Drop Bear Senior nineteen-week cycle

Nineteen weeks of four-day powerlifting combine percentage waves with paused lifts, ending with two loaded workouts.

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Your numbers

Worked out for an example lifter who squats 100 kg × 5, benches 75 kg × 5, deadlifts 130 kg × 5 and presses 50 kg × 5. Change any number to see your own.

Maxes

kg
1-rep max
kg
1-rep max
kg
1-rep max

Details

The program’s usual settings

Week by week

Every workout, as Catalyst would give it to you from the example numbers.

Layout 1

Session 1
  • High-bar back squat72.5 kg
    7 × 3
  • Close-grip bench press45 kg
    4 × 9
  • Barbell row
    5 × 10
  • Incline dumbbell bench press
    5 × 10
  • Barbell biceps curl
    4 × 20
  • Cable face pull
    4 × 20

Layout 2

Session 2
  • Incline barbell bench press42.5 kg
    3 × 10
  • Deficit conventional deadlift87.5 kg
    8 × 4
  • Pull-up
    5 × 8
  • Glute-ham raise
    5 × 8
  • Floor crunch
    4 × 10
  • Cable face pull
    4 × 10

Layout 3

Session 3
  • High-bar back squat62.5 kg
    3 × 9
  • Larsen press50 kg
    8 × 4
  • Barbell split squat
    5 × 10
  • Barbell row
    4 × 10
  • Barbell biceps curl
    5 × 20
  • Cable face pull
    5 × 20

Layout 4

Session 4
  • Barbell push press
    5 × 5
  • Conventional deadlift57.5 kg
    4 × 6
  • Pull-up
    3 × 8
  • Barbell shrug
    5 × 10
  • Floor crunch
    3 × 10
  • Cable face pull
    3 × 10

Where it takes you

Each lift’s heaviest set, workout by workout, over the first 12 weeks, if every set is done as written.

High-bar back squat
406080Wk 14810
Close-grip bench press45 → 57.5 kg+12.5
405060Wk 14810
Incline barbell bench press42.5 → 52.5 kg+10
404550Wk 146
Deficit conventional deadlift87.5 → 95 kg+7.5
80100120Wk 147
Larsen press50 → 62.5 kg+12.5
506070Wk 14812
Conventional deadlift57.5 → 115 kg+57.5
50100150Wk 14812
Back squat85 → 67.5 kg−17.5
6080100Wk 7812
Barbell bench press57.5 → 70 kg+12.5
506070Wk 7812
Slingshot bench press70 → 77.5 kg+7.5
707580Wk 812

A forecast, not a promise: it assumes every set is done as written. In the app, what you actually lift decides what comes next, by the program’s own rules.

What it trains

Working sets in the first week for each muscle, counted once for each muscle an exercise trains.

  • Latissimus dorsi33
  • Gluteals27
  • Scapular retractors25 + 8
  • Hamstrings17 + 5
  • Quadriceps15
  • Pectorals12
  • Biceps9 + 33
  • Brachialis9
  • Abdominals7
  • Triceps5 + 12
  • Upper trapezius5 + 5
  • Deltoids5
  • Spinal erectors34
  • Posterior deltoids25
  • Forearms22
  • Serratus anterior17
  • Adductors15
  • Anterior deltoids12
  • Brachioradialis9
  • Hip flexors7
  • Obliques7
  • Calf muscles5
  • Gastrocnemius5
  • Gluteus maximus5
  • Levator scapulae5
Sets a week by muscle
MuscleMain moverHelping
Latissimus dorsi330
Gluteals270
Scapular retractors258
Hamstrings175
Quadriceps150
Pectorals120
Biceps933
Brachialis90
Abdominals70
Triceps512
Upper trapezius55
Deltoids50
Spinal erectors034
Posterior deltoids025
Forearms022
Serratus anterior017
Adductors015
Anterior deltoids012
Brachioradialis09
Hip flexors07
Obliques07
Calf muscles05
Gastrocnemius05
Gluteus maximus05
Levator scapulae05

The schedule

4 workouts a week, on whichever days suit you.

WeekSession 1Session 2Session 3Session 4
1Layout 1Layout 2Layout 3Layout 4
2Layout 1Layout 5Layout 3Layout 4
3Layout 1Layout 2Layout 3Layout 6
4Layout 7Layout 8Layout 3Layout 4
5Layout 1Layout 5Layout 3Layout 6
6Layout 1Layout 5Layout 3Layout 6
7Layout 9Layout 10Layout 11Layout 12
8Layout 13Layout 14Layout 15Layout 16
9Layout 17Layout 18Layout 19Layout 20
10Layout 21Layout 22Layout 23Layout 20
11Layout 24Layout 25Layout 26Layout 20
12Layout 27Layout 28Layout 29Layout 20
13Layout 24Layout 30Layout 31Layout 16
14Layout 27Layout 32Layout 29Layout 33
15Layout 34Layout 35Layout 36
16Layout 34Layout 37Layout 38
17Layout 34Layout 39Layout 36
18Layout 40Layout 41Layout 40
19Layout 41Layout 42

How it works

The program’s own rules, as Catalyst runs them.

Train on days one, three, five and six when they have workouts; the final week has two loaded sessions. Plan any test or competition after the block yourself. Use a competition pause on all barbell bench variations and choose its length. Choose the pause length for paused deadlifts. Rest thirty to ninety seconds during assistance, alternating paired exercises without rest inside the pair. Choose assistance weights and how to divide weights or reps between sides. You may remove day six to train three days, or split workouts while keeping all weekly work. If overload equipment is unavailable, double the preceding raw-bench volume, choosing how to divide its sets and reps. Belt guidance begins at seventy percent for main squats and deadlifts and sixty-five percent for variations. Add chain weight to the bar weight: with a bench maximum below 140 kg, use 5–10 kg per side; from 140–200 kg, use 10–15 kg per side; above 200 kg, use 15–20 kg per side. Optional cardio follows days three and six in the first six weeks; choose any HIIT work yourself. Optional morning walks last twenty to forty minutes. Decide future maxima and any later cycle afterward.

What you need

Everything its exercises call for. Missing something? The app suggests swaps that train the same thing.

  • Adjustable bench
  • Barbell
  • Deficit platform
  • Dumbbells
  • Flat bench
  • Glute-ham developer
  • Pull-up bar
  • Elastic upper-arm bench press support
  • Squat rack

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Find your program

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