Snatch and C & J Training Intensity and Results - Agudin and Falamejev (1975)

 

Is that a beautiful cover or what! 

Translated by Pete Talluto. 

From time to time IOL will publish training programs from various parts of the world by leaders in the weightlifting game. This program is from and outline given by A. Falamejev and A. Agudin at a clinic in Denmark.  

Take a close look at the various training programs published in IOL and 

TRY TO ADAPT A PROGRAM THAT IS SUITABLE TO YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL. 

The intensity zone mentioned in this article is a percentage of the lifter's personal best. 

If you can snatch 137.5 kilos then Intensity Zone 1 (up to 70%) would be all lifts with 95.0 or less; Intensity Zone 2 (71-80%) would be snatches with 97.5 up to 110 kilos. 

If your best C & J is 182.5, then clean pulls done with 147.5 up to 165 would be Intensity Zone 3 (81-90%). 

Every movement done is assigned an intensity zone. For lifters in Group 1 the percentage done (in the last 30 days before a contest) that were in Intensity Zone 1 was 22.94% of the total number. 

At a clinic done given by Falamejev in Denmark he said he believes that lifters work too closely to their best with snatch and clean pulls and use too much weight (too heavy) in squats. He recommends doing 2 repetitions per set with 90% and less in pulls, and 3 repetitions per set in squats with a weight equal to personal best in C & J. 

With the Press abolished from the contest program, the training method must be altered. If the lifter is a poor performer in one lift, there is a noticeable influence on the total result. Therefore, the training method must be such that the lifter achieves the best possible results in the snatch as well as the C & J. 

Through an analysis of the training methods, we can find part of the reason for falling behind in the snatch.

By studying the training diary we established the training intensity during the last 30 days before a contest. All training weights are divided up into different intensity zones, to Zone 1 assign weight s up to 70% of lifter's best, to Zone 2: 71-80%, Zone 3: 81-90%, Zone 4: 91-100%, Zone 5: 101-110%, and to Zone 6 weights over 110%. 

In assistance movements fix the intensity zones according to the lifter's result in corresponding contest lift for the contest which followed after the training period under analysis. 

In squats use lifter's best result in C & J.

In intensity Zone 1 there are widely separated training weights (up to 70% of best), training load makes use of weights out of Intensity Zone 1, which can fluctuate widely. Analysis shows that the training load mainlyh increases in the lowest intensity ones. 

The period analyzed comprised 236 periods (each a month long) containing a total of 3,504 training sessions. There were 146 lifters divided into nine weight classes. Of this number 21 are honored master of sport, 46 master of sport, 45 champion class or Class 1, with the remaining 34 being qualified lifters. 

The analysis is presented in the table below. 

  

In Group 1 (106 monthly periods) assign lifters who have a very large difference between snatch and C & J. To Group II assign lifters whose snatch is relatively better than C & J. In Group III is found information (drawn from Group II) for lifters who set a world record or USSR record during the period analyzed. In Group IV is the 17 training cycles of Group II who have little difference between snatch and C & J. The lifters in this group are mostly from highly qualified class. Finally in Group V are the lifters who hold world record or USSR records in C & J. (Drawn from Group I and Group II.). 

Compare the number of lifts in the different intensity zones and you discover a certain regularity. Almost all of the groups show a gradual reduction of the number of lifts if you go from low to high intensity zones. The only exception is Group I, which has the largest number of lifts in Zone 2. The division according to Group I is characteristic for lifters of lower and average qualifications and are slow to progress.

Also a large part of the lifts are located in the high intensity zones. 

The analysis shows that the relative intensities are reduced in all movements with an increase of qualification class. If you do not take this into consideration your progress will stop or you will go backward. 

You may also notice that an increase in bodyweight results in a reduction of the relative intensities and a decrease of the number of lifts in the higher intensity zones (if you compare lifters of the same qualification class). Heavyweights (for example) use less weights over 85% of their best than lifters from lighter weight classes. 

It is characteristic that the number of lifts in Intensity Zone I increases from Group I to Group III. Record holders in the snatch use slightly more than 50% of their lifts with weights 70% of their best. Lifters in Group I (who have the worst results in the snatch) train much less with these light weights -- only 22.94%. For Group II the corresponding figure is 39.08%. The analysis of the differences in the Intensity Zone I between lifters in Groups I, II, and III is entirely reliable. 

The important thing to notice in Intensity Zones 3, 4, 5, and 6 is that the number of lifts gradually decreases. It also shows that the relative intensity is lower in Groups II and III than in Group I. Figures for Group IV show lifters who ha ve good results in snatch have proportionately low intensities. Lifters in Group V who also have fairly high figures in Intensity Zone I -- 39.36% have a large percentage of lifts in the high intensity zones.

In Group I, there are lifters in snatch who have not attained upper classification in USSR; you find 32.1% of the total number of lifts in the three high intensity zones, while the corresponding figure for Group II is only 15.27%. 

The analysis also shows that before a contest there is a different intensity in each group. This difference is due to the lifter's qualification, his weight class and also his individual training methods. 

It is particularly interesting to compare the intensity for Groups III and IV with each other. These lifters, who are record holders in the snatch, have in Intensity Zones 4, 5 and 6 a total of 11.9% of the total number of lifts; while record holders in the C & J (Group V) use larger weights a good deal more often. They have 23.1% of their lifts in Zones 4, 5 and 6. 

In the analysis results in the snatch and C & J, you must also take into consideration the lifter's weight class and qualification. In the flyweight class the difference between the snatch and C & J is always smaller than in the heavyweight class. A lifter of master qualification is always larger than with the average lifter. 

We can therefore establish that a lifter who is good in the snatch trains with proportionately light weights in all movements (C & J, pulling movements, squats). But you also find another factor which influences the results in the snatch and C & J (which movements he uses the most). 

The analysis leads to the following conclusions: 

1) A high intensity (heavy training weights) has a detrimental effect on the snatch. 

2) If you alter the number of lifts and training weights in a training exercise (snatch exercise) this can have an influence on the results of the other movement groups. To improve the results in the snatch you must reduce intensities in all movements (even in assistance exercises); but improvement of the C & J requires heavy training weights. 

3) To increase the total as fast as possible, in all movements the lifter must use such a weight which gives optimum improvement in both snatch and C & J. 

Enjoy Your Lifting!