Powerlifting Workout

Professional powerlifters compete against each other in different events to see who is strongest. You can apply the same exercise principles these athletes use in workouts if you want to achieve similar results. The professional association for powerlifting, U.S.A. Powerlifting, holds national events, including the USAPL Bench Press National Championships and the USAPL Women's National Powerlifting Championships. Powerlifters compete in three events -- the bench press, squat and deadlift.

Powerlifting vs. Strength Training

A powerlifting workout is different from strength training. A strength-training workout is part of a complete fitness program that includes cardiovascular activity. The goal is to increase, but not necessarily maximize, your capability to resist or exert force. A powerlifting workout focuses on building muscles to lift the maximum amount of weight possible.

Powerlifting vs. Olympic Lifting

A workout for Olympic weightlifting competitions trains you for the snatch and the clean and jerk. It produces better results than a workout for powerlifters, according to a study by the College of New Jersey and reported in the February 2004 issue of "Journal of Strength Conditioning Research." A group of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III football players performed either an Olympic or powerlifting exercise program four days a week for 15 weeks. After the prescribed training period, athletes from the Olympic lifting group showed an 18 percent greater improvement in a squat performed with maximum weight, had twice the improvement in 40-yard dash sprint times and showed a significant advantage in vertical jump performance in comparison to the powerlifting group.

Weekly Workout

Divide your weekly powerlifting workouts into different muscle groups, according to Muscle and Strength. For lifters at the intermediate level, do barbell bench presses, dumbbell bench presses, weighted chest dips and the seated row for your chest and back Monday. Perform squats, leg curls, leg extensions and standing calf raises for your legs Wednesday. Do incline bench presses, dumbbell front raises, the military press, close-grip bench presses and lying triceps extensions for your shoulders and triceps Friday. Finish the week with deadlifts, leg curls, Smith machine lunges and standing calf raises for your legs Saturday. On Tuesday and Thursday, work your abs, and rest on Sunday.

Aging

The strength of professional powerlifters declines with age, despite regular workouts, according to a review of records from the U.S. Weightlifting and U.S. Powerlifting Organizations by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and reported in the January 2004 issue of "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise." The data shows that peak lifting performance decreases with age. The researchers saw the biggest power decrease in tasks using complex and powerful movements, with the strength of women declining at a faster rate. Women and men show a similar rate of decline for overall upper- and lower-body strength.