The Author, Bruce Klemens
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Derrick Crass (1982)
No doubt many would-be Olympic lifters are discouraged after reading all the complicated and sophisticated training routines that have been published in recent years.
It almost seems that you need a Ph.D. to become a weightlifter these days.
Well, I'm glad to say this is just not true!
Most of these routines that confused beginners see published are not meant for them in the first place. They were intended for advanced lifters who have been training for several years. And just between you and me a lot of these sophisticated routines are far more complicated than even advanced lifters need.
There is nothing wrong with many of these routines . . . it's just that many lifters put all their mental effort and drive into understanding the routine than into training itself! Weightlifting is tough enough physically, without burdening your mind figuring out a complicated routine.
A simple routine as outlined here will give any novice excellent results.
First of all, and this can't be stressed too highly: a novice Olympic lifting program should emphasize TECHNIQUE. There is simply no way around it.
You must have proper technique to succeed in Olympic lifting and the best time to learn it is at the beginning. If you try to "muscle" everything and learn improper technique then it will only be harder to correct later on.
Learn technique NOW!
Secondly, going hand-in-hand with technique is FLEXIBILITY.
It's impossible to possess good technique if you have poor flexibility. You simply cannot assume the proper positions if you're stiff and tight. Strange as it may seem, many young fellows (possibly even a majority) taking up Olympic lifting are deficient in the flexibility department, even if they have already been bodybuilding or powerlifting.
This shows two things.
One, although bodybuilding and powerlifting will not detract from flexibility, they will not increase it to a very large degree either.
And two, Olympic lifting requires a specialized type of flexibility not necessary in many other sports.
For example, a sport that does require a high degree of flexibility is karate. Yet I've seen skilled karate athletes look very inflexible when they took up Olympic lifting. They simply did not possess the right kind of flexibility for their new sport.
So, if I've convinced you of the need for flexibility, always begin your workouts with a 15-minute warmup. Do the various stretching movements you learned in high school gym class but also perform movements that simulate portions of the Olympic lifts.
For example, after warming up with some regular flat-foot deep knee bends, take a broomstick and do some knee bends holding the stick at the shoulders (to simulate the Clean), and overhead with a wide grip (to simulate the Snatch).
Try to squat as low as you can.
Another good movement that is specific to Olympic lifting is dislocates with a broomstick. Hold the stick in front of your body with a wide grip. Keeping your arms perfectly straight, raise the stick and bring it overhead and back down behind your back. This is an excellent way to loosen up stiff shoulders. A flexible lifter can do this with a shoulder-width grip. Naturally, don't try to do this at first, but every week try to use a slightly more narrow grip.
And to end your warmup, take your broomstick and do repetitions of the snatch and the clean & jerk. Imitating the actual lifts with just a stick is an excellent way to develop the proper motion patterns, and is a good warmup as well.
Once you've warmed up and not before, it's time for actual weightlifting.
As I've pointed out, technique training is extremely important for a beginner. However, I realize that all weightlifters want to lift as heavy weights as they can and get strong as fast as they can. Therefore, with the routine I'm going to outline, we'll accomplish both of these objectives simultaneously. First, we'll start out light and work technique. But then we'll finish the workout with some heavier strength-oriented movements that don't require too much technique.
How many days a week should you train? I believe that for a young novice, three or at most four days per week is plenty. Start out with three days and after six months or so, if you feel you need it and have the energy, add a fourth day.
Training five and six days a week is only in the realm of advanced, experienced lifters. This kind of training may not even be necessary for all advanced men. One thing is for certain: it's not necessary for beginners.
How heavy should you train?
As an aid to determining proper training weights and preventing undertraining or overtraining, I'll include percentages. These percentages are based on your best single attempt in that particular lift. Snatch pulls and clean pulls are based on the best Olympic lift itself, not best pull.
I'll list repetitions. However, keep in mind that these are the reps to do with the percentage listed. Warmup lifts can and should be done with higher reps.
When training the snatch and the clean & jerk, always do your first warmup lift with the empty bar and work up from there to the desired percentage.
This is not necessary in the squat, but you certainly should begin no higher than 60%. In fact many top lifters capable of squatting with over 500 pounds will start their warmups with only 135!
Not counting sets with an empty bar or extremely light weights, each exercise should be done for about 7-8 sets. Pulls can be done for slightly less sets since you've already warmed up with the actual lift itself.
Besides percentages, I'll give actual sets and reps that a lifter with the following best lifts might do:
145 snatch / 185 clean & jerk / 195 jerk from rack / 160 power jerk / 205 front squat / 250 back squat / 120 power snatch / 155 power clean / and 125 military press.
Listed after each exercise is the top percentage and the reps with the percentage. I won't list any percentages or maximum lifts for overhead squats since this is essentially a balance-flexibility movement which should never be done for a maximum single.
DAY ONE
Clean 80% (3 reps)
45x5, 95x5, 115x3, 145x3, 150x3, 150x3, 150x3.
Clean Pull 105% (3)
155x5, 170x5, 185x3, 195x3, 195x3, 195x3.
Jerk From Rack 80% (3)
45x5, 95x5, 115x3, 135x3, 145x3, 155xx3, 155x3, 155x3.
Squat 80% (5)
95x5, 135x5, 165x5, 185x5, 200x5, 200x5, 200x5.
DAY TWO
Snatch 80% (3)
45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 95x5, 105x5, 115x3, 115x3, 115x3.
Snatch Pull 105% (3)
115x5, 135x5, 145x3, 155x3, 155x3, 155x3.
Power Jerk 82.5% (3)
45x5, 95x5, 115x5, 125x3, 135x3, 135x3, 135x3.
Front Squat 80% (3)
95x5, 135x5, 150x5, 160x3, 170x3, 170x3, 170x3.
DAY THREE
Snatch 85% (2)
45x5, 65x5, 85x3, 105x3, 115x3, 125x2, 125x2, 125x2.
Clean & Jerk 85% (2)
45x3x3, 95x3x3,115x2x2, 135x2x2, 150x2x2, 160x2x2, 160x2x2, 160x2x2.
Squat 85% (3)
135x5, 165x5, 185x5, 205x3, 215x3, 215x3, 215x3.
Military Press 75% (5)
65x8, 85x5, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5.
DAY FOUR (OPTIONAL)
Overhead Squat
45x8, 45x8, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 115x5, 115x3, 115x3.
Power Snatch 80% (3)
45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 95x3, 95x3, 95x3.
Power Clean 80% (3)
65x5 85x5, 105x5, 115x3, 125x3, 125x3, 125x3.
Snatch Pull 105% (3)
115x5, 135x5, 145x3, 155x3, 155x3, 155x3.
Note that the basic three days each have two pulling movements, a squatting movement, and an overhead movement. In this way, we can work all facets of Olympic lifting during each workout. The optional fourth day can be more oriented toward specific areas such as power or flexibility.
By the way, end every workout with some form of abdominal work. Olympic lifting puts tremendous strain on the spinal erector muscles and therefore antagonist muscles, in this case the abdominals, should also be worked.
Since the percentages are based on your best single, every so often you will want to go for a new personal record in a particular lift in order to revise the percentages. Every two weeks on Day 3, once you have reached your percentage in the snatch and clean & jerk, keep increasing the weight until you miss. Hopefully you won't miss until you have created a new personal record for yourself!
Do the same thing in all the other lifts, but only once a month. In this manner, you will constantly be revising your percentages to reflect the type of condition your body is in.
However, never consider the percentages to be absolutely ironclad. If you feel tired and can't keep up with them simply reduce weights accordingly. Increasing the weights a little over the percentages is okay once in a while if you feel really strong that day, but don't do it too often or you'll go stale.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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