Retraining before starting Powerlifting 2?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

So I’ve been following my own bodybuilding-esque program for the past few months since returning from quarantine.

Recently purchased Powerlifting 2 and just wondering if I should jump straight into it or give it a couple of weeks following linear progression on the main lifts beforehand (as a couple of the lifts are trained at RPE 9 in the first week).

I usually squat high bar and deadlift conventional but want to switch to low bar and sumo. I have been training with barbells for about 5 years so these movements are super unfamilar to me, but I just wanted to see what would be the best plan to decrease injury and promote longevity.

Thanks!

2

I would definitely avoid LP given that it does not check many of the boxes you’d want in a program to prepare you for a future program, e.g. autoregulation, movement variability, rep variability, conditioning, etc.

If you haven’t been doing a lot of barbell work, our Returning to the Gym article may be useful in modifying the first few weeks of PL II to make you feel more comfortable. Alternatively, you could do The Beginner Prescription for a few weeks to get your feet wet, then jump into PL II as normal.