Wednesday, June 18, 2025

East Bloc Training Update - Kim Goss (1989)

 IRONSPORT Magazine - October 1989



(Kim also had a really good article published on Starting Strength last month on his initial thoughts regarding "tri-phasic" training: https://startingstrength.com/article/answering-the-critics-triphasic-training )

Editor’s note: The following is the first of a two-part series highlighting recent presentations of leading weightlifting coaches and scientists from the Eastern Bloc and other countries.

One reason weightlifters are continually able “to lift weights that no one has ever lifted before” is because coaches are willing to share information about their training methods. One of the places this information exchange occurs is symposiums, and the biggest and best symposium is the IWF-IOC international coaching-Medical Symposium, held the year after the Olympics. This year’s symposium took place May 9-11 in Siofolk, Hungary.

As in previous years, all the major lifting powers were represented by coaches, psychologists, sports medicine doctors and exercise physiologists. Topics included steroids (doping), nutrition, physiology, sports psychology and specific training strategies for junior, women and elite athletes.  Keynote speakers included the head Soviet and Bulgarian weightlifting coaches, Alexy Medvedyev and Ivan Abadijiev.

This year we were fortunate to have Bud Charniga attend the conference. One of this country’s foremost authorities on Eastern Bloc training methods, Charniga brough back a wealth of practical information from the symposium. The following are some of the highlights from talks by the representatives of each country.

Bulgaria

Ivan Abadijiev, the head coach of the Bulgarian weightlifting team, discussed the importance of competitions throughout the annual training plan in his lecture, “Competitions as an Integral Part of Annual Training.” Abadijiev says that the top Bulgarian lifters participate in 18 to 20 competitions a year, and that high results are expected even at the beginning of the year.

One interesting observation Abadijiev  shared during his presentation was that after they have stopped lifting, lifters in the heavier weight classes tend to lose weight and lifters in the lighter weight classes tend to gain weight.

Also representing Bulgaria was Christo Meranzov, vice president of the IWF and president of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation. Meranzov outlined the system the Bulgarians use to identify talent for weightlifting in his lecture, “the System for Selecting Children for Weightlifting in Bulgaria.”

Meranzov emphasized the importance of getting the best talent into the sport so that the highest results can be achieved. The ordinary athlete, says Meranzov, cannot be expected to achieve high results. Since Bulgaria does not have the luxury of being able to support a large national team, concentrating their efforts on only the most talented athletes makes sense.

Meranzov explained that the selection and preparation of athletes in Bulgaria is systematic, beginning with special tests at ages 8-9. These tests are designed to identify general athletic potential and not talent in a particular sport. In Bulgaria, specialized training for weightlifters begins at ages 10-11, after 2 or 3 years of general preparation.

Bulgarian weightlifters, according to Meranzov, begin competing at age 14. At age 16, the athlete can lift in the under-18 competitions; and at 17, in the under-20 and open competitions. After the age of 18, the athlete goes to college or into the military. Here the top lifters are financially supported, enjoy excellent training facilities and are exempt from certain military or university obligations. Bulgarian lifters finish their careers at 18-28 years.

When asked about the drop-out rate from his program, Meranzov said that the highest percentage of drop-outs is at the lowest level of selection. The drop-out rate decreases as the athletes progress in the program.

The final speaker from Bulgaria was Dr. Nicola Kolev, a medical doctor, not the same Kolev who was the world champion of the 70’s. Kolev reviewed current treatment methods to knee and elbow injuries. He offered the following advice on treating elbow injuries: 1) Avoid long-term casting, 2) avoid forced range-of-motion exercises, as this can cause residual pain, 3) avoid massage, as this can cause capsular contraction, and 4) allow for a reasonable recovery time.

https://youtu.be/r9Gfy7KlutE?si=Um5rV4eYMd4XWRX6

For the knee, Kolev discussed the importance of rebuilding the strength of the quadriceps after surgery. (According to Charniga, “Supposedly these muscles weaken especially fast after an operation,” so an aggressive program of physical therapy is necessary.)


*Bulgaria showing up to this conference after the '88 Olympics...

East Germany

“One-Year Training Program for Junior Lifters,” was the title of Harry Roewer’s presentation. Roewer is regarded as one of the chief architects of the East German training system. Although the loading for juniors is at an especially high level in this country, Roewer suggested that the loading for these lifters can be increased even more, without doping. (Charniga notes that it’s often difficult to compare the training programs of different countries because there is no one standard formula used to calculate volume and intensity. For example, some formulas only analyze lifts above 70 percent, while others only analyze lifts above 80 percent.)

(similar to Charniga's observation above, Alex Bromley had a really good video regarding the Russian system: https://youtu.be/NmfNwxy6GwU?si=T0l1nJr6tzo-5Qxu )

The following is an outline Roewer gave for a year’s training program for junior lifters:

1)       Basic strength, 4 weeks

2)       Maximum strength, 6-8 weeks

3)       Competition period, 4-6 weeks

4)       Basic strength, 4 weeks

5)       Maximum strength, 6-8 weeks

6)       Competition period, 4-6 weeks

7)       Basic strength, 6 weeks

8)       Maximum strength, 6 weeks

9)       Competition period, 6 weeks

In contrast to Abadijiev’s lecture, Roewer believes that juniors respond best to eight to eleven competitions per year.



Finland

Professor Paavo Komi’s lecture was titled “Relation of Muscle Structure and Performance in Strength Sports.” Komi explained in great detail how weight training affects not only the muscles, but also the nervous and hormonal systems. He noted the following adaptations to strength training: increased force production, hormonal adaptations, fiber hypertrophy, and enhancements of neural adaptations.

Hungary

In case a keynote speaker from another country was not able to attend, the host country was prepared with several last-minute substitutes. As a result, Hungary provided the most speakers at this symposium.

In his lecture “Modern Trends in the Nutrition of Weightlifters,” Dr. Robert Frankl said that weightlifters could require as much as 2.2 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight, which compares to 0.8 grams for the sedentary population. Frankl said that for weightlifters, the ideal ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat is 50:30:20. He said that no more than one-fifth of a weightlifter’s protein should come from a supplement. Frankl stressed the importance of vitamin supplements to avoid what he calls “hypo-vitaminosis” (Charniga says this is a fancy way of saying that someone is not getting enough vitamins.) Frankl recommends that supplements should be utilized for three weeks, followed by a break of one week.

Hungary had two speakers on women weightlifters, Orsolya Nadori and Dr. Jozsef Leitner. Nadori said that most women in Hungary who took up the sport were attracted by economic incentives after careers in other sports. Dr. Leitner discussed the importance of carefully monitoring a woman lifter’s bodyweight, developing the shoulder muscles and paying particular attention to maintaining a positive training and competition environment for women lifters.

Iran

Dr. Shokr Fallah, who acquired his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, several interesting ideas on doping and performance. Fallah believes that the medical science community now lacks credibility with regard to the negative effects of anabolics, a result of having provided false information about positive effects of anabolics on strength development.





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