i agree in the early phases for the jerks and cleans 5x5 or 5x3 would be good, and for the dl you could go up 6 maybe 8 with a trap bar. for a beginner i would rather see them 10x3x72% bump up 2% each week. for a higher level guy maybe 5x5.
Exaclty!!!.. greater volume (& lower intensity for anatomical adaptation work) don’t neccessary means large number of reps in sets!!! I used “paired sets” of particualar exercise with short rest, like:
Squats 3sets (3x5reps with 30sec rest) w/2min rest
This is 45reps with PERFECT FORM! Altought I use larger number of DL reps in one set (15,12,10,8 over weeks) with the one athlete I work, and I didn’t saw any form breakdown! Actually, I saw some form issues in squat after 5-8reps… I would include squat too into your group of “low rep exercises”!
Snatchcoach,
I would be very interested into seeing your training programs for begginers and advanced… how do you progress, cycle exercises etc! Thanks in advance!
BTW, I have wrote one article for elitefts.com regarding periodization overview for strength traiing, I hope you have looked at it, because I combine various methods for begginers while progressin to higher levels… I am interested into your opinion!
theres more then one way to progress besides dropping reps from 10-8-6 etc.
I will check it out. If you have access to the articles on the NSCA website, I had an article published a while back that shows the program progression for a multi-levelled program. It was designed for Junior High School through High School athletes (a focus on those who participate in power/team sports. It (the concept) was adapted from Soviet/Eastern Bloc program design (to the best of my ability), along with 20+ years of my own training and coaching experiences/philosophies mixed in. The title of the article is “Developing Athletes at Copperas Cove High School.” It was written several years ago and it has evolved somewhat, but the foundation is still the same.
cant find the article
Ofcourse there is! But I choosed this one this time 
The link is in this thread but the article at elitefts doesn’t have pics! If you are interested I will put it on yousendit.com (with pics)?
nice article.
im curious what u guys think about the exercise selection on the gpp dvd:
mon:
pc
bsq
bp
lat pd front
rdl
mil press
seated rows
wed:
pc
incline press
deadlifts
push press
lat pull back
seated rows
fri:
pc
bsq
bp
lat pd front
rdl
mil press
seated rows
Great article! I have been reading some stuff from Westside Barbell on the conjugate method. I can see where it would be good on an individual basis, but when training large groups of athletes I haven’t fit it all together yet. Because of natural training breaks during the school year (Christmas, Spring Break, Final Exams, etc.) the long linear method has worked well.
I would probably change PC on Wednesday to Hang Cleans + Front Squat (for variety), and would replace Lat Pulls (posteior) with reverse grip bent rows. Move Push Press in front of Incline Press (explosive movements first).
Friday I would replace seated rows with either chin-ups/pull-ups or 1 Arm DB Rows (if not strong enough for chins).
Also, on Wednesday I would follow the DL with a set or two of high rep (15) non-weight back extensions (no higher than 90 degrees) w/ a 2 second static contraction at the top.
i really like those changes, do you ever use pulls with your sprinters maybe something like this:
mon:
pc
clean pull
fsq
bench press
tue:
recovery circuits
wed:
hang clean
walking lunges
db incline optional
thru:
recovery circuits
fri:
ps
snatch pull
bsq
bp
i tend to never use dl with my athletes.
why the hypers after the dl, also i could be wrong but i think it would be diffcult to back squat twice a week and dl once a week for max strength and still have good speed sessions?
Yes, I will use Clean/Snatch Pulls in place or alternating w/ DL.
I like the back extensions and reverse back extensions as an safe overload when the back is already fatigued from some form of pulls. The reverse extensions are great for the glutes & SI joint.
I would BSQ heavy once and medium to light once (Friday).
would you mind sharing a typical week for your athletes in the strength room?
Wow, talk about a response, this was quite a while ago. After reading all the replies I went back and looked into my training at what I did during this period, and I found that yes, I had put too many reps on too many complex movements into the training.
I’m reading back in my lifting log and I have notes in the margins about how my hamstrings were super sore after doing squats, deadlifts, and RDLs at higher reps all on the same day. I eventually cut out the deadlifts all together and just did Squats and RDLs on that day, and it seemed to be much more effective.
As for the total effectiveness of the program, you decide. At the beginning of the training block (2 months total), I was doing the folloing numbers…
Bench 12 reps at 130lbs
Clean Pull 8 reps at 80lbs
Squat 12 reps at 165lbs
At the end I was doing the following (this was after 8 weeks of training using, for the most part, the progression noted in the first post)…
Bench 6 reps at 180lbs
Power Clean 5 reps at 185lbs
Squat 6 reps at 225lbs
I was only 17 years old at the time, and I guess I had been doing serious weightlifting for about 1 1/2 - 2 years, so I’d still categorize myself as a relative beginner. I also went from 155lbs up to 162lbs, which for me is awesome since I’d be classified as a hard-gainer.
I just wanted to update everyone on how that turned out. If I could go back and change things I would’ve still started at reps of 12 on the exercises that I did, but I would’ve progressed more quickly down into the 8 range for more work there. I also would never have included squats and deadlifts on the same day, and instead would have preferred to rotate the two exercises so that I would do squats in the first month, and then deads the second month, and so forth.
Keep up this discussion, it’s very useful and thanks to everyone contributing!
Currently on a four day split, training 120-140 athletes per session
Day 1
Power Clean- 4-5 sets of 4 reps (HVY-Prog)
Shoulder Complex- 2 sets of 15 reps ea way
Bench Press- 4 sets of 6 reps (Med-Prog)
Incline DB Press-3-4 sets of 8
Standing 2 Arm DB Press- 3-4 sets of 6 reps
Multi-Shoulder- 3 sets of 10 reps each exercise
Weighted Dips- 4 sets of 6 reps
Core Work 3 set super set
Day 2
Power Snatch- 4 sets of 3-4 reps (Hang pos)
Front Squat- 4-5 sets of 6 reps (HVY-Prog)
RDL- 10-8-8-8
Back Extension- 2 sets 15 reps (no weight)
Walking Sled Pull (FWD & BKWRD)- 40 yards x 2
Reverse Grip Bent Row- 4 sets of 6 reps
Bar Shrugs- 3 sets of 6 reps
Bar Curls- 10-8-6-6
4-way Neck- 3 sets of 10 reps (each way)
Day 3
Power Clean 4 sets of 4 reps (speed)
Shoulder Complex- 2 sets of 15 reps ea way
Bench Press- 4-5 sets of 6 reps (HVY-Pro)
Incline Press- 4 sets of 6 reps
Standing 1 legged 2 Arm DB Press- 4 sets of 10 reps (5 reps per leg)
Multi-Shoulder- 2 sets of 10 reps each
Floor Bench w/pause & explode- 4 sets of 3
Core Work
Day 4
DB Snatch- 4 sets of 4 reps each arm
BK Squat- 4-5 sets of 6 reps (HVY-Pro)
Clean Pull- 4 sets of 4 reps (speed)
Reverse Back Extension- 2 sets of 20 reps
Chin-ups- 40’s
DB Shrug- 3 sets of 10 reps
DB Hammer Curls- 10-8-6-6
4-way Neck- 3 sets of 10 reps (each way)
is this for fb or track? why pc on day 3 and cp on day 4?
It is geared more for football right now (the next season). I am doing 1 Arm DB Snatch on day 4, which is from the hip. I add the clean pull from the floor as another triple extension movement, while at the same time improving the mechanics of my athletes first & second pull when they are not fatigued from cleans. My main focus is body position (shoulder covering the hands), and smooth pull mechanics (remaining on the heels as long as possible, and “snapping the shrug” when the bar is “pecker high.”). Also getting some hamstring work at the same time.
when you say clean pull are you working just on the first pull or first and second pull more like a clean high pull. if you are during a clean high pull i think it teaches bad tech “arms bend power ends” Coach Gayle Hatch.
also my fb guys we normally do:
mon:
hang snatch squat
hang squat
tue:
hang clean
thur:
pc
cpulls
fri:
db snatch
snatch complex
those are our explosive setup and we will do some kind of lower body each day: for example bsq on mon, lunges on tue, spilt squat on thur and squat complexs on fri.