Strength Standards
Standards represent performance that can be reasonably expected of an athlete at various levels of training advancement using standard, full range-of-motion barbell exercises. Includes strength standards for Press, Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift and Clean.
Weightlifting Shoes 101
A basic primer for why you need real weightlifting shoes to train safely and effectively.
Special Populations (Does this stuff work on everyone?)
It has been suggested that a high degree of individualization of training is necessary to reach close to full genetic potential, and the closer to genetic potential the trainee approaches the more important this becomes. Frequently the common practice of copying a program designed for an individual other than the one being trained results in a program that does not work very well. The use of an elite athlete's training program by a novice trainee would be in complete disregard for the principles developed over the previous couple of hundred pages. The use of a program designed for NCAA Division I football on a high school team, or using the Bulgarian approach to training Olympic level weightlifters on a novice powerlifter is, obviously, wrong. So the question follows: do the training models presented here apply at the appropriate level – novice, intermediate, and advanced – to all populations? Do they work for women, children, older people, and injured people? Yes, they pretty much do.
A Smattering of Training Programs
At the USA Weightlifting Regional Development Center, we get lots of requests for copies of the programs we use. This is a bit of a problem as we use so many. A single model of training cannot accomodate the broad spectrum of trainees we service. Every program included below can be useful for a while and in specific types of trainees, but every coach must be able to design their own program for the specific needs of their unique trainees. What we have here can serve as examples but you can't base your whole coaching system on them. We never stop experimenting with programming and looking for improvements so what you read here may not be used any more at the RDC, BUT, when we did use it, it worked.
A new text on programming for beginners through advanced trainees is available through the ExRx.net Store called Starting Strength. In it is a detailed process of independently developing training programs. It cuts through all the jargon and nebulous theories and gets right to the issues at hand. Glenn Pendlay, Michael Hartman, Chad Touchberry, and Becky Kudrna are all contributors. We are also pushing Glenn Pendlay (Former Jr World Powerlifting Champion and USA Weightlifting Coach) to write a programming text for very advanced and elite trainees.
MSU Experimental Training Program 1.0 (2000)
MSU has a 6 week training program available for download for those who have access to Microsoft Excel (.xls file). This program utilizes large variations in intensity and volume designed to cause adaptations in the endocrine system which assist the athlete in gaining strength. See Hormone Fluctuation Model. Weeks 1 and 2 seem very easy, while the 3rd and 4th weeks seem viciously hard, and the last two weeks are tapering weeks leading up to a competition at the end of week 6. This program was adapted from some very well documented programs used on elite European lifters and from scientific literature. This version has been used successfully by athletes ranging from junior to master, and ranging in experience from beginners to athletes with over 20 years training experience. Don't worry if you feel like you are on death's door for the 3rd and 4th weeks, everyone on the program feels like this but, without exception, everyone using the program will experience performance improvements at the end of the 6th week. Do not alter the program and expect gains, do your best to execute the training as written. While the program does work well, we believe that additional recovery time (i.e., a longer taper) will enhance performance gains. To this end we are investigating a similar program but with a 4 week volume-biased taper. Right click below and save as an MS Excel (.xls) file
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WFW Program (2003)
Several of our lifters are utilized a Louie Simmons inspired program under the supervision of Coach Glenn Pendlay with good success. This may be a good program for both increasing strength and developing technique. It seems to be particularly effective when used between more specialized peaking cycles like the MSU Experimental Program 1.0 because it allows the lifter adequate time to work on individual technique problems and individual strength deficiencies, something which is lacking in highly structured programs like the experimental program.
This program is basically a 4-day- a-week program, where the lifter works on the Snatch and Clean & Jerk on Monday and Thursday, and works on strength on Tuesday and Friday. We have found that 8 to 12 singles done on the Clean & Jerk and Snatch work well, with the lifter using between 65 and 85% of his/her maximum. Usually only one specified weight is used for each training session. A limited rest period is used, usually performing one rep per minute. This allows the lifter to work with a light-enough weight to practice technique, yet still get a good workout. It appears from early results that this protocol works very well for building consistency in a lifter's technique. The focus is to complete each workout with zero misses at the target weight before allowing the athlete to increase the weight in the next workout or next week (The athlete is not allowed to increase the weight after a workout with misses).
Progression, variety and individualization are the keys on Tuesday and Friday. The athletes should perform exercises that work on their identified individual weaknesses (i.e., weak legs - concentrate on Squats, weak back - concentrate on Romanian Deadlifts, problems catching the snatch - include Snatch Balances, Overhead Squats, or Snatch-grip Push Presses). The variants are endless. Vary the reps, and vary the exercises, and always try to make new personal records on whatever strength exercise you are working on.
WFW Program (2005)
The WFW Program is iteration from Coach Glenn Pendlay.
Doc Stone's Basic Program
Dr. Mike Stone has been one of the major scientific influences in weightlifting all the way back to the days of the National Strength Research Center at Auburn. This program has been described as his basic program for getting strong.
"Russian Squat" Routine
This program has been around for a long time. It is rarely used with any of our athletes as we believe our other training models are more effective.