The holy trinity of weight lifting- Squats, Bench Press & Deadlifts together are the greatest powerlifting foundational workouts that not only challenge your body but show the most significant impact on your physical fitness & strength.
Before we dive into the details, let’s be clear that this isn’t a “which one of these exercises is the best amongst the three?” But rather why these are the best amongst all weight lifting exercises. We’ve compiled a guide outlining the benefits & variations for you to incorporate these powerlifting routines in your workout plan.
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Bench Press
- The Best Order To Train For Powerlifting
- Conclusion
Squats
Squats are an excellent workout routine to build lower body strength, particularly the quadriceps, core and glutes. Due to its intense loading of your whole body, it helps drive your muscle building and growth.
Every beginner and seasoned bodybuilder is acquainted with squats combined with deadlifts as it targets various muscle groups and allows you to achieve maximum efficiency and reach a new fitness level.
A study has shown that a barbell square is a great multi-joint exercise often used by fitness enthusiasts and athletes which helps in building strength in the lower limb and increases muscle mass (1)
How to perform a squat?
To properly perform a squat start with your feet slightly wider than your shoulder width apart, and cross your arms in front by touching your right hand to your left shoulder and vice versa.
Keep your elbows pointed straight ahead, and now shift your weight to the ball of your feet and bend your knees, as close to 90 degrees as you can while looking straight ahead and then push back and repeat.
Variation of squats
- Goblet squat
- Sumo squat
- Pistol squat
- Bulgarian split squat
- Overhead squat
- Single- Leg squat
- Box squat
- Landmine squat
- Skater squat
- One-and-half quat
- Belt squat
Squats for Powerlifting Routine
- Warm-ups: every workout routine requires a warm-up session to ensure there are no injuries. Begin with a warm-up set of squats to activate your glutes, leg and lower back.
- Include variations: you must keep switching up the routine to work up all the different muscle groups. You can switch between front & back squats to overhead squats etc.
- Play with sets & reps: to test your strength and endurance switch between different sets and reps e.g. use heavier weights for lower reps to build strength, and lighter weights for heavier reps for endurance.
- Intensity, volume & frequency: incorporate squats into your training routine for about 2-3 times per week, and keep adding more sets and reps each time. Once you’ve built up your endurance you can increase the intensity with time.
- Equipment: utilize different equipment such as lunges, leg presses and deadlifts to the routine.
- Focus & discipline: you won’t perfect your form and endurance in a day. Keep practising and pushing forward slowly and steadily with focus and discipline.
Deadlifts
A deadlift is a crucial weight training exercise that involves lifting a heavy-loaded barbell or bar off the ground level of the hips, keeping the torso perpendicular to the floor before placing the barbell/bar back on the ground.
A conventional deadlift can be categorised into three different types:
- The setup up refers to the lifter set position that helps stabilise the spine
- The initial pull– this is the crucial part where the deadlift produces the greatest amount of force.
- The lockout– this indicates the significant moment when the lifter finishes and has to be in a completely erect position and have a completely neutral spine without forceful hip extension.
Deadlifts are extremely crucial for building overall strength in your posterior chain including glutes, hamstrings, core and lower back (2).
How to perform a deadlift?
Step 1: Adjust your shin about an inch from the barbell while keeping your feet hip-width apart.
Step 2: Now set your hips back while keeping your knees straight and grip the bar by positioning the bar just outside your shin and with an under grip.
Step 3: Lift the bar with your chest up, thrusting forward and keeping the bar in contact with your legs.
Step 4: Stand back up straight and lift your chest, without shrugging or squeezing your back at the top, lower the weight by carefully landing it down.
Step 5: Repeat!
Variation of Deadlifts
- Romanian Deadlift
- Single-leg Deadlift
- Dumbbell Deadlift
- Sumo Deadlift
- Conventional Deadlift
- Trap Bar Deadlift
- Close-stance Deadlift
- Wide-grip Deadlift
- Deficit-Grip Deadlift
Deadlifts for Powerlifting
- Warm-ups or first set: Deadlifts can be incorporated into your workout routine as a warm-up or as the first workout to get your blood pumping and prepare the muscles for the rest of the routine.
- Supersets: Deadlifts are versatile and can be paired with several other exercises to create a superset that increases overall volume and intensity for Powerlifting, for example, you can pair deadlifts with chin-ups, fibs or front squats to create a superset.
- Stand Alone: while they’re extremely compatible with other workouts, deadlifts can be trained as standalone exercises too as they increase the weight lifting endurance and improve forms & techniques.
Bench Press
Barbell Bench Press is amongst the top three lifts in the Powerlifting sport, along with Deadlift and Squat. Bench Press involves lifting a weight while lying on a bench press rack that helps build major muscles in the back, leg and core.
While a barbell is generally used to hold the weight in a bench press, you can also use a pair of dumbbells. The conventional bench press targets the:
- Pectoralis Major
- Front Deltoids
- Triceps brachii
How to perform a bench press?
Step 1: lie on the bench press rack with your back flat and feet firmly planted on the ground
Step 2: grip the barbell and keep your hands slightly wider than the shoulder width, with your palms facing away from you
Step 3: lift the bar of the rack slowly and hold it directly above your chest while your arms are extended.
Step 4: Then lower the barbell steadily towards your chest and aim it around your nipple level, pause for a moment when it touches your chest before pushing it back to the starting position. Exhale as you do so.
Step 5: Repeat
Variation of Bench Press
- Tempo bench press
- Dumbbell bench press
- Spoto press
- Reverse grip bench press
- Larsen press
- Incline bench press
- Floor press
- Decline barbell press
- Swiss bar press
- Cable chest press
Bench Press for Powerlifting
- Mix & match: powerlifters train with a mix and match of heavy and light weights to help develop strength as well as endurance for lifting weights while bench pressing.
- High-intensity short sets: To maximize powerlifting training combine heavy weights with short sets.
- Focus on form & muscle: to be able to advance in lifting heavier with each set you need to train your body to develop muscle & power to achieve maximum strength and endurance.
- Switch up: Powerlifting is all about strength, you need to switch it up between bench presses, squats and deadlifts to improve your upper and lower body.
The Best Order to Train for Powerlifting
The best order for powerlifting lifting is squats, bench presses and deadlifts. This will allow your body to properly warm up and recover between lifts and can be crucial for competitive training.
Squats go first as they require the most energy and effort; by putting them first you save energy for the subsequent lifts.
With bench press, next it allows you to rest your legs from the intensity of squats and lets you focus on your upper body.
Lastly, Deadlift requires the most strength and endurance and is best saved for last to finish up in a productive & good sweaty workout session.
Safety Tips
- Always warm before lifting to ensure there are no injuries
- Focus on your form and techniques
- Rest & recover before moving on to different exercises.
Conclusion
Deadlifts, squats and bench press are the most important exercises for bodybuilding. These exercises target various muscles in the body and help them grow. These exercises are intense and require strength to perform. To maximize the benefits of these exercises perform them in the order of squats, bench press and deadlift in that order. Make sure you follow proper technique while performing these exercises to prevent injury. If you are a beginner, then take help from a trainer to understand the proper technique.
FAQ
1. What are the three main powerlifting exercises?
The three main powerlifting exercises are:
- Squats
- Bench Press
- Deadlift
2. What is the big 3 strength training?
The big 3 Strength training are:
- Squats
- Bench Press
- Deadlift
3. What are the 3 main workouts?
The big 3 main workouts are squats, bench presses and deadlift.
4. What is 3 sets of 3 powerlifting?
The 3×3 powerlifting sets are:
Squats- 1 rep with 25 pounds
- Bench press- 1 rep with 10 pounds
- Deadlift- 1 rep with 15 pounds
5. What is 3 3 for a workout?
This method refers to a routine that involves performing 3 sets of 3 reps of each exercise.