Tips for the Raw Powerlifter
I’ve written before about preparing for a raw powerlifting meet and how it seems that there is an endless wealth of information on training for geared powerlifting but very little information for raw lifters.
For raw lifters, the important thing to remember is that you’re training for raw strength. That sounds obvious, but it’s an important thing to keep in mind. Geared lifters train for geared lifting, which is in and of itself practically its own sport. The addition of powerlifting gear changes the very dynamics and technique of each lift and sets it apart completely. Remember that you’re trying to be as strong as possible—you just happen to be prioritizing three lifts. With that being said, here are a few tips.
You need to train the actual lifts. There is a significant neurological component to maximal lifting and having frequent practice with the lift can maximize that. This is similar to what has become famously referred to as “greasing the groove,” but it’s a fact that good trainers have known about for many years. When you frequently train the actual lifts, you’re perfecting your own personal technique and teaching your body to get better at that lift. This is especially important when you’re getting closer to a meet.
Variety
Of course, we all want a little variety in our training. It’s always a good idea to cycle different exercises into your training so that you can strengthen the muscles in a different fashion and bring up weaknesses, but resist the urge to go nuts with the variety. One way to introduce new or different exercises into your programs is with assistance work. This way you keep practicing your main lifts but have the variety necessary to bring up weaknesses and keep you from getting bored. Try cycling assistance movements every three to four weeks. As Jim Wendler says, “Don’t major in the minor.” Assistance moves are there to do just that—assist. Be sure that you are choosing assistance movements wisely, too. Some movements have better transfer than others, and remembering this principle can be vital. What’s going to help your bench more—triceps kickbacks or heavy Swiss bar pressing?
Assistance Work
While we’re on the subject of assistance work, I’d like to elaborate a little. The main purposes of assistance work are to strengthen weak points and promote balance. Promoting balance is critical because there are areas of the body that the power lifts fail to adequately train. While people like to say that the squat and deadlift train the entire body, the fact remains that they just don’t do the job the way other movements do. Training the upper back is crucial to structural balance and can help develop a bigger bench. The abs could always benefit from some dedicated work, too. Focus your assistance work on areas that otherwise wouldn’t be trained.
Weak Points
Bringing up weak points can be looked at in two ways—weak points of the body (such as the neglected areas above) or weak points of the lift. For a raw powerlifter, assistance work should also be related to the points during a lift where you miss (i.e. the bottom, the middle, or lockout). For example, a bencher who misses at the lockout might include board presses or heavy close grip work to strengthen that aspect of the lift. Prioritize full range of motion movements over partial lifts, but don’t abandon partials all together. Partial movements like lockouts have many benefits like strengthening the tendons and ligaments. Another important benefit of lockouts is that they build confidence with a higher weight. It’s very common to feel anxious about getting under the bar for a max attempt with a weight you’ve never lifted before. Rack lockouts can build confidence with that weight because you’ve already lifted it successfully.
Band & Chains
Don’t go too nuts with the bands and chains. These are great tools to use and can make your training a little more exciting, but they shouldn’t make up the heart of your program. Because the strength curve of a raw lifter is usually weak at the bottom and strong at the top, these devices strengthen the top and fail to do the same for the bottom of the movement. Treat them as partial movements and use them sparingly.
Gear
Another thing to focus on with raw lifting that might seem like commonsense is to minimize gear use in your training. Obviously, you should be aware of the gear restrictions of your federation, but even things like a belt should be saved for your heavier work. The logic here is simple—get stronger without the gear and you’ll be that much stronger with it. Most coaches say to hold off using a belt or anything supportive until you’re around 85–90 percent of your max. That’s a pretty good rule of thumb to follow.
Solid Programming
Finally, my advice is to have some kind of solid program to structure your training. The benefits of an effective program can’t be overstated. For starters, having a program prevents you from going into the gym and just screwing around. A program can keep you focused on your goal even when you feel like crap. It also will systematically steer you toward that goal by using techniques that have been proven to work. I prefer programs that have an element of autoregulation. Basically, this means that a program should allow room for the daily fluctuation that is inevitable in your strength level and motivation as well as the stressors that you encounter every day. If a program has you doing 85 percent of your max for six reps today, it doesn’t have any autoregulation. How do you know that your strength level that day allows you to do that? Keep this in mind when shopping around for a good program to follow.
Also remember that more advanced lifters may be able to train with less structure because they know how their body will respond to training and they have the experience to change things as they go. The most important thing to do is to just find what works for you.
Other than the tips above, remember to adhere to the basic tenets of strength training—eat for big lifts and listen to your body.
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Christopher Smith is a strength coach and ACSM certified personal trainer from New York City. He is the founder of Train Better Fitness. In addition, he is a record setting powerlifter and an overall health and fitness fanatic. Contact him at www.trainbetterfitness.com or at Chris@Trainbetterfitness.com. 
Very good post, harder to find training tips for raw lifting it seems.
Close grip bench press doesn’t really increase lockout strength… It’s a good tricep builder (which is turn, yes helps with lockout) but doesn’t really overload the lockout movement because you don’t use enough weight to overload the lockout.
As a raw lifter, I find push press good for lockout (it’s basically a partial). I think using chains would also be good for lockout strength as well as incline press.
Nice article, Its only lately I have been considering the difference between raw and geared lifting. I understand the chains argument, Jim says the same thing. Say if you were an athlete, wouldn’t chains be good in that case. Because then, you’d be building strength along the entire strength curve. Were not training for a meet, so strength at the bottom and top and in between would be the aim. ???
Many good points raised in this article. Particularly appropriate too.
@Alex – He did mention board presses before heavy close grip work – indicating that priority would be placed as such when building lockout strength. He also mentioned that lockout strength is rarely the issue in raw lifters, something I’ve found to be true with myself and my trainees. That said, push presses are an excellent auxillary exercise for bench.
@Jay – The clue is in the title of the article. He is talking about powerlifters (not athletes) who may or may not be training for a meet.
There are differences in geared and raw train but aren’t all of these things obvious and true for geared lifters too? Whether you are raw or geared all of these things ar5e true of training in general
To say that by using bands and chains you only train the lockout is a bit misleading. They cause you to traing the strength curve appropriately with accomodating resistance on the way up, but you should be using enough straight weight and band tension at the bottom that the entire lift is proportional (ie the bottom should still be heavy too).
Would love to see a little more detail on how some of the core lifts change in mechanics based on geared vs. raw lifting (e.g., super wide stance box squats for their carryover to sitting back in a suit vs. raw squats with a narrower stance; changes to bench grip width and touchpoint on body with shirt vs. raw, etc…).
Thanks for the article…!
Good article, its hard to point out that geared lifting is a sport to be trained for without coming off as calling geared lifters weak. More on raw leverage tips and assistance exercises for gaps caused by going raw would be nice.
So following a DE ME template while using chains / bands for DE is not good for a raw lifter ?
Hey guys I’m glad you liked the article. Lots of questions posted here but I’ll try to give some general answers:
I’m not disparaging the benefits of bands/chains for athletes or raw lifters. I do, however, think that the traditional lifts should be given the priority, especially for raw PLers looking to compete (as covered above).
Plenty of lifters and coaches have gotten great benefits from bands and chains. I just think that they sometimes detract from the value of the full competition lifts themselves, especially for the raw crowd.
@Koeff chains are fine for the raw lifter, just don’t go too nuts with them. DeFranco uses chains with his athletes
Great article. Always difficult to find information on differences between raw and geared lifting. Would be awesome to see a bit more detail on how the mechanics of the actual lifts changes though. Especially the squat and bench press.
Thanks!
Very good article, and is my stance on raw training as well. I know a lot of Powerlifters including myself who train using Sheiko with great results. I have always mentioned when training raw you need to be constantly training the full lifts. As I moved through the raw rankings, now 1239 total at 148 (100% raw powerlifting federation), I can confidently modify the program based on my feelings and needs, however I would not recommend modifying the programs for beginners.
Good article.
Maybe im just not smart enough to figure it out BUT I read all kinds of great information on max effort dynamic effort assistance ect. The thing I need help with is structuring a program I don’t seem to find much information on that. What I mean is a general step by step program where they tell you to do ME exercise, then two or three more pressing sets then shoulder press then tri ext ect. I read a bunch of different workouts but I have no idea when or where or how often to do them. One workout a guy is doing max effortstuff then somebody is burning out on pushups and db presses. They say they can’t write a program for you because they don’t know your weaknesses or never seen you lift. I understand that to a degree. But there must be an article that could be written that generalizes a conjugate method program and then I could apply everything I’ve read and begin to fill in the pieces. I can’t train at Westside for a couple years and learn the secrets. If I had a guide I think I could start to put it all together. Hell I would pay a good price for something like that. I don’t mean any disrespect, im just frustrated because I love this sport so much and want to get strong. I know Westside conjugate style ect is the best way to train that’s why I keep after it. Like I said in the beginning maybe all the info is here at my fingertips I just haven’t been smart enough to figure it out. So if someone could get a crayon and draw it out for me I would appreciate it. Lol
Hey Mark,
Lots of coaches (myself included) offer distance coaching services where you can have a program written out for you. That might be something you would want to look into.
Also, just for the sake of playing Devil’s advocate here: you are operating under the assumption that Westside style training is in fact the best method. This isn’t always necessarily true.
Chris,
All powerlifting methods are built to increase raw strength. Raw strength HAS to increase or your total will remain flat. Gear just stops you in the hole and YOU have to press, pull and squat out of it. Gear definitely does increase raw strength, which is why so many “Raw” lifters use gear for over load sets or even just to double their training volume on variations of the big lifts.
My point is, all methods of powerlifting are for “Raw Strength”. There is no “Westside Method for Geared Lifters or Westside Method for Raw Lifters”. It’s all POWERLIFTING!
Gear does not equal a PR. Hard, intense work creates PR’s whether it be Raw or Geared.
@Mark
I know your frustration because I’ve been there too. Over mainly the past 3-5 years I have read countless articles, training logs, Ebooks, Westside Book of Methods, etc in an attempt to put it all together. At this point after much experimentation I have figured out what sems to be working for me. Maybe some of what I am currently doing will at least give you some ideas when evaluating your own training approach.
Background: 41 y/o, not competitive (yet), RAW. Been lifting for about 22 years (17 years ‘lifting’ and the past 5 actually ‘training’ now that I have an idea of how to perform lifts properly and put together a program which works for me).
I currently use a 8-9 week block. I use a mixture of Westside, 5/3/1 and conjugate principals.
4 day split. 3-4 days between similar body parts.
chest (with assistance exercises for shoulders and triceps)
DL (with assistance exercises for lats, hammies, biceps, forearms)
shoulders (with assistance exercises for chest and triceps)
squat (with assistance exercises for lats, biceps, forearms)
The core movement each day will be for 3-5 sets of either 5, 3 or 1 rep depending on the week of the block I am in. This is followed with 1 or 2 supplemental movements to target weak areas for the lift I am training that day. 1 assistance movement for each remaining body part. Supplemental movements will generally be for around 3 sets of 5. Assistance movements are typically 5 sets of 7-10 (depending on the day and week).
On shoulder day, I will perform speed benching for the supplemental movement. Sometimes straight weight, sometimes doubled mini-bands. This follows my main shoulder pressing movement. I will then perform lighter tricep work (7-10 rep range). I may also work in some type of Olympic lift on this day. Sometimes as the first movement before my core pressing and sometimes as an assistance movement. This could be snatch (bb or db), snatch jerk, high pull, clean.
I perform heavier tricep work on my chest day as compared to shoulder day. On chest day I perform lighter shoulder work as compared to shoulder day (like laterals).
Sometimes I will speed pull on DL day as a supplemental or assistance movement or maybe just speed pull on a deload week during a block. The same approach holds true for speed box squating. Again, sometimes straight weight and sometimes with bands.
As for the actual excersies I utilize, currently my setup looks like this:
chest day: bench, pin press, db press, weighted dips, side laterals
DL: dl, high pin pulls, deficit dl, leg curls, calves, bent rows, hammer curls
shoulder: military press, behind neck snatch grip jerk, speed bench, JM press
squat: squat, half squat, calves, pullups, bb curls, wrist curls
After every 3-4 weeks (usually after a deload week) I change up the supplemental and assistance movements. I have a short list of movements which after much trial and error have found work best for me and are designed to bring up my personal weak points.
All days are typically 90 minutes tops. Conditioning is 2-3 times/week. One dedicated day where plyos are used along with other conditioning exercises. 1-2 other sessions on training days usually interval running/biking/eliptical etc.
As the block progresses (usually into the 2nd or 3rd week of 3s for core movements) I start to drop supplemental and/or assistance movements. After the last week I deload and then reassess where my strength level is at so I know where to start at for the next block.
Since I am not fortunate enough to have a powerlifting type facility nearby, I am in a commercial gym, so we do not have any specialized equipment like GHR, reverse hyper, etc. Sometimes we can sneak in some chains, but at least they don’t have a problem with bands.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas as to how to approch setting up your own program as well as get you thinking about what movements to use and when to compliment your core lifts. Good luck!
@Mark -Find a program and stick with it for multiple cycles to see if it works for you. 5/3/1 for Powerlifting (or the regular 5/3/1 manual) is one of the most popular strength training programs around and featured prominently on this site. EVERYTHING is detailed for you and as far as I’m concerned ALL questions are answered in these books. Very easy to follow and the results are amazing. Best of all, it’s only $20.
@Brian K -I think you missed the point of the article. Raw technique is most certainly different than geared technique and needs to be trained accordingly. Whether or not geared lifting can increase raw strength is not the discussion.
Chris, great article.
To say bands and chains don’t work for raw lifting and equate them with partial range movements is misguided at best. You are forgetting the kenetic energy a band stores. Dynamic training works. Since I’ve fully embraced the conjugate method my numbers are skyrocketing.
Let me give you a program that put 45lb on my raw squat in 8 weeks.
1) saftey bar to low box 275+110lb band tension
3*4
2)safety bar to low box 295+110lb band tension
3*4
3)safety bar to low box 295+115lb chain
3*4
4)safety bar to low box 345
3*5
5)raw squat 375+110 band tension
3*4
6)raw squat 395+110 band tension
3*4
7)raw squat 405+115 chains
3*3
8)raw squat 470 3*3
@Major;
You may be the exception then. As someone alluded to above, the resistance of the bands or chains is greatest at the top of the movement, nearest to lockout, and arguably benefits that range of the movement the most. Per your example, doing 275 lbs in a squat with an additional 110 lbs of band resistance makes no sense to me. Why not just do a 385 lb regular squat instead? With 275 lbs, it is 275 lbs that you are fighting against at the bottom until up to about mid-point or 2/3 of the way up – before the band tension kicks in. With 385, you fight 385 from the hole to completion.
The more raw lifters I associate with, the more I’ve come to realize that bands and chains should be limited. You have to train the full ROM big three with no accommodating resistance.
Quite honestly, I had a great thing going with 5/3/1 when I started it a couple years back. Then after a year of it, I wanted to switch to W.S. with all the dynamic work and modified technique (IMO the wide grip benches and wide stance squats are designed for geared lifters – I will not be convinced otherwise). My lifts went to hell. I went back to 5/3/1, re-establishing my own technique and leverages within the fundamental rules of the big three, and dropped all the “speed work”. My raw bench – with index fingers about 19 inches apart on the bar – shot up from 302 to 335 in three cycles – 12 weeks. If I would have followed your template and been doing 225 with 110 lbs of chains, I would never have developed the strength to get 335 off my chest.
I’m not condescending to you. If it’s working for you, keep doing it. But in my experience, it’s not the rule.
@ Mark;
What Sean said to you is dead on the nuts correct. You have to stop agonizing over program details. Don’t let that stuff paralyze you from training. Just find the most basic template, and do it.
I have a couple 5/3/1 spreadsheets available one is designed for PL comp and the other is just the regular 5/3/1 cycle. They are here (in the left margin under “Powerlifting”):
http://mitchberry.blogspot.com/
Let me know if you can download them. I set them to share, but if you have a problem, email me.
I found that actually ADDING a little bit of gear helps. A Slingshot has been great for me, since it has the benefits of board work and partials (letting me handle much heavier weights and getting comfortable with them) while also letting me work the full ROM. I’ve been trying to find a pair of mild briefs that fit right so I can do the same for squats (let’s just say that finding a pair of briefs that fit me has been an expensive journey…). In addition, the Slingshot keeps me in a really good groove, and has helped me get my bench more more disciplined. It’s one thing to keep hearing the same cues, it’s another to have the thing forcing me into the groove.
J.Ja
Thank you! Can we have more raw lifter articles?
Good common sense article. No need to complicate things. Keep it simple. Practice the lifts and search for the perfect rep. Fill in the gaps and work on weak points with well chosen assistance work.
nice article chris, quick and to the point. most programs are writen for raw lifters, they just need to be patient, not like a month or two patient, try like 3 to 5 years. pick one and stay with it. i enjoyed your article on firing your client too.
Thanks Rudy. I’m glad you are enjoying my writing!
What a refreshing article and you didn’t try to sell the Supplement or Energy drink of the Month. The REC-N-CRU is in Az. and one of the most successful Drug-Free Teams around. An old timer “Big Jim Williams once said when asked, “If you want a big bench, then bench.”
I find no fault in your article and reminding people that learning Form,Patience and a good workout program is the key. I look forward to reading more of your articles.