: Stand perpendicular to the landmine. Hold the bar sleeve with an overhand grip and brace your non-working arm on your thigh. Lift the bar by driving your elbow out as you squeeze your shoulder blade toward your spine. Lower to full extension until you feel an intense stretch behind your shoulder. Be sure to load the bar with small diameter plates (five, 10, or 25-pound) to allow an extended range of motion.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12 per arm.
Rest time: Rest two to three minutes before repeating the previous exercise.
Standing Landmine Press
How to Do it: Face the landmine with a staggered stance, keeping your working side leg behind you. Press the bar forward and up until your elbow reaches full extension. Lower with control.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12 per arm.
Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.
Landmine Row
How to Do it: Stand parallel to the barbell. Hinge forward at the hips and grip the barbell just before the sleeve. Pull your shoulder and arm back to row the weight toward the outside of your hip. Lower with control.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12 per arm.
Rest time: Rest two to three minutes before repeating the previous exercise.
Landmine Lateral Raise
How to Do it: Stand with the end of the barbell just in front of your working side hip, quarter turned toward the landmine. Lift by pushing the bar forward and out until your wrist is higher than shoulder. Lower with control.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 12-16 per arm
Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.
Landmine Concentration Curl
How to Do it: Drop into a wide-stance quarter squat and brace your upper arm against your inner thigh. Grab the end of the bar sleeve. Without moving your upper arm, curl the landmine barbell. Notice how the bar path forces you to keep your palm turned up and out as you curl. This enhances biceps stimulus. (2)(3) Lower with control.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12 per arm.
Rest time:Rest 90 seconds to two minutes before repeating the previous exercise.
Best Landmine Workout for Lower Body Muscle
Wheels, lower extremities, jets, getaway sticks — whatever you call them, most people want strong, muscular legs.
Like the upper body, the basic compound movements of the lower body can be categorized as push and pull or, more commonly, squats and deadlifts, respectively. Squats and squat-derivatives train the glutes, quadriceps, and calf muscles. Deadlifts and deadlift-derivatives train the hamstrings and also hit the glutes.
Leg-Building Landmine Workout
This workout combines heavy, double-legged exercises with single-leg lifts to promote athleticism, and it finishes with a loaded mobility exercise for the commonly-neglected inner thigh muscles.
The landmine provides a small amount of balance assistance, which may allow single-leg variations of squats and deadlifts to be loaded heavier than free-weight single-leg versions.
To ensure adequate recovery, the lower body landmine exercises are structured as straight sets. Take two to three-minute rests to ensure intensity is maintained for maximum strength gains. (4)
Landmine Squat
How to Do it: Cradle the end of the barbell atop your sternum with your arms pulled in toward your ribs. To account for the arced path of the bar, place your feet farther from the plates so that your body is inclined forward in the top position. Squat down as far as your mobility allows, and return to standing.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-10
Rest time: Rest two to three minutes between sets.
Modified Single-Leg Landmine Romanian Deadlift
How to Do it: Unlike the standard single-leg landmine Romanian deadlift, which is performed facing the landmine, (5) the modified version provides more stability, which lets you lift more weight. Stand perpendicular to the landmine. Hold the sleeve palm-down with your inside hand. Hinge forward at your hips and allow your inside leg to travel behind you, while that foot rises into the air. Keep a slight bend in your standing knee and descend until you feel a strong sense of tension in your hamstring. Return to standing and repeat.
Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-10 per leg.
Rest time: Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
Landmine Hack Squat
How to Do it: Ensure you landmine base is secure and will not slide. Face away from the landmine and rest the sleeve on your upper trapezius, just inside the point of the shoulder. Position your feet well in front of your body. Keep your feet flat as you descend into a deep squat, reaching your hamstrings to your calves if possible. Drive up and back to the starting position. On your next set, rack the landmine on your opposite shoulder.
Sets and Reps: 2 x 12-16
Rest time: Rest two to three minutes between sets.
Landmine Cossack Squat
How to Do it: Face the landmine with a wide stance and hold the landmine in front of your sternum. Sit down and back, sinking into your right hip while allowing your left foot to pivot onto the heel. Push through your right leg to return to center. Perform all repetitions to the right, then repeat to the left.
Sets and Reps: 2 x 8-10 per side.
Rest time: Rest two to three minutes between sets.
Landmine Workout for Conditioning
Barbell complexes are commonly used for metabolic conditioning. Complexes are sequences of lifts performed in continuous succession. The lifter finishes all reps of one lift before moving on to the next, using the same piece of equipment and the same weight for all movements.
Complexes can be designed to tax every energy system — the phosphagen system provides quick bursts of power. The glycolytic system becomes prominent as the complex drags on for more than the first few reps. Finally, if you string multiple complexes together in a fashion popularized by many notorious CrossFit workouts, the aerobic system helps you recover.
Every Two-Minute On the Two-Minute Landmine Complex
The landmine is a wonderful tool for complexes. The workout below uses repeated landmine complexes to promote metabolic conditioning. For simplicity, a time-based rest strategy provides most athletes an approximate 1:1 work to rest ratio. Every two minutes, you will start a new complex and complete it as quickly as you can.
How to Do it: Place a moderate amount of weight on the landmine. First perform the Landmine Hang Clean & Jerk — Stand perpendicular to the bar and hold the sleeve in the hang position (palm down with your hand near your hip). Extend your hips, knees, and ankles as you shrug and pull the bar along its natural arc. As the bar is in motion, pivot to face the landmine and receive the bar with your other hand. Perform a split jerk by dropping down and immediately driving back up with your legs as you extend your elbow and switch your footing. Control the bar back to the hang position with both hands.The next movement is the classic standing Landmine Rotation — Hold the bar with both arms outstretched above you. Lower the bar to the left, allowing your hips to rotate and your feet to pivot. Rotate the landmine back up and across to the right, again allowing your feet and hips to move smoothly.The third and final exercise in this complex is a Landmine Push Press — This exercise begins similar to a shallow landmine squat with a ballistic concentric (“up”) phase. Transfer the energy from your leg drive into both arms as you press the bar up and forward. Repeat the process for for each repetition.
Sets and Reps: One “set” of the complex consists of 3 reps of each movement — 3 per side landmine hang clean & jerk, 3 rotations in each direction, and 3 push presses. Perform one set every two minutes for a total of 12 to 16 minutes.
Rest time: Perform one full set and rest the remainder of the two minute block. This rest strategy is a variation on the much more popular EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute), but “E2MO2M” doesn’t have the same ring.
How to Warm-Up for Landmine Workouts
Before you detonate these workouts, perform a high-quality warm-up to ensure your body is primed for performance. Options for effective warm-ups are innumerable, but for those who can’t spare the bandwidth to conjure one up, here’s a simple plan.
Start with five or six minutes of low intensity aerobic exercise (jump rope, bike, or cardio method of choice), then grab a light resistance band and move through the following sequence:
Landmine Workout Warm-Up
Deep Squat with Trunk Rotations: Drop down into a deep squat. Keep your chest up and reach toward the ground with both arms between your legs. Use one arm to “pry” your same-side thigh outward as you reach up with the other arm. As you reach, keep your eyes on your overhead palm by rotating and extending your trunk. Repeat with the other hand. Perform 8 rotations in each direction, alternating sides each repetition.
Backstep Lunge to Hip Flexor Stretch: Take a large step backwards and lower your knee to the ground. Squeeze your rear-leg glute muscles to feel a stretch in the front of the hip or thigh. If you are unable to achieve a stretch, attempt to tuck your pelvis under your body by bringing your belt buckle toward your chin. Hold the position momentarily. Return to standing and repeat with the opposite leg. Perform 8 reps per leg.
Plank to Pike: Assume a tall plank or “top of the push-up position” supporting your body on your palms and forefeet. Move into a pike position by pushing forward with your hands and driving your hips back and up, Keep your spine, arms, and legs straight. Return to the plank position. Perform 8 reps.
Dynamic Hug: Wrap a light resistance band around your back just below your shoulder blades. Stand with arms outreached straight ahead at shoulder-height. Reach forward in a “hugging” motion. Imagine you are wrapping your arms around a gigantic tree to maximize the space between your arms as you reach your hands together. Reverse the movement, allowing your shoulder blades to move toward your spine as you open your arms. Perform 8 repetitions.
Band Pull-Apart: Hold the resistance band straight ahead with your arms in front of your shoulders. Stretch the band by pulling your arms apart without bending your elbows. Initiate the movement by squeezing your shoulder blades toward your spine. When your hands are sideways in-line with your shoulders, return to the starting position. Perform 8 repetitions.
An Angled Approach to New Gains
The landmine is a fun and versatile tool for training all major muscle groups. Landmine lifts promote a balanced physique while hammering the core, and may actually result in superior gains in on-field or on-court athleticism. (6) Bookmark these landmine workouts and blast your next high-quality training session.
References
Collins, K. S., Klawitter, L. A., Waldera, R. W., Mahoney, S. J., & Christensen, B. K. (2021). Differences in muscle activity and kinetics between the goblet squat and landmine squat in men and women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 35(10), 2661-2668.
Murray, W. M., Delp, S. L., Buchanan, T. S. (1995). Variation of muscle moment arms with elbow and forearm position. Journal of Biomechanics, 28(5), 513-525.
Kleiber, T., Kunz, L., & Disselhorst-Klug, C. (2015). Muscular coordination of biceps brachii and brachioradialis in elbow flexion with respect to hand position. Frontiers in Physiology, 6, 215.
Schoenfeld, B. J., Pope, Z. K., Benik, F. M., et al. (2016). Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30(7), 1805-1812.
Weaver, A. N., & Kerksick, C. M. (2017). Implementing landmine single-leg Romanian deadlift into an athlete’s training program. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 39(1), 85-90.
Zweifel, M. (2017). Importance of horizontally loaded movements to sports performance. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 39(1), 21-26.
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Who wouldn’t want to be strong like a powerlifter while also being built like a bodybuilder? Maximizing strength and muscle is what drives many people to start lifting weights in the first place, so why not train for the best of both worlds? Powerlifting plus bodybuilding equals powerbuilding.
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Although powerbuilding is often considered a specific style of training, it’s really just an overall structure given to any training plan. And it’s a structure that many experienced lifters were doing even before it was given a name.
While there’s no reason to be dogmatic, here are some basic guidelines that can help you decide where to put your focus, what to include and what to leave out, and how to best organize your training to pack on size and strength.
Training for powerbuilding means that you focus on increasing strength in big, compound (multi-joint) lifts while also building muscle through more classic bodybuilding-type training with isolation (single-joint) exercises and exercise variations, also called accessory movements.
One example would be starting a workout with sets of deadlifts, followed by accessory exercises concentrated on individual muscle groups such as the back and hamstrings. The main compound lift would be done for lower reps with heavier weights to develop strength and power.
The accessory exercises are done with relatively higher rep ranges in order to develop individual muscles while reducing wear and tear on the joint. That can include anything from single-joint exercises like biceps curls to multi-joint movements like split squats or pull-ups.
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An upside to powerbuilding is that you can choose what to prioritize for specific goals. If you eventually decide to enter a powerlifting competition, for example, you could allocate more time to training heavy with the big three powerlifts — back squat, bench press, and deadlift — and minimize some of the bodybuilding work.
Or, when beach season approaches, you might keep the heavy barbell lifts to a minimum and spend most of your training doing muscle-building accessory exercises to build a serious physique while remaining relatively strong.
While powerbuilding gives you flexibility in exercise choice, there are some things to keep in mind for the best results.
Who Should Use Powerbuilding
Powerbuilding is for those who don’t have one singular physique or performance focus, but instead want to be physically well-balanced.
If you want to be strong, muscular, and fit, there’s no reason to get stuck working towards some grandiose weight in a barbell lift, reaching a specific body fat percentage number, or breaking a certain time for an endurance workout.
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That’s not to say you won’t still set PRs (personal records), build endurance, and drastically improve your body composition with a more general training powerbuilding approach.
You may not break state lifting records or be shredded enough to step on a bodybuilding stage, but you can still end up stronger and more muscular than people who put all of their training eggs in a single basket.
Powerbuilding training can also be useful for people who compete in other sports or physical hobbies. When you’re approaching a competition, strength and conditioning training does need to be tailored to your specific sport or activity, especially when you’re competing at a very high level.
As long as you’re not in a competitive season, powerbuilding can be a great way to build a broad foundation for novice athletes and it can help experienced athletes remain well-rounded.
Powerbuilding for New Lifters
It’s great that powerlifting-inspired, strength-focused training has become popular in recent years. However, too many people with no lifting background dive headfirst into heavy training after seeing it for the first time.
While powerlifting can build an excellent level of upper and lower-body strength, beginners need to build a foundation using more variety than this type of specialized training can provide. Powerbuilding training is a better alternative for beginners because it builds a much broader base by developing more attributes with more exercise variety.
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A beginner starting with a broad base will be in a better position to build on. With powerbuilding, you can steadily improve in big barbell lifts, similar to powerlifting-based training. Those barbell lifts can be markers for you to track your progress — not just in strength, but also in movement quality. Your technique will improve as you progress.
You also have more freedom when choosing different exercises, variations, and training methods on a powerbuilding program. Powerlifting is exclusively focused on moving the most total weight in the back squat, flat bench press, and deadlift. Powerbuilding lets you focus on different barbell lifts while performing a wide variety of isolation exercises. In the long-term, this leads to better balance, proportion, and overall healthy function throughout your body.
Why Train for Powerbuilding
A Powerbuilding routine is excellent not only for building strength and muscle, but also for developing work capacity and resilience toward injury. This is primarily because powerbuilding allows flexibility to use a variety of exercises and training methods, instead of a relatively smaller handful of goal-specific exercises or methods.
Muscles grow bigger and stronger more quickly than the connective tissue that attaches those muscles to bones. If your training routine is excessively focused on building strength, like many powerlifting-based programs, you’re on a potentially dangerous path.
The disproportionate increase in muscular strength may create a condition where your muscles exert levels of force that your connective tissues can’t support. That can lead to the type of injury that keeps nagging for years.
Powerbuilding programs make it simple to incorporate moderate-to-high rep accessory exercises which increase blood supply and metabolic growth factors to tendons and ligaments. This type of training makes the connective tissues thicker and stronger, while increasing the muscles’ ability to withstand fatigue and do more work.
Powerbuilding routines also leave room for hybrid training methods which build muscle and aerobic capacity together, such as “tempo interval circuits” — alternating 20 to 45 seconds of steady state activity (rowing, stationary bike riding, sled dragging, etc.) with 10 to 15 reps of an accessory exercise, repeated for a total of 20 to 60 minutes.
These methods can all be included in powerbuilding programs to build a more well-rounded, highly capable body that’s more resistant to injury. You can still decide to specialize with powerlifting or bodybuilding-focused training later, if it suits your specific goal.
How to Plan a Powerbuilding Routine
While you do have a lot of flexibility when arranging your powerbuilding training plan, there are some important things to consider when designing a program.
Choose Your Main Lifts
First, decide which compound lifts to prioritize. You can use the classic back squat, flat bench press, and deadlift, or you can substitute similar alternatives. For example, you could trade the bench press for the overhead press if overhead strength appeals to you.
To focus on leg strength, you may want to include both the back squat and front squat while leaving out the deadlift for a few months. However, using “overlapping” exercises or very similar movements will require extra attention to planning, explained later.
There are no strict rules regarding which exercises to include, just pick what you like and stick with it. You can choose whatever big compound lifts you prefer, and you can even change them over time.
However, because the main lift is strength-focused, it should be a movement which allows the greatest potential weight to be lifted. This will almost always be a barbell exercise. Plan to use three to five sets of three to six reps with a challenging weight.
Know Your Training Split
Next, decide what order you’ll train your lifts and muscle groups. You can do this by following a push/pull split, an upper/lower split, or a muscle group split.
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Push/Pull Split: The push/pull split alternates training days focused on “pushing” muscles and movements (including squat and squat variations, chest and shoulder training, and triceps work) with days focused on “pulling” muscles and movements (including deadlifts and deadlift variations, back exercises like rows and pulldowns, and biceps training).
The most common way to program a push/pull split is to pair a pushing movement main lift with accessory pushing exercises. For example, a workout could begin with heavy squats, followed up with upper and lower-body pushing accessory exercises including hack squats, leg extensions, overhead dumbbell pressing, and skull crushers.
If you’re training with more than one push (or pull) workout per week, you might focus the accessory work to only the muscles used in the main lift. For example, heavy front squats followed by the leg press, Bulgarian split squat, standing calf raise, and ab training.
Upper/Lower Split: This is exactly what it sounds like — each training day is devoted to either upper body or lower body exercises.
On day one, you might bench press and then do the dumbbell overhead press, pulldowns, cable rows, and triceps extensions. Day two could include the deadlift, lunges, hamstring curls, and calf raises. While day three might focus on the barbell row, chin-ups, chest dips, incline pressing, and biceps curls.
This approach can be manipulated to improve overall recovery time by adding rest days to extend the time between workouts. This makes it a very suitable choice for older lifters who may need to carefully monitor the weekly wear and tear on their body.
Muscle Group Split: This is a classic “body part split” seen in most bodybuilding programs, with each training day focused on one or two specific muscle groups. However, the main compound lifts still focus on building strength with that body part as the primary working muscle.
Training days typically work around the chest, back, shoulders, arms (sometimes broken down into a biceps day and a triceps day), and legs. “Leg day” may also be separated into one quadriceps day (with squats) and one hamstring day (with deadlifts).
For example, you might start “quadriceps day” with front squats, and then maximize muscle growth with accessory exercises that specifically work the leg muscles used in a squat — including lunges and leg extensions.
Once you’ve selected your main lifts and training split, you’ll know which accessory movements can be plugged into each day.
Accessory movements should be chosen to build size in muscles that need attention and are appropriate for each training day. If you’re following a push/pull split, you wouldn’t perform leg curls as an accessory movement after bench press; they’re different types of movements and the hamstrings aren’t recruited when benching.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking accessory exercises are a lesser priority than your main lift. Accessory movements are primarily responsible for the “building” part of powerbuilding. They help you pack on size and support strength progression in the main lifts.
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When it comes to accessory exercises, work for three to five sets of eight to 15 reps. You may want to include traditional isolation exercises like lateral raises or seated leg extensions, or variations of the main lift such as an incline bench press or dumbbell overhead press.
You could also use alternative exercises like kettlebell swings, farmer’s walks, or sled drags to build the size and conditioning you’re looking for. Accessory movements allow you to focus more on muscle growth than raw strength, so choose the movements based on your individual needs.
Determine Your Training Frequency
The last step to setting up your powerbuilding program is to decide how many days per week you’re going to train. Typically, the longer you’ve been training, the more volume of work you must do to continue to see progress.
This usually means more experienced lifters will need to train more days each week than when they first started. Someone who has been doing powerbuilding training for a year or less can often improve with only two to three workouts a week because the overall stimulus is still relatively new and their body responds well.
Lifters with more than two years experience will probably need to train three to five days per week to achieve the volume and intensity needed to continue seeing results. One or even two workouts per week couldn’t accommodate enough exercises with enough sets and reps, using enough weight, to trigger sufficient muscle and strength gains.
However, you can structure your week to make the most out of fewer training days. Yes, the longer you consistently train, the more work you will need to add overall. But if you appropriately pair your compound lifts and add accessory exercises that fill in any potential gaps, you don’t necessarily need to lift five days a week.
For example, you might follow an upper/lower split three days per week using the bench press and barbell row as main lifts on one upper body day, trap bar deadlifts and squats on a lower body day, and a shoulder press on the next training day.
Common Powerbuilding Mistakes
Powerbuilding can be a relatively straightforward approach to training — lift heavy and then lift a little lighter — but several common mistakes can limit your recovery and reduce results.
Poor Fatigue Management
One of the biggest issues to keep in mind is managing your fatigue throughout the week. You can do this by following a proper training split, grouping main lifts together, and organizing your split to reduce the total training days each week. Each of these were addressed in the planning section above.
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You can also manage nervous system fatigue by avoiding excessive overlap with similar exercises. If you were to design a powerbuilding routine with four different squat variations as the main lift four days in a row, you never give your nervous system or squatting muscles a chance to recover. You’ll likely burnout before seeing any significant results.
Instead, you might do back squats and squat cleans on day one, with Zercher squats and front squats on day three or four. This creates a structure that allows you time to recover from the physical and physiological stresses of squatting.
Yes, it may suck to do heavy cleans after heavy squats or front squats after heavy Zerchers, but your body will adapt because it’s given the chance to recover. In the end, the total training plan will be more productive and you will adapt and grow stronger from it.
Overemphasizing Main Lifts or De-emphasizing Accessory Work
Some lifters get so caught up in chasing heavy weights that they overlook accessory work. If they’re in a hurry on a given day, accessory movements might be performed haphazardly, with reduced effort, or even skipped entirely. That’s a one way ticket to plateau city, where strength stalls and muscles remain under-sized.
For optimal gains in both size and strength, the main lift and the accessories should be approached with balanced effort and enthusiasm. If you wouldn’t skip a set of heavy deadlifts, you shouldn’t consider skipping a set of pulldowns or lunges.
If the unexpected happens and you need to trim your time in the gym, don’t simply drop the accessory movements. Take the opportunity to dial up the intensity and use supersets to fit more training sets into a shorter amount of time.
Sample Powerbuilding Routines
Now that you have the general outline for how to structure your training, here’s a sample program putting it all into action.
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This adaptable template keeps the main lifts focused on building strength and includes alternative methods to increase work capacity and develop muscle.
Day One
Back Squat: 4 x 5 (70% one-rep max)
Overhead Press: 5 x 3 (75% one-rep max)
Bulgarian Split Squat: 4×10 (each leg)
Dumbbell Upright Row: 4×10 (superset with previous exercise)
Tempo Interval Circuit — Perform for 20 minutes:
Sled Push: 30 seconds
Feet-Elevated Push-up: 15 reps
Sled Pull: 30 seconds
Lat Pulldown: 10 reps
Day Two
Deadlift: 2 x 3 (75% one-rep max), 2 x 3 (80% one-rep max)
Powerbuilding training is not only a great way to build a broad base for beginners, it’s one of the most efficient ways to structure your workouts for becoming stronger, more muscular, leaner, and capable of more than just picking up heavy things or flexing in poses. If you’re motivated to build a well-rounded body, spend some time powerbuilding.
Primal Health Coach Institute is 7 years old, and it’s grown up faster than either one of my kids did. We’ve evolved the curriculum, added more tools and resources, and launched several new courses for aspiring and current coaches and health professionals.
I’m dedicating today’s blog post to PHCI’s latest development because it’s transforming my mission in the very best way. With the joint efforts of Mark’s Daily Apple and our global community of Primal Health Coaches, we’re not too far from reaching my goal of helping 10 million people take control of their health. And given all the success that the broader primal movement has had over the last two decades, perhaps we should, yet again, add another zero to the goal.
I think Primal Health Coach Institute’s newest training programs focused on fitness will get us there.
You’re probably familiar with our flagship health coaching program. It’s a comprehensive certification program that’s equal parts health and wellness education, coaching skills training, and business development. We’ve certified thousands of Primal Health Coaches, and they’re making an impact in 75 countries around the world.
And now, we’re going to do the same with fitness coaches. Because, after several years of development, we’re ready to unveil the Primal Fitness Coach Certification Program.
What Is Primal Fitness?
Before I get into course specifics, I think it’s important to clarify what we mean by primal fitness, and what makes it different from other fitness philosophies.
Throughout my years as a professional athlete and coach to athletes, I’ve seen a common theme and talked about it often—the tendency to push ourselves and each other so far beyond our limits that we chase fitness gains away and invite injury, burnout, and illness.
For people just looking to get fitter, it’s difficult to find a balanced approach to exercise that can be sustained for a lifetime. Moving more becomes stressful when it should be fun, and it’s difficult to get fitness gains to stick.
That’s where primal fitness reshapes the traditional model. It’s a back-to-the-basics fitness philosophy that takes a playful approach to movement and focuses on functional fitness fully integrated with healthy living.
If you’re a regular reader, you’re likely already up to speed with the 10 Primal Blueprint Laws and know I’m a proponent of moving frequently at a comfortable pace, sprinting once in a while, lifting heavy things, and playing. Maybe you’ve watched our videos demonstrating the correct way to do Primal Essential Movements. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Over the past two years, I’ve worked closely with PHCI staff and instructors, as well as other experts with decades of experience as personal trainers and fitness educators, to round out primal fitness so that it now addresses all areas of movement, exercise, and fitness in a holistic manner. It’s the culmination of my life experience in this area, and it includes everything I know about fitness and exercise.
I also want to give a shout-out to Brad Kearns, who was instrumental in developing this program. For those of you who haven’t met him, Brad was my co-author on our bestsellers: Primal Endurance and The Keto Reset Diet. Brad also has a background as a professional triathlete (I used to train him back in the 80s and 90s when he competed on the world circuit), most recently as the Guinness World Record Speedgolfer, and 2020 and 2022 #1-ranked USA Masters age 55-59 high jumper. Together, we made sure the Primal Fitness Coach Certification Program reflects the latest research in exercise and fitness science while also gracefully and strategically honoring what we know about how our primal ancestors moved and lived.
We train our students to be well-versed in all primal fitness exercises and principles and prepared to use their knowledge in a variety of personal and professional contexts. When you complete the course, you’ll know how to train clients to be fit for life—to avoid injuries, increase mobility, develop lean muscle mass, protect joints, and optimize metabolic health. This well-rounded functional fitness certification covers best practices for daily movement, strength training and conditioning, HIIT exercises, sprinting, breathing, and more.
It’s a three-part curriculum. It starts with a comprehensive ancestral exercise and fitness education. Enroll in the program to become a functional fitness expert and learn how to nurture health, energize the body, mind, and soul, promote fitness versatility, and protect against avoidable injury and burnout. The fourteen chapters of curricula represent the most comprehensive and detailed education you will get anywhere in the world relating to broad-based functional fitness and integrative lifestyle strategies. That’s a puffy statement considering the many exceptional fitness certifications out there. However, nothing covers as much territory as the Primal Fitness Coach Certification. If you already have high-level experience or certifications in specific modalities like strength training, CrossFit or USA Triathlon coaching, this course will be highly complementary to your specialized knowledge.
After you complete the fitness educational component, you’ll learn how to coach others towards their fitness goals so you can step confidently into your fitness coaching practice. We’ll teach you how to structure coaching sessions, ask questions, and motivate behavior change. We also tackle more advanced coaching techniques to help you connect with the emotional, behavioral, mental, spiritual, and relational issues that your clients will be navigating as they work with you on their fitness goals.
The third part of the program helps you build your business. You’ll complete hands-on activities like building your website and developing your content. These chapters include practical exercises that lay the foundation of the fitness coaching business of your dreams.
Who It’s For
If you love fitness and have a desire to do meaningful work in the world, changing people’s relationship to movement, to their bodies, and to exercise, then this program might be the right next step to take in your life and in your career. You don’t have to be a fitness pro. We’ll turn you into one. You just have to enjoy helping other people and have a passion for fitness and health.
And if you love fitness but don’t necessarily want to be a coach, we’re also offering our new Primal Fitness Expert Certification that is comprised of only the aforementioned first tier–the 14 chapters of fitness education. It’s everything you need to know to become a certified primal expert—just without the coaching and business training. It’s a fraction of the cost of the Primal Fitness Coach Certification and is perfect for the primal enthusiast looking to get fit for life. It’s also a great continuing education option for already certified coaches and health professionals who want to round out their knowledge with primal fitness. This includes existing certified Primal Health Coaches who want to add a fitness dimension to their health coaching knowledge and practice.
Reaching the 100-Million Mark
With these two new endeavors in the mix, we can confidently add another zero to our mission—100 million lives changed is now well within the realm of possibility.
The Primal Health Coach Institute website just got a major design update. Take a look and explore our new primal fitness courses. If you’re inspired, I hope you’ll join the thousands of coaches around the world who are already part of the PHCI community and become one of the first Primal Fitness Coaches on the planet.
First, I want to say thank you for convincing me to do Tabata! I was struggling to lose weight and Finally I found something that helped! I really appreciate your coaching! - Craig T.
Ever since I was convinced to do Tabata I have seen huge results, I lost 6 pounds and gained energy in the first 3 weeks. I have been working out for 3 months before I decided to do Tabata and I struggled to lose weight.
At first I thought "How am I losing weight by bringing my heart rate up then cooling down then bringing it up again?" I don’t know how it works but it does!
Thank you!! - Theresa F.
The first day of Tabata, I wondered WHAT AM I DOING - I AM 56 !! Five weeks later I knew that it was what I needed. I learned that I could push myself well beyond my comfort zone and feel good later. I have a marked improvement in physical as well as emotional endurance. - Lyn C.
When I was first told about Tabata I was very excited from the word go, however that excitement stemmed from the fact that I had no clue what it meant. I missed the first week of class b/c I was traveling for work so when I came in during the 2nd week I had some making it up to do.
It was hard at first b/c my body wasn't used to working out at such a fast pace, but once I got into a rhythm I started to feel very good. These classes are no joke. If you stick with it you will leave there feeling stronger, healthier and overall better about yourself and what you've accomplished.
I would recommend these classes to anyone. Darrin is a great trainer and he'll keep you going with his energy.
- Jami L.
Warriors Fit Audio
Warrior Fit uses High Intensity Music to get ya Moooovin' So we can all "Get Our Sweat On"
The link below will give ya a freeee shot at Audible plus a couple audio books just to try it out and if you haven't used audio books on your commutes you are missing out. Get pumped up before you get to where you are going and exercise your mind. I use it Everyday. Go get yours now!
Looking to satisfy a sweet craving but don’t want to forfeit nutritious ingredients? Our easy smoothie bowls are the perfect start to the day or even a mid-day, hearty snack. We’ve created two recipes that include a variety of fruits and vegetables such as raspberries, cauliflower, broccoli and more. Plus, both recipes include our 
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For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
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