Training methods and planning
Isometric and Static Muscle-Work Exercises in Weightlifters' Training
English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1984 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1984), pp. 46–48: the text is paraphrased, not translated; data tables are given in full with English labels.
Strength develops best when overcoming, yielding, holding and mixed muscle work are combined (A. N. Vorobyov, 1977). In isometric exercises the optimal tension lasts up to 4–6 s, depending on a load that should be 80–100% of the best result in the exercise; lighter loads call for longer holds. The usual dose is 3 to 6 sets of 1–2 repetitions, and one or two such exercises can go into sessions of medium planned volume. They belong in the middle or at the end of a session; after the classic lifts the closing part is better filled with jumps, flexibility and relaxation work.
Isometrics make high demands on the cardiovascular system and affect ligaments, joints and spine, so no more than 6 repetitions should be planned with maximal weight. The position of the bar relative to the athlete depends on the task. Yielding work is valuable because heavier weights can be used than in overcoming work, which favours maximal strength. Total special yielding work per session may be 50–60 s for lower-grade lifters, with 3–4 minutes' rest between double repetitions (A. P. Slobodyan, 1972), and up to 90 s or more for top-grade lifters. Lowering a bar of 80–90% should take up to 10 s, of 100–150% 3–6 s, and a squat with 100–120% 5–6 s. Isometric exercises are recommended for the preparatory period, combined regimes for different stages of long-term training, but up to 2–3 weeks before competing.
Isometric and static work can be applied in many ways. The author gives one variant, tested with top-grade lifters: a weekly cycle of the competitive period aimed at strength and technical preparation. Each entry gives the weight as a percentage of the lifter's best result, then repetitions, with the number of sets after the multiplication sign.
Table. Lesson-by-lesson programme of a weekly cycle in the competitive period
| Exercise | Weight %/repetitions × sets | Lifts | Mean weight, % |
| Monday | |||
| 1. Warm-up, 15 min | |||
| 2. Split snatch from the hang (bar below the knees) | 60/4, 70/2×2, 80/2×2, 90/1×4, 70/4 | 20 | 74 |
| 3. Slow snatch pull (6 s up, 6 s down) | 90/2×3 | 6 | 90 |
| 4. Bench press | 60/4, 70/2, 80/2, 90/2×3, 80/4 | 18 | 77.7 |
| 5. Back squat, yielding (down in up to 4 s) | 60/4, 70/4, 80/4×4 | 20 | 74 |
| 6. Half jerk | 80/4, 90/4, 100/3×4 | 24 | 93.3 |
| 7. Closing part: flexibility, box jumps, relaxation, breathing | |||
| Total: yielding work 116 s | 88 | 81.1 | |
| Wednesday | |||
| 1. Warm-up, 15 min | |||
| 2. Snatch | 60/4, 70/3×2, 80/3, 90/1×2, 100/1, 90/1×2, 80/3×2 | 24 | 76.6 |
| 3. Power clean from blocks | 60/5, 70/3, 80/2×2, 90/2, 100/1, 90/2, 80/5 | 22 | 76.8 |
| 4. Clean pull with three stops (bar held at the knees 3 s, mid-thigh 3 s, on toes 4 s; lowering 4 s) | 80/1×2, 90/1×2 | 4 | 85 |
| 5. Clean pull | 90/4, 100/2×4 | 16 | 95 |
| 6. Front squat | 70/5, 80/4, 90/2×2, 80/4, 90/2×2, 80/4×2 | 29 | 75.5 |
| 7. Push press from racks | 60/5, 70/4, 80/4×3 | 21 | 73.3 |
| 8. Closing part: abdominal exercises, high jumps, relaxation, breathing | |||
| Total: isometric work 40 s, yielding work 16 s | 112 | 81.4 | |
| Friday | |||
| 1. Warm-up, 15 min | |||
| 2. Classic clean and jerk (clean + jerk from the chest) | 60/(2+2)×2, 70/2+2, 80/2+2, 90/(1+1)×4 | 24 | 75 |
| 3. Clean pull (lowering 4 s) | 90/4, 100/3×2, 110/2×3 | 16 | 101.3 |
| 4. Half jerk | 90/4, 100/4, 110/3×2, 120/2×2, 100/4 | 22 | 104.5 |
| 5. Back squat, yielding (down in up to 5 s) | 70/4, 80/3×2, 90/2×4 | 18 | 82.2 |
| 6. Bench press | 60/5, 70/4, 80/3×5 | 24 | 74.2 |
| 7. Jumps with the bar on the shoulders | 70/6×2, 80/4×3 | ||
| 8. Closing part: flexibility, vaulting jumps, relaxation | |||
| Total: yielding work 154 s | 128 | 84.2 | |
| Saturday | |||
| 1. Warm-up, 15 min | |||
| 2. Behind-the-neck push press (medium grip) | 70/3×2, 80/3×3 | 15 | 76 |
| 3. Split snatch, combined | 60/4, 70/3×2, 80/3×5 | 25 | 74.4 |
| 4. Snatch pull with three stops (knees 3 s, mid-thigh 3 s, on toes 4 s) | 90/4 | 4 | 90 |
| 5. Back squat | 60/4, 70/4, 80/2, 90/2×3 | 16 | 76.3 |
| 6. Kneeling bends with the bar on the shoulders | 70/4, 80/4×2 | 12 | 76.6 |
| 7. Closing part: abdominal exercises, weighted jumps, relaxation, breathing | |||
| Total: isometric work 40 s | 72 | 76.4 | |
Lifts = number of barbell lifts; mean weight = averaged relative intensity of the training load. Schemes are transcribed from a poorly legible source and do not always match the printed totals, which are given as printed.
For the week the volume was 400 lifts at a mean relative intensity of 81.4%, with 80 s of isometric and 286 s of yielding work in four sessions. The relative volume of the sessions was 22, 28, 32 and 18%. Combined regimes were used in pulls and squats (68 lifts), and in the classic clean and jerk both cleans and jerks were counted. This variant was applied successfully in the first week of a competitive mesocycle; its main aim was better technique in the jerk exercises and stronger trunk extensors.