You know, with the USAW in such disarray, now is the perfect time to see what Louie could offer in terms of development. It certainly couldn’t be any worse.
[quote]Dominator wrote:
You know, with the USAW in such disarray, now is the perfect time to see what Louie could offer in terms of development. It certainly couldn’t be any worse.[/quote]
Apparently at one point Ivane Grikurovi was interested in a position at the OTC, but it was blocked. Now he would have been an excellent choice of coach. Vietnam have a Bulgarian going spare these days too.
[quote]ninearms wrote:
Apparently at one point Ivane Grikurovi was interested in a position at the OTC, but it was blocked. Now he would have been an excellent choice of coach. Vietnam have a Bulgarian going spare these days too.
[/quote]
Vardanian wanted in too and was told “no” as well…that’s when you know there’s a serious problem at the top!
Seriously? WTF? USAW is a shambles.
As far as I’m concerned, if you’re serious about weightlifting, there’s only one way to train:
snatch 90%+
clean and jerk 90%+
squat 95%+
2-3x a day, 5-6 days a week
Individualization does come into play. For example, squatting at the beginning of a session if you have a weak squat or occasionally doing powers if you tend to cut the pull.
And don’t worry about “overtraining”. Oh, you’ll feel like shit all the time, but you’ll get a lot stronger. And without drugs, too. Eating a shit-load and getting a lot of rest go without saying.
American weightlifters are “weak” in comparison to the rest of the world because they don’t train like this.
[quote]jimmyjames wrote:
As far as I’m concerned, if you’re serious about weightlifting, there’s only one way to train:
snatch 90%+
clean and jerk 90%+
squat 95%+
2-3x a day, 5-6 days a week
Individualization does come into play. For example, squatting at the beginning of a session if you have a weak squat or occasionally doing powers if you tend to cut the pull.
And don’t worry about “overtraining”. Oh, you’ll feel like shit all the time, but you’ll get a lot stronger. And without drugs, too. Eating a shit-load and getting a lot of rest go without saying.
American weightlifters are “weak” in comparison to the rest of the world because they don’t train like this.[/quote]
Damn that just sounds rough.
[quote]jimmyjames wrote:
As far as I’m concerned, if you’re serious about weightlifting, there’s only one way to train:
snatch 90%+
clean and jerk 90%+
squat 95%+
2-3x a day, 5-6 days a week
Individualization does come into play. For example, squatting at the beginning of a session if you have a weak squat or occasionally doing powers if you tend to cut the pull.
And don’t worry about “overtraining”. Oh, you’ll feel like shit all the time, but you’ll get a lot stronger. And without drugs, too. Eating a shit-load and getting a lot of rest go without saying.
American weightlifters are “weak” in comparison to the rest of the world because they don’t train like this.[/quote]
Do you train yourself like this? what are your numbers?
DOOM,
Yes, this is how I train. Caleb Williams got me into this after he came back from training with Abadjiev. He taught me so much about the Bulgarian system and I really learned what it means to train at an elite level. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to lift at all for the past month (my car broke down), but I’ll be moving to LA in a couple weeks and, hopefully, that will change.
My numbers are not that impressive - I weigh 70kg and my PR’s are 92.5kg sn, 115kg cj, and 137.5kg fs - but since I started training this way I have made consistent progress and I’m confident that within the next 4 years, I will hit a double bodyweight snatch. I don’t believe that this would be even a possiblity for me if I trained as most Americans do.
This kind of training does take it’s toll on your body, but that’s kind of the point. You’re literally maintaining in an adapted state all the time, teatering on exhaustion and the moment you drop the intensity, you get weaker. You have to really get to know your body in order to avoid injury. Your shoulders will bother you all the time. It’s not glamorous, but it works.
[quote]jimmyjames wrote:
This kind of training does take it’s toll on your body, but that’s kind of the point. You’re literally maintaining in an adapted state all the time, teatering on exhaustion and the moment you drop the intensity, you get weaker. You have to really get to know your body in order to avoid injury. Your shoulders will bother you all the time. It’s not glamorous, but it works.[/quote]
Uhhg…
If this is true I am now officially a powerlifter.
I only have to train 4x/week and eat McDonald’s everday.
Have fun, everyone.
JimmyJames,
Cool to hear some input from that side of the training spectrum. I have a couple of questions.
How long have you been training?
The Russians, Chinese, and others don’t ascribe to this training system, and emphasize assistive work and other lifts to a much greater degree, although their training frequency is probably about the same, and they seem to be doing pretty well. Do you really feel that this is the only way serious lifters should train?
Did you just jump in to this style of training, or was it a long-term acclimation process?
Do you think the arduousness of this system had anything to do with the fact that the Greek and Bulgarian teams failed their doping tests this summer, as both teams ascribe to a close variant of this training philosophy?
weasel,
I’ve only been training for 2years. I did not “jump into” this training. I trained 4 days a week for the first 10 months, then 2x a day/4 days a week for 2 months, and finally 2x a day/6 days a week.
As far as how “the Russians, Chinese, and others” train - yes they do use assistant exercises (as do the Bulgarians if it’s necessary) but, keep in mind, they probably still do the lifts 3x as often as the average American weightlifter. However, not a lot is known about how the Russians actually train (a lot of it is speculation based on 50 year-old literature) and there are probably a lot of misconceptions.
The truth is that everything works to a certain point. That being said, I feel the Bulgarian system is the most ideal for a few reasons:
-
Your technique improves 10-fold. You’re constantly doing the lifts and it gets to a point where you feel more comfortable lifting than walking.
-
No energy is wasted on “general” exercises. This is a big one. Trust me, you do not need pull-ups or lunges or push presses to be a weightlifter. If you have a specific weakness, say a weak pull, do some pulls a few times a week at the end of your workout. Simple.
-
Confidence increases with big weights. How many times have you lost a lift because you felt unsure about the weight? When you handle maximal weights literally 10x a day (per lift), 6 days a week, you know exactly what you can handle.
-
Far more world champions have been made using this system (or a modified version) than any other system.
Concerning steroid use and the ban of the Greek and Bulgarian teams, ALMOST EVERY WEIGHTLIFTER AT THE OLYMPIC LEVEL IS, OR HAS AT ONE POINT BEEN, DOPING. I’m not condoning it, I’m just saying that this was largely political and this would not be the first time it’s occured.
jimmyjames, i think they were suggesting that the drugs (or even the constant massage therapy and all the other stuff most of us wouldnt have access to) would allow for enough recovery to handle that, where otherwise we might regress
very cool info and nice to see some of it is first hand, thanks and i definitly hope to see you post more in the future
brian m,
I can tell you that, personally, I have never taken steroids and I have seen great progress training this way. Would steroids make this kind of training less taxing? Absolutely. Would they help you perform at an optimal level? Definately. That aside, I don’t believe that drugs are a pre-requisite for the Bulgarian system - they just help.
On a side note, the Bulgarians don’t have massage therapists. Coach Abadjiev doesn’t believe in it. He feels as though it’s a form of recovery and, therefore, will bring the body out of it’s adapted state. In fact, his athletes only take one recovery measure - steroids.
haha sorry i wasnt trying to suggest that you do, and i wouldnt care if you did or anything(for the record)
i was just under the impression that they used extensive recovery methods, (including drugs), and that most people would not be able to do this without the same methods, but i guess its a testament to what the body can endure when properly conditioned, -good reminder of this and cool peak into the minds of giants of the sport
Yeah, personally I don’t have anything wrong with massage because I believe the system is more about CNS adaptation than muscular adaptation. But then again, Abadjiev created the system…
Very interesting stuff even if I know it is not for me.
I can’t say that I really agree with you, especially the notion that anabolics are not necessary for this style of training, but good luck to you all the same. Keep us appraised of your progress!
Will do, weasel.
[quote]jimmyjames wrote:
Caleb Williams got me into this after he came back from training with Abadjiev…[/quote]
Are you sure that Caleb actually trained while Abadjiev was here?
I ask because I was allowed to come and watch quite a few of the workouts during the time Abadjiev was here, and I only saw two Americans, one was Donnie Shankle and the other was Dave Spitz (at times).
I don’t doubt that Caleb was out here though because I know that Dave flies lifters in from time to time, but I just don’t recall seeing him while Abadjiev was here. Even if Abadjiev wasn’t there, Caleb trained under his system though.
From what I gathered, he trained with Abadjiev a few times and I guess trained w/ an assistant coach the rest of the time. Caleb was invited for placing at the US Olympic trials and he trained there for a month.