PowerBuilding II Modification Questions

Dear coaches,

Currently running PB2 (on week 7) having run PB1 previously. Had a couple of questions:

  1. I find that I am weak off the floor on deadlifts and wanted to swap the secondary deadlift slot (SLDL) with something that targets my weakness. Would a 2" deficit deadlift work? I plan to run the peaking template after PB2 and noticed that they included deficit deadlifts, so thought it might be good to incorporate those right now?

  2. My bench is extremely weak and has barely progressed over the last 5-6 months. My 1@8’s are squat 315, DL 355, bench 185, with bench moving up only 5-10 lbs over the last few months. I have lost a significant amount of weight during this time (195lbs to 170lbs) but that hasn’t stopped me from progressing on my squat and DL. So I want to add some bench volume to the program and wanted to know whether I should add a new slot on a GPP day or just do 1 more set during the existing slots or if you had some other suggestion.

VK18,

  1. That’s fine.

  2. I don’t think you need more volume, but rather to work on your bench technique and execution during singles given your new leverages. That, adjusting variations, and maybe average intensity would be my first move before adding volume. PB II wouldn’t be my go-to powerlifting performance template (see strength I, II, III) either and if your bench went up by 5-10lbs while losing nearly 30lbs, that’s pretty damn good dude. I don’t think I’d change anything tbh.

-Jordan

1 Like

Thanks for the response.

That’s reassuring but 5-10 lbs over 5-6 months seems nothing compared to the ~40lbs I added to my squat and ~60lbs to my deadlift. Maybe I just need to be patient and achieve my weight loss goals first before focusing on bench gains.

I now PB2 isn’t the ideal program for strength gains but I was hesitant to start Strength 2 during a weight loss phase fearing that it might not be ideal for preserving muscle mass? Is my concern misplaced? In any case, I plan to finish PB2 and then a peaking template as an arbitrary end of year test day.

Thanks.

I don’t think 5-10lbs is bad over 6 months in comparison, as the relative gain is likely similar.

I think all of our strength programs place the appropriate influence on muscle hypertrophy, as it contributes to strength gain.

Good luck on your test!