Singles are quite popular among powerlifting representatives. Find out if singles are needed in powerlifting and how to use them correctly. There are currently two opposing theories regarding the use of singles in powerlifting. Most experts believe that their use can lead to injury. Most pro athletes, on the other hand, are convinced that singles should be used.
At the same time, they often use smaller weights compared to the maximum. Based on experience, you should still agree with the athletes. Singles are a great tool for developing strength metrics. They can be used in most exercises, but not in all. Do not use singles where most of the load goes to the lower back, such as deadlifts, hyperextensions, or barbell bends.
It should also be recognized that singles can help overcome the psychological barrier that occurs at certain weights. It is difficult for some athletes to start working psychologically with a weight that is a couple of kilograms higher than the working one. For example, for a bench press in a lying position, such a line often becomes 150 kilograms. Of course, to get rid of this prejudice it is necessary to apply singles correctly. One of the main reasons for this is the technique of performing the movement. If several reps have to be done in the set, then they can be done with some disregard for technique. Powerlifting singles, on the other hand, require complete focus, both physical and mental.
Also, using singles will help you easily identify your "bottlenecks" during the exercise. For example, athletes whose back is not sufficiently developed, but with a well-developed pelvis, but can throw the working weight upward when performing several repetitions due to explosive strength. At the same time, they do not need to actively use other muscles. When they use a single, this tactic no longer works and weaknesses are easily discovered.
Singles are of great importance in those sports where it is necessary to develop strength indicators. However, this is a somewhat different type of strength that can be trained during sets with multiple repetitions. Here, ligaments are involved in the work, and much more strongly. Simply put, the fewer repetitions the athlete does, the more the ligaments are involved. And this is quite an important point, since the ligaments have a sufficiently large supply of strength that can be used for their own purposes.
Here you can remember the moments when you set your personal best in a certain exercise. In this case, it makes no sense to do several repetitions, but one is quite enough. Now about how to use singles in powerlifting.
Application of singles in powerlifting
It must be remembered that before you start using singles, you need to create a certain base, otherwise you will not get the expected result. Most of the time, when doing exercises, the likelihood of injury is relatively small, except for deadlift. When performing it, an attempt to lift the maximum weight can easily lead to undesirable consequences.
Always start with a moderate working weight, gradually increasing it. At the same time, you should work on the technique, as this is one of the conditions for the effectiveness of singles in powerlifting. Even if you can easily work with a certain weight with five repetitions, then in a single you may not be able to do it.
With basic work, you will prepare your muscles for a serious load. Start with five reps in five sets. Then, when you are confident that you can move on, complicate the task. Most often, this period for most athletes takes about three weeks.
The next step in preparing for the single is heavy sets with three repetitions. Going abruptly from five reps to one can be dangerous, and three is fine. During this period, you should also monitor the exercise technique and your form.
Many athletes are surprised that during the transition to three repetitions they are able to increase their working weight by only five kilograms or even less. However, this is quite normal, as the ligaments must adapt to new loads. It should be remembered that the time taken to go from five reps to three, and then to one is different for each athlete.
The reasons for this may be hidden in psychology or in an insufficiently well-developed technique for performing the exercise. The average duration of a stage with three repetitions is 3 to 4 weeks. When you have confidence in your abilities, you can include a single in your training program.
It is very effective to use a single to work on different muscle groups. For example, for one week, the single is used for bench presses, the next for squats, and a week later, for lifting the bar to the chest.
The frequency of using singles in powerlifting is also very important. Do not use them very often. Once a month is enough. Especially if you don't need to take part in competitions. Here the principle “less is better” works perfectly.
The main reason for this is that when performing one repetitive approaches, the overall training load is significantly reduced. To avoid this, you can also perform finishing sets. One set with 8-10 repetitions is quite enough. And again, one should remember the exception to the rule - deadlift. In this exercise, after trying to execute a single, even if it was unsuccessful, nothing should be added.
It should also be said that there is no need to make long pauses between sets. This is one of the most common mistakes. Since you do fewer repetitions in the approach, then the pauses should be shortened.
For more information on powerlifting singles see here:
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