Build Strength With This 3 Day Powerbuilding Program

If you want to lift like a powerlifter but look like a bodybuilder, this powerbuilding program is for you.

If you love the feeling of blood vessels popping in your eye as you squat your new max, but also love chasing the pump... I think you'll like this.

Related - Build Your Own Muscle Building Workout

So the goal of this workout is to build a solid strength foundation. This workout isn't going to get you to the elite levels, but it will give you the knowledge and foundation you can build off of.

And you'll build some muscle.

Diet and Nutrition

If you want to build muscle and get stronger, you're going to have to make better food choices.

This doesn't mean you have to ditch the good stuff, it just means you need to try to eat more nutritious foods between the good stuff. Try to ease your way into an 80/20 rule. That means 80% of your calories should come from nutritious sources, while the remaining 20% of your calories can come from whatever you'd like.

This ensures you get plenty of nutrition, but allows you to still live a little.

When it comes down to food, pick a protein, a carbohydrate, and some fats. Cooking food that comes from fresh sources is ideal — but frozen produce and meat also will work. The trick is to find a variety of great protein sources.

Log Your Food

Logging your food is going to help you get a handle on your calorie intake and give you an idea where you can tighten things up. It's important to log your food accurately, whatever you eat.

It's okay to "slip up" and have too many french fries. It's okay to have the ice cream — just log it.

Learn to Cook

Cooking is an essential skill for life. Not only will you get in better shape, you'll be able to create meals that are satisfying. They will be tasty, and you will evolve your cooking skills over time.

Be adventurous. Make colorful dishes. Eat good food.

Supplementation

I was that guy that would blow his paycheck on supplements. I would buy all of the fancy new supplements, load up on the largest amount of cheap protein I could find, and I would buy anything that I thought could help me get there.
None of it worked... but it was my fault.

Until you get your diet together and start making consistent progress towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle, supplements won't help. They won't work like a band-aid — they will just cost you money that you could have spent on wholesome foods.

Once your diet is reasonably consistent, adding supplements can improve your performance, recovery, and endurance.

Pre-Workout

Pre-workouts are great because you can get a jolt of energy that can help you power through a workout. Not all pre-workouts are created the same.

Read the labels and find a pre-workout that suits your needs. There are some that contain a lot of stimulants, while others do not.

Some offer a dose of creatine, while others may offer something else.

Protein

Protein is essential for building muscle, recovering from workouts, and improving your overall health. Find a whey protein you like, that is made from quality ingredients, and something you can afford.

The great thing about a whey protein is you can mix some into a tasty shake, your oatmeal, or even into a sludge. You can have a sweet tasting snack packed with nutrition.

Creatine

Creatine is one of the longest-studied supplements in the fitness industry. It's one of the cheapest, too.

Creatine can help you with your recovery, muscle endurance, and overall strength.

Cardio and Conditioning

Not only is having a healthy heart and lungs important for living a healthy life, you can also lift more.

Improving conditioning levels can improve your overall work output, endurance, and stamina. This means you won't get as tired in the sack.

Doing cardio doesn't mean you have to slog along on a treadmill.

3 Day Powerbuilding Workout

Warm Up

Warming up primes the body to perform. Take the time to get your body ready to lift some heavy weight.

Try jumping on the treadmill and walk for three minutes. Follow that up with a 30-second balls-to-the-walls high-intensity sprint. Finish that off with 90 seconds of walking.

This is going to shock your body into performing and bring your core body temperature up.

Post-Workout Conditioning

After you are done lifting, it's time to get on for a little bit more cardio. The extra movement post-workout helps your body get into recovery mode quicker.
Try this high-intensity interval plan to get the most out of your cardio efforts:

• 5 minutes brisk walking
• 30 seconds jogging
• 30 seconds walking
• 30 seconds sprinting
• 30 seconds walking
• 45 seconds sprinting
• 1 minute walking
• 1 minute jogging
• 1 minute walking
• 30 seconds full sprinting
• 1.5 minutes walking slowly tapering down to finish

Workout Schedule

Lift on the days you can, but if you have room in your schedule, try to have at least one day of rest in between lifts.

• Monday - Day 1
• Tuesday - Off
• Wednesday - Day 2
• Thursday - Off
• Friday - Day 3
• Saturday - Off
• Sunday - Off

Day 1

• Squats - five sets of five reps
• Seated Overhead Barbell Press - four sets of 12 reps
• Romanian Deadlifts - four sets of 10 reps
• Close Grip Lat Pull Downs - four sets of eight reps
• Reverse Hyperextensions - four sets of 15 reps
• Mountain Climbers - three sets of 45 seconds

Day 2

• Barbell Bench Press - five sets of five reps
• Dumbbell Incline Bench - four sets of eight reps
• Bent Over Barbell Rows - four sets of 12 reps
• Skull Crushers - four sets of 12 reps
• Face Pulls - three sets of 15 reps
• Hammer Curls - four sets of 12 reps

Day 3

• Deadlifts - five sets of five reps
• Pendlay Rows - four sets of 6 reps
• Dumbbell Shrugs - three sets of 20 reps
• Seated Calf Raises - two sets of 15 reps
• Wide Grip Seated Row - four sets of 12 reps
• Planks - three sets held as long as possible
• Side Planks - one set per side held as long as possible

Workout Tips

Every time you step into the gym, treat every rep — from warm up until the last rep — like it is your one rep max. Execute perfect form and create a lot of power with each lift.

Strive to add five pounds to the bar each session. This is a simple progressive overload scheme that can add pounds to your lifts.