Who’s the Boss? Comparing Popular Powerlifting/Strength Systems
If you want to get really strong, regardless of if you want to test your mettle during a powerlifting competition or not, you can’t just “lift heavy shit and try to add weight to the bar as often as possible” or “test your max every workout”. Those approaches may work for a few weeks but you will quickly hit the wall or get injured.
Long term strength progression is something that needs to be properly planned, don’t leave your gains to chance; have a progression model that does not exceed your weekly strength gains, so that your body has time to adapt itself and improve all tissues involved (CNS, muscles and tendons, mostly).
That having been said, there are many different ways to skin a cat. People have been getting strong many different ways… although even within those different approaches you’ll see many common trait emerge.
I find that all of the approaches/systems I’ll explain today can work. Personal preferences and personality profile then become a very important factor in which system is best for YOU!
The Westside barbell, which had tons of variation and maximum testing will not be suited for the same personalities as Sheiko’s approach which rarely goes above 75-85% and use the same lifts all the time. One is better suited for the more aggressive, fearless, cutthroat, impatient lifters with training ADHD (Westside) whereas the other (Sheiko) will be a better fit for patient, routine-based, technically-minded lifters.
The first step in finding which approach is best for you is to understand what each system’s principles and progression model are. Right from the bat you’ll naturally be attracted to some of them. But I’ll still give you my analysis as to how to determine which approach is best for you.
Note that I picked 8 different systems, there are lots more out there. But they will typically be very similar to one of the 8 presented.
WORDS OF CAUTION
When I said that “maxing out” every time you are in a gym is a recipe for disaster, some will point out the Bulgarian lifting system, which has it’s lifters work up to a max on front squats, snatch (or power snatch) and clean & jerk (or power clean and jerk) at every workout. And they seem to be successful with it.
First, they were successful. Now, they pretty much only have one very good lifter (Karlos Nasar). Their dominance came at a time where it was much easier to beat the drug tests and PED uses was much more aggressive than today. Despite that, pretty much the whole Bulgarian teams tested positive at 2 different Olympic Games.
Ok, regarding their system of maxing out daily. It is more a selection process than a training system.
They don’t start out with this style of training, but the frequency (from 3 workouts a week, to 5, to 5 days of training with 2 days doing 2 workouts, to 5 days a week training twice per day, to 6 days a week training for a total of 14 workouts) and intensity (from a more traditional approach of using 75-85% weight to maxing out once or twice per week, to maxing out daily, to maxing out several times a day).
What this does is that it gradually thin out the herd: lifters drop out at every step, when they cannot handle the amount and level of work.
So you might have a few thousand lifters enter the program and eventually 10-20 were left, and they were those who where the most genetically gifted for weightlifting and recovering from an inhumane workload.
Those who reached the highest level of the system were given pretty hefty doses of steroids. For example. Naim Suleymanov (who would become Naim Suleymanoglu when he moved to Turkey) was reportedly using up to 250mg of dianabol PER DAY along with 1000g of testosterone per week (close to 3g of steroids per week at a bodyweight of 140-155lbs).
They also did nothing but train, eat, sleep and use restorative measures like massages, saunas, etc. Not a luxury that most people can have.
But the three key points are:
- Being able to handle the system requires God-like lifting genetics, you need a body and nervous system that is pretty much unbreakable. Probably 5% of the people have the proper make-up and you (and me) and likely not among the chosen few.
- They don’t jump in the crazy approach right off the bat, they have years of gradually demanding training to get to that. You can’t just say “I’m gonna try Bulgarian training” and jump right into it!
- You can’t handle and thrive on that system without anabolic support.
Let’s move on!
ED COAN’S LINEAR PERIODIZATION
Ed Coan is widely regarded as the GOAT of powerlifting with a 2405lbs total in the 220lbs class and 2464lbs in the 242lbs class. Including bests lifts of a 1019lbs squat, 573lbs bench and 900lbs deadlift.
General description of the system
His training system was simple, and one that was used by a lot of top powerlifters of the 90s and early 2000s.
It was a linear training cycle over 12-14 weeks, leading to a peak. He would repeat that 3-4 times per year with adjusted loaded based on the results of the previous cycle.
He trained 4 days a week, a squat workout, bench workout, deadlift workout and an secondary bench press/overhead press workout. He did the main lift of the day, typically followed by 2-5 assistance exercises for that lift. He had more assistance exercises earlier in his training cycle (4-5) and fewer as the cycle progressed (1-2).
For the deadlift he did: Stiff-legged deadlift, bent over barbell rows, power shrugs, lat pulldown, arched back good mornings.
For the bench press he used: Close-grip bench, incline bench, dips, skull crushers and DB flies.
For the squat he did: Paused squats, front squats, leg press, hack squats
On the competition lifts, weighted abs
His assistance work was typically in the 6-10 reps range, although he could go as high as 12 on more isolated movements.
Progression model
For the main lifts he used a linear progression, starting his cycle with sets of 10 reps for 2 weeks (, then sets of 8 for 2 weeks, then sets of 5 for 4 weeks, triples for 2 weeks, doubles for 2 weeks, singles for two weeks.
The weights gradually increased as the reps decreased:
Note how the volume for the competition lifts is low (2 work sets). Most of his volume was done on assistance work, on which he’d have 3 work sets for 3-5 assistance movements per workout.
In the last 2-3 weeks, assistance work was greatly reduced, or even stopped completely to allow for maximum recovery and peaking.
Coan’s cycle is a perfect example of not killing yourself on the competition lift and building strength through adding muscle mass from a lot of assistance work.
There is still a constant increase in load on the main lifts, which requires less patience than a Sheiko approach (for example) which sticks to the same weights for a very long time.
I’d say that compared to the other systems we will see, the Coan cycle is a good “middle ground” approach.
BORIS SHEIKO’S TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN PERIODIZATION
Boris Sheiko was originally a weightlifting (olympic lifting) coach and his methodology illustrates that.
General description of the system
It revolves around a high frequency of training on the competition lifts and using very little assistance work. His programs normally have 3 to 5 training days per week, depending on the level of the athlete, and each of the 3 competition lifts are performed frequently.
The squat is trained 2-3 times per week, often twice in a workout (e.g starting with squats, moving on to the bench and doing squat again afterwards), the bench press 3-4 times per week and the deadlift twice per week with a third workout using a variation of the deadlift (deficit deadlift, deadlift floor to knees, rack pull)
Most of the assistance work (which is typically 1 or 2 movements per session, if that) are variants of the competition lifts like deficit deadlift, paused squat, paused bench press, bench press with bands, rack pull, etc.. It doesn’t include much isolated movements (flies and triceps extension mostly).
There are a high number of sets per exercise, 5-6 most of the time (up to 9 when doing doublés on squats). However volume is waved during the week. Some days have a high volume others will have a moderate volume and some a low volume of work. Note that the whole periodization model itself is too complex for a simple article, if that’s a style of training that interest you, I suggest reading Sheiko’s book.
The reps normally stay between 3 and 5 for most of the cycle. Sets of 2 and rarely 1 will be included for a few weeks at the end of the cycle.
Progression model
Most of the work on the competition lifts is done between 70 and 85% of your max, never pushing a set close to the limit. Progress is made by becoming extremely efficient technically and also by building muscle through a high volume of work on the main lifts.
The loads are waved during the week: some days working up to 85%, other not going above 75 or 80%. 90% weight are rarely used and there is no maxing out until a competition or test.
This lower intensity level is what allows you to do a high frequency and high volume on the lifts, which is conducive to both technical mastery and neurological efficiency (better intra and inter muscular coordination, synaptic facilitation).
Volume is higher earlier in the cycle and does decrease at the end of the cycle, where weights will be more in the 85-90% range. I’d say that the average intensity of the earlier phase over around 75% and it’s around 85% in the later phases.
Note that in Russian (former Soviet methodology) the factor they use to calculate how hard a workout is, is the number of lifts above 80%.
For example if you go from the following:
Squat
- 60% x 5
- 65% x 5
- 70% x 5
- 75% 2 x 3
- 80% 3 x 3
- 85% x 3
Number of lifts at or above 80% = 12
Average intensity = 72%
To…
Squat
- 60% x 5
- 65% x 5
- 70% x 5
- 75% x 5
- 80% 2 x 3
- 85% 3 x 3
Number of lifts at or above 80% = 15
Average intensity = 74%
That represents a progression even though the weights used were in the same range.
So progress is made by increasing the number of reps at or above 80% and the average intensity, not necessarily by going heavier.
Sheiko’s approach is for the very patient and task-oriented lifter. It almost becomes like a job where you have to do the same tasks every day. For some it is very comfortable and the focus on technique is very satisfying, but it will drive some people mad!!!
Here’s what a training week can look like:
FRED HATFIELD’S 80 DAYS CYCLE
Fred Hatfield Ph.D., A.K.A “Dr. Squat” squatted 1015lbs at 45 years of age. And he was also one of the most scientifically minded lifters on the 90s. He was probably the one who ushered the era of thinking about strength training scientifically.
Among other things, he went to the Soviet Union to learn from their weightlifting coaches and applied what he learned to powerlifting.
You’ll find that Hatfield’s system is very much in line with Russian training literature, with an American touch (more on that later). In fact it is much more similar to Soviet/Russian training than Westside barbell despite Louie claiming that his system was based on Soviet training (in reality you’ll see for yourself that it couldn’t be further from it).
By the way, Dr.Squat’s 80-days powerlifting cycle is the program I used to first deadlift 500lbs at 18 years of age. In fact, I wrote a program myself, that used Dr.Squat’s 80-days cycle as a skeleton. You can find it here.
The program looks somewhat linear, but in reality it’s 3 different training blocks, each using a different progression model.
General overview of the program
One particularity of the program is that it doesn’t use a weekly split, Squat and bench aren’t always on Mondays, it can be on another day of the week. Although you can make it simpler by using a weekly split. Dr.Squat might have been overly “sciency” with the rest needed after each specific workout.
It uses an uncommon split: you have two squat and bench days and two deadlift days per microcycle (let’s say per week to simplify things).
For most of the training cycle you have two types of work heavy and fast (kinda like the Westside max effort/dynamic effort set-up).
The workouts per microcycle/week of training looks like this:
Bench and squat #1
- Bench heavy
- Squat compensatory acceleration training (CAT)
- Bench press overload (unracking and holding 120% of your max at arms length)
- Bench assistance work
Deadlift #1
- Deadlift heavy
- Deadlift assistance work
Bench and squat #2
- Squat heavy
- Bench press compensatory acceleration training (CAT)
- Squat assistance work
Deadlift #2
- Deadlift CAT
- Deadlift assistance work
There is one day of rest after each workout, giving you a 8 days (rather than. 7 days, or weekly) microcycle.
In the first block of training the assistance work is more general (e.g. more typical bodybuilding work) done for 8-12 reps. It targets overall hypertrophy.
In the second training block, for the first 3 “weeks” the assistance work becomes more specific (e.g. variations of the lifts) or aimed at strengthening your own muscle weaknesses (e.g. work for the limiting muscle in each lift). Sets are lowered to 6-8 reps.
Starting from the last “week” of the second training training block, right into the peaking week, assistance work is removed to allow for maximum recovery. You only perform the competition lifts.
Progression model
There are two main progression models, one through volume (block 1) and one through load (blocks 2 and 3).
On block 1, on the heavy days for each lift you use 85% of your maximum, increasing the number of sets from microcycle to microcycle (training week to training week).
Microcycle 1 = 3 sets of 5 @ 85%
Microcycle 2 = 4 sets of 5 @ 85%
Microcycle 3 = 5 sets of 5 @ 85%
Microcycle 4 = 6 sets of 6 @ 85%
*Note that I personally find that starting at 80% tends to work better for most.
The CAT days use a static load (doesn’t increase from “week” to “week”) at 80% for 5 sets of 2 reps lifted as fast as possible. Note that it’s the intent to move fast that matters, not the actual barbell speed.
For block 2, on the heavy days the weight and rep are increased:
Microcycle 5 = 3 sets of 2 @ 90%
Microcycle 6 = 3 sets of 3 @ 90%
Microcycle 7 = 3 sets of 2 @ 95%
Microcycle 8 = 3 sets of 2 @ 100% (of the pre-cycle maximum)
Then you have the peak week:
Wednesday: Only do the overload holds for 3 set of 10 seconds at 120% of your max
Contest day: 1st attempt 100% of your previous max, 2nd attempt 105% of your previous max 3rd attempt 105% +5-10lbs.
There is not other training that that on contest week. Although I personally find that doing something like 3 x 1 @ 70% either the day prior to competing on 2 days prior works even better for most.
I can attest that I’ve pretty much never seen this program not work. How well it works depends greatly on the assistance exercises you select. I suggest no more than 2-3 assistance per lift. In the first block you can use more of a bodybuilding split:
Bench & squat #1 = chest, delts and triceps
Deadlift #1 = Back & biceps
Bench & squat #2 = quads, hamstrings, calves
Deadlift #2 = traps, lower back, abs
And in the second block you make the assistance more specific to the main lift of the day, for example:
Bench & squat #1 = Board press, floor press, or close-grip bench press
Deadlift #1 = Rack pull or RDL
Bench & squat #2 = Top half squat, paused squat or front squats
Deadlift #2 = Deficit deadlift, or snatch-grip deadlift
I find this program to be mentally easy to follow; you don’t repeat a similar workout twice, you have different types of work (heavy, explosive, overloads, hypertrophy work) and more variety than Sheiko. It still might be hard for the super aggressive lifter who wants to go up in weight every workout and train to his limit.
WESTSIDE “CONJUGATE” SYSTEM
The system created by Louie Simmons has gained cult status in the strength-training world and has even expanded to the world of sports (a lot of athletes use the system in their physical preparation). And for a while, it had some of the best equipped powerlifters in the world.
It is my belief that the Westside conjugate system as it was originally designed was built to maximize performance in “equipped” powerlifting (using bench shirts, squat/deadlift suits and briefs, monster knee wraps, etc.).
If you look at how the system is built from exercises selection to accommodating resistance to the emphasis on which muscles are trained, it all seems to be designed to maximize strength in the top end of each lift, the part where the suits, wrap and shirts help the least. While neglecting low-end strength, where the equipment does a lot of the work.
For example:
Max effort work (once per week for squat/deadlift, once a week for bench): partial lifts like board presses, rack pulls and box squats are the variations mostly used, and they cut out the bottom part of the lift.
Dynamic effort work: they add bands and chains to their dynamic effort work, making the top half of the movement 20-40% (sometimes more) heavier than the bottom half. Again, putting the emphasis on strengthening the last part of the exercises.
Assistance work: they do a lot of work for the triceps and very little for the pectorals; triceps dominate the top half of the bench whereas the pectorals are more important in the bottom.They do a lot of hamstring and glutes work but a lot less for quads (hamstrings are more important in the middle part of the deadlift and glutes in the top half). Etc.
Sure you can adapt the system to the raw lifter, by going with full range lifts for the max effort workouts, removing chains and bands and including more pectoral and quads assistance work, but much fewer raw powerlifter have used the system successfully than equipped lifters.
General description of the system
There are four main components to the Westside system: the max effort method, dynamic effort method, repetition effort method on assistance work and GPP/increasing work capacity.
This terminology is from Vladimir Zatsiorsky:
Max effort method = lift heavy
Dynamic effort method = lift explosively
Repetition methods = do higher reps
Max Effort Method: This consists of working up to a maximum set of 1 to 3 reps (mostly singles). Typically the Westside guys did 3-4 sets that are heavy enough to be qualified of maximum effort (92%+). The particularity is that they change the maximum lift every week. For example, week 1) floor press, week 2) 3 boards press, week 3) Buffalo bar bench press, week ) close-grip bench press from pins (top half). There are two max efforts workouts per week; one for the bench press and one for the squat/deadlift.
Dynamic Effort Method: Here they do a high number of sets (8-12) with low reps (2-3) and a low barbell weight (40-60%). Chains or bands are added to make the top half of the movement around 80% (so adding 20-40% of band/chains weight). The whole thing is lifted as fast as possible. There are also two of these workouts per week, one for the bench (using the bench press) and one for the squat/deadlift (using the box squat to competition depth and deadlift).
Repetition effort method: While most people associate Westside with the max effort, dynamic effort or chains and bands, the bulk of their training is on assistance work done for moderate-to-high reps. They do call those “special exercises” to make it sound more scientific than it is. It’s really just regular exercises targeting key muscles they want to develop. Thus, those who apply the system successfully are there ones who are better at selecting the proper assistance work; to fix the muscle(s) holding back their lifts. This is done on all training days, once the main method (max or dynamic effort) lift has been completed.
General Physical Preparation exercises: This is low-intensity conditioning work simply aimed at making the powerlifter more fit. The more fit you are, the more volume you can tolerate and the faster you can recover. At Westside this is typically done by pulling a sled, pushing a prowler, doing loaded carries like farmer’s walk or wheelbarrow walks. They favour longer duration at a slower pace; Louie probably came up to that either instinctively or through trial and error, but it was a good decision as going more intense would have led to more central fatigue, affecting their main workouts. The GPP was either added at the end of a few workouts per week, or done in bonus sessions during the week.
In simple terms we could say that:
You build the muscle to increase your strength potential with the repetition effort method; you maximize your neurological factors, allowing you to use more of your strength potential, with the max effort and dynamic effort method and you improve your recovery with GPP work.
Progression model
The progression model used by Westside is both simple and complicated!
It’s simple for the max effort workouts, a bit more complicated on the dynamic effort day and not really existent on the assistance work.
On the max effort method you simply work up to a maximum lift every session. And since you are rotating the exercises every week, we can’t really talk about a planned progression. What you should do is not your results on each max effort workout, so that when a certain lift comes back up a second time, you can see. If there is a progression compared to the first.
On the dynamic effort method they will often use 3-weeks waves, increasing the weight from week to week before coming back down for another wave. But true load progression is achieved by pushing up your competitive lifts since the weights to use on the dynamic effort method are based on percentages of the competition movements.
Louie doesn’t give much recommendations in terms of progression model for the repetition effort method. The two recommendations he has made over the years was to a) gradually do more work b) shoot for repetition records, not weight records.
So we could say that, overtime, you attempts to increase your reps with a given weight on the assistance work or very gradually add sets.
I believe that one of the reasons why Westside was so popular at one point, besides its aura, was the extreme variation within the system. The max effort lifts change weekly, the assistance work/special exercises can be changed at will. There are many different types of training done at the same time (heavy, explosive, pump work, conditioning work). In our world of impatience and attention deficit in most lifters, the system can be very attractive.
It will also attract the type A personality; aggressive, extroverted, who needs to “win” every workout. They are the ones who want to always push to their limit.
DOUG HEPBURN SLOW PROGRESS SYSTEM
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is Doug Hepburn’s system. Hepburn was the first man to bench press 500lbs, ultimately reaching 580lbs. He also did a clean & press of 380lbs, a push press of 500lbs, as well as an 800lbs squat and deadlift. These lifts were done in the early 1950s, before steroids were being used.
If Westside has a lot of variation, Hepburn has none!
He stuck to the same lifts year round and didn’t include assistance exercises (he found those to limit his capacity to perform the main lifts and recover).
And if Westside test their max weekly, Hepburn likely had the slowest progression known to man!
General overview of the program
Hepburn focused on 4 main lifts: bench press, squat, deadlift, shoulder press. To those he added barbell curls.
Those lifts were each hit twice per week:
- Monday: Squat & bench press
- Tuesday: Deadlift & overhead press
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: Squat & bench press
- Friday: Deadlift & overhead press
- Saturday & Sunday: Rest
Originally, Hepburn used two different workouts during the week. A “power” workout and a “pump” workout. The power workout revolved around sets of 2-3 reps and the pump workout on sets of 4-5 reps.
- Monday: Squat & bench press (power)
- Tuesday: Deadlift & overhead press (power)
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: Squat & bench press (pump)
- Friday: Deadlift & overhead press (pump)
- Saturday & Sunday: Rest
But eventually he dropped his recommendation to do the “pump” portion as it was harder to recover from and limited his progression.
So when I talk about the Hepburn model I specifically mean his “power” workout.
It uses 8 work sets of 2-3 per exercise (2 main lifts and curls done with the deadlift and overhead press).
8 sets looks like a lot of work, but it’s only 16 total sets because there are only 2 exercises. And the volume/work is actually low because of the low reps. Between 33 and 48 repetitions per workout.
Progression model
So far Hepburn’s program is super simple and basic. The key though, is in the progression model.
Hepburn believed in using the slowest progression possible, to allow the body to properly adapt: don’t go up in weight until the body is ready for it.
You can make strength gains of 0.25 to 2% per week, depending on your level (beginners can progress faster). If you add weight faster than you gain strength you’ll hit a wall and progression will stop… you also risk injuries or burning out.
On the other hand, there is no drawback in adding weight at a slower pace that you are gaining strength (except that it can be boring to some).
The Hepburn model is as follow:
The goal is to do 8 sets of 3 reps with the same weight. When you have done all 8 sets for 3 reps, you do up 5-10lbs.
You start at 1 x 3, 7 x 2 and add one rep per workout.
For example:
Workout 1
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
Workout 2
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
Workout 3
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
Workout 4
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
Workout 5
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
Workout 6
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
Workout 7
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 2 @ 300lbs
Workout 8
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
1 x 3 @ 300lbs
Workout 9
1 x 3 @ 310lbs
1 x 2 @ 310lbs
1 x 2 @ 310lbs
1 x 2 @ 310lbs
1 x 2 @ 310lbs
1 x 2 @ 310lbs
1 x 2 @ 310lbs
1 x 2 @ 310lbs
Etc.
The starting weight is around 87%
As you can see, it’s rather monotonous both in terms of the slow progression and lack of variety. But it works. And the longer you can stick with it, the better it works. However, not every type of personality can stick with it for the long run.
PAVEL TSATSOULINE “POWER TO THE PEOPLE”
Pavel burst into the scene in the late 1990s/early 2000s. A large part of his success can be attributed with his “Soviet schtick”. Both with the stories he used to illustrate his concepts and the Soviet origin of his methodology.
He was also the one who popularized the use of kettlebells in the West.
His basic training program is from his first book, “Power to the People”.
General overview of the system
His training methodology is based on the following principles:
Minimalist approach: his PtP program used only two exercises (!!!): the deadlift and a press.
Very low volume of work: Two sets of 5 reps on two exercises per workout
High frequency: the two lifts are done five days a week
Focus on strength-skill: starting light, with a weight you can master, and compensate by creating maximum voluntary tension when lifting
Cycling: either a more linear or wave-like approach, but essentially ramping up the weight, coming back down, and building back up again… on and on.
Progression model
There are three main progression models in PtP. Linear, step loading and wave loading.
Linear progression: You “start too light” at around 70% of your max for 2 sets of 5 reps, you add 5lbs per workout until you can only do 3 reps. At which point you come back down, starting 5-10lbs higher than you first started.
It can look like this:
Workout 1: 2 x 5 @ 200lbs
Workout 2: 2 x 5 @ 205lbs
Workout 3: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 4: 2 x 5 @ 215lbs
Workout 5: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 6: 2 x 5 @ 225lbs
Workout 7: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 8: 2 x 5 @ 235lbs
Workout 9: 2 x 5 @ 240lbs
Workout 10: 2 x 3 @ 245
Then you’d start over starting at 205 or 210lbs.
Step-loading progression: Here you stay at the same weight for 2-4 workouts but make bigger jumps in weight (10lbs instead of 5lbs).
For example:
Workout 1: 2 x 5 @ 200lbs
Workout 2: 2 x 5 @ 200lbs
Workout 3: 2 x 5 @ 200lbs
Workout 4: 2 x 5 @ 200lbs
Workout 5: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 6: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 7: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 8: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 9: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 10: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 11: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 12: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 13: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 14: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 15: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 16: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 17: 2 x 5 @ 240lbs
Workout 18: 2 x 5 @ 240lbs
Workout 19: 2 x 5 @ 240lbs
Workout 20: 2 x 5 @ 240lbs
Workout 19: 2 x 3 @ 250lbs
Then you’d start over with 10-20lbs more than for the previous cycle (210-220lbs)
Wave-loading: In wave loading you come down in weight before the body forces you to do it (when you can’t reach 5 reps anymore). I like to use waves of 3 workouts.
For example
Workout 1: 2 x 5 @ 200lbs
Workout 2: 2 x 5 @ 205lbs
Workout 3: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 4: 2 x 5 @ 205lbs
Workout 5: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 6: 2 x 5 @ 215lbs
Workout 7: 2 x 5 @ 210lbs
Workout 8: 2 x 5 @ 215lbs
Workout 9: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 10: 2 x 5 @ 215lbs
Workout 11: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 12: 2 x 5 @ 225lbs
Workout 13: 2 x 5 @ 220lbs
Workout 14: 2 x 5 @ 225lbs
Workout 15: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 16: 2 x 5 @ 225lbs
Workout 17: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 18: 2 x 5 @ 235lbs
Workout 19: 2 x 5 @ 230lbs
Workout 20: 2 x 5 @ 235lbs
Workout 21: 2 x 5 @ 240lbs
Workout 22: 2 x 5 @ 235lbs
Workout 23: 2 x 5 @ 240lbs
Workout 24: 2 x 5 @ 245lbs
Etc.
Again, when you can’t reach 5 reps you come down, probably mid-cycle and build back up.
I find this approach to be very good for athletes who practice a physically demanding sport. For example, it would be a good approach for fighters or in-season football players when it comes to strength training.
PAVEL’S 5x5x5
The Power to the People program might be a bit too minimalist for most. At only two exercises total, it is likely gonna get boring fast for most trainees.
So Pavel came up with another, more complete, plan which used the same pattern of doing the same lifts 5 days per week for 2 sets of 3-5 reps, but now on 5 exercises.
General overview of the system
The plan is still simple: select 5 lifts that cover the whole-body (e.g. squat, bench, deadlift, military press, pull-ups) and do them 5 days a week for 2- sets of 3 reps.
Typically you train Monday through Friday and take the weekend off.
Progression model
The progression in in three steps; first add sets, then add reps, then add weight.
For example
Workout 1: 2 x 3 @ 80%
Workout 2: 3 x 3 @ 80%
Workout 3: 4 x 3 @ 80%
Workout 4: 2 x 4 @ 80%
Workout 5: 3 x 4 @ 80%
Workout 6: 4 x 4 @ 80%
Workout 7: 2 x 5 @ 80%
Workout 8: 3 x 5 @ 80%
Workout 9: 4 x 5 @ 80è5
Workout 10: 2 x 3 @ 82.5%
Workout 11: 3 x 3 @ 82.5%
Workout 12: 4 x 3 @ 82.5%
And so on…
If you are not used to high frequency work of whole-body work, you can start at 75% instead of 80%.
As you can see, it’s a very “Russian approach” of building strength without maxing out or going to your limit with a given weight. Through accumulating lots of fairly heavy work on the main lifts you want to get strong at, becoming very neurologically efficient and mastering technique.
SOME OBSERVATIONS
As you can see, among all those systems, the only one that is markedly different in its nature is the Westside approach. All the other systems a) keep the main lifts as the centre-piece of the workout for the duration of the training cycle b) rarely, if ever max-out in training.
All of these systems, except Westside, revolves around mastering each weight and keeping reps in the tank on the main lifts.
Ironically, Louie always said that Westside was based on the old Soviet weightlifting texts. But in reality the Westside systems is just about the furthest away possible from how the Soviet/Russian lifters train(ed).
The main point to emphasize is that displaying strength on the competition lifts is a motor-skill. Becoming better at a skill requires both frequency and volume of practice. But to be able to recover from a higher frequency and volume of work, you have no choice but to tone down the effort level (proximity to failure) and weights. If you go up to 90% or more too often, you’ll crash and can’t do the high-frequency/high volume you need. Same thing if you take your main lifts close to failure: you will hit the wall sooner than later.
SO WHICH APPROACH IS BEST FOR ME?
Reading this list (which is not a complete list of possible training approaches by the way) one or two likely appealed to you more than others.
But you can also look at it from a personality traits standpoint.
An introverted, patient, borderline OCD personality will find a better fit in the Hepburn or Pavel models.
For the high-strung, gung-oh, aggressive lifter, then the Westside is probably the best option.
For someone who likes to follow a structure but still need some variation, the Hatfield’s 80-days program or the Coan cycle are probably the best approach.
The Sheiko approach is for those with the highest volume tolerance, likely smaller, fit, lifters.
And those who are looking for a way to get stronger while doing a lot of sport training (e..g MMA 4-5 days a week), the PtP approach can be an interesting option.
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, no single strength system is universally “best.” Each of the methods discussed has produced remarkable results for the lifters who embraced them, but success came not only from the system itself, but also from how well it matched the athlete’s personality, lifestyle, and recovery capacity. What they all share is a structured approach to progression, a respect for long-term adaptation, and a focus on practicing the lifts in a way that builds technical mastery and resilience.
The real takeaway is that strength training is not about chasing short-term numbers or copying what the strongest lifters do—it’s about finding a model that you can commit to, that fits your temperament, and that allows you to progress without burning out. Whether you thrive on variety, patience, intensity, or simplicity, there is a system that will meet you where you are. Choose the one that best aligns with who you are as a lifter, and then give it the consistency and time it deserves. That’s how strength is truly built.
