75 reviews for Matt Vena Intermediate Powerlifting Program
Version 2.0 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:
Sultan
Man, 4412 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Recovering from a bad knee injury, so was mainly doing light rehab work on the lower body and can't comment on deadlift and especially squat gains, but given the circumstances my BP max increased 10 lbs which I consider excellent results. Will run the program again.
Campbell W.
Man7 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I think the 4x weekly bench, and alternating squats and DL’s each day are quite taxing and realistically the deadlifts should be 1x weekly in exchange for more upper back, shoulder work probably. This is the opinion of a home gym enthusiast with some low - mid range maxes who has run many a program, not a powerlifting expert like the writer of this.
Kevin H.
Man, 343 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Dear Big Daddy Matt Vena, I have too many kids and no budget for myself if you ever feel like pro bono coaching a middle age Miley strong dad that would be awesome! Until then when I get the funds your first on my list coach!
Jackson L.
Man, 235 weeks complete
4 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
So far so good! I am currently in grad school so training is not high on the list of priorities and external stress is high but even with those factors at play strength is progressing well and I really enjoy all the singles as I have struggled with execution on singles in the past. Not a program I would repeat over and over again without some volume blocks thrown in but overall a good program!
Charlie S.
Man, 454 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Great program. Made strength gains in my squat, bench and deadlift.
Navjeet
Man, 403 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
Less than expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
It’s too early to comment, will update on completion
Paulo Henrique
Man, 189 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
Got a hige chest growth, i started benching 60kg, now that im finishig the program max bench its 90kg
Man
9 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Pause deadlifts are genius
Ash Evans
Man, 373 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
It’s good to keep you on track and take the effort away from making your own programme and tracking progress.
David O.
Man, 3411 weeks complete
4 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Overall I’m happy with the results. Had struggled with plateaus on bench and this program definitely helped break through that along with improving with the other main lifts as well. Wish it had more shoulder and leg hypertrophy accessories included but overall I’m happy with it. During this first time running this program sleep and diet weren’t the best and I got hit with a stomach bug, so all things considered I’m happy with my results. I would assume results would have been better if I hadn’t gotten sick and if I had been more dedicated with my diet and sleep.