Topic: How much does a medalist train?

[TheRedReaper]

What is the routine of top weightlifters? Anyone know and can share?
 
Example of what I mean is,
 
Morning
Front Squat - 5 sets of 1 or 2 reps
Clean and Jerk - 5 sets of 1 rep and then 3 sets of 3 reps
Snatch - 5 sets of 1 rep and then 3 sets of 3 reps
Front Squat - 5 sets of 2 or 3 reps
 
Repeat in Afternoon
 
Just wondering how many sets and reps they actually do per day, if someone could share.

[morgan]

I competed at the Olympics in 1992 trained for over 25 yrs I did this to qualify for games

Mon, Wed, Fri     AM

Front squat   60x3  80x3  100x3  120x3 130x3 140x2  150x1  160x1 170x1,1,1,1,1

Snatch   50 3x3   60x3 70x3 80x3 90x2 100x2 110x2  120x2 130x1 135x1,1   130x1,1   125x1,1,1

Clean and Jerk   60x3 80x3  100x2  120x2  130x1  140x1  150x1  160x1,1  155x1,1   150x1,1,1


Mon Wed  Fri     PM


Snatch    same but heavier if poss      145x1,1    140x1,1    135x1,1,1

CJ        same     175/180   2x1     down 5k   2x1   down 5k   3x1


Back Squats   60x3    100x3     130x3     150x3  170x1    180x1    190x1  200x1    210 2x1    200   3x1


roughly then 

Tues, Thur, Sat     AM


Power snatch    50x3,3    60x3 70x3 80x2 90x2 100x1   110 2x1     100  3x1


Power CJ    50x2   70x2  90x1   110x1   120x1   130  2x1    120 3x1

Tues thurs,  sat   PM


Back squats   60x3 100x3  130x2  150x1  170x1  180x1  190x1  200x1  210x1  220x1  230 2x1   220  3x1


Snatch Pull     5x5    with 10 above max snatch on previous day   (140/150ish)

Clean pulls   5x5 same as above   (180-190ish)


i did this BULGARIAN system from about  1991 onwards until I retired in 2005 but a 'watered' down as I got older ie competing in the masters (over 40s)  only once a day training too basically just doing snatch CJ squats and pulls ONLY     

[TheRedReaper]

Thanks for the reply. That is very informative.
 
You did a lot of lighter sets. I saw this same sort of thing in Powerlifting training. People doing several light sets to warm up. I haven't been doing that!
 
I warm up my body (I live in tropical hot climate, so not hard) doing weightless front squats and stretching and some other simple exercises, then I go straight into heavy. Mind you, I'm only beginner, nearly intermediate now I suppose, so I have not lifted heavy as you yet (despite I'm getting the feeling I'm a lot heavier than you - about 115 kilo now, and I'm male [I think Morgan is girl's name, sorry if wrong]).
 
So I start heavy AND THEN go down. Backwards, compaired to most people. I notice that's what you did at the end, "150x1  160x1,1  155x1,1   150x1,1,1." I do it like this because I find doing the lighter weights first wears me out, and I'd rather use my strength on my RM.
 
So, for example, I have been doing front squat every morning this week, 90x2,2,1,1,1 and then I'll probably drop it if I go for another, so I go down to 85 and do 3,2,2,1,1. Then I'm finished that. All other lifts are roughly the same - start heavy and then melt down by 5 or 10 kilo when I get tired. Doing roughly 5 sets of my max weight, then 5 sets of a 92%er or so. When I can get my max weight up to sets of something like 3,3,2,2,2, I'll increase the weight by 5 kilo and be back to doing sets of one rep. That's how I progress.
 
Anyway, I want to know why you do it that way. Do you think I'm likely to injure myself? Even though I feel farily comfortable with my warm up as it is. Or are you doing the lighter sets for another reason, being endurance or technical or whatever? I mean, ARE they REALLY warm up sets? Thanks.

[movmasty]

The goal of training is to do an adeguate effort, not to use max weights
So if you can have the same effort with 5kg less, this is good.
only near a contest the weight itself becomes important.

And yes i think that you will injure yourself.
i see that you are using 60% of the weight than me at 82.5kg......(yes i competed before 1996  )

About Morgan's routine i dont thing that Mang, Pisarenko and Suleimanoglu worked so much
Here in italy top athletes(and i mean olympic medalist) trained twice only every other day
Basically did a technical workout every day, and a strenght one(pulls,squat) 3 times per week,
never less than 2 reps, never more than 90 minutes, except near the main contest.

[TheRedReaper]

The goal of training is to do an adeguate effort, not to use max weights
So if you can have the same effort with 5kg less, this is good.

I do not really agree. I think the idea is to use as much weight as you can without slurring your technique. I can get a good workout by doing 5 kilo less than what I usually do, I suppose, which is further away from my 1RM. But it will make me less ready for the 5 kilo increase in my 1RM next week...
 

About Morgan's routine i dont thing that Mang, Pisarenko and Suleimanoglu worked so much
Here in italy top athletes(and i mean olympic medalist) trained twice only every other day
Basically did a technical workout every day, and a strenght one(pulls,squat) 3 times per week,
never less than 2 reps, never more than 90 minutes, except near the main contest.

Well, I'll try not to outdo them!
 
I don't want to sound arrogant. This thread was just looking for how much top athletes do train. And it seems I'm training as frequently, if not more (even though at lighter weight), as it is. Which is a good thing. This is just what I wanted to know, so I could know if I was not training enough.
 
I am interested in your and Morgan's advice on warm up sets at lighter weight or training at lighter weight, but it won't become relevant until I actually do hurt myself and I am forced to adapt because of it. For so long as I can train as heavy as possible without negative effect, it seems a good thing. If you're right, however, I will no doubt admit it when the time comes and it catches up to me.

[movmasty]

I do not really agree. I think the idea is to use as much weight as you can without slurring your technique. I can get a good workout by doing 5 kilo less than what I usually do, I suppose, which is further away from my 1RM. But it will make me less ready for the 5 kilo increase in my 1RM next week...

Very wrong, strenght comes with time and regularity, not with overtraining and injuries, max weight is for contests, not for training.
For this we have reps and series, supercompensation happens when you are already tired and do another rep, not when you lift a big weight one time

I don't want to sound arrogant. This thread was just looking for how much top athletes do train. And it seems I'm training as frequently, if not more (even though at lighter weight), as it is. Which is a good thing. This is just what I wanted to know, so I could know if I was not training enough.
 
I am interested in your and Morgan's advice on warm up sets at lighter weight or training at lighter weight, but it won't become relevant until I actually do hurt myself and I am forced to adapt because of it. For so long as I can train as heavy as possible without negative effect, it seems a good thing. If you're right, however, I will no doubt admit it when the time comes and it catches up to me.

To train every day is good, whereas most not top athletes do 3/4 per week, i think that is the first thing to do to increase intensity,
but when tou do daily 3 workouts have to be light, and just one really heavy.

[morgan]

he asked how medalist train - ie i took that as serious athletes - not saying what I did is right or wrong but it got the results for me so I m not complaining ( I was ranked Number 1 in the commonwealth at one stage)  CJ  345 lbs at 155 lbs bodyweight

doing such complex exercises needed a lot of warm up for me if I could do less to get to max I would have - the reason why I did a lot of max singles is sinmple that what I did in competition - sorry but I never understood how doing 5 sets of 3 reps on 100 kilos helps you snatch 130x1 psychologically for me to snatch 130 I want to snatch 130 again and again full stop

Morgan is my surname

[movmasty]

he asked how medalist train - ie i took that as serious athletes - not saying what I did is right or wrong but it got the results for me so I m not complaining ( I was ranked Number 1 in the commonwealth at one stage)  CJ  345 lbs at 155 lbs bodyweight

doing such complex exercises needed a lot of warm up for me if I could do less to get to max I would have - the reason why I did a lot of max singles is sinmple that what I did in competition - sorry but I never understood how doing 5 sets of 3 reps on 100 kilos helps you snatch 130x1 psychologically for me to snatch 130 I want to snatch 130 again and again full stop

Would be 105x3, that is 80%, x2 reps 110  that is 85%
But there is a thing called periodization, that is you do 105x3 far from the contest and 120x1, sometime 130, near.
If you do reps and sets with 105, your body will get stronger even so.
 And you always do pulls, squats and power snatch/clean with more than 80% that improve strenght.
psychologically you have to do the max when you need, near the main contest.
But if you are blessed with an unbreakable phisique is another thing.

Someone believe that if you are training for the olympics you have to be very careful in the preceding 15/6 months, doing max volume only 6/7 months before, and max weight just 3 months.
Because not only is hard to peak more than one time per year, is hard to peak two consecutive years too.
But i never attended the olympics like you.