Week 1, day 1
Session 1This workout’s sets follow from your answers on the day.
Ben Pollack seven-week powerbuilding
Seven weeks alternate three lifting days and two, combining percentage ramps, heavy work and muscle-building drop sets.
Not sure it’s for you? See programs like it, ranked for you →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.
One-rep maxes
kg
1-rep maxkg
1-rep maxkg
1-rep maxDetails
The program’s usual settings
Week by week
Every workout, as Catalyst would give it to you.
Ben Pollack seven-week powerbuilding asks you questions before this workout, so its sets follow from your answers on the day.
The schedule
3 workouts a week, on whichever days suit you.
| Week | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 |
| 2 | day 1 | day 2 | |
| 3 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 |
| 4 | day 1 | day 2 | |
| 5 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 |
| 6 | day 1 | day 2 | |
| 7 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 |
How it works
The program’s own rules, as Catalyst runs them.
Complete seven weeks, training three times in odd weeks and twice in even weeks, for 18 workouts in total. Base percentage weights on each lift’s 1RM and your chosen rounding step; round exact midpoint ties away from zero. Additions of 5, 10 or 20 lb remain those pound amounts even when displaying kilograms. Leave 0–1 reps in reserve on AMRAPs. For a rep max, find today’s heaviest qualifying weight and use that achieved top weight for the 80% backoff. End RPE-9 work at that effort, and choose when to stop a maximum-number-of-sets block. For myo-reps, do a hard activation set, choose the few-rep mini-set target, rest 15–20 seconds between mini-sets and stop at the first one that falls short. Where two cycles are required, do both. In Nightmare, do half-range reps before normal reps. The calf 5/5/X tempo has three phases. Choose drop fractions, forced-rep counts, pin heights, row styles, equipment and side order before using them. Choose training dates and any unspecified recovery. After week 7, start another run with a higher 1RM only if you have achieved it.
What you need
Everything its exercises call for. Missing something? The app suggests swaps that train the same thing.
- Adjustable bench
- Barbell
- Dumbbells
- Flat bench
- Lat pulldown machine
- Leg press machine
- Lying leg curl machine
- Parallel bars
- Pull-up bar
- Seated leg curl machine
- Squat rack
Not sure it’s the one?
See every program like it ranked for what you want, how often you train and what you have, each with why it fits and what doesn’t. Compare any three side by side.
Run Ben Pollack seven-week powerbuilding in Catalyst
Every set ready. Every weight right.
Join the waitlist and we’ll email you the day Catalyst launches.