In my last post we went back to one of the smallest units we use in planning training, the microcycle - or the weekly setup. You can read that here. Rather than zooming out, I thought we should first zoom further in, so in this article we’ll discuss some ways that work for structuring the training day.
In this article, we will explore effective strategies for structuring a workout, focusing on warm-ups, exercise selection, and practical session examples for both weightlifters and powerlifters.
Don't Just Sit There, Warm Up
The warm-up sets the stage for your session, but it doesn’t need to take over your workout. Its main job is preparing you for the work ahead. A specific warm-up - lighter sets of your planned lifts, gradually building to your target loads - does this quite effectively.
You’ve probably heard about the benefits of general warm-ups, like a quick row or cycle to raise your heart rate and break a light sweat. While these aren’t harmful, research doesn’t show clear additional benefits from general aerobic warm-ups if you’re already doing specific warm-up sets [1]. So, if time’s tight, you can skip the general piece and get straight to what matters: warming up with focus for the lifts you’re about to hit.
When it comes to mobility, for most people, specific warm-ups (i.e., performing the lift) handle this just fine. If you’re struggling to hit a position, though, adding some dynamic stretching or mobility drills between warm-up sets can help. Personally, I need longer warm-ups with mobility work for weightlifting to achieve the correct positions, but for powerlifting, I often jump straight to the empty bar. The key is to keep your warm-up targeted and brief so it doesn’t take longer than your actual training.
I won’t go deeper into warm-ups here - that could be a whole topic for another day - but it felt worth mentioning. Now, let’s move on to exercise selection and order.
Programming 101: Exercise Selection and Order
When it comes to choosing exercises and determining their order, it comes down to priorities. You need to consider which exercises will deliver the best results, specific to the training goals. These will be your most important exercises.
We won’t dive too deeply into exercise selection itself but instead cover a few key principles and provide some ideas for how you might structure your training day. If you want to learn more about using exercises to overcome weaknesses - specifically for powerlifting, you could check out a recent online seminar I gave on development exercises by clicking here.
On a training day, the session should be structured to keep the main thing the main thing. In other words, it means placing your highest-value exercises at a point in the session when you’re best able to perform them - when the focus is sharp and fatigue is minimal. This approach allows you to give maximum effort, in turn, getting the most out of your session.
For weightlifters and powerlifters, the first exercise is often your competition lift - or something closely resembling it. In many cases, this will be the competition lift itself. However, it might be a variation designed to target a specific technical aspect, or strengthen a particular phase of the movement. This ensures you can give these movements your full focus and execute them to the best of your ability.
Another factor to consider when ordering exercises is the technicality or speed of the movement. Generally, more technical movements - like multi-joint compound lifts - are placed earlier in the session. Less complex movements, such as isolation exercises, are better suited for later. This prioritization allows you to tackle the most demanding exercises while you’re fresh, ensuring better focus, movement quality, and, ultimately, improved results.
Programming 201: Building a Training Day
What might a session look like in practice? Let’s break down an example of a five-exercise session for both a weightlifter and a powerlifter. Keep in mind these examples are designed to illustrate the concepts - not templates to be applied directly.
Let’s start with a weightlifter who is three-weeks out from competition and completing a snatch-focused day. Here’s how a five-exercise session might look:
Weightlifting Example:
- High Hang Muscle Snatch + Overhead Squat: 3x3+3 at 20-30% of Snatch 1RM
- Snatch: x1 at 93%, 3x2 at 88% of 1RM
- Snatch Pull with 1-sec Pause 1” Off Floor: 3x4 at 110% of Snatch 1RM
- Back Squat: 3x2 at 90% of 1RM
- Single-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3x8 per arm at 8-9 RPE
This session starts with a “primer” exercise to warm up and emphasize technical elements, such as bar path and turnover. The focus then transitions to the competition movement itself, followed by a specific strength variation to reinforce the snatch, a leg-strengthening exercise, and an accessory movement targeting the upper back.
Now let’s take a look at a powerlifter who is ten weeks out from competition and completing a bench press-focused day. Here’s how a five-exercise session might look:
Powerlifting Example:
- Spoto Press: x3 at 8 RPE, -10-15% for 3x5
- Flat Dumbbell Bench 3x8 at 8-9 RPE
- Single-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3x10 per arm at 8-9 RPE
- Medium Grip Lat Pull-Down: 3x15 at 8-9 RPE
- Face Pull to Top of Head: 3x15 at 7-8 RPE
This session starts with a variation of the bench press to develop strength and control at the chest through a paused, precise movement. The second exercise focuses on building strength and hypertrophy in the pressing muscles. The session continues with two pulling exercises to enhance upper back strength and stability, and finishes with an accessory movement targeting the rear delts.
While it’s not rocket science, designing effective sessions for competitive strength athletes requires intentional prioritization. Build your sessions around the most important areas of focus, letting other aspects follow in order of relevance. Think of it as a progression: from the most specific to the goal, to the least; from the most complex, to the simplest; and from compound movements to isolation exercises. Following these principles will help your athletes stay focused on what matters most, ensuring their efforts align with their goals.
Final Thoughts
Every athlete has unique needs, and designing a training day should reflect that. These principles provide a solid foundation to ensure you (or your athletes) are set up for success and progress toward specific goals. Remember, the goal always dictates the priorities. Start with the desired outcome, then build your plan around it!
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