Powerlifting Attempt Planner: How to Choose Your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Attempts

One of the most common questions lifters have leading into a powerlifting meet is how to choose their attempts. What should your opener be? How big of a jump should you take for your second attempt? And how do you plan a third attempt that is aggressive enough to push your total while still being realistic?

Attempt selection plays a huge role in meet performance. Poorly chosen attempts can leave strength on the platform or force you into unnecessary misses. On the other hand, a well-structured attempt plan helps you build confidence throughout the meet, stay in control of your attempts, and maximize your total when it matters most.

To make this process easier, I created a simple powerlifting attempt planner. By entering the third attempt you want to take, the spreadsheet automatically generates recommended first, second, and third attempts. It also provides both conservative and aggressive options, allowing you to adjust based on how the meet is going, how warm-ups feel, and how your previous attempts move on the platform.

This tool gives lifters and coaches a clear framework for attempt selection, making it easier to walk into a meet with a structured plan instead of guessing on the fly.

Click and download the attempt planner below to start planning your attempts for your next powerlifting meet.

PRs Attempt Selection Spreadsheet

How To Warm-Up To A Top Set In Powerlifting

People often ask how they should structure their warm-ups leading into a top set. Should you take big jumps or small ones? How many sets should you take before the working weight? How many reps should each warm-up include? While the exact approach can vary slightly between lifters, having a clear and repeatable structure makes training sessions smoother and helps ensure you arrive at your top set properly prepared without accumulating unnecessary fatigue.

To make this process easier, I created a simple warm-up planner that does the work for you. By entering your planned top set weight, the spreadsheet automatically generates a full warm-up progression, including the number of warm-up sets, the weight for each set, and the recommended reps. The planner also adjusts the number of warm-up sets based on how heavy the top set is, since heavier weights generally benefit from a few additional jumps while lighter weights can be approached more quickly.

If you’ve ever wondered how to structure your warm-ups for squat, bench press, or deadlift, this tool provides a clear framework you can follow every session. Click and download the warm-up planner below to start using it in your training.

Powerlifting Warm-Up Planner

 

Squat Walkout Tutorial: Setup, Timing, and Consistency – CLICK HERE TO VIEW

In this video, we break down squat walkout technique in detail, including setup, timing, consistency, and how to minimize wasted movement so you can stabilize heavy weights more efficiently. Over the past decade, walkout technique across powerlifting has improved significantly, but common errors like rushing, inconsistent steps, and unnecessary movement still show up frequently, especially at the local level. A consistent and repeatable walkout can be the difference-maker for advanced lifters trying to control maximal loads, so this video covers the most common faults, the key anchors that create stability, step-by-step tutorials for both the 3-step and 2-step walkout, and how to optimally set rack uprights based on your stance and lead foot. Whether you are a beginner learning the fundamentals or an experienced lifter trying to improve that final 2-3% of performance, this guide will help you build a more controlled and repeatable squat setup. Click the link above to view!

BFR Training for Powerlifters: When, Why, and How to Use It – CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training is something that had a surge in popularity within powerlifting years ago, but has largely fallen out of the conversation. In this video, I break down what BFR training actually is, what is happening physiologically when we partially occlude blood flow, and how that allows us to create a meaningful hypertrophy stimulus with very light loads. From there, I discuss why BFR fell out of favor in powerlifting, how shifts in programming trends and gym environments played a role, and why it may be time to reconsider it as a useful tool. We take a look at how BFR can be implemented to add hypertrophy while limiting mechanical stress on the joints and tendons, how it can be used to manage cranky elbows and knees, and where it may fit best within a powerlifting program. Lastly, I go through the practical side, including the exercises I prefer, how I structure sets and reps, how tight the cuffs should be, and where BFR should be placed within a training session. Click the link above to view!

Why More Shoulder Depression On Bench Isn’t Better – CLICK HERE

A long standing cue and technical recommendation is to depress the shoulders and scapula. While this cueing has the right intentions, it often gets taken too far with lifters over depressing their shoulder blades, while lacking the understanding of the possible technique faults this can lead to. In this video, I discuss the scapulohumeral rhythm and how that relates to the bench press in powerlifting. With most modern day bench press techniques, we bias into a position that limits our ability to full depress the shoulder blades. And by trying to cue more and more depression, we end up just fighting against the positions we are trying to maintain. So to combat this issue, I discuss why this happens and what we can do instead of over cueing depression to achieve the relative positions in the bench press that will help us feel strong and stable. Click the link above to view!