John Broz interview

[BrozKnows]

I am not an olympic lifter, but I use olympic lifts as good as I can for improving my athletic ability, strength and power. What is interesting me is also weightlifting methodology that can be used for general strength training. I have already adapted couple of months ago to benching squatting and deadlifting everyday with a high volume, 8-10 working sets of three. I was very tired but as coach Broz said PR were made in fatique state even if I felt really worn out. I have also tried SRM method but then withoug back off sets. Now inspired by coach Broz I m gonna test the following as a rest and change of pace from oly lifts:

every day:

1 Back squat
2 Military press
4 Deadlift
5 Bench press

All to max single plus up to 50 reps in sets of 2,3 back off sets mlifting done as explosively as it can be

second daily workout will be

repetitive sprints, go all out and as much volume as I can handle that is just to keep body fast and have good wind with this deads and squats and presses

advice appreciated

The only concern I have is in the pressing movements. If the Military was a push press than I think you will be ok, but if it's a strict press along with the benching, it might be too much too soon for the delts and arms. They do not adapt to the volume as quickly as legs and hips. I would do 1/2 the volume initially and if the press gets heavy, do push presses. I think they are a better exercise for upper body strength anyway.

[dannyautrey]

This thread is very interesting. I like your style, Coach. I have been running Smolov lately for my squats, and haven't really been challenged yet. I recently had a discussion with another member on here about running Smolov year-round, as I think it would make my squat insane.

Are you familiar with Smolov? If so, would it be a good idea? With the program, I'd only be working up to heavy singles twice every 14 weeks, or something along those lines.

[ShutUpAndSquat]

This thread is very interesting. I like your style, Coach. I have been running Smolov lately for my squats, and haven't really been challenged yet. I recently had a discussion with another member on here about running Smolov year-round, as I think it would make my squat insane.

Are you familiar with Smolov? If so, would it be a good idea? With the program, I'd only be working up to heavy singles twice every 14 weeks, or something along those lines.

Heh, I was the guy who thought about doing Smolov year-round along with Danny.

To add on to Danny's inquiry, assuming you're familiar with Smolov: how could one run through the program and still be able to work on explosiveness & lifting a max with maximum speed? Would there be any tweaks you'd make to Smolov to make it a viable year-round program?

[GoJu]

coach broz, what would you suggest for a lifter having problems keeping position off the floor? I've been thinking of just doing clean style deadlifts with like 110% of clean max 3x a week after squats but was wondering if you had any other ideas

[numinti]

I will do so.

One more thing , coach.

Some peole say that from going to max singles so often you get high blood pressure during rest. That can be more from power than oly lifts as oly lifts are faster in nature so you are shorter time under strain. But anyway. JUst curious. Do your lifters control health? Especially those above 100 kg.

[PumpinPaddy]

Great thread, only got to read through it all now

Sounds like and Irish guy doing the interview too

[R.SELK]

Heh, I was the guy who thought about doing Smolov year-round along with Danny.

To add on to Danny's inquiry, assuming you're familiar with Smolov: how could one run through the program and still be able to work on explosiveness & lifting a max with maximum speed? Would there be any tweaks you'd make to Smolov to make it a viable year-round program?

Ive ran smolov for a very long time. I think it was close to 20 weeks in the end. The recovery gets easy, but eventually my knee ran into issues and it was either tone it down or surely **** over my knee.

If my joints could take it I would run that kind of volume year round, I love it.

[BrozKnows]

Ive ran smolov for a very long time. I think it was close to 20 weeks in the end. The recovery gets easy, but eventually my knee ran into issues and it was either tone it down or surely **** over my knee.

If my joints could take it I would run that kind of volume year round, I love it.

Heh, I was the guy who thought about doing Smolov year-round along with Danny.

To add on to Danny's inquiry, assuming you're familiar with Smolov: how could one run through the program and still be able to work on explosiveness & lifting a max with maximum speed? Would there be any tweaks you'd make to Smolov to make it a viable year-round program?

This thread is very interesting. I like your style, Coach. I have been running Smolov lately for my squats, and haven't really been challenged yet. I recently had a discussion with another member on here about running Smolov year-round, as I think it would make my squat insane.

Are you familiar with Smolov? If so, would it be a good idea? With the program, I'd only be working up to heavy singles twice every 14 weeks, or something along those lines.

I am familiar with his program. I have a LOT of issues with it.

1) Lunges suck and I think are very dangerous. When you go heavy,fast or simply aren't perfectly strict you have a tendency to push hard and because of the deep split you push off to one side and lean to the opposite as a reflex to get up. I have witnessed many people injure a knee doing this (including my wife - who refused to listen, snuck off to the "ladies only" section. She split her meniscus and I had to carry her to the hospital from the gym. She was out of commission for 4 months and 5 yrs later her knee is still jacked) Lunging down is NOT a natural way for the human body to lift. Do you ever see kids lunging down to grab something? It's an unnecessary risk with little benefit. That is the classic definition of dumb. You wanna stretch the quads? kneel down and lean back. This is a much better stretch. It stretches the quad more from the hip and not as much from the knee.

2) Jumping and plyos should be left to jumpers and track athletes who needs to jump. As a lifter we don't need that additional stress put on any joints. save the stress and energy for training.

3) %'s don't work. Plain and simple. How many times have you had to go in and hit a max but you didn't sleep well, feel under the weather etc. but have to lift a designated amount of weight? Conversely, how many times do you feel great but are only allowed to go to 65-75% when you really feel like you could hit a PR that day? It's hard enough to peak at a meet a few times a year and feel like you are prepared to hit weights that are pre-determined. How can you possibly do it every workout, every lift? simple - you can't.

4) The more often you attempt max, the more opportunities you are giving yourself to feel what max feels like, make max attempts, hit PR's, and it builds confidence. Eventually max is usual and as routine as walking down the street. Every morning I would squat at least 220 (usually more, but that was my "minimum" I HAD to do regardless of how I felt) like clockwork. I could do it just as easy as walking to my car to drive home. Pat is currently doing 250 every morning. It is so routine that at any given time, night or day 7 days/wk he would be able to do it without even blinking.

*****5) NOT training everyday leads to more injuries! IF you train everyday then your entire body is fatigued. Muscles, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, etc. When you train every other day, then the muscles and avascular tissues don't recover at the same pace. What happens is the muscles become fresh and recover but all the connective tissue is NOT. When the additional stress put on these weakened tissues (that never really got a chance to recover) by fresh muscles = injury. Lifting everyday keeps everything in a state that is equal and consistent within the system. A balance or harmony within. The fatigued muscles can't contract enough to harm the other tissues. The weak link moves from body part to body part, and in a sense is not letting the other parts max so that's when they are resting!

6) The progress from this program is because of the volume. Most people don't even come close to the amount of volume that it demands in regular workouts. The progress is wrongly attributed to the %'s and reps scheme. It's not. IT's the workload.

7) The human body cycles up and down at unpredictable waves. The program can't take that into account. What if you started 5 days earlier? Would you be more successful? It is not possible to predict how you will feel and start the program at an optimum time within your own cycle to have more success. You can't succeed every workout unless the #'s were skewed from the beginning.

****8) How many opportunities for PR's did you miss out on by spending an entire year only squatting 3x/wk when you could be doing 7-14? In a entire year, just squatting once a day = 2x the volume of this program. 2x/day for 12-14 sessions a week is 400% more. That's the only % that is important!

[BrozKnows]

I will do so.

One more thing , coach.

Some peole say that from going to max singles so often you get high blood pressure during rest. That can be more from power than oly lifts as oly lifts are faster in nature so you are shorter time under strain. But anyway. JUst curious. Do your lifters control health? Especially those above 100 kg.

My blood pressure when I was at my peak weight of 305# (139kg) was 125-30/80. Now I'm 260 and my pressure is 118/78. Pat had his checked the other day at a routine check up (after he trained that morning - not upon waking) and his was 120/75. If you train a lot, you will have a very strong cardiovascular system. My resting pulse is <55.

I have never found it to be an issue, ever.

[BrozKnows]

coach broz, what would you suggest for a lifter having problems keeping position off the floor? I've been thinking of just doing clean style deadlifts with like 110% of clean max 3x a week after squats but was wondering if you had any other ideas

That is an excellent solution. I have had lifters do it in this fashion: M W F , afternoon session after max S and CJ. FS max then 5x2 with 10kg less. Go back and do SN pulls and CL pulls with 10-20 kg more than that days max attempts for 5x2 each. SN first and then CL.

[creb]

*****5) NOT training everyday leads to more injuries! IF you train everyday then your entire body is fatigued. Muscles, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, etc. When you train every other day, then the muscles and avascular tissues don't recover at the same pace. What happens is the muscles become fresh and recover but all the connective tissue is NOT. When the additional stress put on these weakened tissues (that never really got a chance to recover) by fresh muscles = injury. Lifting everyday keeps everything in a state that is equal and consistent within the system. A balance or harmony within. The fatigued muscles can't contract enough to harm the other tissues. The weak link moves from body part to body part, and in a sense is not letting the other parts max so that's when they are resting!

One potential way around the problem you mentioned (for those of us that can't or don't want to squat everyday) would be to do lots of volume during a session so that when you come back in 48 hours- or whenever- the muscles are definitely fatigued to some extent. The way I see it, pacing is definitely a problem whether you have 12 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours rest inbetween, so what we're talking about is optimizing that pace to suit individual recovery and lifestyle. Volume must match the frequency on this score so we must pay our dues every time we step inside the gym, whether that's 3,4,8 or 16 times a week.

[southbankwulf]

i benched yesterday and hit a pr of 352 normal grip and today i hit a pr of 330 on close grip. i have been after those for awhile. i thankyou for opening my eyes, i would have never benched two days in a row, never mind hitting 2 prs the day after eachother.

[numinti]

One potential way around the problem you mentioned (for those of us that can't or don't want to squat everyday) would be to do lots of volume during a session so that when you come back in 48 hours- or whenever- the muscles are definitely fatigued to some extent. The way I see it, pacing is definitely a problem whether you have 12 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours rest inbetween, so what we're talking about is optimizing that pace to suit individual recovery and lifestyle. Volume must match the frequency on this score so we must pay our dues every time we step inside the gym, whether that's 3,4,8 or 16 times a week.

For me the best is to work out at home. Weightlifting equipement is not so expensive if you look at it as a long term investment. Of course for those who don't have time for club like me. So even working 10-12 hours a day I can squeeze in some sets here and there. For example morning some squats or snatches or both and evening some c&j and squats. Even if I have 20 minutes I can 10 sets on squats and that is better than nothing. On weekend when busy with family life and child I also squeeze in multiple workouts here and there. 20-30 min in one session. Maybe 2-3 times a day.

[Deadlift_10KG]

Just wondering coach, how quickly did your lifters fall into fatigue from training so hard? By fatigue I don't mean soreness, I mean like overtraining-esque feeling.

[Korr]

So is 40 too old to start training with you?

[crackyflipside]

Just wondering coach, how quickly did your lifters fall into fatigue from training so hard? By fatigue I don't mean soreness, I mean like overtraining-esque feeling.

Well, here's his view on overtraining.

this is a tough one to swallow for most... THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OVERTRAINING!!! if you can't do something you are not in good enough shape. Here is a story:

IF you got a job as a garbage man (or run a jackhammer, or some other physically demanding job) and had to pick up heavy cans all day long, I'm sure the first day would be very difficult - possibly almost impossible for some to complete so what do you do? take 3 days off and possibly lose your job? NO! you would take your sore, beaten self to work the next day. You would mope around and be fatigued - much less energetic than the previous day, but you would make yourself get through it. Get home, soak in the tub, take aspirin, etc. The next day would be worse..etc. etc. Eventually you will be running down the street tossing cans around and joking with your coworkers. How did this happen? You forced your body to adapt to the job at hand! IF you cant' squat everyday, lift heavy everyday then you are not OVERTRAINED, you are UNDERTRAINED!

Could a random person off the street come to the gym with you and do your exact workout? probably not - cause they are undertrained. Same goes with most when compared to elite athletes.

I've been training how he advocates for almost two weeks now but have slowly built up work capacity to go max every day. If you try to jump right into it you will be very sore for a while, transitioning slow was sore for about 2-3days. There is no overtraining feeling, there is just your daily maximum getting smaller and larger in waves. Like he says, no matter how sore you are, you will never be too weak to squat a barbell. Just train through that period of soreness and your body will adapt.

[Deadlift_10KG]

Well, here's his view on overtraining.



I've been training how he advocates for almost two weeks now but have slowly built up work capacity to go max every day. If you try to jump right into it you will be very sore for a while, transitioning slow was sore for about 2-3days. There is no overtraining feeling, there is just your daily maximum getting smaller and larger in waves. Like he says, no matter how sore you are, you will never be too weak to squat a barbell. Just train through that period of soreness and your body will adapt.

Thank you, that's the sort of info I needed.

[ulfhednar]

Mr. Broz I got a question about powercleans - so for example to get stronger on a powerclean a lifter has to do it every training session , prefecting the technique and adding say 5lbs each workout?

would 4 sets or 4 reps work alright for powercleans , and when the max weight is reached for 4 reps to do 5 or 6 sets of 2? Or thats still not enough reps all together for a proper powerclean work out? I lift twice a week, and do freestyle wrestling twice a week, really need to get alot stronger on my powercleans.

And how often should I include jump shrugs and high pulls ? also each work out?

[BrozKnows]

So is 40 too old to start training with you?

Im 41 so come on down and lets have some fun!

[BrozKnows]

1--- to get stronger on a powerclean a lifter has to do it every training session , prefecting the technique and adding say 5lbs each workout?

2---would 4 sets or 4 reps work alright for powercleans , and when the max weight is reached for 4 reps to do 5 or 6 sets of 2? Or thats still not enough reps all together for a proper powerclean work out? I lift twice a week, and do freestyle wrestling twice a week, really need to get alot stronger on my powercleans.

3---And how often should I include jump shrugs and high pulls ? also each work out?

1) You can't add a predetermined weight each workout because you cant predict how you will feel. You might be able to add 10 kg in one session, or might have to drop 10 kg - the point is don't limit yourself by thinking in a definitive number because you don't know what you're capable at any given moment.

2) 4x4=16 ; 6x2 =12. This is not enough volume. Try to do at least 30-50 reps. Doing sets of 4 is not for every workout. Try alternating between heavy 15x2's on day 1 and on day 2 with 10x5's for volume/cardio/endurance for your sport.

3) Jump what? High who? Forget that nonsense and stick to the lift that you are trying to get good at. Spend that time and energy getting better at P.Cleans. IF you are doing the lifts correctly you will be jumping while shrugging and doing a high pull in each attempt. That is why Power Cleans are beneficial to sports.

[BrozKnows]

Just wondering coach, how quickly did your lifters fall into fatigue from training so hard? By fatigue I don't mean soreness, I mean like overtraining-esque feeling.

The time to reach the dark times depends on the lifters commitment, time restraints, age, etc. Could be as little as 2 weeks, or as long as never.

[numinti]

The body is unpredictable. Yesterday I felt really bad in the morning. Training every day and couldn't improve for a longer time and actually that maxes starting feeling heavier and heavier. So in the morning I did:

Squat, press, power clean and some eliptical trainer sprints. to max and 6x3 back off sets.

And it was so miserable that I started loosing faith and even thinking about 1-2 weeks off from barbell and just swim or do something different. I started hating weights.

However at evening same day I was around weightlifting club while waiting for family I had 1 hour and just stepped in to have a look. And sisce I had some sport clothes in the car I decided do some snatches, cleans and squats on a nice platform with some eleiko equipement. I got so fired up that finally i hit PR in even though I was going quickly through sets of singles and also squeezed in some volume on squats- 7x3. That was good.

So yes I agree, percentages and predictions don't work. I used to give up in the past when I felt bad but as I see it is possible to work through this.

[HolyMoly]

One potential way around the problem you mentioned (for those of us that can't or don't want to squat everyday) would be to do lots of volume during a session so that when you come back in 48 hours- or whenever- the muscles are definitely fatigued to some extent. The way I see it, pacing is definitely a problem whether you have 12 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours rest inbetween, so what we're talking about is optimizing that pace to suit individual recovery and lifestyle. Volume must match the frequency on this score so we must pay our dues every time we step inside the gym, whether that's 3,4,8 or 16 times a week.

Not really, with olympic lifting theres a lot more technique that comes into play. Training more frequent would be more beneficial for technique. Doing more volume during one training could result into loss of technique, because of fatique that comes with the volume. But less volume during workouts would enable you to train more frequent, which is beneficial for technique.

Maybe it would be from a bodybuilding point of view?

[ulfhednar]

*****5) NOT training everyday leads to more injuries! IF you train everyday then your entire body is fatigued. Muscles, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, etc. When you train every other day, then the muscles and avascular tissues don't recover at the same pace. What happens is the muscles become fresh and recover but all the connective tissue is NOT. When the additional stress put on these weakened tissues (that never really got a chance to recover) by fresh muscles = injury. Lifting everyday keeps everything in a state that is equal and consistent within the system. A balance or harmony within. The fatigued muscles can't contract enough to harm the other tissues. The weak link moves from body part to body part, and in a sense is not letting the other parts max so that's when they are resting!

1. One more question coach, after reading through this thread from the begining and noticing what I quoted above, where you say not lifting every day leads to more injuries well, Im only able to lift twice a week, because of work and my freestyle wrestling practises, does it mean its more dangerous to do olympic squats twice a week (on both lifting days) ?

2. I only do basic lifts to help me with overall strength and power, powerclean, overhead press (was really inspred by videos of Vasiliy Alexeev doing overhead presses), olympic bask squat, deadlift, benchpess. So if I do all of these twice a week Ill be fine, under risk of injury because I only lift twice a week? I really need to improve my squats though, should I just be doing them twice a week (like you said earlier in this thread, max out always, and then back off sets) and leave all other lifts once a week as they are?

your advice will be very appreciated, thanks

[creb]

Not really, with olympic lifting theres a lot more technique that comes into play. Training more frequent would be more beneficial for technique. Doing more volume during one training could result into loss of technique, because of fatique that comes with the volume. But less volume during workouts would enable you to train more frequent, which is beneficial for technique.

Maybe it would be from a bodybuilding point of view?

Yes, of course you're right about that. I really only intended to try and spark some discussion over squats, volume and rest time. If you go back you'll see smolov mentioned. There is a lot of volume in that program, so the lifter is going to be fatigued each time they hit the gym, although the set percentages aren't going to fit with how the lifter feels on the day.

Anyway, lifting everyday is not really practical for me; 3x per week squatting only with 48 hrs rest roughly. I'm trying to work out how best to manage volume workout to workout. I suppose I'll try to follow what is prescribed earlier in the thread, only just not everyday.

[BrozKnows]

1. Im only able to lift twice a week, because of work and my freestyle wrestling practises, does it mean its more dangerous to do olympic squats twice a week (on both lifting days) ?

2. I only do basic lifts... powerclean, overhead press , olympic bask squat, deadlift, benchpess. So if I do all of these twice a week Ill be fine, under risk of injury?

3. I really need to improve my squats though, should I just be doing them twice a week (like you said earlier in this thread, max out always, and then back off sets) and leave all other lifts once a week as they are?

1+3) 2x/wk for squats is a good start. If you can't get in another session the same day or any time during the week, you will always be hampered to make progress. You can do the other lifts 2x/wk too. Try this workout: Powerclean with push press; then BS; then Bench; then DL.

2) Whether you BS, PC,PP, or whatever exercise you do, if you only do it 2x/wk just make sure you do more sets working upto maximum and be very very warmed up. Training more frequently allows faster jumps to maximum.

[BrozKnows]

Not really, with olympic lifting theres a lot more technique that comes into play. Training more frequent would be more beneficial for technique. Doing more volume during one training could result into loss of technique, because of fatique that comes with the volume. But less volume during workouts would enable you to train more frequent, which is beneficial for technique.

Maybe it would be from a bodybuilding point of view?

That would be ideal but sadly unrealistic. To train for 45-60 min. take a 90-120 min break, come back and repeat 4-5x day. Unfortunately even with your own gym, travel time and other issues make that very difficult. I did train like that for 6 months when I had a platform in my living room. I was able to sleep, eat, train all within 15'. My gains were exceptional.

[BrozKnows]

The body is unpredictable. Yesterday I felt really bad in the morning. Training every day and couldn't improve for a longer time and actually that maxes starting feeling heavier and heavier. So in the morning I did:

Squat, press, power clean and some eliptical trainer sprints. to max and 6x3 back off sets.

And it was so miserable that I started loosing faith and even thinking about 1-2 weeks off from barbell and just swim or do something different. I started hating weights.

However at evening same day I was around weightlifting club while waiting for family I had 1 hour and just stepped in to have a look. And sisce I had some sport clothes in the car I decided do some snatches, cleans and squats on a nice platform with some eleiko equipement. I got so fired up that finally i hit PR in even though I was going quickly through sets of singles and also squeezed in some volume on squats- 7x3. That was good.

So yes I agree, percentages and predictions don't work. I used to give up in the past when I felt bad but as I see it is possible to work through this.

I'm very happy for you! There will be MANY times that you have doubts about how your training might go. Just remember this: You can always go into the gym and do SOMETHING! Everytime you touch the bar will be a '+'. If you end up hitting a PR, GREAT! If you go in and only snatch 50kg, and squat 180 - well, it's better than sitting on your butt.

[endpoint]

Do you think its possible for any 105kg plus male to squat over 300kgs-350kgs raw training the way that you do?

Or is pat a freak

[someonefat]

How would you build to squatting everyday? I'm squatting 4x a week right now, and doing oly lifting movements 3x a week-not oly lifter but benefit from the explosive training- I would like to squat everyday as leg strength and power is most important to me. Could I just start squatting everyday since I'm semi used to the high volume right now? Or would there be a smarter way to get to that point.