Lamar Gant (born 1957 in Fort Collins, Colorado) is an American world record-holding powerlifter with idiopathic scoliosis. He was inducted into the International Powerlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 1980.
The following schedules were developed by Lamar Gant. Benchpress, deadlift and squat training! The deadlift routine assumes the lifters comes into program with a 500lb. max. After successfully completing the routine, he may expect to be capable of as much as 530 to 540lb.
| Deadlift Routine |
| Week 1: warm up and work up to 5 sets of 8 reps with 350lb |
| Week 2: warm up and work up to 5 sets of 8 reps with 365lb |
| Week 3: warm up and work up to 5 sets of 8 reps with 380lb |
| Week 4: warm up and work up to 5 sets of 8 reps with 390lb |
| Week 5: warm up and work up to 5 sets of 5 reps with 410lb |
| Week 6: warm up and work up to 5 sets of 5 reos with 430lb |
| Week 7: warm up and work up to 5 sets of 5 reps with 435lb |
| Week 8: warm up and work up to 5 sets of triples of 460lb |
| Week 9: warm up and work up to 5 sets of triples with 480lb |
| Week 10: warm up and work up to 5 sets of triples with 470lb |
| Week 11: warm up and work up to 5 sets of triples with 480lb |
| Week 12: warm up and work up to 5 sets of triples with 490lb |
Assistance work: hyperextensions is recommended for more advanced lifters.
As for the gear you need, don’t wear shoes with a heel, because they put the body too far forward in the pull. According to Lamar Gant you should definitely use a powerlifting belt, which probably adds 40 pounds to your max lift. A Supersuit is recommended, because it helps you “build resistance” as you descent into lift. In any lift, building this resistance is important.
Lamar Gant cites that people tend to either overtrain or undertrain the deadlift. It is the one lift that demands the most mental toughness, but that does not mean you have to pace yourself in the dealift. When you are doing 8 reps in a work set, you should be using a weight that you are actually capable of doing 11 reps with. Otherwise you burn out before you reach your peak.
Benchpress training routine
The following routine is recommended for a 300lb benchpress
| Benchpress |
| Week 1: 135×10, 190×12, 190×12, 190×12, 190×12, 190×12 |
| Week 2: 135×10, 200×12, 200×12, 200×12, 200×12, 200×12 |
| Week 3: 135×10, 210×12, 210×12, 210×12, 210×12, 210×12 |
| Week 4: Warm-up to 240×6, 240×6, 240×6, 240×6 |
| Week 5: Warm-up to 250×6, 250×6, 250×6, 250×6 |
| Week 6: Warm up to 260×6, 260×6, 260×6, 260×6 |
| Week 7: Warm up to 280×3, 280×3, 280×3 |
| Week 8: Warm-up to 290×3, 290×3, 290×3 |
| Week 9: Warm up to 315 for 4 sets of singles with a pause |
Note: The first day for your benches is Saturday and the second day is Tuesday, Tuesday’s is identical to Saturday’s workout, except you use 10lb less on the bar. Your assistance is done on the days you bench press, and the workload varies according to the day (light or heavy) it is done.
The assistance work will last only 6 weeks, doing three sets of each lift. The weight you start with in the assistance exercises should be an amount that you are capable of handling for 3 reps more than what is required. Increase the weight 5lb. per week. The assistance exercises are close grip benches, dumbbell flyes, dumbbell front raises and hammer curls.
Squat routine
When following this squat routine (designed for a lifter coming in with a 400 pound max lift) during the first three week time frame, only use a lifting belt for support. After that point, utilize your lifting suit, knee wraps, and wrist wraps.
| Squat Routine |
| Week 1: (maximum rest time between these sets is 4 minutes) 135×25, 185×25, 205×25, 185×25 |
| Week 2: (maximum rest time – 4 minutes) 135×25, 185×25, 225×25, 185×25) |
| Week 3: (maximum rest time – 4 minutes) 135×25, 185×25, 235×25, 200×25) |
| Week 4: (maximum rest time 2 minutes) 135×10, 205×3, 270×1, 310×5, 310×5, 310×5, 310×5 |
| Week 5: (maximum rest time – 2 minutes) 135×10, 205×3, 275×1, 310×5, 320×5, 320×5, 320×5 |
| Week 6: (maximum rest time – 2 minutes) 135×10, 225×3, 285×1, 330×5, 330×5, 330×5 |
| Week 7: (one to two minutes rest between sets from here on) 135×10, 205×3, 275×2, 310×1, 350×3, 350×3, 350×3, 350×3) |
| Week 8: 135×10, 205×3, 275×2, 320×1, 365×3, 360×3, 355×3, 350×3 |
| Week 9: 135×10, 225×3, 285×3, 325×2, 385×3, 375×3, 365×4, 365×4 |
| Week 10: 135×10, 225×3, 285×3, 325×2, 375×1, 400×2, 400×2, 400×2. (The Monday before the meet should be your last squatting day) |
To start off this ten week cycle, you will first put your muscles in better condition. You also get a feel for the best leverage in the squat by starting the first 3 weeks with high reps. It is important that you start each squat day with at least 15 minutes of stretching.
This squat workout needs to be done only once per week, typically on a Monday. In your first six weeks, add the following exercises on Wednesday; leg curls and leg presses, 5 sets of 8 reps. Abdominal crunches should be done seven days per week, and on three of those days increase the resistance by using weights, three sets of 15 reps.