Practical advice from a Powerlifting World Champion

Author: Mikhail Brylin - gym trainer.
2011-12-08

Hello, dear friends, lovers of the iron game. My name is Mikhail Brylin, and I am the World Champion in powerlifting (total of 940 kg without equipment) and a gym trainer.

I have long been thinking about writing an article on training methods. The thing is, when I started working out, I constantly felt a lack of information. I had to sift through a lot of literature, talk to trainers and athletes to answer the question: "How should one train to become big and strong?" Very often, the answers to my questions were contradictory, which left me somewhat puzzled: one said to bench press once a week, another four times, the third two times. How many accessory exercises should one perform?

Having tried everything, I came to the following conclusion: training programs must be tailored to oneself, depending on your individual characteristics (gender, age, recovery speed, height, etc.). This applies not only to the technique of performing exercises but also to the number of workouts per week. Once I managed to properly structure my program, I began to make significant progress. Over time, I drastically changed training programs, which also yielded results. As a result, throughout my athletic career, I managed to gain 60 kg of muscle mass and lift a total of 940 kg in the powerlifting competition without equipment. So, don't be afraid to experiment.

Very often, while training in the gym, I observed young guys trying to build their arms by doing an incredible amount of sets for biceps, triceps, and so on. After a couple of months, their enthusiasm dwindles, and they simply quit training, not seeing results. It's understandable that they do not want to train anymore. Many come to terms with this but continue going to the gym out of habit, or rather, for socializing, which is good, but results should still matter; otherwise, motivation for training will be nonexistent.

To ensure growth in mass, one must also increase strength. Specifically, in the basic exercises: squats, bench presses, and deadlifts (the golden trio). These exercises should form the foundation of your plan because they yield the results in strength and mass. I have nothing against accessory exercises, but that's exactly what they are – accessory. You shouldn’t focus on them; otherwise, you could dig yourself into a hole of overtraining.

A significant portion of your time should be dedicated to mastering the technique of the golden trio; otherwise, instead of achieving a beautiful, strong, healthy body, you will develop serious health problems. I know athletes, very genetically gifted, who had to quit sports due to health issues that arose from poor technique, so don’t skimp on time. This is especially true for squats and deadlifts. Health comes first; everything else is secondary. At this stage, your workouts should be substantial: 4-6 sets with moderate weight and perfect technique. Light workouts for technique reinforcement are not suitable, as increasing the load will bring out old mistakes, so the weight should be significant but not excessive, allowing you to perform the movement correctly. Certainly, such workouts should be done under the supervision of experienced friends or, preferably, a qualified trainer.

Let's start with squats. An excellent exercise for learning squat technique is the bench squat. You take the barbell off the rack, step back a couple of steps, position your feet wider than shoulder-width apart, with your toes slightly turned out. Your training partner stands in front of you and places a low bench almost up against your shins. Now your task is to squat while keeping your back straight and your hips from moving back, thus spreading your knees apart. A common mistake for beginners is squatting with the knees moving forward, which is harmful because it heavily overloads them. It is important to note that the angle of your back should hardly change; you should rise by pushing against the bar with your shoulders using your legs, not your back. Your back should act as a support – nothing more, being as rigid as possible. Thus, you should perform 4-5 sets of 5-6 repetitions. More details here.

Deadlifts. Typically, beginners perform deadlifts using their back because initially, the strength of their legs is inferior to that of their back. You need to fight the desire to lift heavier weights at the expense of technique. The bar should be lifted using your legs while keeping your back straight, trying to "push" the platform with your heels. An exercise that helped me a lot at the time was the deadlift from a platform. It allowed me to add 25 kg in two months in competitive deadlifting. It is performed as follows: a 10-12 cm high platform is placed under your feet, meaning the bar is nearly at your feet, the starting position of the barbell is lower than in a conventional deadlift, leading to greater leg loading. It trains the bar lift effectively. After this exercise, the competitive deadlift becomes much easier to perform. You should do 4-5 sets of 3-4 repetitions. More details here.

Bench press. The technique for this exercise is very individual. First, you need to determine which style you should perform this exercise based on the strength of your chest muscles or triceps. In the triceps bench press, the grip is somewhat narrower, and when lowering, your elbows are pressed to your body; in the chest press, the grip is wider, and the elbows move out to the sides. There are also intermediate positions (which are the majority), so I recommend searching for the version that suits you best. When performing the bench press, you need to squeeze your shoulder blades to your spine and lower them down towards your pelvis; this significantly reduces the range of motion of the exercise, and you should push your feet firmly into the platform – this will make the movement more powerful. To gain mass, you should perform 4-5 sets of 8-12 repetitions. More details here.

These are some recommendations that may be useful for beginner athletes. In the following articles, I will try to answer your questions regarding the training process and nutrition.

I would be happy to see residents of Pervouralsk and Yekaterinburg at my training sessions. Come join us in our world of strength and beauty.