Matt Perryman Matt Perryman

Brian Siders: Intermediate Powerlifting

Courtesy of Brian Siders

This is a high-volume sample workout from powerlifter Brian Siders. Besides being an incredibly strong guy, Brian is also known for his very high volume workouts.

As you see, this program has you training six days a week with an alternating upper body/lower body split. If you’ve never played around with high-volume/high-frequency training, you might want to gradually build up to this over a couple of months.

If not, don’t be surprised if you only make it a week or two before this absolutely crushes you. Still, if you manage to get through it, you’ll be surprised at how your work capacity and strength have improved.

Monday

  1. CG BP: sets of 5, begin at 50% and build to 5RM
  2. 3 Board press: 4×6 at CG 5RM
  3. Floor press: 4×6 (moderate)
  4. Tricep Pushdown: 4×15 (light)
  5. Lats: 8-10 sets

Tuesday

  1. Back squat: 8x3x75%
  2. Bent-over GM: 6×6 to 6RM
  3. Rack pull: to 1RM
  4. Sumo DL: 4x6x60%
  5. Abs 3×15

Wednesday

  1. Bench press: 8×3 at 75%
  2. 3 Board press: 5×3 to 3RM
  3. Incline BP (med. grip): 6x6x60%
  4. DB tri ext: 8×6 (light) w/:15 rest
  5. Lats: 8-10 sets

Thursday

  1. Conventional DL: 8x3x70-75%
  2. DL w/35# plates: 4x6x60%
  3. SLDL w/35# plates: 3x6x55%
  4. Side bends: 3×15

Friday

  1. Speed BP: 10x3x55-65% :45 rest
  2. Pause BP 4×6 to 6RM
  3. Seated military press: wu, 6×6
  4. Side raises: 3×12
  5. Lats: 8-10 sets

Saturday

  1. Box squats: 12×2 at 50-60% 1:00 rest
  2. Olympic squats: 4x6x65%
  3. Speed DLs: 12-15x1x60-65% w/:30 rest
  4. Side bends: 3×12

Brian outlines a weekly progression for the 8×3 day on the big lifts as follows:

  1. 8x3x75%
  2. 8x3x75% + 15lbs
  3. 8x3x75% + 25lbs
  4. 8x3x75% + 30lbs
  5. 8x3x75%
  6. 8×3 to 3RM

The other lifts are at least inspired by Westside, with the use of board presses and dynamic effort work. The majority of the work here is in “the magic zone” of 65-75% of the 1RM. It seems light on paper, but once you get into the thick of lifting 5-7 days a week, you’ll start to understand why.