Reply With Quote“To press a lot, you must press a lot. “
Member
Anyone know any olymic programs from when the press was still a contested lift?
My linear progression will likely come to an end in a couple months, and when its complete I'd like to focus more on the olympic lifts. For the past few months now, I've been learning them from a qualified olympic coach. So far I've learned how to do full cleans and I already implement them in my program instead of power cleans. I've also done overhead squats in preparation for learning the snatch but I haven't progressed to snatches or jerks yet. Since it'll be quite a long time before I compete in weightlifting, if I ever do at all, I was thinking of doing a little programming experiment after I get the contested lifts down, just for the memes. I really like the old school lifters such as Rudolf Mang and Vasily Alexeev, from back in the era when the press was still part of weightlifting competition.
The press is my favourite lift overall, and I'm curious to see what the results of training it as if it were a contested lift would be. However, information on how people's programs were structured during the heyday of the press appears to be very limited. I have found an article by Bill Starr where he provides a few details about a program used by Sid Henry during the press-era (sid henry program - Bill Starr | strength training for sport), but unfortunately his description of it is somewhat vague. Other than that, I've essentially found nothing. After seeing descriptions of olympic programs and Starr-style progression schemes in Practical Programming and having read The Strongest Shall Survive several times over, I've toyed around with the idea of using a modified Starr routine. However, this may not be entirely representative of how press-era lifters actually trained. Does anybody know any old school programs where the press was trained as a contested lift? If not, how would I go about programming with this in mind? Are there any books from back in the day that I should read?
Member
“To press a lot, you must press a lot. “
Member
That's what I'd assume, in the hypothetical Bill Starr program I've laid out for myself I'd be pressing and push pressing mostly, and only benching once per week. My ultimate goal with the press is to do 100 kg for a triple. I weigh between 90 and 95 kg right now so it'd be a little over my bodyweight. My current best press for three reps is 60 kg with moderate layback. I told my coach about my plans to press old school style and he showed me the proper technique, he calls it a "dolphin press" for some reason. If I go with this program I've based off of SSS and Practical Programming I'd start out still doing the press from the rack at first, eventually moving on to a clean and press for reps. The program I'm considering would appear something like what is shown below. I already showed it to my coach and he told me it was reasonable.Originally Posted by RJPinAZ
Note: unless otherwise specified this routine would employ ramping sets, as advocated by Bill Starr in SSS
Day 1
Clean and Press, 5x5 or 5x3 (One clean, press for reps)
Clean High Pull, 5x5
Back Squat, 5x5
Day 2
Snatch, working up to local max (see page 295 of Practical Programming)
Bench, 5x5
Front Squat, 5x5
Day 3
Clean and Jerk, working up to local max
Push Press, 5x3
Front Squat, 5x5, 80% of Day 2
Member
Continue to train the primary lifts using intermediate programming and practice the Olympic lifts. Alternate the low bar squat with a front squat. Overhead squats are a waste of time. Just do your snatches and get the practice racking the bar properly.
A Comparison of Two Start Positions v1 | On the Platform - YouTube
✓ Member
Programming advice from Olympic gold medalist Norbert Schemansky:
“. . . if you want to improve your press – PRESS!”
Norbert Schemansky | Marty Gallagher
Member
Thanks for linking that article. Great read.
Member
Overhead squats aren't a part of my normal programming, I only do them when I go to my coach after doing technique work for cleans. They'll be phased out as soon as I can do at least a power snatch.
Starting Strength Coach
I think you're really jumping the gun here. It would be best if you took the time to finish your LP first. If you truly plan to compete in Olympic lifting, you need to prioritize strength training first. Get your squat, deadlift, press, and bench press up as high as possible on your novice LP, and start training your power clean and power snatch first.
Right now, you don't need a specialized pressing program. Why would you need to copy someone's training program from the 1950s if your press and bench press are both still going up 2.5 to 5lbs a workout?
Member
That's more or less what I'm focusing on right now anyway, my linear progression is going quite well and I've implemented measures to prolong it as much as possible (see Practical Programming again). I'll have a 180 kg deadlift and a 140 kg squat in fairly short order (currently handling 155 kg and 127.5 kg, respectively), and I'm also pressing 60 kg for reps. Deadlifts are still going up by 5 kg increases too, and with good form. Another immediate focus right now is dialing my clean technique in; it's looking better in the pull but I'm still having a bit of trouble with racking the bar a bit late. I have however progressed to doing full cleans (though sometimes in my sets I do one power clean and two fulls), and my coach has prescribed block cleans as an assistance exercise as well. I'd only do the old school olympic thing once I have a bit of intermediate programming under my belt and my snatch and c&j technique is solid. I just wanted to know if anyone knew any routines from the press era so I could see what those guys were doing if I want to train the press as they did back in the olden days.
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