“How often do you miss an attempt in training?” I asked Tatiana Kashirina in preparation for a seminar with her and her coach Vladimir Krasnov.
“I don’t miss,” she replied.
I didn’t believe her, so I kept probing.
“Ok… when was the last time you missed an attempt in training?” She and her coach looked at each other. They couldn’t remember.
***
Nearly all serious weightlifters follow a program during training.
A program is a long-term training plan, usually written by a lifter’s coach. It typically spans a full training cycle or a phase within the training cycle and consists of precise, detailed plans for every training day. It could look something like this:
Monday:
Muscle snatch 5(3)60%
Snatch 4(2)80%
Snatch pull 5(3)90%
Back Squat 5(4)75%
Each exercise should be done for a number of sets, each for a number of reps, at a specific working weight (written in kilograms or as a % of maximum). A lifter following this training plan would start each exercise at a lower weight to warm up, and would eventually get to the working weight for the assigned number of sets. Some coaches also write the exact warm-up weights and the sets the lifter should do.
Nearly all weightlifters use programs because they force them to do the exercises they don’t want to do and help plan the development of weaknesses and all-around progress. A well thought-out program addresses a lifter’s specific needs and pushes the lifter to their physical limit, forcing them to adapt and grow. If a lifter isn’t pushed close to their limit, they will not progress at the fastest rate. If the lifter is pushed beyond their limits, they will over-train or get injured.
So, how could a program be so precise that it got Tatiana to be the best in the world, but never pushed her to the point where she missed a single rep?
Coach Krasnov’s explanation was quite simple: We’re not machines that can be programmed. We are organisms. We change from day to day. We get sick. Sometimes we don’t get enough sleep. Our natural hormones change daily. Our moods change based on events in our lives.
When a lifter has a plan to lift 80% for 4 sets of 2 reps, the person who wrote the plan didn’t take into account exactly how the lifter feels, or how the warm-up weights were handled, or whether the lifter feels confident that they can lift the 80% with perfect technique on that particular day. Because we are not machines always ready for maximum effort, programming precisely for every set, rep and weight simply can’t be done. If a lifter adheres to a program to the tee, they will either not be pushed enough, miss lifts, overtrain or get injured.
Coach Krasnov writes a program for Tatiana for a week in advance, at most. The program includes the exercises she needs to perform with the number of sets and reps per exercise. The working weights are not included in the plan. A single training session may look like this:
Muscle snatch 4(3), 3(2)
Snatch 3(3), 2(2), 2(1)
Snatch pull 4(3), 3(2)
Back squat 5(5)
The complex exercises are written with multiple separate set(rep) next to them. This means that, for every complex exercise, Tatiana selects multiple working weights that she will perform for the given number of sets and reps.
Take the muscle snatch as an example:
Muscle snatch 4(3), 3(2)
After warming up, Tatiana works up to her first working weight, which is around 50-60% of her maximum. The focus of the first working weight sets is to:
- Perform every rep perfectly
- Fully warm up every muscle needed for the exercise
- Not getting fatigued from the 12 assigned reps
After Tatiana performs the 4 sets of 3 muscle snatches at this first working weight, she and her coach decide on the second working weight. Based on how Tatiana feels and what the coach sees, they select a weight that is near the heaviest Tatiana could lift (at this moment) with perfect technique for every rep of every set.
If during the first working weight Tatiana or her coach notice that something is out of place (for instance, the speed isn’t what it should be, or she feels sore or tired), they will select a lower working weight that they’re both confident she could lift with perfect technique for ever rep. If Tatiana or her coach feel that she shouldn’t continue with an exercise, she will either move on to the next exercise or end the training session completely. A few extra Kilos or reps are not worth injury, over-training or missing lifts.
***
After our seminar with Tatiana and Coach Krasnov, I wanted to try this style of programming on myself and my teammates. I was hesitant at first because I thought we wouldn’t push our limits if we didn’t have assigned heavy weights. It turns out, lifters who want to win will push themselves.
The results were better than expected. We had more reps devoted to technique. We were more warmed up for heavier weights. We still lifted heavy, but rarely missed. And rarely missing a lift is a great habit to have.
A plan should not be treated as dogma. A plan should be used as a guide that can be modified based on the reality of the day. Having a good coach or training partner who can help identify when and how the plan should be changed is essential.
thank you veru much for this article I found it interesting to read not just that I learned a very important aspect of olympic weightlifting training.
please do keep this good work up.
josanto
I feel that training with % is a privilege that only very few athletes have deserved. Cool site btw! Have only just discoved it but have alredy found some nuggets
I think the key thing about a planned training program is the guidance of the coach. I contend that very few athletes can reach their potential without the guidance of a knowledgeable and experienced coach of the highest quality. Just as not all athletes have the ability to reach the top, some (perhaps most?) coaches lack the talent to teach and lead their athletes to ultimate development in the sport. The ability of the coach to plan the training, and then to monitor and adjust it on a continuous basis is possibly the most critical element of athlete progress and success.
John, absolutely. A good coach has to have been developed, just like an athlete. A good coach has to have a lot of skills/attributes. A coach can be born with some of these skills, some can be studied, and some earned over time through experience. Knowing when and how to adjust the stress on the athlete, which is different for every individual athlete, is a skill that requires all of the above.
Yasha, coming from a background where every set and rep was planned for me and I didn’t miss for whole training cycles and made personal records as planned the flaw with only training as you feel that day is one cannot choose how they feel on the day of competition. One still must be able to perform at their highest level even when not 100%. And as my coach Naum Kelmensky taught me “Weightlifting only sport that doesn’t matter how you feel, you can still lift big weights!”
That’s great. That’s perfect planning. But you’d have to agree though, Naum is one of a kind.
A lifter wouldn’t train just based on how they feel. Everyone has goals, long term and short term. When looking ahead to a program that doesn’t have working weights, any weightlifter would mentally set goals for the heaviest lifts. The goals are set, but they are not set in stone. Tatiana and her coach train around the fact that they are always able to change the working weight to a more appropriate weight for the moment. Just because the ledger says 150kg doesn’t mean 145kg or 155kg would be worse weights to lift.
When i write programs i use a combination of giving working weights, and leaving it up to the lifter with the above-mentioned guidelines. For most of the classic lifts and variations, I tell them to select weight according to how they feel, and how the lighter weights look. If they look bad, pushing heavy weights won’t do them any good. When it’s time to go heavier on the classic lifts or strength lifts, then i assign specific numbers they have to hit. This pushes them past their comfort zone, and tests their abilities.
My athletes know it is how well they are moving the bar and with excellence in technique which is important. They know to decrease the load if planned weight is too much for them. And what you and John talk about is where the Art of Coaching comes into play.
Interesting, this is very much how the Chinese do their programming from what I’ve heard. Sets and reps are given, but the load is decided on how the lifter is feeling on that particular day.
Yasha,
Your latest article on training reminds me of a tidbit that Russ Knipp brought back from the 66 worlds where he talked to Rudy Plukfelder about the Russian training system ( I know that was a while ago). Plukfelder put a paper behind his back (which symbolized the Russian training system)and then pointed to his eyes, the platform and a lifter. He was gesturing that he comes into the gym, watches the lifter and determines what is to done on that day. I found your article most refreshing as they all are. Keep up the great work.
I have had some thoughts on this over the years:
I feel to be effective, this programming approach requires a coach who is as skilled at coaching as Tatiana is as an athlete. The coach’s understanding of periodization models for compensation and adaptation and the numbers to support them have to be so ingrained and subconscious that it not only becomes what they think, but actually how they think. To be even accurate on the micro level let alone effective on the macro level, they would need years of focused practice on one – or at most, a very few athletes. This is possible. Just as it is possible to become an athlete like Tatiana. But coaches should recognize the investment and talent required before implementing.
I also have noticed – this approach, when used by one coach with multiple lifters, also promotes an athlete’s dependence on the coach and leads to coaching burn out.
I’m still thinking about it. Probably will be for another 10 years.
Thanks Yasha. This is one of the best general articles on programming and its purpose I have ever seen. One of the biggest problems I’ve encountered in the CrossFit community is people who are trying to follow multiple programs at the same time which means while one is on a deload week the other may be at peak volume, intensity and weight. Of course you can imagine the huge problems this can cause. Anyway thanks for spreading the word. Scott
Great article……I have always said and believe work your weaknesses and when the frying pan is hot—-DO THE COOKING!! When it’s not go lighter.
Keep up the great work
Thanks for the kind words!
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