Jon789

This is courtesy of the CriticalBench Forum of which I am also a member.
One of the moderators laid this out for those who were looking for a start with powerlifting, it is bodybuilding style, but builds technique and recovery.

Here it is:
Lots of people come on here and are looking for a basic generic foundation program to get their feet on the gound. Well, here you go. This is a bodybuilder style program that will work pretty well for the masses. For people getting started, or looking for something new, this is a great way to get started.

There are a few things it will and won't do. It won't turn you into Gary Frank, or Mr. Universe. It won't make you bench a zillion pounds more. What it will do, however, is give you something structured that you can learn from. It's borderline overtraining, but most people (especially beginners) will benefit great from it. I've seen average bodyweight gains of about 20lbs, and bench increases of 30-40lbs if done correctly.

This is just a really basic and plain-jane workout that will get you started. It's 15 weeks long, and by the end of the 15 weeks, you'll be in good lifting shape -i.e. ready to either keep doing what you're doing, or focus on particular weaknesses or directions you want to go in.

The way this is set up, after you warm up (however you want to, I start really light -the bar) you will do the same weight for all sets of a particular exercise. So say, on week one, day one, you're going to do some benching. After your warmup, you have four sets of 10 reps to do. You need to choose a weight that will be very easy for the first set, fine on the second set, hard on set number 3, and very difficult on set number 4. If you are able to complete all four sets, you will jump up 10lbs the next week. If you only complete 3 sets, and can't get all the reps on the fourth set (but it's close), jump up 5lbs the next week. If you don't get at least 3 sets, then stay at the same weight.

How heavy you begin is NOT important. It's a 15 week program; if you jump up 10lbs a week, that's a 150lb increase, which is pretty crazy and you'll never do in 15 weeks, so estimate very light on the first week. Again, it is REALLY important that you go light. You DO NOT want to hit failure on the first week (or two, really). Contrary to what is commonly known, hitting failure is very counter-productive, especially for drug free lifters. People like it because it feels like you're doing something -and you are; breaking down tissue, not helping it. Don't hit failure if you can avoid it. Bottom-line; start embarrassingly light on week one. 5 weeks later you'll be doing 50lbs more if all goes well, this will allow your body to gradually increase its' work capacity, you'll get a lot stronger, and you'll add a reasonable amount of lean mass. You do not need to go crazy to gain strength. On stuff like curls, you can't go up 10lbs a week, as it's a big jump on a muscle like that (go 5lbs or same weight), the opposite is true for the leg press; you need to go up 20-50lbs a week at first, you can make smaller jumps later if you want/need to.

As a final note, this is a generic program. It WON'T give you terrific results. There is no single 'program' that will give you a new body; it takes a lot of work. I'm ONLY posting this because sometimes people need something to hold onto while they're learning to walk, and this will suffice fine for that....

WEEK 1-5 PHASE 1
Day 1 -Legs



Squats:
reps Warm Up 10 10 10 10
Leg Press:
reps 10 10 10 10
Leg Curls:
reps 10 10 10 10
45/Seated Calf Raise:
reps 15-20 15-20 15-20 15-20



Day 2 -Chest
Flat Bench Press:
reps Warm Up 10 10 10 10
Incline Bench Press:
reps 10 10 10 10
Incline Dumbbell Bench:
reps 10 10 10 10
Flat Dumbbell Flye:
reps 12 12 12 12



Day 3 -Back
Pullups:
reps Warm Up failure failure failure failure
Deadlifts:
reps 8 8 8 8
Bent Row:
reps 10 10 10 10
Closegrip Pull Down:
reps 10 10 10 10
Cable Row:
reps 10 10 10 10
Front Pull Down:
reps 10 10 10



Day 4 -Shoulders
Military Press:
reps Warm Up 10 10 10 10
Seated Dumbbell Presses:
reps 10 10 10
Upright Row:
reps 10 10 10 10
Rear Raises:
reps 10-12 10-12 10-12
Side Raises:
reps 10-12 10-12 10-12
Shrugs:
reps 10 10 10 10 10
45/Seated Calf Raise:
reps 15-20 15-20 15-20 15-20



Day 5 -Arms
Close Grip Bench Press:
reps Warm Up 10 10 10 10
Overhead Extensions:
reps 10 10 10 10
Push Downs:
reps 10 10 10 10
Dips:
reps failure failure failure
Barbell Curl:
reps Warm Up 10 10 10 10
Preacher Curl:
reps 10 10 10 10
Alt. Dumbbell Curl:
reps 10 10 10 10
Wrist/Reverse Curl:
reps set 1 set 2 set 3

WEEK 6-10 PHASE 2
Day 1 -Legs


Squats:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Leg Press:
reps 10 10 10 10
S.L. Deadlift:
reps 10 10 10 10
Leg Curls:
reps 10 10
45/Seated Calf Raise:
reps 15-20 15-20 15-20 15-20


Day 2 -Chest
Flat Bench Press:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Incline Bench Press:
reps 8 8 8 8
Incline Dumbbell Bench:
reps 10 10 10 10
Flat Dumbbell Flye:
reps 10-12 10-12 10-12 10-12



Day 3 -Back
Pullups:
reps Warm Up failure failure failure failure
Hyperextensions:
reps 15 15 15 15
Bent Row:
reps 8 8 8 8
Front Pull Down:
reps 10 10 10 10
Cable Row:
reps 10 10 10 10
Rev. Pull Down:
reps 10 10 10



Day 4 -Shoulders
Military Press:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Seated Dumbbell Presses:
reps 8 8 8
Upright Row:
reps 10 10 10 10
Rear Raises:
reps 10 10 10
Front Raises:
reps 10 10 10
Shrugs:
reps 10 10 10 10 10
45/Seated Calf Raise:
reps 15-20 15-20 15-20 15-20



Day 5 -Arms
Close Grip Bench Press:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Overhead Extensions:
reps 8 8 8 8
V-Push Downs:
reps 10 10 10 10
Bench Dips:
reps failure failure failure
Barbell Curl:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Preacher Curl:
reps 10 10 10 10
Alt. Dumbbell Curl:
reps 10 10 10 10
Wrist/Reverse Curl:
reps set 1 set 2 set 3



WEEK 11-15 PHASE 3


Day 1 -Legs



Squats:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Narrow Squats:
reps 8 8 8 8
S.L. Deadlift:
reps 8 8 8 8
Leg Curls:
reps 8 8
45/Seated Calf Raise:
reps 15-20 15-20 15-20 15-20



Day 2 -Chest
Flat Bench Press:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Incline Bench Press:
reps 8 8 8 8
Incline Dumbbell Bench:
reps 10 10 10 10
Flat Dumbbell Flye:
reps 8 8 8 8



Day 3 -Back
Pullups:
reps Warm Up failure failure failure failure
Deadlifts:
reps 6 6 6 6
Bent Row:
reps 8 8 8 8
DR Row:
reps 8 8 8 8
Cable Row:
reps 8 8 8
Hyperextensions:
reps three sets



Day 4 -Shoulders
Military Press:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Upright Row:
reps 8 8 8
Seated Dumbbell Presses:
reps 8 8 8
Rear Raises:
reps 8-10 8-10 8-10
Side Raises:
reps 8-10 8-10 8-10
Shrugs:
reps 10 10 10 10 10
45/Seated Calf Raise:
reps 15-20 15-20 15-20 15-20



Day 5 -Arms
Close Grip Bench Press:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8
Overhead Extensions:
reps 8 8 8
Push Downs:
reps 8 8 8
R Push Downs:
reps 8 8 8
Barbell Curl:
reps Warm Up 8 8 8 8
Preacher Curl:
reps 8 8 8
Alt. Dumbbell Curl:
reps 8 8 8
Wrist/Reverse Curl:
reps set 1 set 2 set 3


I have personally used this and it worked really well for me. I also reccomend switching the legs and chest days on all phases. It really helps with soreness and recovery.

sword chucks

I dunno Khan actually mentioned he doesn't like CriticalBench as it overtrained him before he finished it. Pretty high volume/reps for a PL routine as well in my opinion.

But if people get good gains from it then cool

Jon789

This is not the Critical Bench Program, that is completely customized. This is just a generic program to give people(beginners) a decent start. The high reps build technique and form, plus add a little endurance.