3×3 Powerlifting Cycle
Squat, bench and deadlift every session, three sessions a week — four weeks of volume, then four weeks of peaking.
An eight-week cycle that trains all three competition lifts in every session. Four weeks of sub-maximal volume build the base; four weeks of light technique work plus one heavy single per lift per week sharpen it.
Intermediate powerlifters peaking for a meet who want minimal exercise selection and are willing to train the same three lifts three times a week.
Weeks 1-4 run the same session three times a week — squat 5×5, bench 6×6, deadlift 5×5 — at a percentage that holds all week and steps up weekly from 58% to 64%. Weeks 5-8 drop the volume: each lift gets one heavy session of singles and two technique sessions at 60%, with the heavy sessions staggered so no two lifts peak on the same day.
The whole cycle is planned in advance off one max. Load climbs by the percentage table — 58/60/62/64% in the volume phase, then heavy singles at 80/85/90/95% in the competition phase — rather than by adding weight session to session. Re-test at the end of the eight weeks and start the next cycle from the new max.
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