Kyle Pierce/LSUS/Kendrick Farris program

[nova6868]

I'm just cutting and pasting this from elsewhere on the interwebs. Pretty interesting.

10’s: 3-4 weeks

Monday:

Push press up to 10 RM. drop set at -5% and 1 at -10%

Squat up to 10 RM 1 set -5% and -10%

Bench press up to 10RM 1 set -5% and -10%

Press/military press 10RM -5% and -10%

ABS

Tuesday:

Snatch from hip/thigh up to 5RM then -5% and -10%

Snatch deadlift 10RM -5% and -10%

RDL 10RM -5% and -10%

SHRUG 10RM -5% and -10%

Bent rows 10RM -5% and -10%

Pull ups bodyweight 3-5×10

ABS

Wednesday:

Push Press 3-5×10 within 10% of 10RM on Monday then drop set -5 and -10%

Squat 3-5×10 within 10% of 10RM then drop set -5% and -10%

Bench press 3-5×10 within 10% of 10 RM drop set -5% and -10%

Press/military press 3-5×10 within 10% of 10RM then -5% and -10%

abs

Thursday:

Clean from hip/thigh up to 5RM then drop set at -5% and -10%

Clean deadlift up to 10RM drop set -5% and -10%

RDL 3×10 within 10% of Tuesday drop set -5% and -10%

SHRUG 3×10 within 10% of 10RM -5% and -10%

Pull ups 3-5×10 bdy weight

abs

Saturday:

Snatch and clean and jerk hit between 8-12 reps between 80-90% of your best, and go heavier if you feel good enough.

Front squat 2RM

[nova6868]

5’s 3-4weeks:

Monday:

Powerjerk 5RM -5% -10%

Squat 5RM -5% and -10%

Pushpress 5RM -5% and -10%

Bench press 5RM -5% and -10%

abs

Tuesday:

Snatch up to 3RM from the knee and -5% and -10%

Snatch deadlift up to 5RM -5% and -10%

Rdl 5RM -5% -10%

Shrug 5RM -5% -10%

Bent row 5RM -5% -10%

Muscle snatch 5RM -5% -10%

Pull ups weight As Heavy as Possible 3-5×5

Abs

Wednesday:

Powerjerk 3-5×5 within 10% of 5RM -5% and -10%

Squat 3-5×5 within 10% of 5RM -5% and -10%

Push Press 3-5×5 within 10% of 5RM -5% -10%

` Bench press 3-5×5 within 10% of 5RM -5% and -10%

Press/Military press within 10% of 5RM -5% and -10%

ABS

Thursday:

Clean up to 3RM from the knee then drop set -5% -10%

Clean deadlift 5RM then drop -5% and -10%

RDL 3-5×5 within 10% 5RM then -5% and -10%

Muscle snatch 3-5×5 within 10% of 5RM -5% -10%

Shrug 3-5×5 within 10% of 5RM -5% -10%

Bent Row 3-5×5 within 10% of 5RM -5% -10%

ABS

Saturday:

Snatch and clean and jerk AHAP then front squat up to 2RM

[nova6868]

3 weeks of 3’s:

Monday:

Split jerk up to 3RM -5% and -10%

Squat up to 3RM -5% and -10%

Push Press up to 3RM -5% and -10%

Bench Press up to 3RM -5% and -10%

Press up to 3RM -5% and -10%

Abs

Tuesday:

Clean up to 3RM from floor then -5% and -10%

Clean Pull 3RM -5% -10%

Clean deadlift 3RM -5% -10%

RDL 3RM -5% -10%

Bent row 3RM -5% -10%

Pull ups

ABS

Wednesday:

Split Jerk 3-5×3 within 10% of 3RM -5% -10%

Squat 3-5×3 within 10% of 3RM -5% -10%

Push press 3-5×3 within 10% of 3RM -5% -10%

Bench press 3-5×3 within 10% of 3RM -5% -10%

Press 3-5×3 within 10% of 3RM -5% -10%

ABS

Thursday:

Snatch from floor up to 3RM -5% -10%

Snatch Pull up to 3RM -5% -10%

Snatch deadlift up to 3RM -5% -10%

RDL 3-5×3 within 10% of 3RM

Bent row 3-5×3 within 10% of 3RM

ABS

Saturday

Snatch and clean and jerk AHAP then front squat up to 2RM

[nova6868]

Peaking Phase 1-2 weeks:

Monday:

(power) clean and (power) jerk up to 1RM -5% 2-10%

Squat up to 2RM

Power jerk or split jerk up to 2RM

Push press up to 2RM

Bench press up to 2RM

ABS

Tuesday:

Snatch up to 1RM

Clean pull up to 3RM

Clean pull from power position up to 3RM

Back extensions

Pull Ups

Abs

Wednesday:

Clean and jerk or power clean and jerk up to 1RM -5% and 2-10%

Front squat up to 2RM -5% -10%

Power jerk up to 2RM -5% and -10%

Push press 3×2 within 10% of 2RM

ABS

Thursday:

Snatch or power snatch up to 1RM -5% and -10%

Snatch pull up to 3RM -5% and -10%

Snatch pull from powerposition up to 3RM -5% and -10%

Back extensions

Pull ups

Abs

Saturday:

Snatch and clean and jerk AHAP Front squat up to 1RM

[nova6868]

Taper Week:

Monday

Snatch and clean and jerk up to 90%

Front squat up to 2RM

Tuesday:

Snatch and clean pull up to 1RM

Back extensions

Abs

Wednesday

Snatch and clean and jerk up to 80%

Thursday snatch and clean and jerk up to 70%

Competition on Saturday

[someonefat]

where did you get this from? Pretty interesting though with all the high rep stuff he does early on

[nova6868]

Yah, I can't really say I understand the point of the 10RM weeks. Seems like you would lose strength during that time.

I also don't get why they do so much push press, bench press, and military press. Seems like your shoulders would just be shot after that. Then on another day so many pulls, deadlifts, RDLs, Shrugging, and Bent-Rows. Likewise, seems like your lower back would be fried after that.

But clearly they know what they are doing down there. I'm not questioning it, just saying I don't really understand it.

[disgorge89]

This program has been floating around weightlifting clubs across America, Kyle's been sending it to various coaches. From what I was told, it's the template for the non-newb LSU lifters, but everyone makes adjustments and customizations based on their weaknesses and strengths. I think it's pretty cool. If I were coaching a professional weightlifter, i'd be reluctant to use this program. But for somebody who wants to look better, be competent at snatch/c+J, and be an overall strong and fit dude, it seems pretty solid.


I'm a little surprised that the clean deadlifts are put so close to the snatch+cj days in the week of 10s/5s. If I were doing this program, I think I would switch the days of snatch and clean deadlifts. Wednesday's squats are going to suck the day after deadlifting, but even if they suffer it's not a big deal since they're programmed lighter. Doing snatch+cj with any sort of lower back soreness would feel worse. Snatch deadlift seems to result in less lower back soreness.

[slowman41]

Yah, I can't really say I understand the point of the 10RM weeks. Seems like you would lose strength during that time.

I also don't get why they do so much push press, bench press, and military press. Seems like your shoulders would just be shot after that. Then on another day so many pulls, deadlifts, RDLs, Shrugging, and Bent-Rows. Likewise, seems like your lower back would be fried after that.

But clearly they know what they are doing down there. I'm not questioning it, just saying I don't really understand it.

the week(s) of 10's is a "conditioning" cycle of sorts. There is a study out there published by Pierce and others that suggests studies found when the athletes begin training cycles with the 10's it helps to condition the muscles and results in fewer injuries down the line (vs. other training methods). A 10rm squat set will make you want to puke after doing only 5's at the max previously.

Pierce currently has 2 of the top US athletes with many others also very good, so his programming seems to be working.

[slowman41]

I'm a little surprised that the clean deadlifts are put so close to the snatch+cj days in the week of 10s/5s. If I were doing this program, I think I would switch the days of snatch and clean deadlifts. Wednesday's squats are going to suck the day after deadlifting, but even if they suffer it's not a big deal since they're programmed lighter. Doing snatch+cj with any sort of lower back soreness would feel worse. Snatch deadlift seems to result in less lower back soreness.

its supposed to suck.


The posted program differs from the published article by Pierce and others. The above cited program goes to RM's, where as the published article suggests percentages to use, and the percentages go up over the course of the weeks as the volume drops. There are also volume changes weekly over the various cycles as well (with regards to # of sets).

[Iberian80]

its supposed to suck.


The posted program differs from the published article by Pierce and others. The above cited program goes to RM's, where as the published article suggests percentages to use, and the percentages go up over the course of the weeks as the volume drops. There are also volume changes weekly over the various cycles as well (with regards to # of sets).

The published version seems to make more sense. 3-4 weeks of the exact same program seems odd. I am not buying into the p90x muscle confusion thing but I have read Roman and others who state varying the workout is important because your body gets used to the system. More likely the CNS gets used to it.

[nova6868]

Where is this published version?

[Iberian80]

Where is this published version?

http://weightliftingexchange.com/smf...0;attach=14651

A good read with the explanation of why they train this way not just how they train.

[John Prophet]

if you were trying to be totally objective and you imagine you were put in as the coach of guys who are going to face off (hopefully) with the worlds best.....would you seriously have them doing the classical lifts only 1x per week at ANY point?

seems like a formula to produce guys with good overall body strength who will miss most of their heavy attempts under contest pressure

if the pressure was put on me to produce top level lifters, the only time theyd see anything like the above program would be in deep offseason. It may be decent after a small break following the major competition period when they could use that much variety to kick in restoration and to give those burnt out motor patterns a break

[Iberian80]

if you were trying to be totally objective and you imagine you were put in as the coach of guys who are going to face off (hopefully) with the worlds best.....would you seriously have them doing the classical lifts only 1x per week at ANY point?

seems like a formula to produce guys with good overall body strength who will miss most of their heavy attempts under contest pressure

if the pressure was put on me to produce top level lifters, the only time theyd see anything like the above program would be in deep offseason. It may be decent after a small break following the major competition period when they could use that much variety to kick in restoration and to give those burnt out motor patterns a break

Perhaps the reason Kendrick's snatch lags behind his cnj. There is some theory in the paper that suggests the importance of the assistance muscles in the lift being important due to the fact that a lifter cannot perfectly execute each lift. It states though that this needs more study and that it may make it harder for the athlete to make weight because of the increased hytrophy in those muscles. Still looking at the results of the Bulgarian/Russian systems would indicate that large percentages of total volume be directed at the 2 main lifts.

Who knows they may be onto the next thing in weightlifting and in 10 years we will all be laughing at the people who scoffed. A 218kg jerk is worth notice.

[John Prophet]

Who knows they may be onto the next thing in weightlifting and in 10 years we will all be laughing at the people who scoffed. A 218kg jerk is worth notice.

yeah, I hear specificity isnt all its cracked up to be

[John Prophet]

I dont know that much about Farris or this program. Am I reading this correctly that his best COMPETITION c&j is 203kg? Best comp snatch was 160kg in 2008?


is Farris the best lifter this program has produced?

u mentioned a 218c&j. u r referring to him CLEANING 218 but missing the jerk...in the gym?

[Iberian80]

I dont know that much about Farris or this program. Am I reading this correctly that his best COMPETITION c&j is 203kg? Best comp snatch was 160kg in 2008?


is Farris the best lifter this program has produced?

u mentioned a 218c&j. u r referring to him CLEANING 218 but missing the jerk...in the gym?

I was. For sure there is a big difference in cleaning in the gym and cleaning and jerking at the Olympics or Worlds. Realistically he is about 20-25 kg short on his total to be in medal contention. The fact that his snatch is <80% of his CnJ while the medalist are typically in the +82% range is not good.

Personally I don't think the training will be producing any medals because it is decidely different from the current training methods that are producing champions and that have 40+ years of study behind them by a lot of different nations. I think this is a case of Kendrick just being a really good athlete with a sub-optimal training program. A 5 session a weak training program vs 15+ sessions a week just doesn't seem like it will be able to compete.

[NorwichGrad]

Hey John,

I know you mentioned you don't Oly, but you seem to know lots about the sport. You seem to know more about Oly than I do on the academic side of the sport. You ever thought about becoming a master lifter? I'm serious.

[John Prophet]

I was. For sure there is a big difference in cleaning in the gym and cleaning and jerking at the Olympics or Worlds. Realistically he is about 20-25 kg short on his total to be in medal contention. The fact that his snatch is <80% of his CnJ while the medalist are typically in the +82% range is not good.

Personally I don't think the training will be producing any medals because it is decidely different from the current training methods that are producing champions and that have 40+ years of study behind them by a lot of different nations. I think this is a case of Kendrick just being a really good athlete with a sub-optimal training program. A 5 session a weak training program vs 15+ sessions a week just doesn't seem like it will be able to compete.

dude, I owe u reps, lol. (im on recharge) U just read my mind and thank you for speaking the obvious truth so I didnt have to

[John Prophet]

Hey John,

I know you mentioned you don't Oly, but you seem to know lots about the sport. You seem to know more about Oly than I do on the academic side of the sport. You ever thought about becoming a master lifter? I'm serious.

the head and the body r two different things, lol. I'll be happy to reach elite raw Pl status but even that is miles away since I just took 4 years away from the gym, lol

id love to be in an environment where I could help others train etc but im not, lol.

[NorwichGrad]

I was. For sure there is a big difference in cleaning in the gym and cleaning and jerking at the Olympics or Worlds. Realistically he is about 20-25 kg short on his total to be in medal contention. The fact that his snatch is <80% of his CnJ while the medalist are typically in the +82% range is not good.

Personally I don't think the training will be producing any medals because it is decidely different from the current training methods that are producing champions and that have 40+ years of study behind them by a lot of different nations. I think this is a case of Kendrick just being a really good athlete with a sub-optimal training program. A 5 session a weak training program vs 15+ sessions a week just doesn't seem like it will be able to compete.

Kendrick is one of my favorite American lifters. Now, I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but am I reading that you think Kendrick would be a better lifter if he has better coaching? The reason I'm asking is that I've heard this from others.

[NorwichGrad]

the head and the body r two different things, lol. I'll be happy to reach elite raw Pl status but even that is miles away since I just took 4 years away from the gym, lol

id love to be in an environment where I could help others train etc but im not, lol.

Ok. I hear you. I'm always encouraging others to join the sport. Good luck with your goals.

[raffiki]

Jared Fleming trains this way also 351@94 at juniors worlds.

While I question the amount of DL and shrugs, I think the basic premise is spot on for intermediate-advanced lifters. Perhaps Farris spends more time on specificity these days.

[slowman41]

I don't believe Farris is doing 3-4 weeks of 10's, in fact the last time they did 10's it was for a week or less.

Farris's numbers are not yet in the medal contention, but he is probably the best lifter in the US right now.

Comparing Pierce's lifters to others in the nation, he has the top 2 I believe right now, and that would be comparing his guys to other camps that range from full on specific at broz's camp, to slightly less specific at pendlay's camp, and the programming zygmunt is running at the otc (which I think is going to produce some very high caliber athletes in due time).

We may not all agree that Pierce's program is optimal, but obviously he is doing something right...

[John Prophet]

We may not all agree that Pierce's program is optimal, but obviously he is doing something right...

recruiting better?

[Iberian80]

We may not all agree that Pierce's program is optimal, but obviously he is doing something right...

It brings up an interesting point. If nothing else Pierce is able to get his athletes to the point where they are as good if not better than other US lifters using a variety of different programs. Yet still no matter what program is being used here in the US our lifters are still about 10% away from world medal conention.

1. Is it possible that other countries training is 10% better than ours? That seems impossible. 10% is a lot.
2. Do we need more time? Most countries that win have a tradition and stable program setup to produce champions. Looking at some of our jr. lifters we may be on that road now. Cavaet: A jr. world champion doesn't always equal a world champion.

I am not buying into the they have better athletes argument. I don't know enough about drug use in other countries to claim anything one way or the other.

[John Prophet]

It brings up an interesting point. If nothing else Pierce is able to get his athletes to the point where they are as good if not better than other US lifters using a variety of different programs. Yet still no matter what program is being used here in the US our lifters are still about 10% away from world medal conention.

1. Is it possible that other countries training is 10% better than ours? That seems impossible. 10% is a lot.
2. Do we need more time? Most countries that win have a tradition and stable program setup to produce champions. Looking at some of our jr. lifters we may be on that road now. Cavaet: A jr. world champion doesn't always equal a world champion.

I am not buying into the they have better athletes argument. I don't know enough about drug use in other countries to claim anything one way or the other.

I have been trying to avoid saying it. And I am not trying to be negative or counter productive. This is from my outside view

We need less blogging, less swag, less bookwriting, less shuck and jive, and less cheering for lifts that 13 yr olds can do in other countries

There used to be a long movie online showing the Bulgarians training under Ivan Abadjiev. It just showed the incredible monotony of the daily grind and when they were under heavy loading it was quite dour, lol. No cheering, no vlogging. But then they came out in competition and ripped the Russians a new one and set records all over the place.

Ivan was telling Krastev in training, right to his face something like "I dont care what u say, u wont make this weight." lol Now over here we would plaster a smiley face on his locker and say "Tony, youre a winner no matter what." Yet under Ivans methods, Krastev snatched the heaviest weight ever snatched. Now, whose methods are working and whose need reexamination?

Over here we have the opposite. Guys are doin lifts that arent close internationally and yet they are being told "youre awesome!" and they have their little teeny girlfriends in the gym filming and cheering, lol

I mean, we seriously are cheering for gym lifts that were MISSED!!! wtf??? in your wildest dreams u cant imagine that in China or Russia

Its totally ridiculous.

Ive got the "creating champions" ironmind tape showing Kolecki and Azinedze (sp?). Here are two guys who set world records but I didnt see any high-fives, no backflips, no hangers on in the gym cheering. It was pretty spartan. Georgi of course had that trick right arm and he was doing a heavy triple and on the third his arm almost gave way and he grimaced etc and the coach was totally nonplussed. over here it would have been all over the vlogosphere about how much the lifter was sacrificing and overcoming....except nobody over here can snatch as much as Georgi


over here we seem to love being the big fish in the little pond and we bask in that but then we have no answers when we get in with the sharks

our top guy trains 5 times per week? in reality, nothing needs to be said after that


Where is the hunger??? you cant tell me the hunger remains when the celebrating has already started. Wheres the humility???



seriously, what kind of crap is this???




Thats whats called the "King of the Platform" nowadays?? That is the example setting for the next generation??


wow, just, wow

[Prevtzer]

THAT was a great post! I completely agree with you!

[davidearle]

recruiting better?

Don't overlook this post. Recruiting talent is almost as important as training.

The best trained jack russell isn't gonna win in a fight with a poorly trained pit bull.