Bulgarian weightlifting pdf

The program can be run as a 4 week or 8…. Selecting attempts for an upcoming powerlifting meet is one of the most important parts of meet preparation. Luckily, this calculator hosted on Google Sheets makes attempt selection a breeze. You can then print out the sheet or keep it on your phone for meet day. Kyle Risley founded Lift Vault in to make finding great powerlifting programs easier. Since then, the site has grown to include hundreds of programs for strength, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and more.

He currently lives in Massachusetts and continues to compete in powerlifting. There are multiple spreadsheets contained here. Starting Strength Routine Program Spreadsheet One of the most popular novice lifting programs, Starting Strength is a textbook literally strength program for beginner lifters to rapidly develop proficiency with basic compound movements and get stronger.

Brandon Lilly's Cube Method Program Spreadsheet Brandon Lilly, one of the greatest powerlifters raw and geared still competing, published the Cube Method "out of my absolute frustration with my training, myself, and the sport of powerlifting. Texas Method Program Tips and Spreadsheet Template Texas Method Routine Overview The Texas Method is a strength program that focuses on training 3 days a week and hitting a new PR each week, making it ideal for intermediate lifters that can still progress on a weekly basis.

Korte 3x3 Spreadsheet Developed by Stephan Korte, the 3x3 program is a two-phased powerlifting program: one high volume, one heavy weight. Powerlifting Attempt Calculator Spreadsheet Selecting attempts for an upcoming powerlifting meet is one of the most important parts of meet preparation. In powerlifting circles, this is known as greasing the groove. By training the squat every day, you'll begin to master the mechanics of the lift much faster. Specificity of training is extremely important when designing a strength training program.

Essentially, if you want a bigger bench, then you need to bench more. In that sense, the Bulgarian method is ultra specific because you're focusing all your attention on lifts. There is very little extraneous accessory work, therefore you get more quality practise on the big compounds. Research has shown that the 1st set of any exercise produces the largest amount of benefit.

So you can only perform sets before an exercise does more harm than good. That's why 3 sets are the golden standard when it comes to weight training. Bulgarian training is efficient because you're limited to single sets spread out over the week. So you get the maximum strength benefit from sets without the additional fatigue. Training a movement pattern days per week is the fastest way to get proficient at it. If your form breaks down under the heavy singles, then you'll slowly begin to ingrain poor habits.

This is why I don't recommend the Bulgarian method unless you have a decent amount of experience under the bar. A simple tip is to record your sets and look out for any areas of improvement. For example, on the squat, you'll want a rear view, side view, and front view. This helps you gauge if you're hitting parallel and whether your torso is remaining vertical. There's no denying that high intensity training is hard on the body. And depending on your job outside of lifting, this can make or break you.

If you have a physical job, then recovery will be much more difficult to manage versus if you have a desk job. High percentages of your one rep max are very taxing on the central nervous system CNS.

Couple this with high frequency and you have a recipe for disaster if your recovery isn't perfect. You need to be willing to push through the physical lethargy, demotivation, and sore joints. Are you one of those guys who struggle to stick to one program for 12 weeks? If you said yes to both of the above, then stay away from Bulgarian training. There is very little exercise variety and you're pretty much repeating the same workout days per week.

Because you're in the gym days per week, accessory work needs to be kept to an absolute minimum. It's good because you can dedicate more time to the big compounds If your goal is to build a great physique then you'll be limited by the lack of isolation work. Let's face it, not many people have the time to train days per week.

If you have a job, kids, and other side hobbies besides lifting then the Bulgarian method can be a huge time sink. You also need to consider the fact that you have to commute to the gym every day. Now that you're aware of the pros and cons of the Bulgarian method, I'm going to cover 5 cool tips that will help you get the most out of your training.

Bulgarian training requires you to max out with very heavy percentages. But this doesn't mean that you should use your true max. It's much more efficient to leave a bit in the tank.

If you need to psych yourself up with death metal and monster energy drinks then you're doing it wrong. Before attempting the lift, you should be confident that you'll be able to get it without grinding. By keeping good form, you'll ingrain the right motor patterns and become more efficient at the lift.

Your bar speed is one of the best indicators of how close you are to your true max. The force-velocity relationship of weights describes how heavier loads produce maximum force and minimum speed the opposite is true for lighter weights.

So if you feel like your bar speed was extremely slow or you had to grind the weight up, then the weight was too heavy. On the other hand, if your bar speed is fast then you can be confident that you're capable of lifting more the next session. If the weight is heavy enough, the bar won't feel like it's moving fast. That's why I recommend filming sets so that you have visual feedback. As with any good strength training program, you need to increase your volume over time. Doing this is rather tricky with Bulgarian training because you're restricted to main exercises per session.

That's why I recommend doing the minimum effective dose until you plateau stick to exercises. Once you've stalled, you can start adding in back off sets after your main sets:.

After you've plateaued doing that, you can start adding in accessory work such as Romanian deadlifts and good mornings to compliment the main lifts. That's why I recommend using auto-regulation to dictate your workouts. An easy way to incorporate auto-regulation is to have a daily minimum weight that you're confident you can get under any circumstances. You can use this weight to gauge how your performance is on the given day. If the weight moves very slowly and you generally feel beaten up, then it's perfectly fine to stop the session and live to fight another day.

It's also helpful to use an RPE rate of perceived exertion scale on your main sets. Very hard 1 rep in tank. Difficult a few reps spare. On a scale of , a 1 is super easy and a 10 is an all out grinder nothing left in the tank. So don't add in 5 accessory exercises at the end of your max sets for the sake of it. Before I answer, let me give you a brief overview of conjugate periodization and how it compares to Bulgarian training.

Conjugate periodization also known as concurrent was popularised by Louie Simmons from Westside Barbell- a gym that has produced many record holding powerlifters. With conjugate periodization, you maintain volume and intensity over the yearly training cycle. You have an intensity and volume workout in the same week and rotate exercises every weeks to avoid the biological law of accommodation plateaus. Accessory work is very high and is geared towards eliminating weaknesses on the big compound lifts.

In my book, Size, Symmetry, Strength the program has you training fullbody 2x per week. If your goal is to gain strength as fast as possible on 1 or 2 lifts, then Bulgarian training is definitely the way to go. However, in my opinion, conjugate periodization is superior for general strength and muscle growth:. If you're currently on a x per week training program then you'll need to gradually shift into Bulgarian training.

Option 1: Increase frequency, add intensity later. Option 2: Increase intensity, add frequency later. Step 2 Programming.

When programming your workouts, you need to decide which 2 lifts you want to specialise on. You'll also be including a third accessory lift which will be lighter higher reps. Squat e. Lower body pull e. Step 3 Deloads. It's wise to include a lighter deload week every 3rd or 4th week. It's important not to skip these deload weeks as they'll help you recover faster.

It requires a huge commitment of days per week and will test you to the limit. If you're willing to push yourself, you'll quickly realise how fast you can make strength gains by training everyday. Image credits. Wikipedia WODshop Ironmind. Hi, my name is Marcus and I'm the founder of Mindtomusclefitness.

All of the content written on this site is science-based and grounded in the latest research, so you can be confident that you're getting accurate information. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.

How to get insanely strong with the Bulgarian method 10 Comments. Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site! We're told that we should strive for "work-life balance" And we shouldn't push too hard in the gym or we'll over-train.

But this isn't the mentality of a champion. Of course not! They practised. And practised some more. Not at all. And much more Let's dive in. Table of contents The history of bulgarian training. The history of bulgarian training. Here's a basic rundown of Bulgarian training. Extremely high frequency. The Bulgarian method is ultra high frequency. The 2nd group trained 4 days per week with two sessions.

The 2nd group trained 3x per week. You're mostly lifting heavy singles, doubles, and triples. You show up to the gym, lift heavy as hell and get out.