This is definately up for grabs - anybody who can help, fire away.
But, with assistance exercises for muscle groups such as Tris, weaknesses, Lats, etc - should these be trained with the same intensity and volume as you have planned with your main lifts? Or, should the extra volume here be focused at higher volumes, but lower intensity, i.e. to stimulate hypertrophy and not focus on CNS training?
It depends (typical answer, right?). Usually, assistance and supplemental movements will be trained with somewhat lower intensities and higher volumes, but this is not always the case. It really depends on the overall strategy of the program.
Take assistance work for example. It is usually highly correlated to the contest movement and in the class of SPP exercises. These will be trained of similar (but not the same) volumes and intensities as the main lifts. How you determine exactly what volumes and intensities is dependent on your strategy. If you follow a Westside strategy, then this is your "Max Effort" work. If you follow a Sheiko strategy, this will be typically lower intensity and volume than the main work. If you follow a Block strategy, then the programming of this work will vary depending on whether you are in an accumulation, transmutation, or realization block. The list of strategies goes on and on and each have different views on the place and protocol for assistance work. That doesn't even get in to the point where strategies blend together.
This is why I mentioned before that you should learn the biology and physiology of the sport and the training methods. Then finding how to program this stuff makes more sense.
yea i personally think the main focus as a powerlifter should be on the big 3 and certain variatons of it and assistance work should be done, but not as intensely as the big 3. My routine i train 3x a week and i do sq/bp/dl all 3 days of the week, in variations, but not like good mornings in place of deads for example its always a squat whether it be hi bar, close stance, pause squat or free squat, deadlift is always either stiff leg, romanian or deadlift and bench is always just bench, sometimes ill work pauses or when my shoulder heals good, ill work in the shirt every so often. The point i feel is to find your weak points and target them. My upper back has always been a weak point, so im doing rows (barbell, seated cable and old school tbars,) 3 days a week, not super heavy, usually for sets of 8-10 reps to focus on building up the muscle group, side delts 3x a week, rear delts 2 x a week, front delts in the form of ohps once i get healed up and than tris are 2x a week, pec flies 1x a week and biceps 3x a week..... thats it but definetly focus mainly on the big 3 and focus on weak points and do em but not as intense as the big 3 i feel
When it comes to assistance exercises targeting specific muscle groups like triceps, lats, and others, there's some flexibility in how you approach them. Personally, I've found that incorporating a mix of both high volume and lower intensity can be beneficial. This approach allows for hypertrophy stimulation without overly taxing the central nervous system (CNS).
In my experience, maintaining a balance between intensity and volume is key. That said, finding what works best for your body and goals may require some experimentation. And while you're fine-tuning your workout routine, don't forget to support your overall fitness journey with top-quality supplements. I've had great results with products from https://www.hghworld.top/nootropics, especially their human growth hormone supplements, which have helped me push through plateaus and achieve my fitness objectives. Check out their website for a range of options designed to enhance your performance and recovery.
