370 reviews for 70s Powerlifter
The 70s Powerlifter Program, by Alex Bromley, is designed with a heavy influence of the prototypical 70’s powerlifter here (hence the name). Many of the accounts of some of the monsters that populated meets at that time, such as Doug Young and Bill Kazmaier, cited high volume approaches with many compound variations and plenty of bodybuilding movements to top it off.
Read more about the program below for an overview and progression guidance.
Jason H.
Man, 379 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
It's very important to know your 1 rep maxes at the beginning and stick to the prescribed weight jumps. It absolutely will kick your ass if you don't, as there's not your typical deload weeks, just a few weeks where the weight doesn't jump up but the reps decrease, which is a slight deload. But if you've been jumping up more than you're supposed to because it feels easy, you'll start feeling little niggles after a while, and you'll look at the remaining weeks you have left on the program and pray for a miracle. The program works a treat though. Well worth the torturous volume and linear progression.
Erwin M.
Man, 325 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I’m in the week 6 and it is going great for now, i love the volume in the routine
Chris C.
Man, 4315 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I'm in my 40s, and I ran a full body LP for a year. I ran an upper lower for a year. I was getting super beat up. I had knee pain and elbow pain, and I quit making gains. This program runs in waves of high volume to low volume with higher intensity. This approach allowed me to get in heavy touches and keep the volume up between without feeling injured. I feel great. I've added 20lbs to my squat, 15lbs to my bench, 10lbs to my ohp and 30lbs to my deadlift. It could even be more when I test at the end of my 18 weeks. I expect it will because I feel great. Prior to final testing, I am at 340 squat, 240 bench, 165 ohp, and 435 deadlift. I'm gonna run this at least another 18 weeks and see if I continue to progress. I'm really happy with this program.
Josh L.
Man, 433 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Great program. I added pounds to all my lifts
Taylor M.
Man, 2418 weeks complete
7 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
2nd time running 70’s powerlifter. Love the steady and consistent progression. Switched out specific workouts to work on my own weak points. Stay within your limits and RPE to not overwork yourself and the weight will come come through the work
Aleksander Zalar
Man, 199 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
I did Bullmastiff base phases and then 70s peake phases. Crazy gains. Squat: 160kg-180kg, Bench: 100kg-110kg, Deadlift: 185kg-220kg, OHP 65kg-80kg. Overall insane
Devon B.
Man, 293 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Volume is killer at the end of that first wave, but you’ll be surprised how well your body can adjust. Don’t do this program if you’re in a caloric deficit
Barrett S.
Man, 285 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Very cool!
Hannah P.
Woman, 495 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Loved this program. I felt pretty beat up by the end- I should have added in a few deload weeks throughout the full program, but I got PBs in all 4 lifts; rep records in squat and bench, and 1RM records in deadlift and press. I have been making no progress with my deadlift for at least 2 years now, so a PB in this is an absolutely huge achievement. After a short period of lighter maintenance training, I am looking forward to repeating this program for even more gains!
Dugald S.
Man, 6018 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I really enjoyed running all 18 weeks of this program – although I’m 59 I got conditioned to Bromley-style volume on Bullmastiff & recently J&T2.0. The only major change I did was swap the floor press for a pins press. The program rounded out my experience of exercises — I had never done Sumo deadlifts before and it certainly beefed me up a bit & got my 2 and 3 rep prs up a lot … my 1 rep only a bit, however what I had jotted down before was awful form so should’t count. I find for me at these programs spend too long in the base phase and take an age to get to the 3,2 and 1 rep heavy range, so there’s not a ton of skills practise above 85%. It was fun running a “bro” type split with all the deadlifting on one day, all the benching on one day etc but I think spreading it out would suit me better. I’ll probably move on to a 3 block programme with top triples or doubles or singles climbing from 75% to 95% over 5 to 8 weeks , followed by back-off sets, with assistance spread through the week at lower weight/more volume and lots of bodybuilding. After each block I’ll drop the weight & push back up. But 70s Powerlifter has been a great program and I’ve had a blast and learned a lot.