So why do the Bulgarians have such a successful national weightlifting program? Do they use anabolics in excess? Do they need to use them? I will answer this question and more right here.

By: Critical BenchOct 18, 2005 Email More SHARE

This article was written for the single purpose of exploring Bulgarian training methods as they can and should be used by your run-of-the-mill American weightlifter.

Well, that and for the purpose of firing off a little rant. But, if you can get through the ranting, I promise there will be some training stuff somewhere in there ...

Begin Rant

As of late, it seems that an increasing number of people have taken to saying that the Bulgarians have lost their edge, and that Bulgaria is 'no longer dominant' in international weightlifting.

I am not altogether sure exactly what results these folks are looking at. The 2000 Olympics, for example, which was about the worst meet in 3 decades for the Bulgarians, still saw 4 Bulgarian-trained lifters on the medal stand.

Six students of the Bulgarian system medaled at the 2002 World Championships. As of March 2003, if one were to look at the IWF men's rankings one will find that the Bulgarians have a lifter ranked in the top 3 in ALL SIX classes that are 69 kilos and above. Not only that, but in 4 of those classes the Bulgarian is ranked number one.

So, it seems to me that in the 'ever-expanding world of the 21st century', the Bulgarians are continuing to more than hold their own in weightlifting. Especially when one considers that Bulgaria is a nation of about 8 million, while countries of half a billion sit and flounder with no lifters and no medals.

But I digress... the fact is that the Bulgarians are still good. They are better than good. And the single most important reason for their success is their training methods.

RELATED ARTICLE  Bulgarian Leg Training Secrets Explained!
This is an extensive and thought-provoking article about the different leg training protocols that were popularized by the dominant Bulgarian weightlifting teams of the latter half of the Twentieth Century.
[ Click here to learn more. ]

Yes, after comments about how the Bulgarians are not that good anymore come out one side of the mouth, comments about how their training is worthless usually comes out of the other. The most common version of this old song and dance is a statement to the effect of "Oh, that routine would KILL you!"

Inherent in this excuse is one of two common premises.

First is that the Bulgarians succeed with their training solely because of enormous amounts of drugs.

Second is that only their hand-picked genetic freaks could handle that kind of workload.

 Drug Offenders?

The problem with the first point is that the Bulgarians are not that high on the list of IOC drug offenders. Sure, there are Bulgarians that use banned anabolic substances. But, the same can be said for EVERY international team, and I do mean *EVERY* team.

The fact is that the Bulgarians dominate the middleweight classes, where excessive use of anabolics might just put a lifter over his class limit. Some countries which will remain nameless (*cough*Russia*cough*), always seem to have their best lifters drifting through the 94s and the 105s on their way to being 135 kilo heavyweights.

This type of situation seems much more indicative of drug use, but of course the whiners do not want to hear logical arguments. Additionally, the Bulgarian training system is not the type that would draw too heavily upon the benefits of using anabolics.

The Bulgarian-type workout consisting only of a moderate number of not-quite-maximum singles imposes a heavy burden on the CNS, but if one is looking for CNS stimulation or recovery there are better places than steroids to find it.

Central Nervous System:
The central nervous system along with the peripheral nervous system comprise a primary division of controls that command all physical activities of a vertebrate (a life form with a spine).

Neurons of the central nervous system affect consciousness and mental activity while spinal extensions of central nervous system neuron pathways affect skeletal muscles and organs in the body.

Again, contrast this with traditional training programs in the Russian regimen where athletes of high sports mastery would be training on up to 80 different lifts/exercises a year, with about 25% of these done for sets of 5 reps or more, and you can see a training protocol that drastically has its effectiveness increased by substances that will increase protein synthesis and help recovery at the cellular level.

 Genetic Freaks?

The second point (that of genetics) has a grain of truth in it. The best Bulgarian lifters have been in the system for quite some time, and have risen to the top from among the best of the best.

However, one can look down the Bulgarian ranks to see if it is the 'system' or the 'individuals.' Bulgaria usually has a deep team of lifters, so much so that they can afford to sell half of them to foreign countries.

I somehow doubt that, again, in this nation of only 8 million people there are that many more 'perfect weightlifters' born than anywhere else. The other thing is these lifters have slowly worked up to what they are doing over that long time that they have been in the system.

Bulgaria does not throw its 14-year olds into a situation where they go from doing nothing to doing 27 workouts a week where they snatch to a heavy single.

In fact, many Eastern European nations that start lifters as young as 12-years old have them doing only about 30% of their training as specific preparation for as long as 3 years. It takes them a long time to ramp up to the volumes they are handling once they are competing at the world level.

 A Brutal Training Program.

Finally, as an adjunct to both points, people need to realize that the training program, as the elite Bulgarian lifters follow it, IS brutal. However, drugs are not as big a piece of the pie as they are made out to be. Neither is genetics.

The Bulgarians have massages before, during, and after workouts. Do you?

RELATED ARTICLE  The Benefits Of Swedish Massage Therapy For Athletes.
There are numerous types of massage, but perhaps the most popular and commonly known is Swedish Massage.
[ Click here to learn more. ]

The Bulgarians take all sorts of herbs and 'adaptogens' and are deeply involved in legal sports performance pharmacology. Are you?

The Bulgarians on the national team don't have to keep a 9-to-5, 40-hour a week job. Do you?

The point here is that there are many recovery factors that can come into play that make a Bulgarian routine more accessible to their lifters than to the average American.

That said, if you are willing to do some homework on herbs and learn a little bit about sports self-massage, etc., you also can reap the benefits of increased recovery.

The Bulgarian Blitz

All that having been said, I simply refuse to accept the idea that there is nothing to learn from their training.

In fact, I have arrived at what I believe is a way to work *anyone* into a system that at least draws upon the same principles as the Bulgarian training methods, and have been using it with myself and others.

You might never get to 'Full-on Bulgarian' status, but you can definitely make their type of workouts work for you ...

 Step 1:
Basic Routine Template

Monday:

Snatch: 3 singles, using 'Maximum Training Resistance'Clean & Jerk: MTR matrix Front Squat: 3 singles, using MTR, then 2 doubles with MTR -15 kilos

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday "Matrix A."
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday "Matrix B."
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday "Matrix C."

[ See Below For An Explanation Of A, B, & C Progressions. ]

Wednesday:

Back Squat: 3 doubles with Monday CJ MTR + 20 kilos Power Snatch: 3 singles with MTR Power Clean and Push Jerk: 3 singles with MTR Romanian Deadlift: 3 triples with Mon CJ MTR + 20 kilos

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday.

Friday:

Snatch: work up to true 1RM CJ: work up to true 1RM Front Squat or Back Squat: work up to true 1RM

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday.

[Basically this is a 'Total Day' or a simulated competition. Again, you don't want to psyche up like this is the Olympics, but you do want to 'let loose' and push yourself to darn near what your absolute max for that day would be.]

 

Weight Lifted

Reps (1-10)

One-Rep Max

There you have it. Pretty simple, eh? And who could complain about that volume or frequency? If you cannot handle the above workout schedule, then you have some serious recovery issues. You may want to consider retiring from weightlifting and taking up cross-stitch, or something else less stressful.

Maximum Training Resistance.

Now, one of the important concepts here is that of "Maximum Training Resistance." This is what some of you may have heard referred to as a 'daily max' before.

The definition of the MTR is "the maximum resistance that can be overcome one time without a strong effort of will or emotional stress." This is key in this program; at least as I have it structured to work for the individual.

We want to use the MTR so as not to burn out the nervous system. Thus, on Mondays and Wednesday, the singles in the classical and power lifts must NOT be 'balls to the wall, my youngest son is hanging suspended over a Judas Cradle' type of lifts. They are 'I can walk up to the bar and pull this weight' lifts.

What Is A Judas Cradle?
The Judas Cradle, also known as the Judas Chair, was a torture device used in the Spanish Inquisition. The Judas Cradle was a pyramid-shaped seat. The victim was placed on top of it, with the point inserted into their anus or vagina, then very slowly lowered by ropes. The intended effect was to stretch the orifice over a long period of time. Saving a person from such a device would require the equivalent of a rather intense power lift.

Of course, you have to toe the line. Also, you have to learn whether you are missing lifts because you are actually working above your MTR, or because your form sucks.

For me, it is an issue of pulling in the snatch and clean and the drive in the jerk. If I am pulling the bar high enough to snatch it or clean it, and driving it high enough to jerk it, I don't feel that I have exceeded my MTR, whether I am making the lifts or not.

If I am missing my snatches out front, it is likely just because of my crappy first pull and lack of a full shrug, and not because I am going too heavy. As a lifter progresses, he will learn exactly where that line is.

At the start of the program, Mondays and Wednesdays only will be done using the 'MTR Matrix'. This matrix will appear at the end of the article, and I will place appropriate comments with it.

 Step 2:
Adding A Session.

Alright, the first step beyond the basic workout on your way to becoming a Bulgarian. What is it?

On the middle day of the week, you are going to do 2 sessions. The session you have already been doing will be the a.m. session, and the following will be done in the p.m:

Middle Day PM

Snatch 80%/2 (3-4 sets) CJ 80%/2 (3-4 sets) Snatch Pulls; 3-4 sets of triples with a weight 10 kilos over what was used for the snatches.

 

The issue here becomes on what day of the week are you able to add a session. So, if you can do an a.m. and p.m. workout Thursday, that becomes your 'middle day', and you are now lifting Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday.

Though, if adding an a.m. (or basically just a session 2-3 hours earlier in the day) session is a big stumbling block, continuing on with the progression of the program might be next to impossible.

The other issue here is when to take these steps. That, I am afraid, is up to the individual lifter and/or his coach. I would say that once you have been 'through the matrix' a couple of times at each and are able to keep making progress, add the next step. Your body is ready for the challenge.

 Step 3:
Adding A Day.

So, you have added a session. A few months later, you should be ready to add a fourth day. What previously would have been the M, W, F workouts, respectively, will now take place on Mon, Tues, and Sat. What do we add in?

On Thursday, you will do a workout that looks exactly like Monday's. That wasn't so hard, was it?

 Step 4:
Adding A Session.

You have now been lifting 4 days a week, twice on Tuesdays. Your hair has gotten a little longer than is stylish, and you tend to wear T-shirts bearing '80s slogans that were not even cool in the '80s. It is time to move on ...

You will add an a.m. session to Monday (with the previously done Monday session moved to the p.m, or done second). What will that a.m. session look like?

Monday a.m. Session.

Snatch: 85%/2 (3-4 sets) CJ: 90%/2 (2-3 sets) Back Squat or RDL to MTR

 Step 5:
Adding Two Sessions.

This is it. The final bump in the road. It may have taken you a year and a half to work through the prior steps. You now can answer your cell phone between the clean and the jerk portions of the lift, and you got a new driver's license that says "Boevski" instead of "Dave Smith". You are ready for the final step in truly becoming a Bulgarian ..

What is added? It's simple, really. On Thursday you add an a.m. workout that looks the same as Monday's a.m. workout, and on Saturday you do the following workout (though it is more of a CNS warm-up than a workout) in the a.m:

Saturday

Back Squat 80%/3 (3 sets) Power Snatches: 'light' Power Clean and Push Jerk: 'light'

 

Barbell Push Jerk

 

Conclusion

So, there you have it. You now do 8 workouts a week. Craziness? Hardly, if you have added the steps only once you were ready. Not quite as extreme as the Bulgarians?

Think again, because you are now using almost the exact same routine that the Bulgarian team has been doing since new Head Coach Plamen Asparukhov took over for Abadjiev in 2001 and reaffirmed the Bulgarian team's commitment to staying in line with IOC doping regulations.

You now train just like Boevski and Jeliazkov, so good luck and go lift like them ...

 The MTR Matrix

This is basically a system of volume/intensity progression that was used by the old Bulgarian regime that has not fallen out of favor. You can play with and rearrange the weeks as you like, but my preference is to go A-B-B-C-A. Some people can handle A-B-B-C-C-A. Try different things and see what works for you.

Also, to start with a lifter is probably best off basing the entire mesocycle on the MTR that was used during the first week. So, the weeks will just build upon each other.

As the lifter becomes more comfortable with the system and his own capabilities, however, he will become more in tune with what his true MTR is on any given day, and during weeks B and C, respectively, will basically just do a second wave and a third wave back up to that weight irrespective of what MTR was used during week one.

"A" Week:

Predicted MTR -20kilos for 2 reps.Predicted MTR -10 kilos for a single.MTR for 3-4 singles.

"B" Week:

Perform A week progression.MTR -10 kilos for a double.MTR -5 kilos for a single.MTR +5 kilos for 2-4 singles.

"C" Week:

Entire B week progression performed.Double with MTR -20 kilos.Double with MTR -10 kilos.3-4 more singles with MTR plus 5 or 7.5 kilos.

So, if you were doing a simple A-B-B-C-A progression over 5 weeks, and you found that your snatch MTR was 100 on the first Monday, for the next 5 weeks your Monday snatch workouts might be as follows:

Week 1: 80/2, 90, 100 (3-4)
Week 2: 80/2, 90, 100 (3), 90/2, 95, 105 (2-4)
Week 3: 80/2, 90, 100 (3), 90/2, 95, 105 (2-4)
Week 4: 80/2, 90, 100 (3), 90/2, 95, 105 (3), 80/2, 90/2, 105 (2), 107.5 (2)
Week 5: 80/2, 90, 100 (3-4)

At this point, the lifter would start over, this time likely using 105 as the MTR for the first A week in the mesocycle.

 

View the original article here

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: Blitz, Bulgarian, Weightlifting

Building muscles, getting stronger, losing weight, toning your body - all are common and valid reasons to start working out with weights as part of your exercise program. But while weight training should always improve your general fitness levels, different types of workout routines are better for different fitness goals.

At it's most basic level, these different styles of working out with weights can be divided into three basic areas - bodybuilding, powerlifting and weightlifting. It can get confusing to those first starting to work out, both because of the vast array of workout routines and because even the mainstream fitness magazines tend to use the category names interchangeably. So before you start working out with weights, it's important to know the differences between these three and when each style is best for you and your fitness goals.

Bodybuilding Workouts

While often used generically to refer to any exercise using weights, bodybuilding is specifically aimed at building the biggest lean muscle mass possible given that athlete's genetic makeup. While some strength gains and body fat weight loss will usually occur, especially at first, these are neither the main goal nor the primary function.

Exercise repetitions for this goal usually range in the 8 - 15 reps range, repeated for 3 - 5 or more sets of reps. Time between sets should be kept short, in the 30 - 45 seconds range. This style of training focuses mostly on increasing sarcoplasm, the liquid component of each muscle. Latest research indicates time-under-tension is emerging as the most important part of this process, hence the short breaks between sets. Also, some bodybuilding style variations include moving the weights more slowly, either in both directions or just on the negative(lowering) half of the exercise in order to increase the total time under tension.

Symmetry is very important in bodybuilding, so bodybuilding routines are designed to work the entire body with an eye to correcting any imbalances in size or appearance. While some muscle size imbalances are due to genetics, focusing more on the smaller, undersized muscles while going a little easier on those that develop quickly for you can help you achieve a more symmetrical appearance. Generally speaking, bodybuilders use a mix of compound exercises and isolation exercises to keep their muscles working constantly to adapt, forcing them to grow in the process.

Powerlifting Workouts

Unlike bodybuilding, powerlifting workouts are less concerned with building muscle mass and focus much more on building strength. Getting stronger requires lifting heavier weights - growing to lifting MUCH heavier weights as a powerlifter's abilities and strength progress. Lifting very heavy weights for fewer reps builds the myofibrils, or 'strength cords' that run through your muscles.

If you've ever watched a strongman competition you already know of the incredible poundages these people are lifting, and the powerlifting sport is not limited to men - more and more women are enjoying the sport as well! But along with the much heavier weights comes a lot more responsibility to yourself to ensure your form is perfect and that you use every safety precaution available. No matter what your level, it is never advisable to do a powerlifting workout by yourself - if your training partner and spotter doesn't show up, use higher reps and lower weights for that day's workout.

Powerlifting routines also require more rest between reps, sets and workouts due in large part to the effect of that extreme exertion on your central nervous system. That applies to nutrition and sleep as well - you'll need a lot more calories and at least 8-10 hours of sleep a night while on a powerlifting cycle to avoid overtraining and overtaxing your system.

Powerlifters do as many or more sets than bodybuilders, but due to the heavier weights, by necessity the reps are limited. Normal powerlifting rep ranges are in the 3 - 6 rep range, and it's not unusual to see a powerlifter doing 1-rep-max sets, or single reps using as much weight as they can manage while being too heavy to allow them a second rep in that set. Leave the 1RM sets to the experienced powerlifters though - they hold far too great a risk of serious damage or death for even an intermediate athlete to make it worth doing them.

You may well see some muscle size increase and burn some body fat, especially at first, but don't expect lean muscle mass gains to keep pace with your strength increases - powerlifting is all about strength and any other benefits are ancillary.

Weightlifting Workouts

Weightlifting is the most generic of the three titles, and can also be applied to powerlifting and bodybuilding routines, especially when either is just part of an overall long-term weighlifting plan. But for the purposes of this article, we'll use weightlifting as the type of routine aimed mostly at achieving a better overall fitness level - getting somewhat stronger, building some lean muscle mass, toning your body and burning some body fat.

As such, general weightlifting plans help reach the fitness goals of a much wider slice of the general population - those not looking to become professional and/or competitive athletes. While all workout plans should start with light weights, general weightlifting routines should never hit the weights used in powerlifting and usually doesn't require drastic adherence to specific sleep and nutrition plans required of serious bodybuilders and powerlifters.

Since your goals are less extreme and cover a broader scope, it should be easy to see the weight used will usually remain below the other two types of routines, and the rep range will be between the two. Using moderate weights for 8 - 12 reps per set with 3-4 sets for each exercise will keep you evolving to be closer to your goals. Pay strict attention to proper exercise form and only increase the weight you're lifting on any exercise when you can complete all your reps for every set in perfect form.

D. Champigny is a certified personal trainer and the publisher of FlirtingWithFitness.com. Be sure to follow him as @FlirtingFitness on Twitter.

For up-to-date information on building muscle, burning fat, proper nutrition and other fitness and exercise information, surf the thousands of articles on those topics available at FlirtingWithFitness.com starting right now!

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: Bodybuilding, Difference, Powerlifting, Weightlifting, Whats

I know this is a popular discussion on the internet and many other people have shared their opinion on the subject so I thought I'd share mine. The funny thing about this topic is that to some extent it can really be answered in one sentence - It depends on what your training goals are.

If you are a powerlifter or training for the Strongman competition then doing push ups isn't really going to help you much. On the other hand, if you are training for a military physical fitness test, doing heavy squats won't do much to improve your scores. Of the three methods, kettlebell training is probably the most versatile in that both a powerlifter and a military guy could use them and get really good results in their respective fitness tests. The reason for this is that weightlefting and bodyweight training generally fall on opposite ends of the muscle usage spectrum, while kettlebell training falls somewhere in the healthy middle.

Weightlifting will train maximum strength more, while bodyweight training will train muscular endurance more. You can of course do high rep weightlifting to develop muscular endurance or handstand push ups (for example) to increase maximum strength, but most people don't use these types of training for those reasons. As mentioned, kettlebells are definitely the most versatile because they do a great job at developing both sides of the muscle usage spectrum.

If you don't have very specific muscle usage requirements like the powerlifting or military examples, I would honestly say that the best thing to do is to incorporate all 3 types of training into your workouts. It'll keep your training fresh so you won't get bored and you'll train your muscles (and your nervous system) to respond to a wide variety of stimuli.

Personally, from the age of 15 to about 21 I swore by the iron. Back then we hadn't even heard of kettlebells and bodyweight training was limited to plyometrics. I was all about squatting, benching, deadlifts, etc. My senior year of high school I was able to leg press over a ton, could do 10 dips with two 45lb plates attached to me, and I used 120lb dumbbells in each hand to do chest presses. I loved it but looking back I realize that it left me open to injury and created a lot of muscle imbalances.

These days, though I still hit the weights, it is primarily to increase my strength in the main compound lifts - bench, squat, clean and press and deadlift. I always stay under 7 reps on bench and I rarely find myself doing cleans with the barbell anymore because I get enough clean work in with kettlebells - same goes for squats.

I would say my workouts now are 75% bodyweight, 15% kettlebell and 10% weightlifting. I love bodyweight training because it makes me physically feel better. I feel strong, fit, and most important to me personally - balanced. I think by nature, bodyweight training makes it very hard to have muscle imbalances because almost no bodyweight exercise is an isolated movement. Your nervous system has to recruit a wide variety of muscles to get you to move your body around in all kinds of ways. I also don't feel like a heavy, inflated balloon all the time. Some people love that feeling - I know because I used to love it - but now feeling like that would make me feel slow, less agile and out of shape.

Like I said, I used to be able to leg press over a ton but I also would have struggled with running 3 miles. Now I can do that with ease. I also think that the strength from bodyweight training translates over to weightlifting much better than the other way around. A guy that can do 10 free standing, handstand push ups will be able to put up some good weight on the military press but a guy with a strong military press won't necessarily be able to do even one handstand push up. Another advantage to bodyweight training is that I can get a workout in anytime, anywhere. I don't need any equipment and I can progress the difficulty of the movement simply by changing angles.

I love kettlebells too but I feel like overall I have the most fun with bodyweight training and that is perhaps the best answer of all to the question in the title - the best form of training is the one that you personally enjoy doing the most. If you don't like doing something then it becomes a task. Your training should be fun so pick one of the methods or pick all three and get to it!

I am a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). I have approximately 15 years of fitness / exercise experience with a wide range of knowledge on different types of training.

Read more »

These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

0 Comments

Tags: Better, Bodyweight, Kettlebells, Training, Weightlifting, Which