Welcome to the first edition of Program Chatter! This will be an ongoing series where we discuss program design for athletes. As this is the first one, I’m just going to dive right in and start outlining the program for an athlete we recently started working with:
Athlete 1
Background Info:
30 year old male, ~100 kg bodyweight. He has been competing in weightlifting for 5 years. Career changes are making it hard for him to keep up with his current trianing schedule, so he’d like help better managing his time in the gym. He has a history of a valgus knee movement, and his lifetime squat PR is much higher than his lifetime deadlift or pull pr (630 lbs vs 500 lbs). He has ran high volume squatting protocols and pulling protocols before, has a self-reported good tolerance to volume and enjoys training often. Their quote from the intake interview is: "I hate not training for more than 3 days.”
Goals
Short term: 270 kg Olympic Total (current best is 264), 220 kg back squat, 182 kg front squat. Be able to make improvements without hip pain.
Long term: 303 kg Olympic Total, 250 kg back squat, 200 kg+ front squat.
Roadblocks:
This athlete’s main road block is schedule right now. He just started a new career meaning that his training schedule has had to change. He had been used to being able to run two a day training sessions multiple days a week, but due to the new job and life obligations that’s not really feasible right now. In addition, to reach his long term goals we’ll have to get stronger while staying injury free, which will take strategic planning to be able to do. He also has a couple of old injuries, namely: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and a Pars Articularis fracture. Both are cleared for normal activity at this point, but will require some modifications to the overhead volume and jerk technique respectively. Due to the Pars fracture, the athlete tends to use a power jerk in competition as split jerks aggravate his back.
Plan Outline
So this plan is going to focus heavily on leg and back strength. It’s hard to improve your total after so many years in the sport without getting stronger, so our first order of business will be to put together a plan that allows the athlete to progress towards their short term strength strength goals. In particular we want to address what could be an anterior chain/posterior chain strength imbalance. Where the athlete has a history of a valgus collapse and has squatted more than he has ever pulled, those would indidcate that he tends to have more strength in his anterior chain than his posterior chain. To address this we’re going to have more volume on pulling movements and posterior chain strengthening movements than on squatting. After this first phase of training we would assess what the athlete’s needs are: technical development or continued strength gain. To that end we need to balance technique work and strength because the sport of weightlifting is heavily technique dependent. The athlete has been training continuously the past few months but struggling to make consistent progress.
We’ll start with a 6 week block of training. Our most basic micro cycle of the training plan will look like:
Push/Strength Day
On these days the athlete will Squat, Power Jerk or Push Press, and perform accessory pressing movements.
To address strucutral balance the athlete will perform core work focused on obliques and glute specific posterior chain exercises here.
Pull/Technique Day
On these days the athlete will snatch, clean, and perform accessory pulling movements: Pull ups, rows, back flies etc.
To address structural balance the athlete will perform anti-extension and more compound posterior chain extercises here.
Since those are our two basic days, from there we want to determine how many days a week the athlete can reasonably workout. In the interview they indicated they enjoy training often and that they can reasonably train 45 minutes-1 hour a day 6 days a week. Given the athletes training history, and goals, and preferences, I reccomend they start with a 6 day a week program. If adherence drops below 90% then we would scale back, but again in the interview the athlete indicated they want to train 6 days a week. They have the time, the desire and the enjoyment in training that often, so lets build an initial plan to meet that by writing out their first week:
Day 1 (Pull)
Snatch Lift off + Snatch Pull + Snatch, 8x1+1+2 @ 73%, EMOM
Clean Lift off + Clean Pull + Clean, 8x1+1+2 @ 73%, EMOM
Segment Clean Pull + Clean Pull, 5x1+2 @ 90% Best clean
Five RFT: 8 pullups, 20 m death march, 250 m row
Four Supersets of: 8 Seal Row, 15 Deadbugs each side
Day 2 (Push)
Pause Jerk + Jerk, 8x1+2 @ 73%., EMOM.
Pause Back Squat 5x5 @ 67% Best Back Squat.
Three circuits of: 8 HSPU, 20 m KB walking lunges, 40 m Single KB front rack carry (heavy)
Four Super sets of: 5 Bench Press, 5 Hip Thrusts. Each as heavy as form allows. (AHAFA).
Day 3 (Pull)
Power Snatch from Power Position: 6x3 @ 68%.
Power Clean from Power Position: 6x3 @ 68%
Segment Snatch Pull + Snatch Pull, 5x1+2 @ 90% Best Snatch
Five RFT: 10 Ring Rows, 15 KB Swing, 20 Cal row
Four Circuits of: 8 Weighted Chin ups, 60 second weighted plank
Day 4 (Push)
Push Press @ 5x5 @ 67%.
Pause Front Squat 5x5 @ 67% best front squat
Four circuits of: 10 Dips, 10 Russian Step ups, 40 m Single KB overhead carry.
Four Super sets: 8 Hip Thrusts @ 80%-90% Day 2 weight, 30 second J.F. side plank each side.
Day 5 (Pull)
Snatch: 10x1 @ 80%. EMOM.
Clean + Jerk: 10x1 @ 80%. EMOM.
Sumo Deadlift: Work to heavy set of 3, then 1x5 @ 85%H3, 1x8@75%H3.
Four RFT: 10 Pullups, 10 weighted back extensions, 200 m row
Three Supersets of: 8 DB Row each, 15 V ups.
Day 6 (Push)
Jerk: 10x1 @ 80%. EMOM.
Back Squat: 7x3 @ 74%.
Three circuits of: 10 DB strict Press, 10 Poliquin Side Squats per leg, 10 Toes to Bar
Three Super sets of: 10 Weighted Dips, 60 second Sorenson hold.
Explanation:
So this would be a week 1 for the athletes new training cycle. each week, intensity would work up some degree and exercise selection would change as the athelete moves through the training cycle, so we start light in week 1 to allow the athlete to get used to the volume and see if there’s anything that needs to be changed before the next week. The general progression beyond just getting heavier through the training cycle is going to be: less variation in the complex on day 1, lower hang positions and less hang-powers on day 3, and less EMOM work/volume as the program in general progresses. It is a lot of accessory volume, but the athlete is on a more general phase of training, so we’re expecting to drop the accessory volume down around week 3 of the 6 week cycle. The weirdest thing we have in there is a Sumo Deadlift on day 5. Why is there a sumo deadlift on a weightlifters program? For general posterior chain strength and to address this athlete’s weaknesses. The sumo position should help strenthen the glutes and low back in general, and its a change up movement from the snatch/clean pulls the athlete is performing earlier in the week. Likely the sumo deadlifts would be replaced with a snatch or clean deadlift around week 4.
For load selection, we used a relative intensity progression. For this training phase the athlete will peak at 90% RI, but in week 1 we’ll be working from 74%RI to 80% RI. The intensity loading for the week goes: Moderate, light, heavy, so the first two days are moderate intensity and volume, the next two days are light intensity and volume, and the last two days are heavy intensity and volume. A little wave through the week like that is built in to allow the athlete chances to recover throughout the week while still being able to train often. Overall this should be an easy week of training.
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