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