143 reviews for Matt Vena Intermediate Powerlifting Program
Version 3.0 of program
From champion powerlifter and coach Matt Vena, this program is a generalized powerlifting routine for intermediate lifters, focusing on squats, bench presses, and deadlifts with specific variations and accessory work. Here's a concise breakdown:
Squats:
Day 1: Regular squats and tempo squats (4-second descent, 0.5-second pause).
Day 3: Paused squats (1-second pause at the bottom).
Bench Press:
Day 1: Larsen press and dumbbell incline bench for hypertrophy.
Day 2: Tempo bench single (4-count descent) and back-off sets.
Day 3: Primary bench day with long pause bench (2-second pause).
Day 4: Regular bench press and close grip bench press (2-3 finger widths narrower).
Deadlifts:
Day 2: Romanian deadlifts for hinge work and posterior chain hypertrophy.
Day 4: Paused deadlifts (1 inch off the floor, 1-second pause).
Accessory Work:
Triceps: Included on three bench days.
Back and Biceps: Back work on day 2, biceps on day 1. First set to failure, remaining sets to RPE8.
Progression Scheme:
Microcycles: 3-week cycles, adding a rep each week, then resetting reps and adding 3% weight.
Singles: Cycle through RPE 6-7-8 over the microcycles.
Taper Week: One moderate day, one light day, then max out with RPE6-8-10 jumps.
Focus on consistent form, controlled tempos, and autoregulating based on daily performance. Adjust weight and reps as needed to avoid overshooting and ensure steady progress.
Read the full guide on the website for full program details:
Margo P.
Woman, 556 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
Less than expected strength gains
Less than expected muscle gains
I liked this program, but it’s too much volume for this old lady. I plan to cut the sessions to 2 a week and do more accessories and give my lower body a break for a while.
Gigga_G
Man, 2312 weeks complete
7 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Great program! I’m an experienced lifter and added 21.5lbs to my bench, and 30.4lbs to both my squat and deadlift! As an advanced lifter with all three lifts feeling pretty stalled, this is huge!! (Oh, I swapped out the seated cable rows for chest supported rows just bc the erectors are getting lit up anyway in this program). Thank you Matt for the banger program and I love your YT vids. Matt da 🐐 no 🧢
Anonymous
Woman3 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Powerlifting it amazing
Samuel M.
Man, 315 weeks complete
1 year of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
More than expected muscle gains
Gas im huge now
Man, 32
3 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Love the program, gained a lot of strength in a surprisingly little time.
Spencer Z
Man, 1712 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
This program is 100% worth it. I’m gonna be running it again but having more bodybuilding accessories this program put 100 pounds to my total. Squat 240 -> 275 bench 170 -> 190 deadlift 315 -> 360. My arms grew a crap ton too. I’m totally expecting a 315 squat after my second full 12 weeks.
Squatpluguser11
Man, 193 weeks complete
3 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
Make sure to use xl squat plug for max gains
Elias R.
Man, 229 weeks complete
5 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I liked this overall. Not done yet and haven’t tested out new PBs but il see the full results in 2 weeks. I feel stronger and healthier. The only modifications I made was adding some shoulders exercises and switching up the tricep exercises a bit cause it was so boring doing the same thing 3 times a week. Cheers
Gabriel R.
Man, 437 weeks complete
8 years of prior experience
As expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I’m on my 40s. My total in powerlifting is 615Kg. Chose to use this program during off season to my next comp. First time doing 4x per week bench press, great to do the Larsen press and work on the balance of my upper body. I would recommend doing the program during your off season and if you have 2h per workout.
RawSaurus
Man, 2412 weeks complete
2 years of prior experience
More than expected strength gains
As expected muscle gains
I ran the program as is with no modification. This is how my numbers went up: Squat 120kg-140(without squat plug), BP 90-100, Deadlift 160-180. Overall I really liked the program. Lot of opportunities to drill your technique on main lifts and work out your weaknesses with variations. One thing that was too much for me was triceps volume and by week 10 I had to spot doing triceps, because I felt lot of pain in them and elbows.