The powerlifting trio is a strength building workout that consists of making three attempts at the following lifts:
- Squat
- Bench press
- Deadlift
Trystan Eddy, a former personal trainer with a Bachelor of Science specializing in exercise physiology, shares his take on the powerlifting trio, recognizing that many people find these three exercises the most terrifying, but they’re also the most important.
“When you study exercise physiology at university or complete a personal training certification, a number of things are drummed into you and out of you very quickly.
The first lesson tends to focus on what we call ‘mythconceptions’. These are things that most people believe, despite the fact that they have no scientific merit, simply because they read them online or hear them from friends. The second lesson focuses on the most important things people should be doing for their health and why.
The powerlifting trio – squat, bench press and deadlift – are all exercises you have either heard of or seen people doing. They are also the exercises that have been written into a personalized program for you, probably get skipped when you aren’t ‘feeling it’ and might be the ones you’re actually a little afraid of.
Here’s some insider information…Professionals are taught to put these exercises into every single program, regardless of age or fitness, for the simple reason that they work better than everything else you are doing combined.
You could scrap your entire program and just focus on these three exercises to achieve 90% of what you need. Yet, people continually skip, miss, forget and avoid these exercises. Believe me, I can understand why. They hurt, they’re hard, they’re heavy and they’re a little scary, but they will give you the results you’re looking for when done correctly.
There are many reasons why you should be doing these exercises as part of your regular program. You can literally study them for years (I know this because I did), but here are what I believe are some of the top reasons for doing the powerlifting trio:
1. Get a full body workout
Instead of doing 20 exercises to work the small muscles individually, just hit them all at the same time and go home. You will have a far more productive workout and be less prone to overload and injury (if done correctly), all in less time. As an added benefit, the more muscles you workout, the more happy hormones you release.
2. Increase bone density
Studies have shown that powerlifting exercises, even with lower weight, show higher increases in bone density among younger people and lower rates of bone density loss among the elderly. In short, if you want healthy bones when you get older, this is a great way to start.
3. Improve strength and increase size
Digressing here a little…People tend to picture bodybuilding when they think of powerlifting. These are two completely different things. Bodybuilders work on all those small muscles that aren’t used much in daily life, making them look unnaturally large. Powerlifters use all those small muscles in conjunction with the major muscle groups. When powerlifting, you will build muscle in a more natural looking way, avoiding the dreaded ‘chicken legs’ situation. And here is the kicker – because you are actively using the largest muscle groups, you are releasing more of those awesome muscle growth hormones than you do if you complete lots of smaller exercises.
4. Achieve a healthy core
When performed correctly, each of these exercises works the entire core, not just the smaller parts of it. This leads to better posture, good digestion and many other benefits that improve overall health.
5. Exercise safely
Using correct technique in a safe and controlled manner – and I have to stress that correct technique is an absolute must – squats, bench presses and deadlifts are the safest exercises to do because they mimic things you already do in daily life. In other words, the things our bodies are designed to do. Your body is not designed to continuously stress small muscles; that’s why they are small. By working large muscle groups, you’re working your body in a far safer way.
So, my recommendation is: If you know how to do the powerlifting trio properly, incorporate these exercises into your weekly routine. If you don’t know how, ask a professional for help or check out these YouTube videos:
Most importantly, be safe, use the correct technique and remember, you don’t need to lift heavy weights to see the benefits of these exercises.”
