The Bulgarian strength training system is a method of training for the sport of weight lifting, which was first included as an Olympic event in 1890. The competition consists of two lifts--the snatch and the clean and jerk--and the current system used by the Bulgarians was developed by legendary coach Ivan Abadjiev who, in his 20 years as a coach, produced nine Olympic Champions, 57 World Champions and 64 European Champions. The intensity of this program is extreme, and you need to be properly conditioned before attempting it, as well as aware of the fact that the Bulgarian athletes were just that -- professional athletes. They trained and competed for a living, and when they were not training or competing, they were engaged in various restorative protocols to allow them to tolerate the volume and intensity of the program. Consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.
Basics of the Exercises
The program itself consists of only three lifts -- the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the front squat. Other exercises may be performed if the athlete is injured, but those are on a case-by-case basis. The snatch is when the barbell is pulled from the ground to overhead in a single movement. A heavy snatch requires you to drop down, or "pull under," the bar to catch it, then you rise to a fully erect position. The clean and jerk involves pulling the barbell to the front of the shoulders and catching it while pulling under, standing erect, then explosively driving the bar overhead to a fully locked out position while moving the feet apart, or splitting, under the bar, then bringing the feet together. The front squat is the primary assistance exercise, and it involves holding the barbell on the shoulders in the same position as when you catch, or rack the clean. This means the bar is resting on the anterior deltoids, or the top of the shoulder. Your hands are underneath the bar, palms facing up, and your elbows are elevated to allow you to push back against the bar and hold it securely in place. To squat, you bend at the hips, knees and ankles, and go down until your hamstrings hit your calves, then come back up.
Basics of the Program
The program itself involves two or three training sessions a day, three days a week. The first training session is usually devoted to the snatch, in which you work up to three heavy singles. The second session is usually devoted to the clean and jerk, in which you work up to three heavy singles, and in the third session, you do the same thing. This would be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On the off days, you work up to 85 percent of your one repetition max. As these days are considered "off" days, this is the place where alternative exercises may be used, such as the power snatch or power clean.
Benefits of Training Using the Bulgarian System
The Olympic lifts are the most skilled lifts you can perform, and like any other skill, you need to practice them often to get better at them. This system gives you practice - and plenty of it. The benefit of multiple sessions per day is twofold: You have time to rest so your skills are sharper for the next session, and your endocrine system has time to recover, as marathon sessions in the gym cause your testosterone levels to drop. Testosterone is not only the primary anabolic hormone, but it also allows you to recover from your training, so depleting it is the last thing you want to do.
Benefits of Mastering the Lifts
Olympic lifts have a higher power output than all other types of lifting, according to noted sports scientist Dr. John Garhammer of the University of California at Long Beach. This should have a greater transfer over to other athletic activities that require high power output, such as an explosive sport, including anything involving jumping, sprinting or sudden movement. According to Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky of Penn State University, activities such as weight lifting, improve not only power output, but coordination as well. As the lifts are continually trained at a very high intensity, many aspects of your body are strained, then develop under the volume and intensity of these lifts.
Additional Caution
The training volume and intensity of this program is extreme, and the athletes were specially selected for the program. They often spent years building up their conditioning and tolerance for not only the training, or the volume, but also the pressure of training at such high intensities multiple times per day. And even still, there were those who dropped out of the program. If you wish to attempt a program like this, you need to spend time slowly working up to it, and years building your skills with the lifts, as weight lifting requires not only great strength, but also great skill.
References
- Pubmed: Power production by Olympic weight lifters
- Pubmed: Energy flow during Olympic weight lifting
- Pubmed: Three-dimensional kinematic analysis of the snatch of elite Greek weightlifters
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research"; "A Review of Power Output Studies of Olympic Powerlifting: Methodology, Performance Prediction, and Evaluation Tests"; Garhammer; 1993
- Pubmed: Kinematical analysis of the snatch in elite male junior weight lifters of different weight categories
- Pubmed: Biomechanical analysis of women weight lifters during the snatch
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