I wish I would've followed more 8-week bodybuilding programs (taken more time off heavy lifting) through my strongman and powerlifting career. When I was younger, I just wanted to keep pushing it, even if it was right after a heavy competition. Unfortunately, that kind of mentality catches up to you after a while. It can beat you up with injuries and stall progress. You can’t be in competition mode year-round and expect to stay healthy. Going into a competition, it’s been said that the athlete who wins may not always be the strongest but the healthiest. Now that I have been training primarily for bodybuilding, I’m amazed at how good my body feels after just a few months of laying off the heavy weights. Now I’m not saying you can’t squat, bench, and deadlift, but some high reps will definitely be a good thing for you. If you're one of those people that thinks anything over five reps is cardio, then this 8-week bodybuilding program is for you.  

When To Do This Program

I would recommend doing this program right after a competition when you need to give your body a break or when you're just feeling achy and beat up. You will still be training hard, but everything will be higher reps focusing more on hypertrophy. If we can increase muscle size in the off-season, you will have more potential for strength later on. Lack of hypertrophy work is a very common mistake among strength competitors. More muscle around a joint is also less likely to get injured. 

RECENT: The Best Lower Body Warm-up Ever!

In the first four weeks of the program, we bench. Squats come in later on. You will not be able to move as much weight, but I guarantee you will feel much better as you will have a lot of blood flow going to your joints. We are also using a lot of eccentrics, pauses, and drop sets here. All are meant to increase joint health, increase blood flow, and increase muscle size. With the program's design, you will not move as much weight on the big lifts. Remember, the point of this program is to give your body a break while still being able to push yourself differently.

Program Notes

To follow the program correctly, I made notes on each exercise on how to progress. In some exercises, you'll be increasing your weight each week. In others, you will be adding reps each week. On each exercise, when it says 3x10, it means sets x reps. Also, all sets should be at the same weight. The first set should be OK, and the third set should be VERY TOUGH. It’s very important to track your weights each week, so make sure you are writing everything down. The drop sets will be rotated throughout the weeks as they can zap recovery if done too often.

8-Week Bodybuilding Program for the Beat-Up Powerlifter

Week 1-4

Day 1

1a Flat Dumbbell Press 3 x 10 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

1b Chest supported Row 3 x 10 *This can be a machine or on an incline bench chest down with dumbbells. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

2a Incline Spoto Press 3 x 6 *Do 1-2 more reps each week with the same weight.

2b Seated Cable Row 3 x 10 *Prefer to use long handles for a greater range of motion. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

3 Bench Press 3 x 8 *On these you are going to pause 2 inches off the chest for one second on the way down. Touch your chest and then explode back up. Be very controlled on the eccentric. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4a Rope Pressdowns 3 x 15 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4b Incline Dumbbell Curls 3 x 12 *Palms up at all times. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

Day 2

1 Lying Hamstring Curls 3 x 10 *On the last set, you are going to do 10 more partial reps from the bottom. Then do a 10-second iso-hold. Each week you are going to do two more reps. The partials will stay the same at 10.

2 Leg Press 3 x 12 *Middle of the platform, hip-width stance. Make sure you are using a full range of motion here. No half reps just to load up more weight. Low as you can bring the weight down without your lower back coming off the pad. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week. Week 3 will be a drop set of 2 more sets of 8-10 reps.

3 Pause Squats 3 x 6 *3 second eccentric, 2-second pause in the hole, explode up. Each week you will add 1 rep. So week 2 is 3 x 7, week 3 3 x 8…

4 Split Squats 3 x 10 each *I like these in the smith machine, but you can also use an SSB in a rack. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

5a Standing Calf Raise 3 x 8 *Hold the top for 2 seconds, then hold the bottom stretch for 2 seconds. Each week add 2 more reps per set.

5b Bench Leg Raises 3 x 12 *Control the eccentric. If these are easy, then use a decline bench. Each week add 2 more reps per set.

Day 3

1a Seated Dumbbell Press 3 x 8 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week. Week 4 will be a drop set of 2 more sets of 8.

1b Medium Grip Pull-ups 3 x 10 *Do these with assistance if needed, or weighted if you can. Each week do 1 to 2 more reps each set.

2 Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3 x 10 *Hold the top for 2 seconds. Do 1 to 2 more reps each set.

3 Rear Delt Partial Swings to Full Range 3 x 15-15 *Here, you will lay face down on an incline bench or use the prone row bench if you have one. Start with heavy dumbbells where you can only move them about 6 inches for 15 reps. Then drop to a lighter weight and do 15 full range of motion rear delt raises. These should burn like crazy!

4a Barbell Curl 21s 3 sets *7 partial reps from the bottom, 7 from the top, 7 full. Increase 5–10 pounds each week.

4b Seated Rope Cable Extensions 3 x 15 *If you do not have a cable, then do these seated with one dumbbell. Increase 5–10 pounds each week.

Day 4

1 Trap Bar Deadlift 3 x 8 *Use the higher handles if you can. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

2 T-Bar Rows 4 x 8 *Do these strict. Stay low, back flat, and no jerking the weight around. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

3 Dumbbell RDL 3 x 10 *Big stretch on these. Stop just short of lockout to keep the tension on the hamstrings. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4 Neutral Grip Pulldowns 3 x 12 *Week 4 will be a drop set of 2 more sets of 8-10 reps.

5a Dumbbell Pullovers 3 x 15 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

5b Kneeling Cable Ab Crunch 3 x 15 *No cable. Do standing banded ab crunch. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

Week 5-8

Day 1

1 Bench Press *These will be done rest-pause style. Start at 75 percent of your 1RM (around a 10 rep max). You will do a max rep set (not to failure), rest 20 seconds, max reps, rest 20 seconds, and max reps again. Preferably stop before you miss a rep. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

2a Slight Decline Dumbbell Press 3 x 12 *Place a 25-pound plate under the bench. Week 5 will be a drop set of 2 more sets of 8-10 reps. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

2b One-Arm Dumbbell Row 3 x 8e *Each week increase by 5 pounds. Week 6 will be a drop set of 2 more sets of 8. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

3a Flat Machine Press 3 x 10 *Each week increase by 10 pounds. Week 7 will be a drop set of 2 more sets of 10. Example: 200 x 10, 10, 10 again, drop to 150 for 10, then 110 for 10. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

3b Seated Cable Face Pull 3 x 15 *Pull these more towards your upper chest. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4a Overhead Rope Extensions 3 x 15 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4b Preacher Curls 3 x 10 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

Day 2

1 Seated Hamstring Curls 3 x 8 *5-second eccentric, hold for 2 seconds at bottom. Each week add 1 or 2 more reps.

2 1 ¼ Squats 3 x 6 *On these you are going to go down all the way, up ¼, back down, then up. That is one rep. Each week increase the weight 5 to 10 pounds.

3 Hack Squat (or any squat machine you have access to) 3 x 12 *Week 3 will be a drop set of 2 more sets of 10. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4 Bulgarian Split Squats 3 x 10e *Increase weight each week holding dumbbells. Week 3 will be the drop set of 2 more sets of 10.

5a Seated Calf Raise 3 x 20 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

5b Ab Wheel Rollouts 3 x max *5-second eccentric. Beat your numbers each week.

Day 3

1 Rear Delt Machine Flys 3 x 15 *Last set each week do 10 partials and then hold it halfway for 10 seconds. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

2a Standing Strict Press with Iso Hold 3 x 8 *On these you are going to go to lockout, stop at forehead level for 2 seconds, then lower down all the way. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

2b Leaning Cable Lateral Raises 3 x 10 *Each week add 2 reps.

3 Barbell Front Raise 3 x 10 *Control weight down on the eccentric. Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4a EZ Barbell Curls 3 x 8 *3-second eccentric. On Week 6, drop set of 2 more sets of 8. *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

4b Incline EZ Bar Skull Crushers 3 x 15 *Increase weight 5 to 10 pounds each week.

Day 4

Note: Day 4 will stay the same all 4 weeks. Just make small jumps each week 5 to 10 pounds.

1 Snatch Grip Deadlift 4 x 5 *Don’t cheat on these. Use a slightly wider grip. Go as wide as your mobility can handle. 

2 One arm Dumbbell Row 3 x 8e *Hold the top for 2 seconds each rep.

3 SSB Goodmornings 3 x 10

4 Wide Grip Pull-ups 4 x max (get around 10) *Use an assisting machine, bodyweight, or add weight if you can.

5 Kneeling Crucifix Lat Pulldown 3 x 15

6 Copenhagen Side Planks 3 x max each side *Increase time each week.

Matt Mills is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, earning both his bachelor's and master's degrees in Strength and Conditioning. He is also certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. As a strength athlete, he is an accomplished powerlifter with a best deadlift of 800 pounds. He is a middleweight pro strongman with best competition lifts of a 360-pound log press, 900-pound pound Hummer tire deadlift, and a 410-pound Farmers Walk. Matt is the owner of Lightning Fitness, located in South Windsor, Connecticut. He has worked with over a thousand athletes, helping them reach their fitness and nutrition goals.