Specialisation vs. The Jack Of All Trades: Which One Is Better?

I see many athletes attempting to juggle between being really good at 2 sports (and sometimes even more). This raises the question: is it better to train for many sports, or should an athlete specialize in one? 

In my opinion, an athlete should be doing a bit of both. I certainly believe that if an athlete wants to become world class at any sport, they NEED to specialize to a large degree. There are athletes out there who train day-in and day-out, working their ass off and dedicating all their time to a single sport. And in order to beat this kind of competition, you will need to do the same. 

In saying this, I think all athletes should be pretty good at operating physically. What do I mean by this? Well, all athletes should be good at moving their body in a way non-specific to their sport. A good example of this is a powerlifter. A powerlifter will not see any noticeable gain from doing an hour of cardio a week. Plus, cardio is pretty non-specific to powerlifting. However, in my opinion, if you are an athlete, you should be able to move like one. So even if cardio isn't specific to the sport of powerlifting, I would get powerlifters to perform cardio pretty consistently, just so they move and feel like an athlete.

Similarly, I would always tell a soccer player to lift weights and perform mobility on a consistent basis. Although these things are not specific to the sport of soccer, they contribute to some extent, even if that extent is very minor.

So if you get one thing out of this post, it is that you should aim to master your sport, and you should aim to get pretty good at the trades which benefit your sport, even if they benefit your sport to only a small extent. Of course, these recommendations are only if you want to be word-class at your sport. This is also the reason I tell more amateur athletes to play a variety of sports instead of specializing early into their career. When one is so new to training, they will receive benefits to their sport just by playing other sports and doing other physical training!

~ Prem

A Simple Powerlifting Program

Powerlifting programs these days are butchered. In the name of novelty, coaches try creating new, unique programs in order to appeal to a newbie audience, and end up making a shitty program that is suboptimal and not worth a penny.

In order to combat this, I have decided to provide a free powerlifting progression for intermediate/beginner athletes. If you are an advanced athlete, please do not waste your time on this progression and find a coach online (possibly me, or someone else) to train you individually. 

Here is the basic progression (all percentages are in terms of 1RM for that lift):

 

Week	Secondary Bench Press	Primary Bench Press	Bench Press Variation	Primary Squat	Squat Variation	Primary Deadlift	Deadlift Variation
Week 1	4 x 3 RIR @ 61%	4 x 3 RIR @ 63%	4 x 10 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 60%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 60%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR
Weeks 2	4 x 3 RIR @ 65%	4 x 3 RIR @ 67%	4 x 10 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 65%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 65%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR
Week 3	4 x 3 RIR @ 69%	4 x 3 RIR @ 71%	4 x 10 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 70%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 70%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR
Week 4	4 x 3 RIR @ 73%	4 x 3 RIR @ 75%	4 x 10 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 75%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR	4 x 3 RIR @ 75%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR
Week 5	Ramp to single @ 81% 3 x 2 RIR @ 71%	Ramp to single @ 83% 3 x 2 RIR @ 73%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 83% 3 x 2 RIR @ 73%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 83% 3 x 2 RIR @ 73%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR
Week 6	Ramp to single @ 84% 3 x 2 RIR @ 74%	Ramp to single @ 86% 3 x 2 RIR @ 76%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 86% 3 x 2 RIR @ 76%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 86% 3 x 2 RIR @ 76%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR
Week 7	Ramp to single @ 87% 3 x 2 RIR @ 77%	Ramp to single @ 89% 3 x 2 RIR @ 79%	4 x 8 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 89% 3 x 2 RIR @ 79%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 89% 3 x 2 RIR @ 79%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR
Week 8	Ramp to single @ 90% 3 x 2 RIR @ 80%	Ramp to single @ 92% 3 x 2 RIR @ 82%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 92% 3 x 2 RIR @ 82%	4 x 4 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 92% 3 x 2 RIR @ 82%	4 x 4 @ 2 RIR
Week 9	Ramp to single @ 93% 3 x 2 RIR @ 83%	Ramp to single @ 95% 3 x 2 RIR @ 85%	4 x 6 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 95% 3 x 2 RIR @ 85%	4 x 4 @ 2 RIR	Ramp to single @ 95% 3 x 2 RIR @ 85%	4 x 4 @ 2 RIR

Week 10	3 x 3 @ 65% for active recovery	Max out	-	Max out	-	Max out	-

Let me go through this.

We start each cycle at around 60% of our 1RM. We start the cycle with 4 weeks of 'hypertrophy'/high rep range work. Then the last 6 weeks are composed of strength work. Week 10 is a max out week. RIR means reps in reserve, and I use RIR instead of RPE when it comes to powerlifting programming where reps are more consistent and concrete. Weeks 1-4 use straight sets, whereas weeks 5-10 use top set and back downs.

The secondary bench press variation should be either a larsen press, a 3 count paused bench, or a spoto press. 3 count paused bench works for people who suck at pausing. Spoto press works for lifters who sink in their bench press, whereas larsen press is a great developmental tool that I think can work for everyone.

The secondary squat for most people would be either the front squat or the SSB squat, taken to full depth. Even if you are primarily a low bar squatter, doing deeper range of motion squats goes very far in building strength through relevant ranges of motion. The secondary deadlift should either be an RDL or a stiff legged deadlift if you are a conventional puller. I like using RDLs to teach people how to hip hinge correctly, but I often get all lifter to graduate to using SLDLs since the deadstop is more relevant to the conventional deadlift. If you are a sumo deadlift, I would either SLDL or conventional deadlift as my secondary variation.

Keep in mind that during weeks 8-10 inclusive, accessory work should slowly taper. Ideally, you should not be doing too much accessory volume on week 9. Week 10 should have very little accessories, or no  accessories at all. Week 10 is the peak week as well. When you maxout on this week, make sure you secure the PR! What this means is that your first PR should be just slightly above your old PR. For example, if I lift in a gym that has 1.25kg plates, my first PR attempt should be 2.5kgs above my last pr attempt. When I hit this lift, I can then add more weight to try get even heavier PRs.

If you like this program and enjoy these posts, please consider buying me a coffee!

~ Prem

Starting Strongman

Strongman is a good strength sport. To some degree, it is a combination of both weightlifting and powerlifting, but adds on an aspect of brute/dummy strength (as Alec Enkiri puts it) into competition. Here is a quick and easy guide on how to get started training strongman.

Before you start

I would gain at least 1 year of solid general strength training experience before I start specializing in any strength sport. This applies for powerlifting, weightlifting and strongman equally. In order to really gain the benefits of strongman movements and optimise technique, you need 1-2 years of just learning how to lift weights, dialing in your diet and prioritising sleep. Visit this page for a list of my free programs. 

Structuring the training week

You will need access to strongman equipment for strongman training. If you train in a strongman gym, this is no problem. However, if you train at a home gym or a commercial gym, you may not have access to this equipment. So for you, I would recommend one day a week where you go into a strongman gym and use the equipment for event work. The rest of the days you train at a commercial gym.

Train 4-5 times a day. If you are only doing events on a single day, then train 5 days a week with 4 days at a regular gym and one day of events. If you have access to strongman equipment everyday, you can train 4 days a week. An upper-lower type split can never go wrong. 

Example schedule:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Friday	Saturday
Event day	Presses and upper body	Squats, deadlifts and lower body	Presses and upper body	Squats, deadlifts and lower body

Adding movements

The core movements for strongman are as follows:

• Squats (both front squats and high bar back squats), 2x a week
• Deadlifts (conventional), 1x a week with a variation 1x a week
• Overhead Press, 2x a week
• Push Press, 1x a week
• Log Press/Viper Press, 1x a week
• High Pulls, 2x a week
• Farmer's Walks/Yoke Walk, alternate between these every other week
• Stone Load, 1-2x a week
• Sandbag Load, 1-2x a week

These movements should ALWAYS be in a strongman program, year round. Some other secondary strongman movements that may need to be trained based on competition events include:

• Power Throws
• Heavy holds of various grips
• Tire Flips
• Sled Drags/Pushes

Periodization

For periodising strongman training, I like having 3 phases:

Phase 0: This is your base strength program. It involves the basic movements like squats, deadlifts, some bench press and overhead presses, as well as strongman movements that you really suck at. This is what you will run when you are not preparing for a strongman competition.

Phase 1: You start this phase when you begin training for a strongman competition. You start workouts with regular strength work, and you do your specific events for strongman at the end. The goal here with the strongman events is to work with light weights but build good technique and mechanical efficiency. This phase should last about 4 weeks. Keep in mind that the events you train should be the events that you compete in at your upcoming competition!

Phase 2: As you get closer to your competition, swap the strongman events to be at the front of your workouts. That way you can now build strength on those movements. Scale down the volume on accessories as you get closer to the competition. 

So that's a quick introduction to strongman training! I may upload a strongman program in the future.

~ Prem

How to train twice a day

Two a day training is good. Good for who? Good for athletes. Good for people who really enjoy training. Good for people who like fitness. Not good for extremely busy people, but most people are not extremely busy. 

Why 2 workouts a day? For athletes, it undoubtedly leads to better progress given proper programming. Athletes should train their sport, but they should also train weights, and sometimes track. But limiting training for only once a day makes this nearly impossible. Two-a-days allow athletes to develop more wholistically. But the reality is that the the professional level, most athletes already train 2x a day, so this isn't really too surprising.

Two a days could be good for average trainees as well. Often trainees skip cardio after hitting a long workout with weights. A simple way to fix this is to do weights in the morning, then go to work, and then do cardio after. Or swap the order based on your schedule. The reality is most people are not that busy that they can't implement some extra cardio to add 10 years to their life (not a scientific claim, but has considerable weight). Lifting weights is good. Cardio is good. So why not do them both in the same program? Of course, this can and will impact your performance in both endeavors, but average trainees should not be hyper obsessed with their performance anyways. 

Here's some tips for training twice a day:

1. A quick power nap of 30mins can help with recovery between sessions. But do not nap for over an hour. This will impact your circadian rhythm
2. Make sure you stay hydrated. 1mL of water per calorie expended is a good general guideline per day.
3. Do your two a day workouts on weekends, since this will limit stress and slightly improve recovery
4. Make sure you actually recover. Do not do anything too intense between your two workouts, if you want to optimize performance
5. Salt your food. Sweating reduces electrolytes, and adding salt to your food can replace these electrolytes for a cheap cost

~ Prem

I Disagree With Minimalist Training

Minimalist style training just doesn't work.

I often hear Youtube coaches claim that athletes should only do 3-4 exercises per session in order to increase the quality of work on those 3-4 motions. Others claim that athletes who spend more than X hours in the gym are wasting their time, and some say doing more than Y exercises means the athletes are not training hard. I disagree with this minimalist training philosophy.

Firstly, I understand what coaches mean when they say doing less exercises is more. And to some extent, I agree. I see people spending 3 hrs in the gym and think, wow, that is pretty unnecessary. However, I disagree with the claim that doing a handful (4-5) exercises per session is really optimal for most people. This is because training in such a way does not allow for enough accessory volume in the program, which both decreases the athlete's rate of progress and leaves athletes more susceptible to injuries. In the pursuit of quick and easy minimalist workouts, coaches often exclude calf work, arm work and various accessories. This is incredibly detrimental, as this type of work is still extremely important in an athlete's full development.

Secondly, I disagree with the idea that having more exercises in your workout means you are not training hard. This is false since the amount of stimulus provided by a lift does not scale linearly. For example, if an athlete is doing a big compound lift like a squat or snatch, then they will allocate more energy and mental resources into that lift. However, if they are doing an accessory like calf raises or leg curls, they can get an adequate stimulus without busting their ass off like they did on the squats or snatches. Therefore, an athlete can still train hard when they are on exercise 6 or 7 in a 2hr long session!

Also, skipping out on additional work just hinders progress. I have trained many blocks where my bench press would not go up simply because I was not doing enough chest work. And I have had periods of poor sprinting performance because I wasn't training my plyos and my calves as well as they should have been trained. Plus, almost all of the greatest strength athletes of all time have built their bases doing tons of hypertrophy work for large volumes and lighter weights. Bigger muscles = stronger muscles. So why would you sacrifice on bigger muscles in the name of 'minimalism'?

Minimalist workouts should only be used by those who are on a huge time crunch, or those who are trying to dissipate fatigue during something like a deload week. Apart from this minority, I usually advise that all trainees can do up to 7 exercises per session. This varies on a case by case basis, but this number of motions is what I have found to be productive and possible for most. Your workouts really shouldn't take more than 2 hrs even with these exercises, since the last few accessory exercises should be done in a quick manner. But if you train for something like strongman or weightlifting, later-block workouts can take up to 2.5hrs. Anything more than this is likely overkill. 

~ Prem

Training For The Megatotal (Part 2)

After some review, this is part 2 of the Megatotal training program series!

For those unaware, the Megatotal is a training program that aims to maximise performance in Strongman, Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting. How is this any different to a general strength program? Well, this program involves peaking for all the major lifts, possibly prior to competition. That's basically it. You could say this program is very similar to a general strength program, and I think that's a good thing. This program is more for strength athletes at the start of their careers who do not want to specialise, or people like me who enjoy competing in all 3 major strength sports.

So let's get into the program. I made some changes from the last post as far as structuring workouts is concerned. Although I do think that the recommendations on that post are solid, I added some changes that makes it even better. Let's go through each day.

Here's every workout of the week:

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3 (followed by rest day)	Day 4	Day 5 (followed by rest day)
Full Snatch	Seated Calf Raise	Bench Press	Unloaded Hurdle Jumps/Depth Jumps	Standing Calf Raise
Full Clean & Jerk	Weighted Situp	Strict OHP	Full Snatch	Hanging Leg Raise
Bench Press	Snatch Balance	Farmer's Walk/Yoke Walk (alternate every week)	Strict OHP	Full Clean & Jerk
Log Press/Push Press/Seated OHP	Hang Clean (Knee) + Jerk	Atlas Stone Load	Larsen Press	Loaded Hinge
Weighted Chinup/Pullup	High Bar Squat	Barbell Row	Weighted Chinup/Pullup	Front Squat
DB Bench Press	SLDL	Weighted Dip	Strict Curl	Conventional Deadlift
Seal Row	Walking Lunge	Lat Pulldown	Skullcrusher	Back Extensions
Tricep Pressdown	Seated Leg Curl	Lu Raise	Facepull	Hip Adduction

So, let's run through each day.

Day 1: We start with the full version of the olympic lifts. This is a lighter session for the olympic lifts. Then we move onto our secondary bench press work. Then we do some vertical press for strongman. Preferably this is a log press or a push press, or you can add some seated strict overhead press work as well. Then we finish off the session with some accessories. The DB bench press should be paused in the bottom position, and you should use a neutral grip on the dumbbells for max range of motion. These workouts seem really long in length (8 motions each), but in reality the accessory exercises at the end of the sessions shouldn't really take too long. You shouldn't be resting too long, and you should instead aim to train like a bodybuilder and just pack on muscle.

Day 2: I start all lower body days with calf raises and some core work (in this case, the weighted situp). I do one set of core and calves before olympic lifts, two sets of calves and a set of core before squats, and then a set of core before deadlifts. This day also has variations of the olympic lifts which allows you to focus on technical issues. Then we do ATG high bar squats, then SLDLs as a deadlift variation. Then we end with a unilateral quad accessory and a leg curl variation.

Day 3: This day is right after the lower body session on Day 2, and so this session is mostly upper body. I also added all the core strongman lifts (loaded carriess and heavy loads) onto this day. The reason I add strongman on this day is simply because there is no room on the other days, and I can't do the strongman lifts on Day 1 or 4 since it will really affect olympic lifting performance. This day is the main bench pressing day, with secondary strict OHPs. The accessories for today are barbell rows, dips, lat pulldowns, and lu raises.

Day 4: We start off this day with approach hurdle jumps to depth jumps. I added jumps to this program for 2 reasons: it provides an explosive novel stimulus which could be valuable to strongman, and also because I believe jumps can genuinly develop triple extension for weightlifting. Also, who doesn't want to jump high? If you don't want to do the jumps, you can replace them with some accessories, but I personally don't want to be a fat slob. Then we hit the full snatch. This day only has heavy snatches which allows the athlete to dedicate all their energy onto this one lift. Then we hit heavy OHPs and a bench press variation (in this case, pause larsen presses), and then we finish up with accessories.

Day 5: The same rules apply here concerning calf and abs work before olympic lifts, squats and deadlifts. We also do heavy clean and jerks on this day. Then we do front squats as a secondary squat variation, and then we do our primary deadlifts. 'Loaded Hinges' are loaded exercises involving a hip hinge. This is a broad category, and can include heavy kettlebell swings, loaded jumps or power throws. Then we finish the day with back extensions for the hamstrings and hip adductions for the adductors, which in my opinion are a totally underrated muscle that many athletes forget to train.

So there's the weekly schedule. In the next post, I will go over the periodisation!

~ Prem

A Proper Full-Body Warmup

Creating a warm-up is not rocket science, although some make it out to be. Since many of my workouts are 'full body' sessions (I snatch and bench press on the same day), I have created a full body warmup that I think can work for basically everyone. Here it is:

Light Cardio (Reverse Incline Treadmill/Reverse Bike): 5-10 mins

Increases core body temperature to loosen stiff joins and break a sweat. I find that wearing a hoodie during the colder months or in the morning also helps me break a sweat before lifting.

Couch Stretch: 30-60 secs/leg

Good warmup for the hip flexors. I have talked about tight hip flexors before; a problem that occurs due to too much sitting, which places the flexors in a constant shortened position. Stretching them before lifting fixes this problem temporarily to get you through your workout.

T Spine Foam Rolling: 2 mins total

I lay on a bench with a foam rolling on my back and roll it across my lower and upper spine. I keep the roller on a vertebrate on my spine, and then flex and extend my abs for a couple of reps. Then I move up to the next vertebrate, and do the same thing. Good spinal mobility.

Back Extension: Add slight weight for 1 set of 15-20 reps

I like to hold onto a light plate whilst I warmup my posterior chain with full range of motion back extensions, really emphasize that hamstring stretch.

Band Facepulls: As many sets required, 15-20 reps per set

Every time I have had a nagging shoulder issue during squats or presses, doing a quick set of band facepulls and external rotations does the trick. Adding these as a warmup and even between sets of squats and/or presses will go a long way in building up rotator cuff strength which will promote longevity, given the rotator cuffs are a very common problem area.

Weighted Side Plank: 2 x 30 secs/side

I like side planks as a warmup since they help me feel my core and help me practice bracing my core. I like adding weight via a dumbbell on my hip. Other bracing drills like dead bugs or the McGill Big 3 can work here as well, but I like the loading component here.

3rd World Squat: 2 mins

Zack Telander made a great video on squat mobility. Essentially, mobility for the back squat is as simple as sitting in a deep squat position every day for 5 minutes total. One should aim to stay in this position unsupported (ie. do not hold onto a support) and at full depth (hips below the knees) for all 5 minutes. As a warmup, I like wiggling around in this bottom position and adding some kang squats at the end. I do 2 minutes during my warmup, and then do the other 3 minutes before I go to bed.

This is a great warmup I have used for the large bulk of my training, composed of movements that I genuinely think make a difference. This shouldn't take more than 15 mins total, and you should be ready for any strength training in your way.

~Prem

Quick Tip: Justify Adjustments

When you change your training program, imagine that you have to justify the changes to a five year old. Could you do that? One of my clients once asked me if he could add in some additional exercises at the end of his strength training session. I asked him why. He couldn't provide a sound response, let alone explain it simply to a five year old. Instead, adding on that additional work would've wasted his time since by that point in the workout, he was mentally fried and fatigued. If anything, it would've hurt his recovery a bit more.

I always tell people to do less. You can never go wrong doing less. Just do the basics. This is a point that I continuously beat to death, and I'm sure you've heard me say it in other posts. The basics are the best. Instead of hyper-obsessing on exercise selection, use that time to get in some sleep and train hard. Train consistently. Eat intelligently. The best athletes in every sport got to where they are because they mastered the basics of their sport. If you're a sprinter, master sprinting. Master plyometrics, and master squats, power cleans, and RDLs. If you're a climber, master boulders, master pullups, and master campus boards. Only make changes to the basics IF you can justify those changes!

~Prem

AKWARD MOMENT: I'm back on Blogger!

So this is a funny story. I transitioned from Blogger to Wordpress for some time in order to see how the Wordpress.com platform actually worked. And my conclusion is that the free version of Wordpress.com is utter garbage compared to the free version of Blogger. I can't edit themes, I can't add HTML code, I can't remove the stupid watermark message on the site, I can't integrate with google analytics, and the site design is just trash. Also, I later realised that SEO is actually slightly better with Blogger. Blogger is a simple platform which allows easy customization and provides a better free version compared to Wordpress. I understand that Blogger is losing popularity, and that is why I am in the process of making a company website self hosted using Wordpress.org. But while that happens, I will still post on this blog since it is just easier for me to log on, write a quick post, and get back to what I'm doing.

~Prem

Simple Programming For Olympic Weightlifting + Beginner Weightlifting Program

I find it really hard to find a decent weightlifting program on the internet these days. The best sources for weightlifting information in my opinion is Catalyst Athletics, Travis Mash and the boys at Sika Strength. However, all of these creators require payment for their content, so I thought I'd make a post on how to program for weightlifting.

I am assuming the following:

• You are NOT a competitive weightlifter: If you dedicate all your time into weightlifting, this program is simply not enough work for you to get better at the higher competitive levels. This program is more for beginners and maybe intermediates.
• You are doing additional hypertrophy/strength work: This program is only for the olympic lifts. Things like squats and pulls should be added at the end of these sessions, as well as some bodybuilding exercises.

So let's get into it! Frequency wise, you should be doing the full snatch and the full clean and jerk at least twice a week. In addition, you should be doing at least 1 close variation of each lift to work on a technical deficiency. If you're second pull is trash, you may do some low hang work or some block work. If you're overhead position sucks, you may do some snatch balances and pause overhead squats. 

Secondly, the progression. This progression is linear. You start in the first weeks doing 3 rep sets, then progress into 2 rep sets, and then into singles. Doing more than 3 reps will lead to too much technical breakdown. As the weeks progress, you will ramp up to heavier weights, and use more weights during your backoff/working sets.

The week is divided into 4 sessions. 1 session just for the full snatch, 1 for the full clean, 1 for the full snatch and full clean, and 1 for variations. 

There are 3 ways you can program sets/reps:

1. Top set-backoffs: You ramp up to a heavy set, -10-15% of the heavy lift and do some easier backoff sets for technique work
2. Pyramid Ramp up: You do a few working sets with some light weight, then ramp up to a heavy weight to end off that lift
3. Straight sets: You do multiple sets with the same weight

I like all of these sets/reps programming methods, and so have included all of these in this program. They each provide unique and novel stimulus and are very useful in both developing resilience at heavier weights and developing technical proficiency.

Here's the Creature 3-2-1 program (named due to the linear periodization):

Week	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3 (followd by rest day	Day 4	Day 4 (followed by rest day)
Week 1	Snatch: 5 sets of 3 @ 70% Snatch Pull: 4 x 4 @ 105% Push Press: 4 x 5 @ challenging weight	Clean & Jerk: 5 x 3 @ 70% High Bar Back Squat: 5 x 5 @ 2 RIR Clean Pull: 4 x 4 @ 110%	Power Snatch + Snatch: 2 sets @ 65%, 2 sets @ 70%, 2 sets @ 75%	Full Clean And Jerk: 50% x 3, 60% x 3, 70% x 3 x 3, then ramp to a 3RM	Day 4 (followed by rest day)
Week 2	Full Snatch: Ramp up to 5 heavy sets of 2 reps, 2-3 RIR Full Clean And Jerk: Ramp up to 5 heavy sets of 2 reps, 2-3 RIR	Snatch Balance: Ramp to a top set of 2 reps, -10% for 4 x 2 Clean Pull + Hang Clean Below Knee + Jerk: Ramp up to 5 heavy sets of 2 reps, -10% for 4 x 2	Full Snatch: 55% x 2, 65% x 2, 75% x 4 x 2, then ramp to a 2RM	Full Clean And Jerk: 55% x 2, 65% x 2, 75% x 4 x 2, then ramp to a 2RM	Day 4 (followed by rest day)
Week 3	Full Snatch: 70% x 3, 75% x2, 80% x 1, 75% x2, 80% x 2, 85% x1, then max out (allowed 1 miss) Full Clean And Jerk: 70% x 3, 75% x2, 80% x 1, 75% x2, 80% x 2, 85% x1, then max out (allowed 1 miss)	Snatch Balance: Ramp to a top set of 1 rep, -10% for 5 singles Clean Pull + Hang Clean Below Knee + Jerk: Ramp to a top set of 1 rep, -10% for 5 singles	Full Snatch: 75% x2, 80% x 2, 85% x1, then ramp to a 1RM (allowed 2 misses)	Full Clean And Jerk: 75% x2, 80% x 2, 85% x1, then ramp to a 1RM (allowed 2 misses)	Day 4 (followed by rest day)
Week 4: Test	Full Snatch: Ramp to opener Full Clean And Jerk: Ramp to opener	Full Snatch: Ramp to last warmup Full Clean And Jerk: Ramp to last warmup	Snatch Max	Clean And Jerk Max	Day 4 (followed by rest day)

A few tips when running this program. Firstly, squat 2x a week, with one front squat and one back squat session. Press overhead 3x a week. I like 1x a week push presses, and 2x a week strict presses. Do some work for the core and calves before olympic lifts. Do pulls 2x a week at the end of sessions. Do some work for the triceps, upper back, chest and side delts. Back extensions and leg curls are also great. Do split squats for the quads as well.

When maxing out at the end of the program, end the session if you cannot get the lift done within 3 attempts. That is how it is done on competition days. I do the maxout for the snatch and clean on different days to ensure optimal (or close to optimal) performance. You can max out the back squat on the clean and jerk maxout day. 

This program works best for beginners. If you are an intermediate, the frequency of the lifts here will be too low. If you are advanced, I would ask you to firstly get a coach. If you cannot get a coach and want to use this program, I would add at least 2 more training days.

Keep in mind the variations here are only examples. For example, if you struggle with the jerk, you can swap out the hang cleans for block/rack jerks. Adjust for your personal weaknesses. However, I would still do the full lifts 2x a week. A nice, simple program guaranteed gains!

~Prem

Training For The Megatotal (Part 1)

 Part 1: What is the Megatotal?

The Megatotal is an extension of the Supertotal. What is the Supertotal? The Supertotal is the combination of training for Olympic Weightlifting AND Powerlifting at the same time, in order to maximise results in the snatch, clean and jerk, squat, bench press and deadlift. The Megatotal is the Supertotal plus strongman; basically the jack of all strength sports! I personally train for the Megatotal and I believe it is morally superior, so I'm writing this series to show you how you too can train for the Megatotal.

In this Part 1, I want to explain how we can increase each of the individual lifts.

Firstly, the olympic lifts. Both the snatch and the clean & jerk are going to be trained 2x a week each. Going above this number will not leave any room for any other assistance work. Also, doing the lifts 3 or more times a week each is reserved more for those training solely for weightlifting. Doing them 2x a week can still ensure progress. Going any less than this will only maintain strength, not develop it. For the first weeks of the program, we full full snatch and full clean and jerk only once a week, with the other 2 times reserved for variations to work on technique.

Secondly, the powerlifts. The bench press is trained 3x a week. Going any less than this will only maintain strength for most people, and going over this is simply too much, and many top powerlifters only bench 3x a week. We will squat heavy 2x a week. Weightlifter squat more frequently, but their squats are VERY low intensity. Since we are squatting to increase the squat, we will train it heavy only 2x a week. One day we will do high bar deep squats, and the other day we will do a variation (front squat mostly, maybe SSB squat). We deadlift once a week with our competition variation (sumo or conventional off the floor). We do a much lighter deadlift variation on another day (mostly RDLs and SLDLs).

Thirdly, strongman. Strongman doesn't have any standardized lifts. But, in my opinion, there are a couple key strongman lifts that are fundamental skills every strongman should have. In this program, we have 1 slot for push presses/log presses, 1 slot for loaded carries (mostly farmer's walks and yoke walks, maybe sled drags), and 1 slot for heavy loads (stone, sandbag or keg). I also keep a slot for 'loaded hinges', which include movements where the hip hinge pattern is being loaded in an explosive matter. Think loaded jumps, heavy kettlebell swings and power throws.

Finally, accessory work. We still have room for some accessory work in this program, but we must be VERY METICULOUS in which exercises we choose and why.

So, here is a very basic template of the Megatotal program. I will add tons of more info on my subsequent posts:

Day 1	Day 2 (followed by rest day)	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5 (followed by rest day)
Hang Snatch (Knee)	Power Throw	Snatch	Standing Calf Raise	Bench Press
Overhead Press	Hang Clean (Knee) + Push Press	Bench Press	Clean & Jerk	Dumbbell Bench Press
Larsen Press	Front Squat	High Incline Press	High Bar Squat	Farmer's Walk
Weighted Chin-up	Conventional Deadlift	Lat Pulldown	Sandbag To Shoulder	Barbell Row
Skullcrusher	Hanging Leg Raise	Weighted Dip	Weighted Sit-up	Tricep Pressdown
Lu Raise	Seated Leg Curl	Facepull	RDL	Barbell Curl

~ Prem