what does an olympic lifters training schedule look like?

[CelluliteTech]

title says it all. anyone got an example of the training schedule of an olympic lifter? ive been doing powercleans lately and also messing around with power snatches just with a light weight to get the form right. these lifts are really fun to do and it's making me more and more interested in olympic lifting and im curious what their week of training looks like as ive heard they train every day for 3 or 4 hours?

the videos of olympic lifters training are the ****.. they powerclean that **** like 170 kgs up and catch it like its a feather. theyre so damn explosive. or go ASS TO GRASS on a squat with 320 kgs with no gear, not even knee wraps. brutal. these guys rule.

[RU4A69]

I concur. I've asked this question an infinite amount of times to little avail-I'll offer the scant amount I've learned.

They can train more regularaly because there is no negative portion to most of the lifts, and thus a lesser micro-damage. They often train twice a day or more.

It's common for them to do up to and including 20 sets of singles. They often use very low rep ranges in a dynamically setted fashion (about 80% of their 1 rep max). Long pauses between sets. I beleive it's common for them to split lifts-especially clean and press-into clean and then push press. I doubt they go above 5 reps very often.

A common myth is that they don't do a lot of the same **** we do-they certainly do. Squats (back and front) and deadlifts are an enormous part of their routine. They'll also do dips and bench for more pressing power. Military presses are big. Rows and pullups for pulling power. Not only do they do the same lifts we do, but they also do hypertrophy training at some point. It's more common for the lifting styles to be blended nowadays, and this has resulted in more stronger and complete athletes.

Their nutrition is about the same but with a TON of carbs and a much lesser concern for "keeping it clean". (again-the trend of amalgamation is growing so you'll see a lot of oly lifters on a strict bodybuilding-like diet).

Upper body is fairly insignificant compared to lower to the oly lifter-so you might find them training squat and dead twice a week but only training push/pull once a week.

I'm not positive as I did not gather any of the above info from oly lifters themselves. I personally have at least one day and sometimes three entirely devoted to oly lifts, upon which I'll often do deadlifts, front or back squats, or lunges to start things off. Again-lower body/core is the key here.

[psychojoe]

www.fortifiediron.net has an olympic lifting forum

[Davesta]

I concur. I've asked this question an infinite amount of times to little avail-I'll offer the scant amount I've learned.

They can train more regularaly because there is no negative portion to most of the lifts, and thus a lesser micro-damage. They often train twice a day or more.

It's common for them to do up to and including 20 sets of singles. They often use very low rep ranges in a dynamically setted fashion (about 80% of their 1 rep max). Long pauses between sets. I beleive it's common for them to split lifts-especially clean and press-into clean and then push press. I doubt they go above 5 reps very often.

A common myth is that they don't do a lot of the same **** we do-they certainly do. Squats (back and front) and deadlifts are an enormous part of their routine. They'll also do dips and bench for more pressing power. Military presses are big. Rows and pullups for pulling power. Not only do they do the same lifts we do, but they also do hypertrophy training at some point. It's more common for the lifting styles to be blended nowadays, and this has resulted in more stronger and complete athletes.

Their nutrition is about the same but with a TON of carbs and a much lesser concern for "keeping it clean". (again-the trend of amalgamation is growing so you'll see a lot of oly lifters on a strict bodybuilding-like diet).

Upper body is fairly insignificant compared to lower to the oly lifter-so you might find them training squat and dead twice a week but only training push/pull once a week.

I'm not positive as I did not gather any of the above info from oly lifters themselves. I personally have at least one day and sometimes three entirely devoted to oly lifts, upon which I'll often do deadlifts, front or back squats, or lunges to start things off. Again-lower body/core is the key here.

The majority of this is correct. However, hypertrophy training is not often used and diets are kept strict if lifters are in a weight class. For superheavys its just a big free for all!!!

There's lots of different styles of training that elite lifters use, usuallly differing between different countries - Bulgarian, Russian + Greek. The bulgarian system for example uses 2 training sessions a day up to 3 hours in length for 6 days a week. Obviously not much use if you've got a job!!

In general though, oly lifters will train the classic lifts (Snatch, clean, jerk) more than anything else, as this is the sport-specific movement. The motor functions need to be learned and engrained at all weights. Common assitance exercises would include squats, front squats, pulls to mid thigh (ie clean/snatch deadlifts), RDLs, rows, push press, military press. Some people use bench pressing as assistance for the jerk, but lots of people would argue that this reducces shoulder flexibility too much whilst not giving too much benefit.

Most people split their training days into clean days and snatch days to focus exclusively on each lift. So you'd perform a given number of reps of the classic lift then some assistance work afterwards. Reps are kept to a minimum, usually singles doubles + triples to ensure maximum power and minimum fatigue. The intensity trained can vary depending on the training program.


If you're thinking about starting oly lifting, I'd suggest 3 or 4 workouts a week focusing mainly on learning the form of the classic lifts, NOT the power versions, with very light weight - 40kg for cleans, just the bar for snatch and jerks. You might be able to muscle up a 100kg power clean, but you need to learn the correct form and to hit the right positions or you'll never full clean 150kg...

The most popular way to learn the lifts is to use the reverse chain method, but oly lifting specific assistance work can help too. Aswell as doing loads of work on form, increasing your squat and pressing numbers will help when you start to add weight. Obviously the more you can squat, the more you can squat out of a clean and snatch.

Oh, also flexibility is very very important, especially in the shoulders and the hips.

Hope that helps.

[RU4A69]

Hey bro-I need your help!!!



Bro-the weight that I have to drop down to do an immaculate form Snatch, or clean for that matter, is insanely low .

I was wondering if I'm doing the right thing by keeping on practicing clean grip front squat and my overhead squat, or should I just train the lift directly?

What's "reverse chain method"?

Please stick around-we need an o-lifter round here.

[dookie1481]

Go to http://www.midwestbarbell.com/totale...p?showforum=12

There is a ****pile of info there, along with some very experienced and intelligent OL coaches, including Glenn Pendlay.

[Davesta]

Hey bro-I need your help!!!



Bro-the weight that I have to drop down to do an immaculate form Snatch, or clean for that matter, is insanely low .

I was wondering if I'm doing the right thing by keeping on practicing clean grip front squat and my overhead squat, or should I just train the lift directly?

What's "reverse chain method"?

Please stick around-we need an o-lifter round here.

I'm not an expert by any means, but I'll try to help with the knowledge I've gained during my injury period!!

If you have to use light weights to hit good form on the lifts then it's probably simply because you havent learned the positions for heavy weights. What methods do you use for learning the lifts? Drop snatches will definitely help you hit the bottom position of a snatch with heavier weight. I'd suggest hang cleans to help with your cleans. Remember to pull yourself under the bar with cleans. I find thinking about this when I clean really helps me hit the correct catch position easily.

The reverse chain method basically teaches the lifts from back to front. I did have a good link to it somewhere, but I can't find it now. For example, in the snatch, assuming you can hit a full overhead squat, you'd learn to hit that position from a number of different starting positions in this order...

1. On tip toes, legs straight, upper arms parallel to floor, bar at lower chest height.

2. On tip toes, legs straight, arms bent slightly, bar at lower ab height.

3. On tip toes, legs straight, arms straight.

4. Hang position - bent over, legs bent, bar at mid thigh height

Drop snatches can be added to the start of this and can be a very important exercise, and also really really fun imo! This method would be the same for the clean, but with a clean grip obviously.

[RU4A69]

As my snatch isn't really that shabby, I think we can solve this problem easily (I DO do drop snatches-those are awesome).

The thing is-I reckon that with a full clean (you know-with the front squat in it and all), your NOT supposed to come off the ground right? Because......I have a tendency to come off the ground from all the power cleaning I do. I have almost zero experience with doing a REAL clean-I'm supposed to stay planted on the ground right?

thx a lot

[Davesta]

As my snatch isn't really that shabby, I think we can solve this problem easily (I DO do drop snatches-those are awesome).

The thing is-I reckon that with a full clean (you know-with the front squat in it and all), your NOT supposed to come off the ground right? Because......I have a tendency to come off the ground from all the power cleaning I do. I have almost zero experience with doing a REAL clean-I'm supposed to stay planted on the ground right?

thx a lot

Yep, drop snatches rule!!

Whether or not to leave the ground during cleans and snatches is a point of much contention! Some say that leaving the floor prevents you from applying maximum force to the bar, as you can't apply force if your feet have got nothing to push against. Others say that leaving the ground is a natural movement due to applying maximum force to the bar...

The 2nd pull is, after all, simply a vertical jump with a weight in your hands, so the natural conclusion is to jump. However, if the weight is heavy enough then you won't be able to apply enough force to leave the ground. If the weight is lighter however and you apply enough force then you'll inevitably leave the ground. I always have a small jump in my cleans, but then I use a pathetically small amount of weight so it's probably just me pulling too hard for the weight I use.

If you watch videos of elite lifters, you'll notice that some jump, and some do not. There's one chinese lifter, cant remember his name, who jumps backwards about 3-4 inches when he cleans...So it's not really important whether or not you jump during the clean by all accounts, but you will notice the jump getting smaller as the weight increases.

[Mr Lee]

Ivan Chakarov olympic weightlifting champion from bulgaria said in an interview "I train 6 or 7 days a week, 8 hours a day, I work for the government. When i can't produce, I lose my job"

The general idea is to have the athletes do as much work as possible while remaining as fresh as possible. Generally the athletes do a limited number of exercises, mostly the 2 competition lifts and their variations. 6 to 10 sets of 1-3 reps is the classic olympic weightlifting blueprint for strength. Lifters train almost daily with multiple sessions throughout the day. They never train to failure and usually never do more than 3 reps even with half their max. The great ones finish their sets with a rep or two in the bank unless at a competition.

[MrSinister]

stand clear, bandwagon coming through!

[Mr Lee]

As my snatch isn't really that shabby, I think we can solve this problem easily (I DO do drop snatches-those are awesome).

The thing is-I reckon that with a full clean (you know-with the front squat in it and all), your NOT supposed to come off the ground right? Because......I have a tendency to come off the ground from all the power cleaning I do. I have almost zero experience with doing a REAL clean-I'm supposed to stay planted on the ground right?

thx a lot

When i power clean i do focus on actually jumping to get maximum height from my pull. However when i squat clean i don't really jump, its more of an explosive shrug at the top of my leg extension, then i just duck down under the bar and catch it.

[CelluliteTech]

holy crap, this thread actually got replies! i honestly didnt expect that to happen.

thanks a lot to everyone for the good, solid information. ill rep when i recharge.

i dont know if im going full-on oly lifter, but i would like to advantage of lot of their style of lifts and perhaps center my program around them even which is why i asked about how they train. so i guess in a way that is kind of going full on...

anyway im going to the gym now. unfortunately there wont be any oly lifts today as im on westside for skinny bastards and doing my upper body hypertrophy day today. then again i might throw in some push presses for fun who knows :-)

[RU4A69]

Ivan Chakarov olympic weightlifting champion from bulgaria said in an interview "I train 6 or 7 days a week, 8 hours a day, I work for the government. When i can't produce, I lose my job"

The general idea is to have the athletes do as much work as possible while remaining as fresh as possible. Generally the athletes do a limited number of exercises, mostly the 2 competition lifts and their variations. 6 to 10 sets of 1-3 reps is the classic olympic weightlifting blueprint for strength. Lifters train almost daily with multiple sessions throughout the day. They never train to failure and usually never do more than 3 reps even with half their max. The great ones finish their sets with a rep or two in the bank unless at a competition.

When do they train near their max? ......and for how long?

[dookie1481]

When do they train near their max? ......and for how long?

Define "near their max." For a BBer, near their max may mean above 85%. For an OLer, that may mean 96% or above. Different contexts.

[Quark79]

Here are 2 links showing videos of these exercises:

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/PowerExercises.html

http://www.uwlax.edu/strengthcenter/...ideo_index.htm

And here's another video of a lifter showing his stuff:

http://media.putfile.com/Ironmind_1993_Dimas


From the list of exercises from the first link, I would presume if someone were to start a routine, the two main lifts would be:
1) Clean and Jerk
2) Snatch

And their variations would be as follows:

* Clean and Jerk
o Front Squat
o Hang Jump Shrug
o Jump Shrug
o Hang Pulls
o High Pulls
o Hang Cleans
o Clean
o Push Press
o Split Jerk

* Snatch
o Hang Snatch
o Overhead Squat
o Press Under
o Quick Drop

Does a split such as these resemble the routine of an Olympic Lifter then?

[Mr Lee]

When do they train near their max? ......and for how long?

Usually they begin to work towards their max a few weeks (maybe 4-8 weeks) before a competition in an attempt to peak their performance at the competition. They taper off their workouts a few days before the competition so they are fresh on competition day. The real elite lifters rarely go for maxes in the gym, they save their best for when it really counts, at the competition