155 reviews for Matt Vena Intermediate Powerlifting Program
Version 3.0 of program
From champion powerlifter and coach Matt Vena, this program is a generalized powerlifting routine for intermediate lifters, focusing on squats, bench presses, and deadlifts with specific variations and accessory work. Here's a concise breakdown:
Squats:
Day 1: Regular squats and tempo squats (4-second descent, 0.5-second pause).
Day 3: Paused squats (1-second pause at the bottom).
Bench Press:
Day 1: Larsen press and dumbbell incline bench for hypertrophy.
Day 2: Tempo bench single (4-count descent) and back-off sets.
Day 3: Primary bench day with long pause bench (2-second pause).
Day 4: Regular bench press and close grip bench press (2-3 finger widths narrower).
Deadlifts:
Day 2: Romanian deadlifts for hinge work and posterior chain hypertrophy.
Day 4: Paused deadlifts (1 inch off the floor, 1-second pause).
Accessory Work:
Triceps: Included on three bench days.
Back and Biceps: Back work on day 2, biceps on day 1. First set to failure, remaining sets to RPE8.
Progression Scheme:
Microcycles: 3-week cycles, adding a rep each week, then resetting reps and adding 3% weight.
Singles: Cycle through RPE 6-7-8 over the microcycles.
Taper Week: One moderate day, one light day, then max out with RPE6-8-10 jumps.
Focus on consistent form, controlled tempos, and autoregulating based on daily performance. Adjust weight and reps as needed to avoid overshooting and ensure steady progress.
Read the full guide on the website for full program details:
Mikkel N.
Man, 175 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
gave me a 3 plate bench press
Salmaan Nathani
Man, 379 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Peder R.
Man, 183 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Had to reset my 1 rm’s because I got so strong so fast.
Sumeet Badawri
Man, 205 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
Good program advice, I gain 23kg strength and 1 kg of muscle overall this program help me to strength 😈💪
Miguel R.
Man, 2011 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I think it is a very well put together program I would recommend
Robert K.
Man, 333 weeks complete
6 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Great program.
Abdul A.
Man, 343 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
This program focuses on strength development while having fatigue ratio relatively low. This is suitable for people that haven't build the tolerance for high volume training and want to start doing power lifting program. Muscle development is fairly low as the objective is to build the supporting muscles for the main lifts. This is recommended to any people that want to focus on SBD at any level. Matt is the 🐐 no 🧢
Laert
Man, 4612 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Im an older lifter, this program really worked for me, pr'd on all 3 lifts. Very happy that i could do the squats for a full trainning cycle after a few years of hip impingiment. Im running this again, i changed the accessories a bit, swapped triceps daily work with weighted dips and shoulder press. Also as it gets heavier on the 2nd and 3rd micro cycles, the heavy deadlift is last on the week, by then my posterior chain is cooked so i swap the order otherwise my deadlift goes backwards. Anyways i got bigger and stronger, so thanks Matt. Will reach out to you once im able to afford a personal program.
Jose Mendoza
Man, 187 weeks complete
4 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Pretty solid base if you wanna get into powerlifting, would definitely recommend this program if you are a 1st year powerlifter.
Dangerous Flipper
Woman, 463 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
This is good program for basic powerlifting style training. I find the bench volume personally a bit much for my shoulders so I had to adjust it a bit. but other than that work well for me. I get the sessions done in 60-90 mins which is the time I am prepared to dedicate for one training session.