Brian Siders' Intermediate Workout

Courtesy of Brian Siders

This is a high-volume sample workout from powerlifter Brian Siders. Besides being an incredibly strong guy, Brian is also known for his very high volume workouts.

As you see, this program has you training six days a week with an alternating upper body/lower body split. If you've never played around with high-volume/high-frequency training, you might want to gradually build up to this over a couple of months.

If not, don't be surprised if you only make it a week or two before this absolutely crushes you. Still, if you manage to get through it, you'll be surprised at how your work capacity and strength have improved.

Monday
  1. CG BP: sets of 5, begin at 50% and build to 5RM
  2. 3 Board press: 4x6 at CG 5RM
  3. Floor press: 4x6 (moderate)
  4. Tricep Pushdown: 4x15 (light)
  5. Lats: 8-10 sets
Tuesday
  1. Back squat: 8x3x75%
  2. Bent-over GM: 6x6 to 6RM
  3. Rack pull: to 1RM
  4. Sumo DL: 4x6x60%
  5. Abs 3x15
Wednesday
  1. Bench press: 8x3 at 75%
  2. 3 Board press: 5x3 to 3RM
  3. Incline BP (med. grip): 6x6x60%
  4. DB tri ext: 8x6 (light) w/:15 rest
  5. Lats: 8-10 sets
Thursday
  1. Conventional DL: 8x3x70-75%
  2. DL w/35# plates: 4x6x60%
  3. SLDL w/35# plates: 3x6x55%
  4. Side bends: 3x15
Friday
  1. Speed BP: 10x3x55-65% :45 rest
  2. Pause BP 4x6 to 6RM
  3. Seated military press: wu, 6x6
  4. Side raises: 3x12
  5. Lats: 8-10 sets
Saturday
  1. Box squats: 12x2 at 50-60% 1:00 rest
  2. Olympic squats: 4x6x65%
  3. Speed DLs: 12-15x1x60-65% w/:30 rest
  4. Side bends: 3x12

Brian outlines a weekly progression for the 8x3 day on the big lifts as follows:

  1. 8x3x75%
  2. 8x3x75% + 15lbs
  3. 8x3x75% + 25lbs
  4. 8x3x75% + 30lbs
  5. 8x3x75%
  6. 8x3 to 3RM

The other lifts are at least inspired by Westside, with the use of board presses and dynamic effort work. The majority of the work here is in "the magic zone" of 65-75% of the 1RM. It seems light on paper, but once you get into the thick of lifting 5-7 days a week, you'll start to understand why.

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