12 Week RPE Powerlifting Peaking Program (with Spreadsheet)

Peaking or tapering in powerlifting is adjusting the intensity of training over a specific period to reduce physical and mental fatigue and maintain strength.

With the help of a well-defined RPE program, the tapering process becomes easier to track. By following a tapering pattern, powerlifters can prepare to max out on their lifts and get in the peak condition to demonstrate their prowess in a professional competition.

RPE, or Rate of Perceived Exertion, is an effective technique to measure the intensity of your workouts. The RPE evaluation method uses a scale from 1 to 10 to measure the level of difficulty faced by a person while performing a particular lift.

So, it’s easier for lifters to make weight adjustments during a particular training session, depending on how their body feels.

An RPE powerlifting program can, therefore, allow a powerlifter to train themselves in strength without draining their energy over time.

But using the RPE scale to devise workout programs is not that easy. You need a specialized powerlifting peaking program to taper your workouts effectively. Thankfully, Mignone Strength has come up with a 12-week RPE powerlifting program to help you max out for any competition.

Program Principles

Mignone Strength’s powerlifting peaking program makes effective use of the RPE scale to gauge the workout intensity of lifters.

Matt Mignone’s program is designed in such a way as to reduce the volume of one’s training over time without compromising the intensity of the training sessions.

The powerlifting program, therefore, allows lifters to reach their peak and retain their strength while the body rests and recovers efficiently.

The RPE scale is meant to guide lifters on how they can evaluate their workout sessions. Using pre-determined weights to track progress is a one-dimensional approach. It doesn’t factor in seasonal fatigue or overreaching. However, the 12-week RPE powerlifting program considers these factors and makes necessary adjustments to prevent overexertion.

The program uses the following principles to help people hit their powerlifting peak:

• Decreases workload when the lifter hits their “overreaching” phase to help their bodies recover and achieve efficient performance gains.
• Ends the program with a taper to reduce any psychological or physiological stress for performance optimization during any competition.
• Uses the RPE scale to track performance and effectively increase the lifter’s 5RM and 3RM capabilities over time.

12 Week RPE Powerlifting Program

Mignone Strength’s RPE powerlifting program follows a 12-week schedule divided into four parts. Each week consists of three rest days and four active training days to give the body sufficient time to recover while retaining strength.

The program is segmented into four parts:

• Block 1 (Week 1 to Week 4)
• Block 2 (Week 5 to Week 8)
• Overreaching (Week 9)
• Tapering (Week 10 to Week 12)

Blocks 1 and 2 are meant to prepare a person to max out their lifts. The goal is to:

• End the fourth week with an increased 5RM.
• End the eighth week with an increased 3RM.

Overreaching is the phase when your body will be under increased metabolic stress. In this stage, the training volume is decreased drastically for super-compensation and performance gains.

The last stage is tapering, where the volume of workouts becomes lesser while maintaining the intensity. This helps maintain the strength of the body without draining it too much.

12 Week RPE Powerlifting Peaking Program Spreadsheet

A comprehensive powerlifting program is essential for performing well on the day of the competition. If you keep training without checking your exhaustion and intensity level, your body’s strength might be immense, but you might be too exhausted to perform consistently.

You can avoid this by downloading Mignone Strength’s 12-week RPE powerlifting program from here.

Once downloaded, you can follow the spreadsheet template to max out your lifting capabilities in just 12 short weeks.

Don’t miss:

6 Week Russian Bench Press Peaking Program
Alan Thrall Program Spreadsheet
6 Week Soviet Peaking Powerlifting Program
Bulgarian Method Program
Benching the Monolith Program

Wrapping Up

The combination of training, overreaching, and tapering allows a powerlifter to retain their body strength while generating enough time for regeneration and recovery.

As a result, the lifter would be in top condition to max out on their lifting capabilities whenever they have to perform in a professional competition.

With the powerlifting program that we have shared, they can do exactly that.