New Training Cycle Starts 1/29: Squat 1RM Testing!
We’re starting a new training cycle on the OlyStrong 3 & 5-Day Teams, so if you’re looking to start taking your weightlifting seriously, there’s no better time to start!
Strength Focus
This 4-week block’s focus is primarily on testing your 1RM for the main strength lifts; the back squat, front squat, push press, and strict press. Over the last two months we’ve been training to prepare for this, so for those of you who have followed along, get ready to hit some big PRs!
P.S. If you’re interested in the program I use to help people add twenty pounds to their squat, you can find that here!
Olympic Lifting Focus
Because of the heavy strength focus, we’re pulling back on the weight for the olympic lifts slightly to help you be prepared to make the biggest PRs possible. That doesn’t mean the rest of your training will be easy, however. When it comes to the olympic lifts we’ll be pushing the double pause snatch and double pause clean. These variations are incredibly helpful for dialing in positions and technique during the pull, and will help lead to some incredible technique progress by the end of the month!
Besides the technical focus, you will have one day a week to push heavy on the olympic lifts with the return of our OTM Max Progression! In this progression, you’ll perform a short on-the-minute scheme for some technique practice, and then after the OTM, you’ll build to a heavy single in four sets. This is some of my favorite training to do as the on-the-minute work helps me get in the groove and feel strong and fast, which makes the heavy singles afterward feel great!
Skill Focus
For those on the five-day program, you’ll have some additional skill work in the snatch and clean that I guarantee you’ve likely never tried before. We’ll be implementing No-Hook, No-Feet, No-Contact Snatches, and No-Feet, No-Contact Cleans during our Skills and Strength days.
The NHNFNC Snatch is something that I used to believe was a huge waste of time, because it just looked like a shitty snatch. But over time I’ve found that for more experienced lifters, this variation can be an immense help with improving bar path. By eliminating the foot movement, you can’t bump the bar away due to a shift in balance during the pull. On top of that, with the no-contact requirement, you actually can’t bump the bar away at all because the bar is not allowed to make contact with your thighs. And finally, especially in the snatch, no hookgrip can help lifters stay connected to the bar during the entire pull, making it easier to feel the crucial pull-under phase of the lift. This variation forces you to stay lighter in weight, so don’t expect this to be the lift you can move the heaviest weight on, but it can help improve your technique and hopefully connect a few dots for you.
The NFNC Clean is beneficial for almost all of the same reasons I outlined above. No-feet helps prevent any jump-related issues caused by poor balance in the pull. No Contact will take that to a whole new level, as you won’t be able to throw off the bar path at the last second, even if the majority of your pull was perfect.
If you’re ready to take your Olympic lifting seriously, then make sure to start your free week trial today! And don’t worry if you’re reading this long after the cycle has finished. You can always sign up ofr a free week trial and message me in the app to figure out which workout to start with so you can catch up with the rest of the team!
And if you didn’t know, whether you’re on the 3-Day or 5-Day team, you’ll always have access to coach messaging, daily video reviews from one of our coaches, and demo videos with full instructions so you never have to worry if you’re doing something wrong!