Powerbuilding Workout Week 3
It’s powerbuilding week 3 and I’ve settled into a good rhythm. See how I successfully added workout volume while increasing load.
In powerbuilding workout week 3, I added two more sets for all the hypertrophy muscle groups. Again, I was also able to increase the weight on several exercises.
To keep my workout duration from getting too long, I removed sets from some of the strength muscle groups and added weight to the major compound movements in each workout.
Here are the volume (sets) and load (weight) changes for the hypertrophy and strength muscle groups this week. I highlighted increases in green and decreases in red.
Powerbuilding Workout Week 3 Overview
| Training Goal | Volume | Load |
|---|---|---|
| Hypertrophy | +12% (12 sets) | +5% (3 lbs) |
| Strength | -10% (6 sets) | +7% (5 lbs) |
The addition of 12 sets increased the total number of sets for the hypertrophy muscle groups from 100 to 112. Removing 6 sets from the strength groups brought the total down from 58 to 52.
As a result, week 3 included 180 total working sets.
The overview only tells part of the story. So, I like to break it down by muscle group to get a better idea of whether I’m progressing or plateauing.
The table below shows the total volume (sets), average load (weight lifted), and average reps for each muscle group.
Powerbuilding Week 3 Muscle Groups
| Training Goal | Muscle Group | Volume | Average Load | Average Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypertrophy | Triceps | +11% | +1% | +4% |
| Hypertrophy | Biceps | +11% | +0% | +4% |
| Hypertrophy | Rear Delt | +29% | +0% | +8% |
| Hypertrophy | Side Delt | +6% | +0% | +7% |
| Hypertrophy | Calves | +14% | +0% | +6% |
| Strength | Chest | -8% | +4% | +3% |
| Strength | Back | -8% | +3% | +0% |
| Strength | Quads | -9% | +9% | -1% |
| Strength | Hamstrings | -9% | +14% | +2% |
| Strength | Abs | -17% | +1% | -7% |
The numbers highlighted in orange show that I clearly added volume for each of the hypertrophy muscle groups. And I got more reps at the same load, which means I have not reached my recovery limit.
Similarly, the blue highlighted numbers show the average weight I added for lifts in the strength group. The average number of reps stayed about the same, which is actually very good with the added weight.
Another interesting observation is that my hamstrings appear to have a lot of gas in the tank while I’m basically just maintaining my abs.
I still like the changes I’m seeing in my physique. For example, I feel like my arms are finally growing in response to the huge amount of volume.
Other results seem counterintuitive. Like the fact that my legs keep growing despite the low volume.
This tells me that every muscle group responds to different types of training stimuli. You must determine how to program workouts for your own strengths and weaknesses.
Check back next week for more results from week 4 of the powerbuilding program!
