The Strength Athlete Four-Day Beginner Base and Meet Peak
Four-day powerlifting offers nine base weeks or thirteen weeks to a meet, with percentage or effort-based loads.
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Program
Week by week
Every workout, as Catalyst would give it to you.
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The schedule
4 workouts a week, on Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 2 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 3 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 4 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 5 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 6 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 7 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 8 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 9 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 10 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 11 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 12 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
| 13 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 |
How it works
The program’s own rules, as Catalyst runs them.
Choose the nine-week base or full thirteen-week meet preparation before starting. Do four workouts in order, arranging recovery around the meet timetable, and choose the percentage progression for your sex. Where work offers a percentage or effort route, choose one, then choose within every percentage or set range. Use your actual prior weights, reps and effort to estimate current maxima. For RPE work, warm up with gauging sets to find today’s working weight; the estimate is guidance, and readiness decides the final weight. Repeat sets for assistance. If effort rises no more than half a point from first to last set, consider more weight next time; if it rises at least one point, consider keeping the weight. No fixed increase is set. Pause the named deadlift near the start, and hold count-paused bench for three deliberate beats rather than assuming seconds. Use a decline position for weighted sit-ups. Decide on deadlift-stance or squat-setup changes before training; high-bar squat is the offered option for upper-limb discomfort. Rest as needed, generally a few minutes for main work. After a missed rep, finish the day’s work, then reset. Week nine includes three-rep effort tests. In meet week, keep the rest day free and choose the squat, bench and deadlift single-attempt weights. Plan meet attempts and timing yourself. Before loading main lifts, do the selected mobility and easy warm-up drills comfortably without tiring yourself.
What you need
Everything its exercises call for. Missing something? The app suggests swaps that train the same thing.
- Barbell
- Cable stack
- Dumbbells
- EZ curl bar
- Flat bench
- Lat pulldown machine
- Leg extension machine
- Leg press machine
- Squat rack
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