John Broz interview

[ulfhednar]

hehe, hope I dont sound too thick, how exactly do you estimate the weight and reps for back off sets? You just decrease you max by say 20kg or 15 kg and do maybe 4 - 5 sets of 3 - 5 reps? Or you must do at least 30 reps in your back off sets altogether? Since yesterday, i began training the way mr.Broz advises here, cant wait for the next lifting day to lift to the max again, it feels great.

say you max back squat for example is 200kg, after you reached your max, for back offs do you just drop it down to 180 and do sets of 5 or something?

thanx

[dtaps24]

It is great that you have been so willing to share, I and the rest of the forum I'm sure appreciate it. Just wondering: How is Pat's recovery going? Do you expect him to compete in the near future? Also, do you have any other lifters that you think have a realistic shot at making it to London in 2012? Thanks again.

[crackyflipside]

Would a powerlifting template look something like this :

.................................................. .............

The subject of assistance "gear" must come in - I compete in raw competition (belt and wrist wraps only) - I think I would be tempted to avoid the use of either - or perhaps just on one day a week (Day 5 ?) - your guys seem to have developed well without them.

If you do decide to jump into it, just transition yourself slowly and it's not that bad. I transitioned by training every day but maxes were only every four days, then over time just increased the frequency of max workouts until it is every day and now I'm transitioning to 14/wk after about two weeks of 7/wk. To be completely honest, doing it this way I was only really sore in the legs for a few days when switching to 7/wk, now it's just an issue of getting my head right for sessions.

Yes you do get plenty of pain and for me it ONLY appears when I start the lifting session so I think my brain is saying "Oh no, he's doing it again... do something, turn on pain mode, stop at once!"

Another question, what are your thoughts on the Russian Squat Program

exrx.net / WeightTraining / RussianSquatProgramGenerator.html

I personally think it's great, it always works for me

hehe, hope I dont sound too thick, how exactly do you estimate the weight and reps for back off sets? You just decrease you max by say 20kg or 15 kg and do maybe 4 - 5 sets of 3 - 5 reps? Or you must do at least 30 reps in your back off sets altogether? Since yesterday, i began training the way mr.Broz advises here, cant wait for the next lifting day to lift to the max again, it feels great.

say you max back squat for example is 200kg, after you reached your max, for back offs do you just drop it down to 180 and do sets of 5 or something?

thanx

"percentages don't work. I go down 20-30 and if its too easy, then we go back up. there are times that the reps end up being more than what was the original max that day. The body is amazing when you push it. You never know what you are capable of doing on any given day. The way you feel is a lie."

[BrozKnows]

Would a powerlifting template look something like this :

Day 1
Front Squats to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2.
Bench Normal Grip - to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2.
Pull Ups - discretion - for shoulder girdle health, so reps between 5-10


Day 2
Squats to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2.
Deads Doubles or triples for speed, 60 -85% of max (depending on back health)


Day 3
Front Squats to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2.
Bench Close Grip - to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2.
Rows Barbell or Dumbell (depending on back health) - discretion - for shoulder girdle health, so reps between 5-10


Day 4
Squats - to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2
Deads - Doubles or triples for speed, 60 - 85% of max (depending on back health)


Day 5
Squats - to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2
Bench - Normal Grip - to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2.
Rear Flyes - discretion - for shoulder girdle health, so reps between 5-10


Day 6
Squats - to max single, then back off sets of between 2 - 10 reps up to a max of 50 reps total with a minimum of 3 sets of 2.
Deads - Doubles or triples for speed, 60 - 85% of max (depending on back health)


The subject of assistance "gear" must come in - I compete in raw competition (belt and wrist wraps only) - I think I would be tempted to avoid the use of either - or perhaps just on one day a week (Day 5 ?) - your guys seem to have developed well without them.

I think the program that you outlined looks solid. Just be sure that you are conditioning yourself to this a bit at a time. This should not be done on day 1. When you adapt to this then you can add morning squats and sunday sessions.

[BrozKnows]

you think vanev had bad technique?

Yes. He was very explosive, but had flaws.

1) Cut his pull way to early in snatch, even with light weights to focus on moving feet quickly. Unfortunately this limited his snatch. Good thing that technique works well for the clean, which he was a master at.

2) His elbow rotation in both jerk and snatch was "old school".

This is why he injured his elbow and was not great in jerks or snatches.

******* What I mean is this:

There are 2 ways to receive the bar overhead in both the S and J. Either roll your elbows forward like you are prepared to do a front military press or roll them back like you are preparing to do a behind the neck press. Vanev used #1. A lot of the old Soviets and Americans did this style because it was a direct carryover from the press. Since the press is gone, new lifters should be using style #2. It is a much stronger receiving position because the joints are locked back, and there is much less chance of an injury. Most injuries in elbow dislocations are lifters who utilize style #1. Watch closely and you will see.

[BrozKnows]

Hey guy, how are you.

What do you think of Hossein Rezazedeh 263kg clean and jerk and do you think that Saied Ali-Hosseini can break his record some day, he claims to maket a 250kg clean and jerk in training (and 245kg in competition).

Thanks for your thoughts, I love reading your thread.

I really don't think that the current WR for supers is that spectacular. Alexiev said that he could have done 270 back in the 70's. REZ looked good for 270 in Sydney. I think WR for supers should be on the order of 230/280. Until those are achieved I think it's wide open for anyone.

BTW, Rez power cleaned 240 so he's got a bit to go still

[BrozKnows]

HAHA!

Guys, LISTEN TO THIS MAN.

I used to compete for East Coast Gold about 10 years ago. At the time Mr. Broz used to post a bit on GoHeavy.com about his training with Krastev, etc. As I remember people used to give him crap about it there, telling him all the reasons why we "couldn't" train this way, blah blah, blah. (Some things never change, eh?) I used to save these posts and used them to put together a program that is basically the same as what he is outlining here. I figured second hand info from Krastev was better than the crap my "coach" was wasting our time with, so I dove right in.

I squatted 6x a week, Snatch or Clean 6x a week (alternated them weekly). Worked up to a daily max, and did a few sets of triples as a back off. I worked 4 10's a week on my feet, and took Sundays off. I was not using any anabolics.

As a 105kg 20 year old my lifts went from:
105kg SN - 142.5kg
140kg CL - 175kg
220kg BS - 272.5kg (not a true max, could handle 230 any day)
170kg FS - 220kg (not a true max)

Most of these gains came fairly quickly. As soon as I started hammering max singles its like I hit on "untapped potential" I didn't realize was there at the time.

I had a platform in my back yard, and trained this way for about a year and a half. I survived quite well thank you very much.

Yep. What he's telling you is the truth.

I am getting back into powerlifting right now. I looked up his name to see if I could recover any of those old posts, because I NEVER FELT AS GOOD AS I DID WHEN I WAS TRAINING THAT WAY. Finding out he has a club and people are finally starting to take notice is a pleasant surprise.

It's amazing people take so long to learn.

Good on you John Broz. And THANK YOU for continuing to share so openly with everyone, even a decade later!

You made my day. Thanks. Glad to know I'm not the only believer in hard work.

[Retardo-pex]

I think the program that you outlined looks solid. Just be sure that you are conditioning yourself to this a bit at a time. This should not be done on day 1. When you adapt to this then you can add morning squats and sunday sessions.

Do you think the progression into a program like this is dependant on your current level of conditioning or should anyone who doesn't train like this maybe start by doing 3 days a week then progressively add an extra day over a few months time until they reach the 6 per week mark?

I'm following the 5/3/1 program right now and seeing decent results, all my main lifts have been increasing over the past 2 months without any signs of stalling, but this type of training is intriguing to me as I was very interested in o lifting in high school and saw firsthand the benefits of training a lifts 4 or more times a week.

[BrozKnows]

It is great that you have been so willing to share, I and the rest of the forum I'm sure appreciate it.

Just wondering: How is Pat's recovery going? Do you expect him to compete in the near future? Also, do you have any other lifters that you think have a realistic shot at making it to London in 2012? Thanks again.

NO prob. I love lifting.

His recovery is going better. He is adapting nicely. When he tells me that he is going to batting cages in the afternoon between workouts, it's time to turn up the volume.

I have one other lifter that has a shot at medaling (who cares about going to a meet you don't have a shot to win) He keeps getting distracted by football. If he commits within the next few months, then we still have time. If he blows off training the entire season like last year then it's impossible. The only good thing is UNLV just got a new head coach. He brought his SC coach too. The SC coach is ALL about full, deep squats, the Clean/jerk and Snatch for all players! NICE!! MIght finally have a winning season.

[BrozKnows]

Do you think the progression into a program like this is dependant on your current level of conditioning

Absolutely. Every athlete will be different. From what I have seen even when 2 lifters do about the same lifts, one will be in better condition from volume training then the other. Take it easy and slowly add more work. The program is all about PROGRESSIVE INTENSITY. where progressive is the key word.

[a793653d]

I really don't think that the current WR for supers is that spectacular. Alexiev said that he could have done 270 back in the 70's. REZ looked good for 270 in Sydney. I think WR for supers should be on the order of 230/280. Until those are achieved I think it's wide open for anyone.

BTW, Rez power cleaned 240 so he's got a bit to go still

Yeah, it was pretty much the main thought that it looked like 263kg's was too easy for him, same with Steiner's 258kg's, but then again it's alot different to watch it than to actually be performing the lift. I'd love to see a 270kg C&J. In the same Olympics Reza got 263kg, a Russian attempted over 270kgs, failed of course, I forgot his name but his attempt is up there on Youtube. Who do you think will break Reza's record and then possibly break the old records as well.

[a793653d]

Oh BTW, would it be okay to switch to a routine like you say (7 days a week, lots of training) when you are also trying to cut and are above 20%BF%, with two years of training experience? Currently I eat above maintenance, with my normal 4 day powerlifting split, cardio 3 days a week, and I am losing 0.5lbs a week, I'd like to lose faster though, it seems that a 7 day high volume routine would help alot, but how would recovery be when I'm not consuming extreme amounts of calories?

[pwrlifter96]

Coach Broz,
Thanks for giving advice on this thread. I have been following your lifters on youtube for a while now. Its a great opportunity to understand how you train. I have started squatting daily but I would like some clarification on your suggestions for strongman please. Do you suggest squatting and doing the powerclean and pushpress daily or would you still do the clean and jerk with the powerclean and pushpress daily? I hope that makes sense.
By the way, I re watched my copy of the ironmind bulgarian training hall tape and it just reinforces your points on how to really train. They arent afraid to miss and they keep trying even after missing a lift 3 or 4 times.
Mike

[ulfhednar]

isnt this the actual super heavy record?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsXY7KxegAc

Taranenko's 265.5kg? until weight classes were changed and records annulated.

Cant honestly say Rez holds the record if Taranenko did lift more. Reza has the record simply because of weight class change in the past.

[a793653d]

isnt this the actual super heavy record?

Taranenko's 265.5kg? until weight classes were changed and records annulated.

Cant honestly say Rez holds the record if Taranenko faily did lift more. Reza has the record simply because of weight class change in the past.

Kurlovich did 266kg's.

DU2hdNIS2WI (ytube)

Reza has the record because the old records were wiped clean, I believe a upcoming lifter might be breaking the old Russians (Pisarenko, Tarenenko, Kurlovich etc..) records in the future, his name is Saeid Ali Hosseini and he's being trained by Reza. He currently holds the junior world record with a 245kg clean and jerk in Jeonju at the 2008 Asian Junior Championship, he also made a 206kg snatch at the same competition, which I actually find much more impressive than the 245kg clean and jerk.

From Wikipedia:
Career Bests

* Snatch: 206 kg in Jeonju on December 8, 2008
* Clean and Jerk: 250 kg in Tehran on February 14, 2009
* Total: 455 kg in Tehran on February 14, 2009

[ulfhednar]

Kurlovich did 266kg's.

DU2hdNIS2WI (ytube)

Reza has the record because the old records were wiped clean, I believe a upcoming lifter might be breaking the old Russians (Pisarenko, Tarenenko, Kurlovich etc..) records in the future, his name is Saeid Ali Hosseini and he's being trained by Reza. He currently holds the junior world record with a 245kg clean and jerk in Jeonju at the 2008 Asian Junior Championship, he also made a 206kg snatch at the same competition, which I actually find much more impressive than the 245kg clean and jerk.

From Wikipedia:
Career Bests

* Snatch: 206 kg in Jeonju on December 8, 2008
* Clean and Jerk: 250 kg in Tehran on February 14, 2009
* Total: 455 kg in Tehran on February 14, 2009

I know about the records being wiped clean, but records at least to me, and I guess to many people aswel, are what actually happened and not whats written on paper now, if 266 has been lifted before, then its a record. Until someone else does more.

If all records of say swimming for 100m will be annulated, and someone comes and sets a new one swimming slower than the fastest time that was annulated lol hows that a record.

[a793653d]

I know about the records being wiped clean, but records at least to me, and I guess to many people aswel, are what actually happened and not whats written on paper now, if 266 has been lifted before, then its a record. Until someone else does more.

If all records of say swimming for 100m will be annulated, and someone comes and sets a new one swimming slower than the fastest time that was annulated lol hows that a record.

Yeah you're right, it is the record, just not the official record.

[beefcake66]

This thread is phenomenal, thank you so much for answering everyone's questions and sharing with us, I'm learning a lot


I'm also curious about this:

Oh BTW, would it be okay to switch to a routine like you say (7 days a week, lots of training) when you are also trying to cut and are above 20%BF%, with two years of training experience? Currently I eat above maintenance, with my normal 4 day powerlifting split, cardio 3 days a week, and I am losing 0.5lbs a week, I'd like to lose faster though, it seems that a 7 day high volume routine would help alot, but how would recovery be when I'm not consuming extreme amounts of calories?

[1369phil]

Absolutely. Every athlete will be different. From what I have seen even when 2 lifters do about the same lifts, one will be in better condition from volume training then the other. Take it easy and slowly add more work. The program is all about PROGRESSIVE INTENSITY. where progressive is the key word.

In order to do this I'm reducing the volume after the "max" set and when training the very next day I'm doing about 80% and also doing 2 on 1 off - gradually increasing it all.

I did max FS yesterday and max BP, followed by 80% BS and 80% Deads (doubles) today - my legs really really hurt ! Tomorrow off then max FS & BP again.

I'm in awful condition by the way !

Mr Broz - if I set up a journal here, would you be in a position to/happy to add your comments ?

[AusLifter06]

I don't think trying to adapt to this style of training while cutting would be very smart.

[BrozKnows]

Oh BTW, would it be okay to switch to a routine like you say (7 days a week, lots of training) when you are also trying to cut and are above 20%BF%, with two years of training experience? Currently I eat above maintenance, with my normal 4 day powerlifting split, cardio 3 days a week, and I am losing 0.5lbs a week, I'd like to lose faster though, it seems that a 7 day high volume routine would help alot, but how would recovery be when I'm not consuming extreme amounts of calories?

This thread is phenomenal, thank you so much for answering everyone's questions and sharing with us, I'm learning a lot


I'm also curious about this:

I don't think trying to adapt to this style of training while cutting would be very smart.

The program is designed to be PROGRESSIVE INTENSITY. If you are doing 4/wk, goto 5 then 6 then 7. keep gradually increasing volume/sets/reps/intensity. Adapting to this while dieting is ok, but you may feel more tired than usual and put yourself into the dark times much sooner and much longer.

When you loose weight - it depends on how long you were overweight for on how you will feel. If the weight gain was recent, then your body will lose it without much repercussion. If you were obese and coming down, then your body is already in a stressful situation adapting to this new bodyweight. This additional stress will slow your strength process down because the body only has so much recuperative resources. Let them all be utilized on recovering from the workout, not wasted on anything else.

Consistency is the key in EVERYTHING else in your life (sleeping/eating/training time,etc). The more boring your life is outside the gym the better results you will see in your training.

[BrozKnows]

a Russian attempted over 270kgs, failed of course, I forgot his name

Andrei Chemerkin 272.5 (600#) @ Olympics, 2000

[BrozKnows]

Coach Broz,
Thanks for giving advice on this thread. I have been following your lifters on youtube for a while now. Its a great opportunity to understand how you train. I have started squatting daily but I would like some clarification on your suggestions for strongman please. Do you suggest squatting and doing the powerclean and pushpress daily or would you still do the clean and jerk with the powerclean and pushpress daily? I hope that makes sense.
By the way, I re watched my copy of the ironmind bulgarian training hall tape and it just reinforces your points on how to really train. They arent afraid to miss and they keep trying even after missing a lift 3 or 4 times.
Mike

I would do BS and PC/PP daily. NO reason to do both. If you can, eventually goto the full squat clean with PP that's better. If you're super exhausted, alternate PC with SC. Squat Cleans are more work but the path of least resistance is what we want to avoid at all costs. This road leads only to Loserville. Who wants to go there?

[BrozKnows]

isnt this the actual super heavy record?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsXY7KxegAc

Taranenko's 265.5kg? until weight classes were changed and records annulated.

Cant honestly say Rez holds the record if Taranenko did lift more. Reza has the record simply because of weight class change in the past.

Kurlovich did 266kg's.

Biggest official c/j of all time was Taranenko's 266 @ samboy chips super heavyweight invitational in Canberra Australia late 1988, after the Olympic Games.

Largest attempt was Chemerkin's 272.5 @ Sydney Olympics, 2000

Anatoli Pisarenko Claims to have C/J 270 and cleaned 280 in training. He officially did 265. BTW, he is the MAN!

[BrozKnows]

In order to do this I'm reducing the volume after the "max" set and when training the very next day I'm doing about 80% and also doing 2 on 1 off - gradually increasing it all.

I did max FS yesterday and max BP, followed by 80% BS and 80% Deads (doubles) today - my legs really really hurt ! Tomorrow off then max FS & BP again.

I'm in awful condition by the way !

Mr Broz - if I set up a journal here, would you be in a position to/happy to add your comments ?

don't take days off if you have access/availability to train. Go in and at least squat 30-40% or something. Squat the bar for 30 reps. Something! it will hurt, but it will help the adaptation progress faster. Don't abandon days if you can help it, simply just go in and bob around and do something - anything! Whatever you can do is better then riding the couch.



"Every time you touch the bar it is a +. when you take a day off it's a -" -Krastev



This applies to any weight lifted, even if it's just the bar.



It's very hard to coach a program based on shear #'s. Without seeing how the attempts were done, with how much enthusiasm, speed, overall attitude - it's almost impossible. this is where having a coach will help. Just keep pushing yourself as much as you can. Your legs hurt? Forget pain. Like I explain to every lifter...


"The lifter that can endure the most pain will be the most successful"

[Ka0s]

"The lifter that can endure the most pain will be the most successful"

This is an awesome post and something I think everyone should take to heart. I actually have a question though, how many (or what %) of lifters that you train "wash out" as in eventually quit because of how hard your training is? I ask because there was a thread about your methodologies on another board, and a bunch of weak-ass internet gurus claim that your training style only works for something retarded like 1 out of every 100 lifters and the rest fail miserably. I can link you if need be.

[endpoint]

Biggest official c/j of all time was Taranenko's 266 @ samboy chips super heavyweight invitational in Canberra Australia late 1988, after the Olympic Games.

Largest attempt was Chemerkin's 272.5 @ Sydney Olympics, 2000

Anatoli Pisarenko Claims to have C/J 270 and cleaned 280 in training. He officially did 265. BTW, he is the MAN!

I watch that video all the time! They have it on VHS at the Australian institute of sport, where he actually did it.

Its my home town, but I was only 8 at the time.

I love to think of a weightlifting event sponsored by a chip company!

[1369phil]

don't take days off if you have access/availability to train. Go in and at least squat 30-40% or something. Squat the bar for 30 reps. Something! it will hurt, but it will help the adaptation progress faster. Don't abandon days if you can help it, simply just go in and bob around and do something - anything! Whatever you can do is better then riding the couch.



"Every time you touch the bar it is a +. when you take a day off it's a -" -Krastev



This applies to any weight lifted, even if it's just the bar.



It's very hard to coach a program based on shear #'s. Without seeing how the attempts were done, with how much enthusiasm, speed, overall attitude - it's almost impossible. this is where having a coach will help. Just keep pushing yourself as much as you can. Your legs hurt? Forget pain. Like I explain to every lifter...


"The lifter that can endure the most pain will be the most successful"

Thanks for this - my legs dont hurt that much anyway !

When i was a kid I squatted a few sets every half hour for 8 hours - my legs were sore after that

[scott_donald]

This is an awesome post and something I think everyone should take to heart. I actually have a question though, how many (or what %) of lifters that you train "wash out" as in eventually quit because of how hard your training is? I ask because there was a thread about your methodologies on another board, and a bunch of weak-ass internet gurus claim that your training style only works for something retarded like 1 out of every 100 lifters and the rest fail miserably. I can link you if need be.

the FI thread... some of them certainly are not just weak ass training gurus...

[metal-head-]

How would you train someone with a back injury? I've had a lower back twinge the last couple of months (i can feel it most of the time) and it doesn't seem to want to go away. Is my best option to just stop squating/deadlifting all together and see if it goes away? What kind of program should i be doing?