Some more routines

Weider's Power routine from Mr America magazine. Sept. 1967 This is a time saving routine to build power. The only equipment needed is a barbell. Warm up with some light clean and presses. 1. Clean & Press. Clean the weight once and do 4 to 6 presses. Add ten pounds for each set until you can do no more than two presses. Then add ten more pounds and start the clean & jerk. 2. Clean & Jerk. Power clean for two reps then power jerk the weight overhead after the second clean, also for two reps. Add 10 pounds each set until you can't make the second clean or the second jerk. Try not to move the feet...no squat or split for either part of the lift. Then add ten to twenty pounds and start the High Pull. 3. High pulls. Try to pull the bar to at least belt height for 2 reps. Add 10 pounds each set. When you can't pull the bar to your belt, add 20 pounds and switch to the regular deadlift. 4. Deadlift. Two reps each set. Add 10 to 20 pounds each set till you can't make the second rep. You're done! I found the following variation of this routine to be more stimulating and not as blood vessel popping: Use lighter weights for all the exercises., but still keep it fairly heavy. Try it this way: 1. Clean and Press. Complete cleans and presses. Put the weight down on the floor for each rep. Keep the reps to no less than five for each set. Seems easier on the lower back. 2. Clean and Jerk. Same thing; put the weight on the floor for each rep. Do complete clean and jerks. No less than five reps. 3. High Pulls. Keep the reps to three to five. 4. Deadlift. Keep the reps to five. Stop when you can't get five.

A favorite routine of mine for the Olympic lifts is to just do the two lifts and squats. That's all. Sometimes I would break up the C&J into it's two parts; the clean and then the jerk. Warm up for the snatch with a stick to get the shoulders loose. Some overhead squats then a few complete lifts. Then, grab the empty bar and do a few complete snatches. The reps were never more than five. More than that, and you start to loose your form as you get tired. Use a weight that can be handled correctly. Form is very important. Three sets of five would usually do it for me. It would be good to work up to five sets of five if possible, with a weight that can be handled with good form. As a contest gets near, more sets with even lower reps is needed. A lot of single reps would be good at this point. On the other hand, don't get burned out. Warming up for the Clean and Jerk is much quicker since just completing the snatches. A few light ones with the empty bar and you're ready to go. Use the same number of reps for the clean and jerk; no more than five. Singles are good because it allows you to use perfect form. One way to increase the intensity of the clean & jerk as you get stronger, is to break the lift down into it's two parts -- first the clean and then the jerk from stands. Five heavy sets of cleans; five heavy sets of jerks from the stands will do it. Don't forget to do the complete lift also. You don't want to get out of the groove. Squats should be done with fairly high reps to get the legs in shape and maybe stimulate some weight gain. After that, sets of five would be good for an olympic lifter. You can really crank out a lot of work on the squats. It will pay off; squats are a great strength builder. So, to sum it up---a great workout can be done with only three exercises: Snatch, Clean & Jerk and Squats. Do one, two or all three in a workout. Just don't burn out.

A great workout for overall growth is the Clean & Press. No equipment is needed other than a barbell. It follows the same procedure as high rep squatting. Warm up with some light reps. Then go to the heavy stuff. Clean the bar and press it overhead. After each rep, lower the weight to the floor, stand up and take a few deep breaths. Then, get set, clean and press the weight again. Use a very heavy weight and go for 20 reps. Take the time to breath deeply between reps, but only for a few seconds. This exercise should wipe you out, just like the 20 rep squats do. A 20 rep workout used to take me about seven minutes! This is a great time saving workout. It will give results, even being as brief as it is. No other exercises are needed. The young, strong lifters, however, will want to do more than this. For them, nothing beats heavy squats.