How To Create Your Own Powerlifting Program (Step By Step Guide)

Learn how to create your own powerlifting program with this comprehensive guide for beginner and intermediate lifters. Discover effective training splits, periodization strategies, and programming principles for the squat, bench press, and deadlift that build strength while managing recovery. Master RPE-based training, accessory selection, and intelligent progression to take control of your powerlifting journey and achieve consistent gains.

Close Grip Bench Press Mistakes You NEED To Avoid

Master the close grip bench press with proper hand positioning, elbow mechanics, and bar path techniques that maximize tricep development while eliminating wrist and elbow pain. Learn how to optimize grip width for wrist-elbow stacking, fix common mistakes like elbow flare and improper touch points, and program this essential accessory movement to build lockout strength and dramatically improve your competition bench press numbers.

Best Bench Press Exercises Tier List

Discover which bench press accessories actually build serious strength with this comprehensive exercise tier list ranking movements from S-tier to D-tier based on proven carryover to your one-rep max. Learn why cambered bar bench press, floor press, and close grip variations dominate the rankings, while popular exercises like Smith machine pressing and bicep curls waste valuable training time. This guide helps powerlifters and strength athletes program smarter by focusing on exercises that deliver maximum bench press gains.

Best Deadlift Exercises Tier List

Building a bigger deadlift requires strategic selection of assistance exercises that actually transfer to competition performance, not just random supplemental work that looks hard in the gym. This comprehensive tier list ranks the most effective deadlift accessories from elite movements like deficit deadlifts and banded pulls to overrated exercises that waste your training time, giving you a clear roadmap for programming decisions based on movement specificity and actual carryover to pulling strength. Whether you struggle off the floor, at lockout, or simply want to optimize your deadlift programming, understanding which assistance exercises deserve priority in your training will help you break through plateaus and consistently add weight to the bar.

What’s The Difference Between Bands And Chains For Lifting?

Discover the crucial differences between resistance bands and chains in strength training, and learn how these powerful tools can revolutionize your training through accommodating resistance. Whether you’re a powerlifter seeking maximal strength or an athlete pursuing explosive power, this comprehensive guide breaks down when and how to implement bands versus chains for optimal performance gains, including specific loading recommendations and programming strategies from an expert strength coach.

Swiss Bar Bench Press

The Swiss bar bench press offers a shoulder-friendly alternative to traditional bench pressing by positioning your hands in a neutral grip that promotes external rotation and reduces shoulder impingement risk. This versatile upper body exercise is particularly beneficial for athletes and fitness enthusiasts dealing with shoulder issues, as it maintains pressing strength development while minimizing joint stress. Learn proper setup, execution techniques, and programming strategies to safely build pressing power with this game-changing barbell variation.

Cross Body Tricep Extension

Master the cross body tricep extension, a powerful unilateral exercise that targets the medial head of your triceps with surgical precision. This bodybuilder-favorite movement requires just one dumbbell and offers an elbow-friendly alternative to traditional tricep exercises, making it perfect for addressing muscle imbalances while building serious upper arm strength and definition.

Rolling Tricep Extension

The rolling tricep extension is an explosive dumbbell exercise that develops bench press lockout strength through dead-stop training, making it a favorite accessory movement among powerlifters and strength athletes. Unlike traditional tricep exercises, this floor-based movement targets the long head of the tricep with explosive force production, directly translating to improved pressing power. Learn proper technique, programming guidelines, and why this exercise should be a cornerstone of your bench press training arsenal.

Inverse Curl

The Westside Barbell Inverse Curl stands as the most effective hamstring exercise you’ve probably never tried, offering a unique closed-chain training approach that builds bulletproof hamstrings while dramatically reducing injury risk for serious athletes. Unlike traditional leg curls that move your feet toward your body, this specialty equipment anchors your feet and forces your hamstrings to control your entire bodyweight, creating a biomechanically superior training stimulus that closely mimics real-world athletic demands. Discover why strength coaches consider this rare piece of equipment essential for developing explosive hamstring strength, improving sprint performance, and preventing the hamstring tears that sideline so many competitive athletes.

SSB Good Morning

Master the Safety Squat Bar Good Morning, a powerful posterior chain exercise that directly improves your squat and deadlift performance by strengthening your hamstrings, lower back, and thoracic spine. This comprehensive guide breaks down the proper hip-hinge technique, programming strategies, and common mistakes to avoid, helping you build bulletproof back strength while maintaining perfect spinal positioning. Learn why this underutilized SSB exercise should be a cornerstone of your accessory training routine for maximum strength gains.