Lately my athletes have collectively had unbelievable results from a new program that we are using. My Mash Mafia on site and online Weightlifting and Powerlifting Teams are both simple killing it. I am inconstant search of new ideas that might give my athletes a slight edge, so like any good coach I have studied programs from all the countries that crush it on an international level. I also know what worked for me as a powerlifter to get freaky strong. As Jon North would say, it’s all about the melting pot.
As a coach, you should never be afraid of trying new programs as long as they make fundamental sense because almost anything work for a short period of time. The body is very adaptive in nature, so a new program acts as a new stimulus causing the body to strengthen in response. This is the main reason that I never use the exact same program twice.
This doesn’t mean that certain principles won’t exist in each program. I am just saying that it will not be exactly the same. Here is what I have gathered so far in my quest for the ultimate program. Russia, Bulgaria, and China all have great aspects to their training, and Powerlifting has a lot to teach weightlifting about getting crazy strong. Most of the people who are coming to me for coaching and programming are seeking this combination.
The Russian program is full of percentages that utilize Prilepin’s Chart as a guide for proper volume ranges. Prilepin’s Chart was designed by the famous Alexander Sergeyevitch Prilepin one of the best Weightlifting Coaches and sports scientists in Russian history. Understanding proper volume can assure the body is getting the proper response from training. My athletes notice an improvement in technique and confidence from the higher volume. Understanding proper volume will also protect the athlete from any undue stress from overtraining.
The Bulgarian team is famous for their grueling daily max sessions. They basically maxed out in the snatch, clean & jerk, and front squat every day and several times per day. I totally agree that the body needs to adapt to handling maximal loads per there is a time and a place. I try to keep maximal attempts at around 10-13 total reps per month. We save most of these attempts for our Max Out Friday sessions which we treat like competition days. The rest of the week is reserved for high volume Russian Training.
China’s system is a little more mysterious than Russia’s or Bulgaria’s, but I love the way that they use a wide variety of assistance work to build the entire body. If you look at their lifter, they all look like bodybuilding tanks. Their structures look totally prepared for the high demands of weightlifting. It only makes sense to strengthen the whole body especially since we are taking a weight from the floor and hurling it above our heads. Every muscle in the body needs to be firing for the weight to be stabilized above our heads. We use pull-ups, push ups, rows, dips, bench press, standing press, curls, and more to strengthen our athletes. Yes, I said curls! If nothing else, the athlete loves looking jacked. Why not let them?
Powerlifting taught me all about getting super strong. Guys like Louie Simmons, Chad Smith, and Dan Green continue to expand that knowledge, and I try to stay on top of it as well. Bands and chains have their place no doubt in the squats and pulls. My athletes are seeing some sick gains in their squats from bands and chains. There is something new that I am working on with bands that seems to be yielding crazy results. When I have finished a full cycle, I will publish the routine for you guys. My thinking is to use the snatch and clean & jerk to perfect movement and technique, and I will use squats, pulls, and presses to getting sick strong. Put the two together, and you get Gainzzzz!!!!
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Great article Travis! Keep them coming. I’m hungry for those strength research articles. The info Dr’s Stone and O’bryant taught us at Appalachian.
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