What are the most important accessories for the sport of powerlifting?
The answer is one we give often – it depends. Individualized programming should always be athlete-centered and all accessories are added to address weaknesses, sticking points, equipment access, and issues.
Today, we want to highlight some of our top accessories for Powerlifting, noting that we don’t use these movements for everyone and we use them at different times and at different intensities and frequencies depending on the athlete
Our Top Accessories for Powerlifting
Pendlay Row – This variation of the row give you the ability to hit some very heavy rows that many cannot control in a hinged position without the floor as a stopping point
Trap 3 Raise – These are so important for shoulder health and stability – every athlete does a form of these. If the weight is too much at first, you can also start with Modified Trap 3 Raises
Board Presses – Overloading is especially beneficial for the bench press. Board presses are one way to utilize loads over your 1RM
Tempo Anything – Time under tension and controlled movements will make you stronger and improve stability
Hanging – Good for grip strength, shoulder strength, and scapular position which translates to all three lifts. If you don’t have a bar to hang from, carries can also be beneficial and we implement these for similar reasons, but we implement both hanging and carrying variations in our programming.
Horse Stance Squats – Great for sumo dead lifters, but also just a great way to strengthen the glutes and work on the hips
Hip flexion leg lifts – This one gets missed a lot. It you’re squatting heavy, you NEED to strengthen those hip flexors. This is an easy warm up / accessory move to add in
Single Leg Work – Powerlifting is extremely bilateral. Utilizing unilateral work is imperative to working on imbalances.
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