PBF POWER BUILDING
Pure Power-Building
(Important: Read the whole thing. If you can’t be bothered to do that, you aren’t ready for a program that will
require legitimate effort, focus and discipline).
As with any program, consult a doctor to insure you are ready for this type of strenuous activity. You alone are
responsible for your choice to engage in this, or any other program found in the Pure BullFit Community.
Proceed intelligently and with caution.
Purpose: This program is intended to blend elements of powerlifting and bodybuilding style training
methodologies to pursue adaptations of both disciplines. It is important to note that the principle of specificity
informs us that by blending elements of two different training styles we will not make MAXIMAL progress in either.
If maximum force production or hypertrophy is your singular goal, this may not be the most appropriate program
for you. This program is intended for novice/intermediate lifters with some familiarity with major compound
movements.
If you are looking for to build both strength and muscle size then a power-building program like this one might suit
your needs. Just be sure of your goals before selecting any program and ensure that it aligns with your desired
outcome.
Method: For strength development the program uses high intensity, low volume at the start of each work session,
followed by lower intensity, higher volume work to volitional failure for hypertrophy.
Terms and Definitions
Strength: Ability to produce force through a range of motion.
Hypertrophy: increase in size of muscle cells or the cross sectional area of muscle tissue.
Intensity: Weight (for the purposes of this program). Roughly a percentage of your 1 rep maximum in a given
movement.
Volume: Reps and Sets, the amount of work applied to muscle tissue and associated systems.
Volitional Failure: Point at which the lifter feels the NEXT rep would fail. 1 or at most 2 reps before absolute failure.
Program Organization
Each work session will start with a major compound movement (Bench Press, Deadlift, Squat) focusing on high
intensity, low volume to build strength. The working sets for these movements will be 5, 5, 3, 3 and 3+. The last set
of 3 will be as many reps as possible (AMRAP), with a minimum of 3 reps to be considered successful. This last set
will be used to determine if you are ready to raise the weight the following week for your working sets. The
recommended increase is 5lb increments.
Eg. For the bench press your working sets (after warm up) might look something like: 200x5, 200x5, 225x3, 225x3
and 225xAMRAP. For the last set, if you are able to accomplish 4 or 5 solid repetitions the following week your
sets of 5 would use 205lbs and sets of 3 can be attempted with 230lbs.
If for some reason you are able to accomplish more than 5 reps for the final set, you underestimated your
appropriate working set weights and may consider increasing more than 5lbs the following week. My advice is to
be conservative in your jumps. Don’t let your ego write checks your body can’t cash.
Following the Power movement is a back off set with 70% of the weight used for you final working set
(approximately 170lbs in the case of the example above) to volitional failure. This acts as our segue into the
hypertrophy training.
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2 Accessory compound movements follow, to volitional failure utilizing weight that will be challenging for 10-12
repetitions. These are typically also multi-joint exercises (compound movements) and will usually focus on the
antagonist (opposite) muscles focused on during the primary compound movement.
2-3 Finisher, usually single joint exercises follow the Accessory movements, each 3 sets of 20 using weight that will
achieve volitional failure each set.
Philosophy for high rep, “to failure” sets: It has been borne out in multiple peer reviewed research papers that
hypertrophy of similar levels can be achieved utilizing lighter weight and higher volume if trained to failure or near
failure. After putting significant stress on the joints during the power phase it is important to take an honest look
at the purpose of the individual movements that we are performing. Since these latter movements are purely for a
hypertrophic effect and a similar hypertrophy result can be achieved utilizing weights as low as 30% of one Rep
Max - it is not necessary to put the additional strain of high intensity lower reps on your joints.
Intensity is important, but it is only one mechanism of progressive overload. We have put sufficient stress through
high weight on that tissue ensuring that we will recruit every available muscle fiber , after they have been
recruited in this fashion we do not need to invite the risk of injury or wear and tear simply because we are too
stubborn to drop the weight focus on good form and taking each set to failure. In this way we recruit all available
fibers/types and mitigate the risk to our joints, ligaments and tendons.
Swapping out Movements: Moving your muscle through an effective range of motion is the important thing. Not
the specific exercise. In the program below I recommend the exercises that I feel you will most likely have the
equipment to accomplish and will be familiar enough for most lifters. If an individual movement isn’t ideal for you
and you know of a similar one that moves your limb/joint through the same range of motion.. DO THAT INSTEAD.
Even in the case of the 3 primary compound movements. They aren’t sacred. If you don’t deadlift from the floor
and aren’t a powerlifting competitor and you prefer block pulls.. pull from blocks. Don’t have a Barbell, only access
to a range of dumbbells? The world WILL NOT END if you do Dumbbell Bench Press instead of Barbell Bench Press.
This program is designed to increase overall strength and build muscle size. This is not a sport specific program, so
don’t take any one movement as written in stone. The principles above can be applied to MANY movements so
don’t be afraid to find the best combination for yourself.
Resources:
Meta-Analysis of Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28834797
Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25853914
Heavier and lighter load resistance training to momentary failure produce similar increases in strength with
differing degrees of discomfort https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28006852
A Word on Nutrition
No two people’s starting point will be the same in this process, but there are some general consistencies.
According to current statistics, 70% of Americans (and many other first world countries) are *at least* overweight,
with another 40% coming in as actively obese. The nutritional advice below will lay out some general guidelines
according to your starting point. You cannot simply out work a bad diet. In order to succeed in shifting your body
PBF POWER BUILDING
composition away from body fat and increasing lean muscle mass you will have to address your diet. The work we
put in the gym is only a small portion, in fact the SMALLEST portion of the calories we burn during a day.
Weight loss is simple it’s just not easy. First understand Calories In vs Calories Out will determine whether or not
you lose or gain weight. While there are certain considerations that affect this ratio, by and large it is just that
straight forward. No diet, no matter who makes the claim, will allow you to lose weight in a caloric surplus. You are
either eating more than you expend or vice versa. Second, we need to understand the role of exercise in any
successful weight loss effort. Exercise Activity Thermogenesis only makes up around 5% of our Total Daily Energy
Expenditure. That alone is not enough to make significant progress in burning fat and building muscle.
• BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate is the calories your body burns to function at rest. 70% of everything your burn in a
day is from your BMR. Lean body mass requires a greater expenditure than fat. That means regardless of weight,
the more lean-mass you have, the more calories you burn by simply existing.
• NEAT – Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is the calories burned by your day to day activity level that does not
have to do with exercise. This encompasses everything you do from getting up to go to the fridge, bringing in your
groceries… picking the cat litter, and it represents 10%- 15% of your daily expenditure.
• TEF – Thermogenic effect of food. This is the energy your body expends processing the food you intake and
constitutes about 10% of your caloric expenditure each day.
• EAT – Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is the energy expended during a workout. About 5% folks.
That’s it. So why do we focus so much on working out to address weight? Let’s take a look. The body adapts to the
demands that we put on it, and one of those adaptions is to generate more lean mass, particularly if we
incorporate resistance training in our programming. As discussed above muscle requires more energy to be
maintained than fat, therefore the more muscle you have, the higher your BMR. There is also the EPOC (Excess
Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) aka the “afterburn” effect after a workout to consider. This represents the
oxygen debt incurred through exertion and the body’s desire to return to energy equilibrium. What’ that all mean?
Exercise doesn’t just burn calories. It tells your body it needs to adapt, put on lean mass which in turn burns
calories by just existing, and your body continues to burn excess calories as you recover from your workout.
Calories Out Weight loss may be as simple as putting out more than you take in, but a body composition shift
(building muscle in place of fat) takes signaling your body to change. For that we need to place a demand on
existing muscle to tell your body to build more.
For those currently overweight first things first, we’re going to talk about creating that caloric deficit. We start off
by determining your maintenance calories, that is, the amount of calories it takes to stay the exact same way you
are right now with your current activity level. While you can use any number of calculators available online free to
determine your starting point; a simple general rule is – multiply your bodyweight x 12 (10 for women). It’s
important to remember that there are many variables affect an individual’s caloric needs (medical conditions,
metabolic health etc) and that this is just a STARTING point to be assessed for efficacy and increased or decreased
as necessary. For example I weigh 250lbs, that number x 12 = 3,000 calories. This is VERY close to the number I get
when using calculators which multiply your Basal Metabolic Rate with an activity level modifier (66 + (6.23 x weight
in lbs) = (12.7 x Height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) x 1.22 activity modifier. That total comes to 2935 calories.
With a paltry difference of 65 calorie BEFORE taking into account individual modifiers like metabolic health and
medical conditions, I find it much simpler to use the weight x12 (10 for women) formula.
Keep in mind that this is a general rule, and for those persons who are significantly overweight a simple general
formula may not be the best starting point. For instance someone over 400 pounds doesn’t need to intake 4800 cal
per day necessarily. For that person it would be prudent to consult a medical professional and in the absence of
that option seek out the opinion of a dietitian or a certified nutritionist. In the past Clients had success using the
PBF POWER BUILDING
upper range of the recommended weight for their height x 12 (Person weighs 471lbs at 6’4”, instead of consuming
5652 cal per day, we started at 2436 cal per day using the upper range weight for that height of 203lbs).
For those within recommended weight range Individuals who are already within the recommended weight range
for their height/age has different intake needs than those who are over/under weight. Taking into account daily
workouts, a recommended starting point for your intake is your current bodyweight x 14 (12 for women). For a
187lbs person that would be 2618 daily calories. The stimulus your body experiences through exercise will result in
a body-composition shift away from fat towards more lean body mass, but ideally your body weight on the scale
will stay largely the same.
For those underweight Being underweight is no more healthy than being overweight, your recommended starting
intake is 16 x your current bodyweight (14 for women). For a 145lbs person that would be a caloric intake goal of
2320.
Important Note: these values are starting points. You MUST assess progress every couple of weeks to determine
whether or not you should increase or decrease calories from this starting point in order to bring your intake in
line with your metabolism, hormone levels etc. There is no magic number that works for everyone, only general
ranges to find a place to start.
Regarding macro nutrient split, I use a similarly simple approach. Each category of macro nutrients serves an
important role explained below.
• First know that there are 9 calories per gram of fat, 4 calories per gram of each protein and carbs.
• Proteins first and foremost are essential in building lean muscle mass. That said there is an effective upper limit
to how much protein you can utilize. Protein in amounts greater than around .7g per pound of bodyweight have
been demonstrated to have diminishing returns as far as muscle building. Protein isn’t a case of “more is better”.
The conventional “wisdom” calling for more than 1.5 to 2g per lbs of bodyweight is not necessary by any means.
• Fats don’t merely provide energy substrates for muscle contractions, cholesterol is a fundamental building block
of testosterone. The recommended amount of fat is 20-35% of your caloric intake (Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic,
Health. gov). You need fats. You need cholesterol. Don’t be afraid of them, just stay within your recommended
daily intake to support energy and hormone levels.
•Carbs make up the rest of your daily intake and are the primary place where you will make adjustments to your
intake based on results.
Recommended Macronutrient Split
• Fats: 25% of total caloric intake ÷ 9
• Protein: .7g per pound of body weight (multiply this number by 4 to determine how many calories come from
those grams of protein)
• Carbs: Remaining calories ÷ 4
Putting in the Work
This program is split up into 4 working days, one focusing on each major compound movement and the 4th day
acting as a speed / power day, With some minor accessory work to make sure that we sufficiently hit every part of
the body with enough volume overall during the week.
PBF POWER BUILDING
Warm Up
A proper warmup is important in order to raise your body temperature to prepare it to put in work period moving
blood do your muscle tissue and important fluids to your joints is the best way to get ready for the day's routine.
You can accomplish this any number of ways, utilizing a treadmill stair climber or other low intensity steady state
cardio machine or a brief routine even incorporating things like jumping jacks air squats pushups arm circles and
other multi joint movements. Additionally you will want to work your way up to your first working set on power
movement and not skip straight to the weight that you intend to use for 5 reps. Take a couple of warmup sets to
prepare your body to hold the weight .
Day 1
Exercise
Deadlift
Backoff Set Deadlift
OHP
Barbell Curl
Back Extension
Cable Crunches
Face Pull
Sets
5
1
3
3
3
3
3
Reps
5, 5, 3, 3, 3+
Failure w/75% of top set
10-12 (Failure)
10-12 (Failure)
20
20
20
Rest (seconds)
120
90
90
90
90
60
60
Sets
5
1
3
3
3
3
3
Reps
5, 5, 3, 3, 3+
Failure w/75% of top set
10-12 (Failure)
10-12 (Failure)
20
45 seconds
20
Rest (seconds)
120
90
90
90
90
60
60
Sets
5
1
3
3
3
3
3
Reps
5, 5, 3, 3, 3+
Failure w/75% of top set
10-12 (Failure)
10-12 (Failure)
20
20
20
Rest (seconds)
120
90
90
90
90
60
60
REST DAY
Day 2
Exercise
Bench Press
Backoff Set Bench Press
Bent Over Row
Cable Triceps extention
Cable Fly
Planks
Lateral Raise
Day 3
Exercise
Squat
Backoff Set Squat
Lat Pull Down
Drag Curl
Goblet Squat
Russian Twist
Face Pull
Rest Day
PBF POWER BUILDING
Day 4
Exercise
Deadlift
Sets
7
Bench
7
Squat
7
Lateral Raise
Side Lunges
IYT Shoulder Flies
Calve Raise
3
3
3
3
Reps
2 reps @75% of top set
from day 1
2 reps @75% of top set
from day 2
2 reps @75% of top set
from day 3
10-12 (Failure)
20
20
20
Rest (seconds)
60
60
60
60
60
60
60
Rest
Repeat adding 5lbs per week to major compounds if you achieved more than 4 reps on your last working set.
Increase the weight of all accessory and finisher exercises as needed.
Additional guidance: it's important to control the weight with each repetition. Mindlessly slinging weight
through the range of motion will certainly make completing the reps and sets a lot easier, but you will get
significantly less out of it . Respect the weight respect the range of motion and respect form and you will see
some pretty amazing results.
Good luck!