Powerlifting Attempt Selection: Openers to Thirds

Your total on meet day depends on nine attempts. Strong attempt selection lets you finish all nine with your best lifts on the board. Poor selection can cost you a lift you already own.

This guide shows you how to choose your opener, second, and third for squat, bench, and deadlift. It uses competition data from thousands of lifters and the rules of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF).

Know the rules before you plan

Your federation's rules shape every number you pick. The IPF Technical Rulebook sets these points:

• You get three attempts on each lift. Your best valid attempt on each lift counts toward your total.
• The bar must always be a multiple of 2.5 kg.
• Each attempt must be at least 2.5 kg heavier than the one before, except for record attempts.
• You must submit your next attempt within one minute of finishing the last one.
• You cannot change your second attempts, or your third squat and bench. You may change your third deadlift twice.

The last rule matters most. Your squat and bench thirds are locked once you submit them. Your deadlift third gives you room to chase a place or a total.

Choose an opener you can triple

Your opener has one job: put a lift on the board. Pick a weight you could lift for a triple on a bad day.

Competition data supports a confident, not timid, opener. Travis, Zourdos and Bazyler studied lifters at IPF Classic World Championships who made all nine attempts. They reported this pattern:

"In conclusion, selecting an opener of ∼91% of the expected A3 weight, followed by ∼5% increase from A1 to A2, and ∼3% increase from A2 to A3 represent the typical weight selection attempts used across lifts by elite classic powerlifters competing in the World Championships."

Travis SK, Zourdos MC, Bazyler CD. Weight Selection Attempts of Elite Classic Powerlifters. Percept Mot Skills, 2021. PubMed

National data agrees. An analysis of 10,672 raw competition entries in Powerlifting Australia by Howells and colleagues found that lifters opened their squat at an average of 92% of their best lift on the day. Of all competitors, 93.5% improved on that weight in later attempts.

A simple opener check

Use these three checks for each lift:

• It is about 90–92% of your planned third attempt.
• You have hit it for a single at RPE 7 or lower in the last 3 weeks.
• You have hit it in your meet gear and with meet commands.

If any check fails, drop the opener by 2.5 to 5 kg.

Set your second and third

Your second attempt confirms your form on the day. Your third is the goal.

Follow the elite pattern as a starting point. Add about 5% from opener to second. Add about 3% from second to third. On a 200 kg squat goal, that gives you about 182.5 kg, 192.5 kg, and 200 kg.

Keep jumps inside the success window

Large jumps lower your make rate, especially on thirds. Darragh and colleagues modeled data from 93,333 lifters across 6,979 IPF competitions. For men, jumps of 5 to 20 kg improved squat and deadlift success, but success fell with jumps over 20 kg. Bench success dropped sharply with jumps over 10 kg.

Women showed a tighter window. Squat success improved only with jumps of 8 kg or less. Third bench success fell sharply beyond 4 kg. Female deadlift jumps of about 9 to 11 kg worked best.

Use that data to cap your jumps:

• Squat: 5 to 15 kg for men, 2.5 to 7.5 kg for women.
• Bench: 2.5 to 7.5 kg for men, 2.5 to 5 kg for women.
• Deadlift: 7.5 to 15 kg for men, 5 to 10 kg for women.

Read the second attempt honestly

Adjust your third from how the second moved. A clear rule keeps you calm at the table:

• Fast second (felt like RPE 8): take the planned third.
• Slower second (RPE 9): take a smaller jump, about 2%.
• Grinder (RPE 9.5 or higher): repeat a small jump of 2.5 kg, or hold the total.

Use the meet strategically

The opening squat sets the tone for the day. The Howells data showed that winners opened their squat 7 kg heavier on average than non-winners. About 68% of winners made their third attempt, compared with about 64% of non-winners.

That does not mean you should open heavy at your first meet. It means a solid opener lets you build a bigger total across nine attempts. Plan to go 9 for 9 at your first meet. Chase placings once you know how you perform on the platform.

Plan your deadlift third last

The deadlift third is your flexible attempt. Use it to:

• Secure a total if you missed earlier lifts.
• Chase a placing when you know your rivals' numbers.
• Hit a planned personal best if the day is going well.

Write three options before the meet: a safe third, a planned third, and a stretch third. Pick one only after your second deadlift.

Rehearse attempts in training

Attempt selection works best when you have practiced it. In the final 3 weeks of prep, rehearse your opener in training at the same time of day as your flight. Then rehearse a planned second at RPE 8.

Write down each lift with load and RPE. Those records show you how accurate your plan is. They also give your handler the data to change an attempt with confidence.

Build it in the free builder

Open the powerlift.ing builder and enter your current best squat, bench, and deadlift in Config. Add a final meet week with three rows per lift. Set the rows to 91%, 96%, and 100% of your goal third, then round each to 2.5 kg.

Share the program with your handler so you both see the same numbers on meet day. For a full meet prep, start from a starter program and add the attempt rows to its last week.