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Mash Mafia Squat Every Day Learn 2 Lift Clinic
The Hard Gainer Squat Program
Tom Summa is one of my best Junior lifters. His snatch and clean & jerk technique is almost flawless. The only struggle that he had when he came to the Mash Compound was a lack of leg strength. That is one problem that I can always address.
I believe highly efficient lifters are born. It depends on their limb lengths, flexibility, and speed. Tom was born efficient. He can pretty much Clean & Jerk 95% of anything that he Front Squats. Last training cycle, I put him on an individual training cycle that saw a 10k jump to his back squat, a 7 kilo jump to his Clean & Jerk, and a 5 kilo jump in his snatch, and all of this was acquired during an 8 week cycle.
This cycle peaked him at a 147k Snatch, a 182k Clean & Jerk, and a 213k Back Squat at 19-years-old weighing around 88k during training. This jump inspired me to give you guys a glimpse at his plan. I will lay it out in two week increments and explain each stage.
Day 1 Weeks 1&2
Front Squats 83% 3×5
Kang Squats start with 38% of back Squat for 4×6
Day 2
Back Squat (1st rep paused 1 sec) 80% 5×5 with last set max reps
Dips 3×10
Day 3
Front Squat with Chains 5×3 1st rep paused with last set max reps (Start with 75% Bar Weight and 10% chain)
Axle Bar Clean Deadlifts 5RM, then -10% for 2×5
Day 4
Back Squat 3×5 same weight from Day 2 with no pauses
Plate Lateral Raises 3×10
BB Rollouts 3×10
Day 5
Front Squat 1RM, then -20% for 3, and -30% for max reps
Max Snatch
Max Clean & Jerk
Day 6
Back Squat 65% x 8
75% x 5
85% x 3
90% x 1
88% x 3
78%x5
Each week add 5-10lbs if all reps and sets are completed the week before
Elevated Suitcase Deadlifts 3 x 6 ea side
Bentover Rows 3 x 8 reps
Throughout this entire plan, I will give starting percentages. For example, you will notice that day 1 front squats have a starting percentage of 83%. If you complete all the sets and reps with the prescribed weight, increase the percentage 2-5% the next week.
When you see “last set max reps or a 5+”, that means you are to perform a maximum number of reps. However I suggest stopping with one in the tank. I don’t recommend a lot of misses with back squats or front squats.
I kept Tom maxing on Fridays in the snatch and clean & jerk with the understanding that the lifts were going to suffer at first. When you are crushing the body on strength movements, obviously the Olympic lifts are going to suffer.
Feel free to add in more snatch and clean & jerk on the other days, but focus on technique for the first couple of weeks.
Day 1 Weeks 3&4
Front Squats 1RM with 3 sec pause, then -15% for 2×3
Goodmornings 4×6 Start with 35% of Back Squat
Day 2
Back Squat 3RM with 1st rep paused 3 sec & then -10% for 2×3 no pauses and last set 3+
Bentover Rows 4×5
Day 3
Front Squat with Chains 1RM, then -15% for 2×3
Axle Bar Clean Deadlifts 3RM pause at knee for 2 sec, then -10% for 2×3 no pause
Day 4
Back Squat 3×3 with 95% of 3RM from Day 2 with no pauses
KB Upright Rows 3×10
BB Rollouts
Day 5
Front Squat 1RM, then -15% for 3
Max Snatch
Max Clean & Jerk
Day 6
Back Squat 80% for 5×5 with last set 5+
Unilateral RDLs 3 x 6 ea leg
Unilateral Farmer’s walk 20yd down and back x 3 ea hand
Dips 3×10
A lot of the same principles apply from weeks 1&2, so you will still have the + sets, and the percentages are just starting points. “RM” means rep max, so you perform the prescribed number of reps as heavy as possible.
You can add more snatch and clean & jerk during this phase as you will probably start to adapt. It was after this two weeks, that Tom started hitting big PRs. Remember that your nutrition and recovery will have to match the intensity of your program.
If you aren’t sleeping, eating, and taking care of your body, then you will just breakdown.
Day 1 Weeks 5&6
Front Squats 1RM with 1 sec pause, then -15% for 2×3
Wide Goodmornings 4×6
Day 2
Back Squat 3RM, then -15% for 2×3 and last set is 3+
Bentover Rows 4×5
Day 3
Front Squat with Chains 1RM, then -15% for 2×3
Axle Bar Clean Deadlifts Clean Deadlifts 3RM, then -10% for 2×3
Day 4
Back Squat Take 90% of Day 2’s 3RM for 3×3
KB Upright Rows 3×10
BB Rollouts
Day 5
Front Squat 1RM, then -15% for 3
Max Snatch
Max Clean & Jerk
Day 6
Back Squat 5×5 with last set 5+ (continue progressing)
RDLs 3 x 8
Farmer’s Walk 20yd down and back x 3
This will be the phase that you will start seeing some gains in snatch and clean & jerk as well as your squats. This is the last phase before the main focus shifts to mainly absolute strength, so you need to go hard to force adaptation.
Day 1 Weeks 7&8
Back Squat 3RM (1st rep paused 2 sec), then -10% for 2×3 not paused
GHRs 3×8
Day 2
Front Squats 1RM with 1 sec pause, then -15% for 3
KB Bat Wing Rows 3×10
Day 3
Back Squat 1RM, then -20% for 2×3
Clean Deadlifts 3RM, then -10% for 2×3
BB Rollouts
Day 4
off
Day 5
Max Snatch
Max Clean & Jerk
Front Squat 1RM
Day 6
Back Squat 5RM, then -10% for 2×5
Hyperextensions 3×10
Now it’s time to start peaking the lifts. The priority will shift to the snatch and clean & jerk. The athlete will continue to hit new maxes on the squats with Saturdays designated to continued strength gains with the 5 rep max and down sets.
If you have trouble gaining strength in the back squat, this plan should hook you right up. I am in the process of developing Tom’s new plan for even more continued strength gains. Stay Tuned for that one!
I hope that you guys are enjoying the path that Team Mash Elite is on. We are working hard to educate and entertain all of you with our knowledge and abilities with the barbell.
We are still looking for partners that are interested in:
• Becoming a Mash Elite Weightlifting Affiliate
• Financial partnership
• Assistance with Grant Writing for a 501c3
• Identifying Foundations and Grants
• Administrative assistance
• Prayers
If you are interested in finding out more about these partnerships, email me directly at:
Travis.Mash@mashelite.com
Don’t forget about the Mash Elite Weightlifting Team Camp:
We are hosting a three-day camp July 8-10 at the Mash Compound. It’s going to look like this:
• Day 1 Max Out Friday with the team and social afterwards
• Day 2 Clinic with Coach McCauley, Coach Wilkes, me and the team
• Day 3 Clinic about meet day prep and strategy, and then a sanctioned meet
We’ve decided to limit the camp to only 20 people, so don’t wait if you’re interested. Here’s the link to find out more:
Hey Coach,
I am guessing that Tom would still be doing some form of Snatch & Clean&Jerk throughout the week along with the exercises you have broken out above, although i could be wrong there. If i am not, what types of Olympic lift focused exercises would you prescribe? You mentioned that the focus should mainly be on technique, so would you prescribe complexes? What percentages would you prescribe in the lifts for an athletes focusing on building leg strength like Tom?
thanks a lot!
Hi Coach,
Loving the lrogramme, finishing my second week and already feel stronger!
One question I have is regarding core and thoracic stength/stability, I feel my squat is being limited by this weakness. Do you have any go-to exercises to improve in this area?
Thanks,
Dan
Hi coach,
Two weeks into this program and the results have been superb. Quick question, we don’t have chains or bands at my gym, recommendations on what to do in the absence of chains? Up the percentages? Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!