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Collage of woman doing the Big 3 powerlifting moves
Explore this workout:

Workout Overview  •  Primary Lifts  •  Accessory Moves

In 2017, Sylvia Atkinson decided she wanted to lose some weight. At her local health club, Life Time Mississauga in Ontario, she took a liking to heavy iron. A year later, she began competing in powerlifting — a sport in which athletes strive to lift the most weight in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Since then, she has racked up 12 gold medals at the international level, along with four world records.

Now 51 years old, she’s still at it. “Being strong helped my confidence, which also improved my mental health and well-being,” says Atkinson, a certified trainer and Life Time Alpha Strength coach.

In fact, getting — and staying — strong into middle age and beyond is one of the best ways to promote health, longevity, and well-being.

It’s a lot of fun, too, says Atkinson. Lifting heavy weights “isn’t just about the transformation of our bodies but about empowering our minds and spirits,” she enthuses. “Each lift is a declaration of self-love and resilience. We’re not just shaping our bodies — we’re shaping our future.”

Atkinson created (and demonstrates here) the following powerlifting-inspired workout for people curious about maximizing their strength and learning how to perform the Big Three lifts: barbell deadlift, back squat, and bench press. Perform this full-body routine two or three times a week, taking at least one day off between workouts.

If you, like Atkinson, fall in love with powerlifting, you can take the next step in the sport by working with a certified coach, joining a club, and maybe even signing up for a competition.

The Workout

Perform the following moves in order, choosing challenging weights for the primary lifts.

Remember: The focus isn’t on exhausting your muscles but on moving big weights safely. To that end, observe the following guidelines.

Warm up. Don’t jump into a heavy powerlifting workout without a thorough warm-up, says Atkinson. Jog, row, climb, or cycle for five to 10 minutes at a moderate pace on your favorite piece of cardio equipment, or try a full-body dynamic warm-up. (For one of our favorites, check out “The Perfect Warmup.”)

Slow down. Don’t rush through your workout. Because you’ll be moving more weight than usual, you’ll likely need to rest longer between sets: at least two minutes, and up to five minutes for your heaviest lifts. Feel free to do some easy stretches during that time, but don’t add other exercises. (Learn more about the importance of sufficient recovery at “Why Resting During Your Workout Matters.”)

Trust your intuition. Not sure you’re up for a strength session? Save it for another day. “Listen to your body,” says Atkinson. “If you feel you cannot do the planned session, pick a different workout based on how you are currently feeling.”

Emphasize form. Proper execution of each move is paramount to both success and safety in powerlifting. Once you become familiar with the exercises, you’ll want to use as much weight as possible on every set. The final rep of each set should be difficult — but your form should be close to perfect.

The moment you deviate from the optimal execution of a move, end your set, whether you’ve completed all the assigned reps or not. Not sure you’re using proper form? Ask a trainer.

Primary Lifts

Deadlift: 5×5

Repeat to complete five sets of five reps.

  1. Stand behind a loaded barbell with the bar against your shins, feet at shoulder width.
  2. Keeping your back in a neutral position and your chest up, bend at your hips and knees as much as possible (pretend you’re a superhero trying to keep the logo on your chest visible from the front).
  3. Drive your shoulders downward, toward your hips, and keep them there throughout the move.
  4. Grab the bar with a shoulder-width, overhand grip. Think: hips down, chest up.
  5. Without bending your arms, dropping your chest, or rounding your back, push through your feet slowly, increasing the power gradually until the bar starts to lift off the floor.
  6. Keep the bar close to your legs at all times, until you are standing fully upright, knees and hips fully extended.
  7. Pause for a moment.
  8. Reverse the move. If you’re lifting close to your maximum weight, it will be difficult to lower the barbell slowly and under control, but do your best. Dropping a barbell from this position — or lowering it fast — isn’t dangerous, but if it slams down and rattles the rafters a bit, you might draw a little unwanted attention from your fellow gym-goers.
(Home in on the hip hinge to reap the glute- and hamstring-building rewards of the deadlift by learning more at “How to Do the Romanian Deadlift.”)
.

Paused Bench Press: 3×4

Repeat to complete three sets of four paused reps.

  1. Load a barbell in a bench-press rack and lie on your back with the bar roughly above the top of your head.
  2. Take an overhand grip on the bar, hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Have your spotter grab the bar with a slightly narrower, mixed grip (one hand overhand, one hand underhand).
  3. Keeping your feet flat on the floor, your lower back strongly arched, and your glutes and upper back firmly on the bench, signal your spotter to help you lift the bar off the rack.
  4. Once you feel you can support the weight safely, have your spotter release their hands so you are holding the bar over your chest unassisted. This is your starting position.
  5. Lower the barbell slowly, until it touches your mid chest, keeping your elbows close to your torso.
  6. Pause for a slow one-count with the bar on your chest. The bar should remain completely still.
  7. On an exhale, smoothly press the bar back to your starting position. That’s one rep.

Back Squat: 5×5

Repeat to complete five sets of five squats.

  1. Place a barbell in a squat rack at shoulder height. Load the bar with an appropriate weight for you (or, if you’re a beginner, use a bar without weights) and stand facing it.
  2. Take an overhand grip on the bar, slightly wider than shoulder width.
  3. Duck your head underneath the bar so that it rests on the muscles of your upper back (but not on your spine).
  4. Pull down on the bar as if trying to break it over your back.
  5. Walk your feet directly underneath the bar, stand up, and walk back a couple of steps.
  6. With your feet parallel and slightly wider than shoulder width, slowly bend your knees and hips, sitting back as low as possible, aiming to lower down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your lower back in a natural arch and feet planted.
  7. Pause briefly at the bottom of the movement, long enough that the barbell visibly stops moving.
  8. Reverse the move, slowly standing back up.
(The barbell back squat works muscles around multiple joints in the lower body, building strength and muscle in your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. Make sure you’re setting up for this powerful move correctly by reviewing these common setup mistakes.)

Accessory Moves

Rear-Foot-Elevated  Split Squat: 3×10/Side

Repeat to complete five sets of five squats.

  1. Place a barbell in a squat rack at shoulder height. Load the bar with an appropriate weight for you (or, if you’re a beginner, use a bar without weights) and stand facing it.
  2. Take an overhand grip on the bar, slightly wider than shoulder width.
  3. Walk toward the bar and duck your head underneath it so that the bar rests on the muscles of your upper back (but not on your spine).
  4. Pull down on the bar as if trying to break it over your back.
  5. Walk your feet directly underneath the bar, stand up, and walk back a couple steps.
  6. With your feet parallel and slightly wider than shoulder width, slowly bend your knees and hips, sitting back as low as possible, aiming to lower your thighs until they’re parallel to the floor. Keep your lower back in a natural arch and feet planted.
  7. Pause briefly, ensuring that the bar is still at the bottom of the movement.
  8. Reverse the move, slowly standing back up.
(Fine-tune your rear-foot-elevated split squat, also known as the Bulgarian split squat, form to get a leg up on this powerhouse unilateral exercise by checking out “How to Do the Bulgarian Split Squat.”)

Landmine Row: 3×10

Repeat to complete three sets of 10 reps.

  1. Anchor a loaded barbell in a landmine base and attach a wide-grip or T-bar attachment to the free end of the barbell. (Note: If you don’t have access to one of these attachments, you can simply grip the bar.)
  2. Facing away from the anchor point, straddle the barbell. Hinge forward at the waist and grip one end of the attachment in each hand.
  3. Keeping your back flat, row the barbell toward you.
  4. Straighten your arms to lower the barbell to the starting position.

Strict Press: 3×6

Repeat to complete three sets of six reps.

  1. Set the pins in a squat rack to shoulder height.
  2. Place a bar on the pins and load it with a medium to heavy weight.
  3. Stand behind the bar and take an overhand, shoulder width — or slightly wider — grip on the bar.
  4. While bending your arms, walk forward until the bar is close to the front of your neck.
  5. Brace your upper body and core.
  6. Lift the bar out of the rack and step back a foot or two.
  7. Smoothly press the bar directly overhead until your arms are fully locked out.
  8. Hold the top position for a one-count.
  9. Reverse the move, slowly lowering the bar to shoulder height.

Feet-Elevated Glute Bridge: 3×10

Repeat to complete three sets of 10 reps.

  1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet evenly planted on a box, bench, or other sturdy, elevated surface.
  2. Engage your glutes to press your hips up. Extend your hips fully so your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.
  3. Hold this position for one breath, continuing to squeeze your glutes. Take care not to overextend and arch your back.
  4. Reverse the movement with control to return to the starting position.

Increase the challenge by performing single-leg glute bridges with one foot elevated at a time, or by placing a dumbbell or sandbag across your hips.

(See “How to Do the Glute Bridge” for more form finessing techniques.)

Pallof Press: 3×15/Side

Repeat to complete three sets of 15 reps per side.

  1. Anchor a resistance band (or a D handle if using a cable machine) at shoulder height and stand with your left shoulder pointed toward the anchor point and feet at least shoulder width apart.
  2. Grasp the band with both hands at chest level and step far enough from the anchor point to create light tension on the band.
  3. Brace your core, then press the band straight away from your chest until your arms are fully extended. With control, return the band to your chest.

This article originally appeared as “Powerlifting Primer” in the March/April 2025 issue of Experience Life.

Andrew
Andrew Heffernan

Andrew Heffernan, CSCS, is an Experience Life contributing editor.

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