The Best Powerbuilding Programs for Building Strength and Muscle

Powerbuilding is when you choose between powerlifting and bodybuilding and decide you’d rather have both.

You want a bigger squat, bench press, and deadlift. But you also want to build a bodybuilder’s physique.

That’s what StrengthLog’s Powerbuilding programs are for.

Below, you’ll find three versions of our powerbuilding system:

• 4-Day Powerbuilding: A great balance between volume, intensity, and frequency.
• 5-Day Powerbuilding: More room for bodybuilding volume and upper-body specialization.
• 4-Day Powerbuilding Lite: The most popular version. The same basic idea with less volume.

What Is Powerbuilding?

Powerbuilding combines two admirable goals that work great together:

• Powerlifting: You train the big three lifts – the squat, bench press, and deadlift (or close variations) – with heavy weights to get as strong as possible.
• Bodybuilding: You train individual muscle groups with more exercises, higher reps, and more volume to force them to grow.

Bodybuilding is about how your muscles look, and powerlifting is about what your muscles do, but there’s also a big overlap there.

You do get stronger with bodybuilding-style training, but not powerlifter-strong. And you definitely build muscle as a powerlifter, but you don’t necessarily end up looking like a bodybuilder.

A powerbuilding program marries the two into a happy union.

The big lifts give the program its backbone.

The bodybuilding work fills in the gaps.

• If all you do is squat, bench, and deadlift, you’ll certainly build muscle. But chances are you’re not going to look like a bodybuilder.
• And if all you do is chase the pump, you’re not going to reach your strength potential in the big three.

If you’re reading this, I’m thinking both things matter to you.

StrengthLog’s Powerbuilding gives you both.

Who Are StrengthLog’s Powerbuilding Programs For?

Our three Powerbuilding programs are for intermediate lifters (and above) who already know how to squat, bench, deadlift, and perform the usual bodybuilding exercises with decent technique.

You don’t need to be a competitive powerlifter. Or even care about competing.

You just need to enjoy lifting heavy while caring at least as much about how much muscle you build.

If you’re a complete beginner, a beginner strength or bodybuilding routine will give you faster progress with less work. Our beginner programs are more suitable for you:

• Bodybuilding for Beginners
• Beginner Barbell Program
• Beginner Powerlifting Program
• Beginner Strength Training Program

If you’re already an intermediate or advanced lifter, we have a match.

Which Powerbuilding Version Should You Choose?

Don’t overcomplicate it.

• Choose the 4-Day Powerbuilding program if you want a balance of strength, muscle growth, training volume, and recovery.
• Pick the 5-Day Powerbuilding program if bodybuilding is a priority, you can recover well, and you want more room for upper-body training. And you’re able to set aside and recover from five days a week for the gym, of course.
• Choose the 4-Day Lite Program if you want the same strength-and-muscle structure but have less time (the workouts are quicker) or if you have less training experience and this is your first time trying a powerbuilding program.

Here’s the short version:

Program	Best For	Volume	Training Days
4-Day	Most powerbuilders	High	4
5-Day	More hypertrophy emphasis	High	5
4-Day Lite	Less experiences, more recovery, busy lifters	Moderate	4

Now let’s get into the programs.

StrengthLog’s Powerbuilding: Program Structure

Here’s a sneak peek at what the first week of the 4-day version of Powerbuilding looks like in our workout log app.

You train four days per week using an upper/lower structure. A good weekly schedule could look like this:

• Monday: Upper 1 (Bench press focus)
• Tuesday: Lower 1 (Squat focus)
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: Upper 2 (Bench press focus)
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: Lower 2 (Deadlift focus)
• Sunday: Rest

Or:

• Monday: Upper 1
• Tuesday: Lower 1
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: Upper 2
• Friday: Lower 2
• Saturday: Rest
• Sunday: Rest

You can move the days around. I’m leaving it up to you and your schedule, but I would recommend not stacking all four workouts back-to-back. You can do it, but it’s not optimal.

Workout 1

Upper Body

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Bench Press	6	10–12
Incline Dumbbell Press	4	8
Barbell Row	4	12
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	4	10
Face Pull	4	15
Barbell Curl	5	10
Concentration Curl	5	10

Workout 2

Lower Body

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Squat	6	10
Romanian Deadlift	4	10
Leg Press	3	12
Leg Extension	4	12
Leg Curl	4	12
Hanging Leg Raise	4	As many as you can
Crunch	2	As many as you can

Workout 3

Upper Body

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Bench Press	6	6
Overhead Press	4	8
Lat Pulldown	6	10
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	4	10
Close-Grip Bench Press	5	10
Triceps Pushdown	5	10

Workout 4

Lower Body

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Deadlift	6	5–8
Front Squat	4	8
Good Morning	3	12
Leg Extension	4	10
Leg Curl	4	10
Hanging Leg Raise	4	As many as you can
Crunch	2	As many as you can

All Powerbuilding programs have built-in progression, with load and volume strategically increasing from week to week.

When you follow it in the StrengthLog tracker, the app handles the numbers for you.

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What’s Different in the 5-Day Powerbuilding Program?

The difference between this version and the 4-day Powerbuilding split is that you do an extra upper-body workout right in the middle of the training week.

The third workout features the overhead press as the main lift and makes the program a little more bodybuilding-focused.

You also switch the original Workouts 3 and 4 around so you alternate between upper- and lower-body sessions, and spread some of the exercises out over the week now that you have five workouts to play with.

A good schedule could look like this:

• Monday: Upper 1 (Bench press focus)
• Tuesday: Lower 1 (Squat focus)
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: Upper 2 (Overhead press focus)
• Friday: Lower 2 (Deadlift focus)
• Saturday: Upper 3 (Bench press focus)
• Sunday: Rest

You could also run it Monday through Friday, but placing a rest day before the last three workouts usually improves the training quality of those sessions.

What’s Different in Powerbuilding Lite?

Powerbuilding Lite is, by far, our most popular version of the program.

But Lite doesn’t mean easy. It means less.

Fewer exercises. Fewer total sets. Less fatigue to recover from.

You still train the major lifts with the same weekly structure as with the original 4-day Powerbuilding routine, and you still hit every major muscle group. You just trim away some of the extra volume.

This version is a good choice if you:

• Are dieting or cutting and need more recovery.
• Want shorter workouts.
• Have a tight job (or life) schedule.
• Play another sport.
• Are older and don’t recover like you did at 22.
• Aren’t a super experienced lifter but want to give your first powerbuilding program a go.

The weekly schedule can be the same as the regular four-day version:

• Monday: Upper 1
• Tuesday: Lower 1
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: Upper 2
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: Lower 2
• Sunday: Rest

Can You Change the Exercises?

Yes, you can – in most, but not all, cases.

The Powerbuilding programs are templates, not 100% set in stone. You can keep important movement patterns and swap the individual exercises when you need to.

You don’t ruin the programs just because you prefer machine lateral raises over dumbbells or seated leg curls over lying leg curls.

In fact, in many cases, like the lateral raise example, using cables or a machine might be the better bodybuilding exercise. More stability and tension throughout the entire movement.

The exercises you definitely can’t change willy-nilly are the big three: bench, squat, and deadlift.

That’s because you become good at what you do, and you won’t become a really good free-weight squatter if you only do pendulum squats or hack squats, even though those exercises are at least as good for building your quads.

But high-bar or low-bar squat? Conventional, sumo, or trap-bar deadlift? Those are similar enough that you can pick the option that works best for you.

How Hard Should You Train?

When you follow any of the Powerbuilding programs, I suggest you finish most of your sets with 1–3 reps in reserve (RIR).

That means you stop the set when you probably could have squeezed out another one to three good reps, if you absolutely had to, like if someone threatened to flush your goldfish if you didn’t.

• For the powerlifts, 2–3 RIR is a good place to be. You can go closer to failure now and then, like on your final set, but nothing good comes from turning every session into a powerlifting meet.
• Training closer to failure in bodybuilding exercises, something like 0–2 RIR, is fine.

Lateral raises are easy to recover from. Six sets of deadlifts to failure are not.

Powerbuilding Progression

You need to get better at something over time to make progress, and powerlifting and bodybuilding are no different.

If you’re not trying to improve in some way, you’re just visiting the gym over and over.

This is called progressive overload, and it’s what drives your muscle and strength gains.

Percentage-Based Progression

StrengthLog’s Powerbuilding programs feature pre-programmed percentage-based progression (that’s a lot of P) in four lifts: the bench press, squat, deadlift, and overhead press.

When you start the program, you’ll enter your current estimated one-rep max (1RM) in those exercises, and the app will calculate your training weights.

For example, in the first week of the programs, you do 5–6 sets × 10 reps in the squat with 65% of your 1RM. Later weeks ramp up intensity (the % of 1RM).

Be sure to use your current estimated 1RM, not your all-time best (unless they are the same), or you’ll find the sets very challenging to complete.

If you feel that the program is too easy or too heavy with the 1RMs you entered, don’t hesitate to adjust them. That being said, assume the loads the app chooses are right for you until you’re sure otherwise.

How Much Weight Should You Add?

In all other exercises, increase the weight when you can complete all prescribed reps with good form.

Like this:

1. Pick a weight you can lift for the target number of reps with good form.
2. Once you hit those reps on all sets, increase the weight.
3. Your reps will drop back down with this new, heavier weight. That’s expected.
4. Work your way back up to the target reps again.
5. Rinse and repeat.

This type of progressive overload, called double progression, is the best and easiest method for most lifters.

Small jumps in load are better than heroic leaps.

• For upper-body compound lifts, an increase of around 2.5–5 lb (1–2.5 kg) is often enough.
• For squats and deadlifts, 5–10 lb (2.5–5 kg) can work, although advanced lifters will benefit from smaller jumps.
• On isolation exercises, use the smallest increase available. Going from a 20 lb dumbbell to a 24 lb dumbbell is more than it sounds: a 20% jump.

How Long Should You Rest Between Sets?

Rest too little, and you can’t do yourself justice. Rest too long, and the workout takes all evening.

• For the three powelifting exercises, rest 2–5 minutes, or until you’re ready for another quality set. I want to say 3–5 minutes, but I know a lot of you won’t stick to that anyway.
• For demanding compound bodybuilding exercises, 2–3 minutes is fine.
• For curls, lateral raises, pushdowns, leg extensions, and other isolation exercises, 2 minutes is plenty.

These are general recommendations, not something you have to time to the second.

But on heavy compounds, it really is better to rest longer than shorter, when in doubt. You can lift more weight and do more reps, and that often translates into better gains over time.

Powerbuilding isn’t a program that lends itself to minimal rest intervals.

If your next set falls apart because you’re still seeing stars, rest longer. You’re in the gym for muscle and strength, not to win a stopwatch competition.

Although if it’s a one-off thing where you’re very short on time, sure, rushing a workout is better than skipping it entirely this week.

How to Warm Up

Nobody enjoys warming up, but it’s a necessary evil if you want to get the most out of your workouts. Your performance goes up, and your injury risk goes down (or might go down – the science is surprisingly blurry).

But you don’t need a 30-minute warm-up ritual.

Do a few minutes of easy cardio if you like, then warm up for your first big lift.

If your working weight on the bench press is 140 lb, for example, you might do something along these lines:

1. Empty bar × 10
2. 60 lb × 5
3. 90 lb × 3
4. 110 lb × 2
5. 125 lb × 1
6. Then your working sets.

You don’t have to take proper rest intervals here – just long enough to increase the weight – so the actual warm-up is short.

What’s important is to prepare yourself for the workout without turning the warm-up into its own workout.

For later exercises, one or two lighter prep sets are enough. For small isolation exercises, you probably don’t need any at all – you’ll already be warm at that point.

Frequently Asked Questions About Powerbuilding

You got questions? Let’s answer them.

Follow Powerbuilding in StrengthLog

What’s the best way to track the Powerbuilding workout routines?

In StrengthLog, our workout log app. They’re some of our best and most popular premium programs that combine both bodybuilding and strength-focused training.

The app makes it super easy to keep track of your weights and reps and ensures you’re on the right path.

It remembers what weights you used in your last session and automatically loads them into your next one. And trying to improve on your last workout is the key to improving and getting stronger over time.

StrengthLog is free, but for our more advanced premium programs, like Powerbuilding, you’ll need a subscription to follow it in-app.

We offer a 14-day free trial (no strings attached and no funny business) that you can activate in the app, so you can check it out before making a decision.

Final Rep

Powerbuilding isn’t complicated.

Lift heavy enough to get stronger. Do enough bodybuilding work to grow.

Track what you’re doing.

You take care of the first two and let StrengthLog handle the tracking.

Strong is good. Swole is good. And you don’t have to choose.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your training.

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Last reviewed: 2026-10-07