Olympic Weightlifting Template Summary

This template will not provide traditional weightlifting programming, rather it will aim to provide a good balance of assistance work so that an athlete can handle proper load and volume in -specific training in order to minimize risk of injury and optimize performance. The range of movements seen in Olympic lifting are traditionally of a very specific and small selection that can cause imbalances and deficiencies in human movement. You will see the majority of the strength work in the Olympic weightlifting templates done through carries, as well as some static lifts to build explosive and powerful strength without any added stress to the joints.

The weightlifting templates will be split into:

• Task Oriented Workouts or TAO for short - They will always be done with where External Torque is needed.Those are designed to hit the Sympathetic nervous system, so you should go at them hard and with the proper mindset.No pacing here, i want 100% explosion on each rep.Put System Of A Down or something like that, get angry and go kill'em reps • Til You Quit Workouts or TYQ for short Those will always be for Internal Torque exercises.They are designed to hit the parasympathetic nervous system, so i want muscle failure and each and everyone of them.Pacing is welcomed, as long as you push to that last rep.I would recommend a more mellow music, the mindset is quite different. Now you will push just as hard and it will hurt just as much as the TAO workouts, it will just be a different kind of effort • Overtraining - I believe that if you respect the order TAO followed by TYQ you will create a strong Arch of tension within your nervous system that will allow you to up the intensity without crashing mentally, which is what overtraining is.This way to approach workouts will change the way we train.We will train based on the affect on the nervous system more than just on the affect on muscles.You will be exhausted physically but mentally sharp. • Intensity Training - Any who have worked with the StrongFit templates or methodology before understand that this is the foundation. Intensity is best done in a group setting to truly push mental and physical boundaries. Beyond routine conditioning, true intensity work moves beyond the usual domains and aims to “scare” the system into rising to the next notch. This portion of the templates is not necessarily targeting the muscles, but mental fortitude and truly anaerobic threshold so don’t be let down if you can’t complete it every time. In fact, it’s designed that way. If by the end of these sessions you aren’t cursing the name of Julien, you may need to reconsider your efforts.

• Structural Work - This would be considered your accessory work and will be specifically used to ensure the structure is strong and balanced to handle both training and sport. You will use both traditional and unique exercises of StrongFit to rebuild your foundations and further grow from there.

• Mobility Exercises - Mobility work will be done through the StrongFit Openers and some additional assistance exercises.

• Static Lifts - Performed with “awkward objects” such as the sandbag, you will be prompted into more natural movement patterns that minimize risk of injury or even learning time. do not always mimic the most functional patterns due to the weight being on the outside of the body. In comparison, most of our day to day “lifting” has been done between our hands for our entire human existence. For that reason, you will use objects that will more naturally follow basic patterns of movement that will prove incredible benefits to CrossFit athletes.

• '' Work - These will be classic accessory exercises performed with traditional gym equipment that can be performed as a stand-alone session or in addition to another, but must be performed once or twice per week. These will be movements focused on internal rotation torque and may be followed in any order:

• Lat Pulldowns - Get a pump and feel those lats. Engage your pecs as hard as possible as you perform the rep. 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps • Cable Crossover - The eccentric is external torque and concentric is internal torque here. Do not do this mindlessly. The point is to teach you to create tension correctly through the range of motion, which is the very definition of mobility itself. Being able to do this correctly will tremendously lessen the stress on your shoulders. 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps

• Openers Mobility is range of motion while maintaining proper torque. The point here is to work on mobility, not flexibility therefore tension is paramount. This is not about performance, so do not focus on how many reps you can do, the weight or how far you can go. This is about quality and finding torque, nothing else. Be patient, you will get better over time. For reference, I worked the Shoulder Opener for two sets, three sessions per week for 12 weeks before I got good at it.

Hinge: https://youtu.be/eL2RAFOa1CE Shoulder Opener: https://youtu.be/C6GcYZi7G7k Opener: https://youtu.be/MTmUnExmBXc Jeffersons: https://youtu.be/pJK7LGDCgK0

WEEK 2.1

I am changing things. I made some recent discoveries towards training and the nervous system, things that I think will fundamentally change the way we train in general. That means I cannot give you the old way I programmed. The main change will not be in the exercises I will give you, but more in the way I will pair them. The main thing to understand is the idea behind each workout. If you hit the wrong nervous system, it will not only wreck the whole session, but also your recovery. If you want/need to change anything in the template, it is imperative that you understand the difference between internal and external torque and when and where it applies.

Day1

Openers (see explanations) 2 sets

Supinated Rows & Max Effort Jump TAO EMOM 7mns

Barbell Rows Max weight for 5 reps - supinated grip It is very important you go as heavy as possible, while maintaining good form obviously. This is all external torque (ET), so should be done as a workout. Make sure you use ET on this. That means biceps (long head), latissimus dorsi, NO TRAPS, and internal obliques and glutes medius.

Straight into: Max effort jump 5 reps The point here is to get to max power. You can choose to jump over something for height and/or distance, broad jump for max distance, box jump for max height, etc. you get the point. I like jumping up a set of stairs. It gives me a step to shoot for. That task-oriented mindset is most important.

Dumbbell Presses & Rope Pulls & Dips TYQ 1 set to muscle failure

Dumbbell Presses - Drop set Choose a weight that allow to do around 10 strict reps and do as many reps as possible. Drop the weight by 20% and keep going. Drop the weight again by 20% and keep at it.

Straight into:

Rope Pulls Choose a weight that will allow you to do around 30m The idea is still intensity, so pull as fast as possible. If you are not cramping everywhere after, you either went too light or too slow. We want MAXIMUM blood flow into the lats - this is far more important than you know.

• Your main focus should be to move your hands as fast as possible. • Chest faces the ground. Do NOT stand up, this would cause you to use your biceps more and your lats less. • Try not to use your hips too much. Here is a video demonstrating rope pulls: https://instagram.com/p/BQOh0bQA2ZA/

Straight into:

Dips Go until failure. This is to be done in internal torque, so your pecs should be engaged at all times. Lean forward slightly if necessary and do as many reps as possible.You cannot default to the lateral head of your . Stay in IT!

Rear-Delt Raises & Barbell Bicep Curls TAO EMOM 6mns of 5 reps for each exercise done in a superset fashion 5 Rear-Delt Dumbbell Raises straight into 5 Barbell Bicep Curls Now we're talking! Gainzz finally ! . Both exercises are external torque, so make sure the right muscles are engaged: glutes medius, internal obliques, biceps long head. Use max weight for each exercise

Cool-down (-ish) 200m Sled “Sprint”

Day 2 Openers (see explanations) 2 sets

Skill 1-Arm Barbell Press & Overhead 1-arm press followed by an 1-arm overhead squat. (This constitutes 1 rep) 2 sets of max weight for 10 reps per hand This is about form, so don't worry about the weight too much. This is one of my favorites to work on lat mobility. The point here is to keep tension throughout the body. Do NOT relax at the bottom of the squat, stay around parallel with as much tension in the glutes, quads and as possible. As you lower the weight, engage your internal obliques and also feel it through your glute medius and latissimus dorsi. Pressing is internal torque, so on the way up you must engage your external obliques, the lats (teres major) and pecs as hard as possible and you can NOT shrug during this movement at any time. Shoulders should be down, lats and pecs engaged.

Workout

Yoke Anderson Squats TAO EMOM 7mns of max weight for 5 reps You can use a barbell if you do not have a Yoke. Set up as low as your capacity for external torque allows you, but never anything below above parallel. Vary the height of the bar every week. Most likely the reps will go down to 2-3 by the end of the EMOM. That is totally normal, and expected. I would say that if you manage to keep the rep range at 5 through 7 sets you did not go heavy enough. Anderson Squats are named after the impossibly strong Paul Anderson, the god- father of . He brought squatting to Russia and was arguably the strongest squatter of all time and a gold medalist in Olympic weightlifting (within 18 months of picking up the sport!). He would perform various acts of strength for the camera and one of them was this one where he squatted two 55 gallons full of concrete: https://youtu.be/XRBst03LtnI Focus points are: • This exercise will allow us to train the squat pattern (think jumping). • For our purpose, the best way to set is up is on a yoke. • The bar should be set up in a way that, at the beginning of the lift, your hips are above parallel.Here is the demo vid: https://youtu.be/55WKyyQ8auQ • This movement is all external torque so you are looking to engage your glute medius, internal obliques, outside & quads to the max. • If you feel it in any way in your external obliques and/or erectors you are doing this wrong. • Go heavy.5 reps means you cannot do 6 at that weight

Decline Dumbbell Presses & Farmer’s Carry & OH Yoke Carry TYQ Holy T-spine…1 set to muscle failure

Decline Press - Drop set Start with a weight that allow you to get 8-10 reps (your normal grip). Drop 20% and keep going to muscle failure. Drop another 20% and do as many reps a possible

Straight into:

Farmer’s Carry Choose a weight that will allow you at least 50m with a turn around at the 25m line but you cannot put the handles down today - work that grip! Do not stop because you reached the finish line, keep going if you can and take your grip to the max. These are a Load + a Carry + a Hold, making it very balanced. It teaches you internal torque by engaging your lats and pecs, it strengthens your grip as well as your traps while keeping your shoulders down. The pick-up is a hinge (internal torque, guess which obliques...) and will strengthen your lower back. Overall, this is one of the best structural exercises out there.

Straight into:

Overhead Yoke Carry Use a weight that allows you to get 40m-ish This is another very important exercise. This one teaches you how to properly engage your lats in an overhead position. It will work the low traps (always very tricky), lat mobility, anti-rotation (so great obliques work), erectors,etc. The Yoke forces you to stabilize toward and away from you (frontal plane) and not up and down (sagittal plane). If the Yoke at the gym is too heavy (or they do not have one) create a yoke by drilling holes on 4x4s and stick them on an Axle bar. Put some nails at the bottom of the wood to carry weights and voila - yoke! A sandbag works as well, albeit not as well. You can use a bar with chains (not bands), but be aware that the weights moving side to side make this very aggressive on the shoulders.

Wide-grip Strict Supinated Pull-ups & Ab-wheel TAO EMOM 5mns of max weight for 5 reps of

Wide-grip pull-ups The point here is to find a width at which you cannot default to your traps and have to engage your latissimus dorsi to the max (NOT your teres major, that is coming next), to do that engage your internal obliques first. The elbows are pointing toward the floor. Once you can go over 6 reps, start adding weight. If you cannot make your chest touch the bar, it's ok. Do not use momentum. You need lat and biceps mobility to achieve the position and by that I mean, as always, range of motion while maintaining proper torque. Again DO NOT SHRUG.

Ab-Wheel Max weight for 5 reps. Create external torque for both upper and lower body. If you are able to perform a set of 5 reps, start adding weights onto your shoulders. Ab-Wheel with weight on the back (Yaya) demo: https://instagram.com/p/tgSIUVi8-K/ Up to 100# and down in 25# plates increments: https://youtu.be/P2F8uq4LNkA Instead of weight on your shoulders, you can also put a foam roller under your shins. The further toward your ankles, the harder the movement becomes. Do it in a way that you cannot get 6 reps. It’s a perfect progression toward doing the exercise on your feet (I ain’t there yet…).

Cool-down 400m sandbag carry