Powerbuilding is the simultaneous pursuit of strength and size. Unlike powerlifting, which focuses solely on maximizing one-rep max strength in the big three, or bodybuilding, which prioritizes muscle growth, powerbuilding combines the best elements of both.
Since many lifters are drawn to elements of both pursuits, powerbuilding remains a popular approach to lifting. Fortunately, a lot of research can help us build an effective powerbuilding routine.
In this newsletter, we’ll give recommendations on how to combine the two seemingly contrasting approaches, but keep in mind that these are guidelines, and should be adjusted to reflect your own priorities. If you value hypertrophy more than strength, lean more into the hypertrophy variables (e.g. go closer to failure, do less strength work), and vice versa.
Volume: The most comprehensive meta-analysis on training volume for strength and size by Pelland and colleagues suggests that we can get most of our potential strength gains with just 5-10 sets/lift/week. For hypertrophy, on the other hand, we would need higher volumes, to the tune of at least 20 direct weekly sets per muscle group. Importantly, you do see diminishing returns on volume for hypertrophy and strength, so we can opt for a middle ground approach. To achieve both strength and size gains, a good approach is to perform 3-10 sets of the main lifts each week. For size, aim for 10-20 hard weekly sets for the major muscle groups.
Repetition ranges: The biggest meta-analysis on repetition ranges/%1RM for strength shows that the heavier you go, the more beneficial training becomes. Conversely, for hypertrophy, you probably want to perform at least five reps per set. So, focus primarily on 1-5 reps for the main lifts to build strength, while using 5-10 reps for hypertrophy-focused exercises to maximize muscle growth.
RPE: The most recent meta-analysis on proximity-to-failure for strength and size suggested that for strength, RPE doesn’t particularly matter. Since going closer to failure generally increases fatigue, it stands to reason that sets should be kept submaximal when training for strength. For size, on the other hand, the same meta-analysis suggests that training closer to failure does improve gains. So, a good heuristic is to perform your big three and accessories at RPE 5-8, but take your hypertrophy work to RPE 7-9. If you’re nearing a competition or max-out, it may not be a bad idea to practice some singles at RPEs 8-10, though.
Frequency: The aforementioned meta-analysis by Pelland and colleagues suggests that while frequency doesn’t make a big difference for hypertrophy, it does play a small role for strength gains. So, you may want to train the main lifts fairly frequently (2-4x/week). For your hypertrophy work, on the other hand, just aiming to hit each muscle at least twice a week will probably do the trick.
Exercise order: The most comprehensive review of exercise order for strength and hypertrophy by Nunes and colleagues found that while exercise order did influence strength gains, it didn’t play a role for size. Since training a lift earlier in the workout seems to improve strength gains for that lift, it makes sense to start your workouts with the big lifts, followed by your accessories, finishing the workout with your hypertrophy training.
Range of motion: A meta-analysis by Wolf and colleagues suggests that performance improvements are range of motion-specific. For your best strength gains, perform most of your training in your desired range of motion (e.g. to parallel depth for squats and squat accessories). For your hypertrophy lifts, the same meta-analysis suggests that emphasizing the stretch slightly – whether by use of a full range of motion or using lengthened partials – would enhance muscle growth slightly.
Exercise selection: For strength, specificity applies – it’s worth picking movements that are similar, biomechanically, to your big lifts. For hypertrophy, different exercises target different areas of a muscle better. This is referred to as regional hypertrophy. For balanced muscular development, you’ll want to make sure your routine contains at least two exercises for each muscle group.
Rest times: A recent meta-analysis by Singer and colleagues on rest times for hypertrophy made the rounds, finding that rest times of just one to two minutes were sufficient to maximize muscle growth. However, this likely doesn’t hold true for strength development. For your big lifts and accessories, you’ll likely want to rest long enough to perform well on each set, which will often be three to five minutes between sets.
These guidelines can help you build your own powerbuilding routine. Remember, these are guidelines based on the literature, but they do allow for tailoring for your preferences and circumstances. Additionally, if you’re mostly interested in strength, or hypertrophy, you can bias variables toward one goal or the other.
That’s it for today’s newsletter. If you’d like early access to these newsletters and even more science-based content, consider checking out our Instagram.
Have a great rest of your week.
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The SBS Team
Greg, Pak, Milo, and Lyndsey
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