Back From Bulgaria: What Do YOU Want Me To Write About?
As some of you know, I was hanging out with Jim Moser and his Bulgarian Boys for 8 days (4 in Houston, 4 in California) … and the last bit of that was at the gym of Ivan Abadjiev – the world famous Bulgarian coach, who has, among so many other things, coached lifters to over 500 world records.
To say that I have a lot to discuss with you is a drastic understatement.
The trouble I am facing, however, is multi-fold:
- I have been totally M.I.A. here on the blog for a while as I am sure you have noticed! So, I have a massive backlog of articles for you that I need to finish (I’ll explain WHY I am so backlogged in time -in an article, of course – but … it’s very personal, and hard for me to talk about.)
- I have a great couple of articles related to my time at Risto Sports, lessons I can share that will help you get stronger and better at the Olympic lifts. Particularly the importance of volume and intensity zones.
- My time with the Bulgarian crew was very intensive and so there is no way I can get it all out in one article: it is THIS I want your help on.
- I still have to finish my article for you on my own take on Bulgarian Training Philosophy (which is NOT the same as Bugarian training or methods, but more about how you think about things.)
So… I am working on all of this, but maybe you can help me on one of the biggies … by just telling me WHAT about Bulgarian training or methods you are curious about that? If I gleened any kind of answer I will put that into article for you.
I have some ideas already, and will write about those. But if you have something I hadn’t thought of, or if enough of you seem interested in a topic, I will be sure to dive in.
Put your questions in the comments section below and I’ll get on it!! 
Here was Jim Moser’s kid, Willie, killing this 80k snatch while we were “in Bulgaria” at Abajiev and Alex Krychev’s gym … he weighs 68k and is only 13!
Hi Nick,
) and have competed off and on sinc.
Sounds like your trip was awesome. I look forward to your blogs! I am using your June WOM leading up to a meet on Sept 8. I work in an office so I split the workout up. Squats and pulls at the office gym at lunch and oly lifts in my garage gym at night. How does changing the order like this affect the desired results and performance of the program? I am a masters lifter (didn’t start oly lifting until I was 32
Thanks!
John
OK, that’s a good one. Trying to find ways to talor this style of training to masters athletes of various ages and backgrounds is great. In fact that’s a big chunk of who I coach all the time.
Hi!
Can you write an article about overcoming mental blocks/obstacles?
Absolutely. That’s a huge part of what The Iron Samurai site is all about.
Until then, make sure you read:
http://www.theironsamurai.com/2011/09/29/zen-mind-big-snatch-part-i-yin/
if you haven’t already. I’d go so far as to call that my manifesto on the importance of the mental side of all of this.
To be honest I will read whatever you “any minie moe” or however it’s spelled. I don’t know to much about the Bulgarians to single out a certain point. I’ll read whatever man they are always great Coach Nick
Thanks Austin!!
That is a really nice thing to hear
Hey
Could your write more articles about daily squatting
Yes!
I have a big ‘ole squat article coming down the pipe that you’ll love
As a 43 year old dude that just started getting serious about squat strength and oly lifting about 6 months ago, how could Bulgarian style training help me make faster gains, I squat a lot and progress is coming but it is slow.
Thanks,
Ben
Ben!
That’s a fantastic question, my brother.
I’d like to hear more about the bulgarian technique of the classical lifts.
Most of the literature I have read states that they insist on jumping backwards slightly in the receiving position of the classical lifts. This to me implies a very wide S trajectory. Considering the Bulgarians are some of the best in the business, would be very interesting to know why, or if this is correct/incorrect/old information.
I am also interested in Jerk technique, as the Bulgarians state that it is a waste of time going onto the toes during the Jerk.
All in all, would be great to hear about there general technique, how they teach them, and how they use assistant exercises in teaching technique. Possibly even a comparison with the Russians or Chinese?
Hope everything is well with you, good to hear you are back on the blog.
NIce!!
Those are a bunch of good ones! Thank you!
Thanks Nick. Would be good to make contact with you over email, I have a few questions that I would like to ask, some in regards to Bulgarians, but generally in regards to training and technique methodology?
Now that you have seen some of the greats and how their clubs workout. Are the rituals/routines the same? Are they different? Did you find anything interesting about how they went about their workout? Obviously with comparison to your gym’s own routine. For those of us who do not have a place within a couple hundred miles. How does a workout at these places go? A video would be really cool, you put a little of your awesomness into it and we can see kind of how it all meshes together.
Just a thought, and I would really like to know.
Brokaw
Great stuff Rob! I will definitely write about all of that.
These are all great questions!! Thanks!
Drumroll…. Split Snatchin’
You would …
Great information opportunity! I am most interested in the developmental aspects of the Bulgarian method. Do they follow a similar model when compared to the Russians for overall development. I look at someone like Willie and think “awesome lifter, I hope he will do well in the future.” But then I question did he specialize to early. When I look at a lot of the other readings out there they talk about percentage of SPP lifts and the importance of diversity for youth. I just want to know the Bulgarian take on this I suppose.
That is a hell of a good question, my brother!
Would love to hear your thoughts on the recent Olympics and your favourite lifters for a variety of reasons. I know it is the pinnacle of the sport and perhaps the only time the (western) world can tune in to proper weightlifting. Some are disillusioned with the nuances of the competition (team size, qualification pools, “pharmaceuticals” etc.), but it is a wave you can ride to increase the popularity of weightlifting in the States. Mangold Rocks!
Nice!
I would like to know how do they manipulate the volume, reps, intensity zone along the week, month and yearly planning. Also how do they select exercises to correct deficiences in a lifter and things like that.
Hope to read these articles soon, cheers.
Groovy man, you are after my own heart
I love that kind of stuff.
Hehe, thanks. Just to let a point clear: when I say manipulate intensity zone, I mean the perceived intensity, not the RM %.
LOL, you would …
Hi. I’ve enjoyed your posts and ideas for a while. While I mainly do powerliftingm I’ve become interested in using at least the power versions of the classical lifts. I can clean without problems, but when I snatch, after only one session, I get a stabbing pain in the back of the arm and left shoulder, like my teres major (if I’m correct after reading some anatomy books) is inflammed. In just one session and not a lot of weight. It goes away with foam rolling and massage in a couple of days. I have no problems with other overhead work like preses or pull ups, only when snatching (or trying to snatch). I have good shoulder and thoracic mobility. Have you or any of your lifters had a similar problem? It would be great if you could find the time to answer. Thanks and keep up the good work.
That is pretty interesting. I’d be curious to know if it persisted after doing snatches consistently for a few weeks.
Snatches – and clean and jerks – are much much more jarring on the body than other forms of lifting. I don’t mean this in a bad way – running in all forms is also highly jarring. But, You have a new type of stress to adapt to. And it may take a few weeks/months … and you may have strange pains that you never felt before.
I DON’T want to belittle pain. Sometimes injuries are real and should be dealt with …
BUT, very very very very often whatever pain you feel, no matter how bad, will go away by just continuing.
I HATE to say that online because it can backfire on me!! What if you are that 1% of people who actually did hurt themselves?
I don’t know.
But I hear of all kinds of weird pain that just simply goes away eventually. But it will never go away if you don’t keeping pushing through.
that’s the hard call that only you can make.
Thanks for the reply. I’ll try again and stick to it and see what happens. Great site
Hey Nick,
I’d actually like to hear a bit more about everyday life. I practically live in a gym, and I lift often. A big thing to combat is boredom, getting sick of your teammates/coaches (don’t get me wrong, they’re great people. I love my coaches and teammates, but you know what I mean), working when you’re mentally tired, etc.
For a lot of lifters I’ve spoken with, you get sore, injured, bent-out-of-shape about your technique, and just plain frustrated, but after you’ve been lifting most everyday for half a decade or more, the physical part of lifting eveyday becomes (dare I say) the “easy” part. But leaving your bed/girlfriend/boyfriend at 7am, to lift until 9am, then “work” until 5pm, and lift again until 7pm takes some mental fortitude. How do they manage? Is the mentality that much different than a “soft” guy like me from the USA??
Also, I’d like to learn more about the living conditions. You watch Ironmind’s “Unbelievable Bulgarians” DVD and Randall Strossen goes out of his way to show how dilapidated, run down, and “behind the times” Bulgaria is (granted it’s 1998 in that DVD, but still). I mean, the shots of Sofia look like a 1970′s Pennsylvania mining town. Think “The Deer Hunter” movie from 1978 with De Niro and Walken. No green grass, or trees, just a hard ass industrial city.
Strossen also says their “new” Olympic training center is around 50 degrees when they’re training. Is there a reason for that, (like the cold causes an increase in muscle tetanus, circulation, heart rate, or CNS activation, making for a more “ready” athlete?) or is it because they just don’t have any heat in the building?
Lastly, I’d like to know more about the atmosphere and overall attitude in and out of the gym. From what I see, they aren’t the high school football, rah-rah, cheering fan club for big lifts. Is it that way at most of their Oly gyms?
What about the motivation outside the gym? Coming from the place where I grew up, hanging out with guys from the neighborhood/trailer park eventially gets you behind bars, so when I was younger and crazier, it was preferable for me to be in a gym, channeling my energy in a positive way, rather then being like a wild indian out on the streets.
Does the atmosphere in Bulgarian society make it preferable to be in a gym 4-6+ hrs per day? I know Galabin Boevski had a very unfortunate situation in Brazil with drugs, and he reports working for the Bulgarian Mafia.
I’ve heard that “the only thing that’s bigger than weightlifting in Bulgaria is organized crime.”
or
“In the USA or Russia, the Mafia can influence politics and the government. In Bulgaria the Mafia IS the government.”
So is staying away from this criminal element incentive and motivation to stay in the gym and lift your ass off in order to get out of what could be a pretty negative lifestyle choice of being an Eastern European gangster?
You could attribute circumstances and motivation like this to the reason why a Bulgarain works his ass off to lift heavier day in and day out, VS an American accountant who wants to get better at snatching to help his crossfit total. The outcome of the Bulgarian’s life depends (a bit more) on lifting heavier everyday, VS that US xfitter with a cushy job, BMW, and fake tan/blonde trophy girlfriend. No offense intended to anyone, just an example.