Powerlifting for beginners: the sport, the three lifts, a first meet and a practical first block

Powerlifting is the sport of the squat, the bench press and the deadlift. A powerlifting meet is scored on how much you lift on those three. If you already like getting stronger on the big barbell lifts, it's a way to point that at a number and a date.

This page covers what the sport is, how a meet works, what meet records showed about how the three lifts progress, how to think about a first meet, and a practical first block. How the two sports compare is on bodybuilding vs powerlifting. No federation is endorsed here; meet rules differ, and you should read the rulebook of the meet you pick.

What powerlifting is

A systematic scoping review of the sport describes a meet this way:¹

• Three lifts, in order: the barbell back squat, the bench press and the deadlift.
• Three attempts at each. Each lifter picks an opening weight, then a second and third attempt with self-selected increases.
• A total. The heaviest successful squat, bench press and deadlift are added together, and winners are decided within each weight class.
• Three referees judge each attempt as a good lift (a white light) or no lift (a red light).
• Divisions. In "raw", only neoprene sleeves can be worn on the knees for the squat; "wraps" allows elastic knee wraps; "equipped" allows assistive lifting suits. Meets may be "tested" for performance-enhancing drugs or "untested".

The same review notes that the rules differ slightly between powerlifting federations,¹ so check the meet's own rules for details such as equipment. In the sanctioned raw meets that one 15-year analysis used (Powerlifting Australia), the allowed equipment is listed as knee sleeves and a lifting belt.² Para powerlifting is a related sport in which only the bench press is performed.¹

The three lifts

What counts as a good lift in a meet is set by that meet's rulebook, so learn the standard you'll be judged on early and practice to it. A belt was allowed in the raw meets of the analysis above,² and the lifting belt page covers what it changes.

What meet records showed

Two analyses of meet results are worth knowing. Both describe people who competed, not what a beginner will gain.

• How the three lifts progress. A study of 1,896 competitors in 407 meets between 2003 and 2018 compared each lifter's first and final, or maximum, scores. Squat (20.2 to 25.4 kg per year) and deadlift (18.1 to 21.1 kg per year) rose more than the bench press (10.5 to 12.8 kg per year). The change in absolute and relative strength did not differ between sexes, and the strongest men likely gained strength more slowly than weaker men.³
• How lifters chose their openers. In 10,672 entries from sanctioned raw competitions of one national federation (Powerlifting Australia) between 2008 and 2019, lifters' opening attempts averaged 92% of the best they achieved that day, and 93.5% of them improved on the opening weight in later attempts. Winners' first squat averaged 7.0 kg heavier than non-winners', and the authors suggest the opening squat may be one of the most important lifts.⁴

Both are records of who entered and what they did, from one set of meets each. They do not say what training caused the changes. If you want to see where typical meet lifts land by weight class and age, strength standards from meet results has it.

Thinking about a first meet (practical)

None of this is a study finding. It's a checklist for deciding whether to enter one.

• Pick a meet and read its rulebook first. The rules differ slightly between federations,¹ so the one that counts is the meet's. Find meets on a national or regional federation's calendar; this page can't say which meets run where you live.
• Check the division. Raw, wraps or equipped, and tested or untested, are listed on the entry.¹ Raw, in the review's description, allows only neoprene knee sleeves in the squat; my practical reading is that it needs the least equipment to buy.
• Practice the meet's standard in training. Do the lifts the way the rulebook describes, with a spotter or friend watching, for several weeks before the date.
• Plan your attempts on paper. Choose an opener you could lift for a few reps with good form (practical). For context only, the lifters in the Australian raw-meet data opened at about 92% of their best on the day.⁴ A second attempt a little heavier, and a third you hope to make. You get three attempts at each lift,¹ and, in the sanctioned raw meets that analysis used, a total needed at least one successful attempt in each of the three.²
• Know your numbers. The one-rep max calculator estimates a max from a set, and the strength score calculator turns a squat, bench and deadlift total into a DOTS score you can track. A body-mass coefficient such as DOTS is one way overall winners are decided in some meets.¹

A practical first block

This is a practical plan built on common novice structure, not a program from a study. For novices, the ACSM's 2009 stand recommends loads of an 8 to 12 rep maximum, two or three days a week, and it recommends intermediate and advanced lifters eventually emphasize heavy sets of 1 to 6 reps for strength.⁵ The block starts in the novice range and moves toward fives.

Three non-consecutive days a week, alternating workout A and workout B, so one week is A, B, A and the next is B, A, B:

• Weeks 1 to 4: sets of 8. Pick a weight you could lift 10 to 12 times. Leave two or three reps in reserve. (Reps in reserve.)
• Weeks 5 to 8: sets of 5. Move to fives with about the same weight, then add to it. The 5x5 workout is the version with five sets of five.
• Add weight when every set is clean. Add the smallest jump your plates allow. If you miss reps, repeat the weight. (Progressive overload.)
• Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets on the main lifts. (How long to rest between sets.)
• Warm up with lighter sets before the first work set of each lift; the warm-up set calculator lays them out. The plate calculator shows which plates to load.
• Test at the end of week 8, or enter a meet. Work up to a single you could make with good form. A max tested badly isn't a good start.

Common mistakes

• Maxing out every week. Sets of 5 to 8 give you practice on the lifts without testing a max each session (practical). The block above is built that way.
• Training only the lift you like. A meet scores all three,¹ so the total needs a squat, a bench press and a deadlift.
• Skipping the rulebook. How a lift is judged is set by the meet, not by what you do in the gym.¹
• Choosing an optimistic opener (practical). In the Australian raw-meet data, openers averaged 92% of the lifter's best that day.⁴ Open with a weight you're sure of.

Common questions

What is powerlifting?

A strength sport scored on the heaviest successful barbell back squat, bench press and deadlift, added into a total, with winners decided within each weight class.¹

Can women do powerlifting?

Yes. The meet-results study above included about 625 women and 1,270 men, and found no difference between the sexes in the change in absolute or relative strength over time.³ That describes who competed and how their scores changed, not what any one person will gain. Strength training for women covers training for it.

What is a powerlifting total?

The sum of your heaviest successful squat, bench press and deadlift.¹

Do I need a belt, sleeves or a suit?

It depends on the division and the meet. Raw divisions allow only neoprene knee sleeves in the squat, according to the review, while equipped divisions allow lifting suits.¹ The Australian raw-meet analysis lists a lifting belt as allowed there too.² Check the rulebook before you buy anything.

Where do I find a powerlifting meet?

This page can't say which meets run where you live. National and regional powerlifting federations list their meets, and each lists its own rules.

Should I check with a doctor before heavy lifting?

If you have an injury, a medical condition or a medical question, yes. I'm a fitness coach, not a doctor.

If you'd rather not plan it alone

A first block is a template. Which lift is weakest, how the week fits around your job, when to peak for a meet and how to pick attempts are the parts that depend on you. If you'd like the plan built around that, coaching to get stronger explains how it works, and here's how to apply. Otherwise, run the eight weeks, write every set in your log and see where your numbers land against the meet data.