Chinese Programming Principles 

for Amateur Weightlifters 

Coach Yats IG @coachpapayats 

Coach Zhang IG @coachzhang.wl 
https://www.coachpapayats.com/ 
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Between the two of us, we’ve trained at 5 separate schools in China, coached an athlete to 
medals at the World Championships, and trained hundreds of weightlifters around the world 
both on and offline. Since we published the original programming guide in 2015, we’ve seen 
many ways in which Chinese weightlifting programming for professionals doesn’t always match 
the needs of amateurs with less training availability and recovery capacity. We’ve spent this time 
adapting their principles and seeing through trial and error what works and doesn’t work. This is 
a revised compilation of the things that we found work very well, and we hope that they allow 
you to have much better control and understanding of your own lifting. 

Our Philosophy On Chinese Weightlifting 

Programming 

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has 
practiced one kick 10,000 times.” - Bruce Lee 
 
The moral is to focus your training priorities. We don't have to adopt a minimalist or 
Bulgarian method, but we shouldn't train without understanding why you are working on 
what you are working on. Most programs on the internet attempt to address everything at 
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once without regard for what ​you as an individual​ require. Some programs even 
emphasize exercises that seem to be done more out of popularity than understanding or 
efficacy. This will be a guide to help you keep your training both adaptive and focused.  
 
We often go against Western online norms for weightlifting programming. Our goal isn’t 
to give you a generic program that you run year-round--there are no generic programs for 
Chinese weightlifters so you should know how to create something for yourself too. 
 
The goal is to teach you to ​create and modify programming for yourself,​ taking into account 
your own short-term/long-term goals, strengths, weaknesses, injury history, etc. And 
then, most importantly, how to ​prioritize​. 
 
There are sample templates based on Chinese principles at the end of this guide, but it 
won’t make sense to just copy it for yourself. Just pick up certain pieces or ideas that you 
like, and don't be afraid to use them in your practice. For example, you can do snatch days 
using our adapted Chinese method; and your other training (clean and jerk, squat) in the 
traditional way with strict percentages.

What’s Different About What We Do? 

 
Here’s a sample session from a generic program we found online: 
 
1. No hook, no feet snatch - 60% x 3 x 3 
2. Snatch – 70% x 2 x 2, 75% x 3 x 2 
3. Snatch Pull – 80% of snatch x 5 x 3 
4. Front Squat – 75% x 3 x 3 
 
Of course, a program would need to be taken in its entirety to properly analyze it, but this 
is a fairly representative session and there are enough differences from how we program 
just one session that it’s worth looking at. 
 

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Overall, we don’t see any technical focus or broader attempt to address a weakness, even 
common ones. 
 
1. Strict use of percentages. What if you feel stronger/weaker on that day? 
2. No hook, no feet snatch: this is a popular technical exercise that we find inferior to 
simply drilling with discipline (focusing on hip engagement in extension, reducing 
the stomp in favor of sliding, etc.). And that’s not to pick on this exercise in 
particular -- weightlifting influencers commonly prescribe exercises for everyone 
without a clear understanding as to why. But if you know why, you can target it 
with more effective drills or exercises. 
3. Snatch pull: working set percentages are dependent on snatch PR and prescribed 
lower than the snatch PR - should this always be the case? When would it make 
sense to incorporate a percentage range or ceiling, and when should we pull with 
weights greater than the lifter’s PR? 
4. Snatch pull: typically we start working back up from 50kg or so, to warm up 
technique of snatch pull, and get some additional volume. Snatch pull is not just 
strength exercise--it’s a technical one. Most likely, we would go much heavier than 
80% here,​ while starting from lower. 
5. Front squat: we prefer to use RPE, for reasons we’ll explain shortly. 
6. Front squat: It’s unclear why 75% is done for just 3x3. It’s neither a volume session 
nor intensity. Maybe it’s a recovery session, but we found this in a repeating weekly 
program (with no deload programmed). If it was a recovery session, the snatch 
volume should be lower too. 
 
Lastly, there is no targeted isolation/bodybuilding work programmed, leaving the athlete 
no direction to train their weak points. We understand that some bodybuilding or core 
training must be left up to the athlete to decide, but most frequently we see lifters either 
not performing any area-specific work or only hitting exercises with no clear reason as to 
why they chose them. For us, we want to formally structure bodybuilding work in the 
program in order to properly progress it. 
 
Look at the example training session below and ask yourself, which of the two programs 
will yield better results? 

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Our Own Organization Of A Training Session 

 
1. Dynamic warm up, head-to-toe – 10 min 
 
2. Technical primer - 10-15 min 
a. This takes the place of your usual warm-up with the bar and lighter weights. 
Find a movement that forces you to address a weak point in your lifting and 
work on it with light weights. Open the session by priming good technique. 
b. If pulling position off of the floor is the weakness you want to address that 
day, check your balance. The primer today would be a snatch pull to the hip 
with your heels hanging off of a small plate plus a snatch from floor (after 
stepping off of the plate). 
 
3. Primary movement – 30 min 
a. Classic lifts from different starting positions to different catch positions (for 
example snatch from hang above knee to half squat, or jerk from rack.) 
Squats can be a primary movement on squat day.  
b. E.g snatch @ 70-80%, 5x2--adjust within this window depending on 
performance that day 
 
4. Secondary movement – 20-30min 
a. This is where assistance exercises go: squats, pulls, deadlifts, push presses, 
powers from hang, etc. The movement chosen for each day typically 
matches the primary movement 
b. E.g if pulling position off floor is weakness, snatch pulls with 5x3 @ heaviest 
you can go while maintaining perfect position, including a 5s isometric hold 
right off the floor, coming to a stop in the descent after final rep 
 
5. Tertiary movement and bodybuilding – 20-30min 
a. Tertiary movements are done to address specific muscular or movement 
weaknesses, e.g kettlebell deficit squat/high pull to address poor 
balance/timing in extension, narrow sumo deadlifts to address torso 
position off the floor, etc. Bodybuilding/isolation work is also done here. 
b. Given the weakness above: if it’s due to weak lats allowing the shoulders to 
come loose off the floor, do 4-6 sets of pull-ups focusing on scapular 
depression @ RPE 9 every set. 

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6. Stretching – 5 to 15min. 
 
Try shortening the breaks between sets to ​90 seconds​ whenever you can to help with 
conditioning and work capacity and also so that your session doesn't last forever. 90 
seconds is what is most commonly observed in Chinese training halls. It may take a few 
weeks to adapt, but you’ll feel much better between sets (no more lumbering back to the 
bench) and having to follow yourself in a competition will no longer be anxiety-inducing. 

Why No Strict Percentages? 

 
Well, how heavy do you go each session? The answer is simple: ​as heavy as it makes sense to 
go, depending on your intention. C​ hinese weightlifters have the advantage of training under 
a (very) watchful eye at all times, and as such often aren’t given strict percentages. 
Instead, their coach is able to monitor small changes in their day-to-day, set-to-set 
performance and can make small adjustments to the intensity of that session on the fly, 
telling the athlete to go down 5 kg for their next set if something looks poor, and back up 5 
kg for the one after that if it looks good again.  
 
In lieu of a coach who has seen you train for many years, we have a system that is partially 
autoregulated (for strength work), and partially percentage-based (for classic work). Even 
when we use percentages, we include a broad window for an athlete to work within to 
account for daily variations in technique and performance. On both good and bad days, we 
want to prioritize good technical movement--this means that working toward the higher 
end of the window is not necessarily better than working on the lower end. 
 
Every session should have a purpose in the context of the training cycle, and every 
training cycle should have a purpose in the context of the training year.  
 
 
Classic lift programming 
 
In general there are four kinds of sessions: 
 
1. Recovery sessions 

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a. Often precede a very heavy training day or during a competition taper at 
low intensity, ~60-70% 
2. Technique sessions 
a. Often done with technical variants of the classic movements at moderate 
intensity, ~70-75% 
3. Volume sessions 
a. Often done focusing on just snatch OR clean and jerk at moderate-heavy 
intensity (or at the intensity just before break down of consistent technique) 
with many, many sets, ~80-87% 
4. Intensity sessions 
a. Done with singles or doubles with both lifts together at high intensity, 
~88-95%. Used less frequently in the off-season, more as we approach 
competition 
 
Every kind of session has its own window on intensity. As mentioned above, it’s important 
to note the upper end of the window is ​just a​ ​ceiling​, not the prescription itself, and it is 
even okay to occasionally train outside of the window. Some days you will be scheduled 
for a volume session with a window between 75-82%, but this means nothing if your 
technique falls apart due to fatigue at 75% that day. In this case, you should spend the day 
at 73% or go down and back up in an attempt to fix what is bugging your technique that 
day. 
 
Broadly speaking, nearly all of our sessions will be technique and volume sessions with at 
most a moderately heavy ceiling, so it does not make sense to have more than 1 or 2 
misses per session. We want to become as consistent as possible at as high an intensity as 
possible. 
 
Squat programming 
 
Squatting is performed with even more autoregulation. We are of the opinion that 
weightlifting programming for strength work is behind the state-of-the-art in 
programming methods. 
 
There are two kinds of intensity for programming purposes: 
 
A. Absolute intensity, which is relative to your 1-rep max. This is expressed as a 
percentage. 

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B. Relative intensity, which is relative to how close you are to failure on a given set, no 
matter what percentage or rep scheme you are using. This is expressed in 
reps-in-reserve (RIR), or rate-of-perceived-exertion (RPE). 
 
Modern powerlifters have largely moved to RPE-based methods, which can roughly 
approximate the experience of training under a coach who is familiar with your 
movement. As weightlifters, we experience even more unpredictable variation in 
day-to-day performance than powerlifters do, so we would be forfeiting several 
advantages by not autoregulating our strength work. 
 
In a Chinese training hall, athletes are given a set and rep scheme and told to go for speed, 
or for volume, or to go heavy. Depending on what the coach is looking for, they fine-tune 
their intensity from set to set with the intention of getting the right stimulus for that 
session. ​Many weightlifters stall their squat progress by not carefully monitoring and 
programming around day-to-day and set-to-set fatigue, even when they have a week-to-week 
progression in mind. 
 
Unlike classic lift programming with percentages, there are just three main types of 
sessions for squatting, all programmed with RPE: 
 
1. Technique/speed sessions 
a. These sessions offer some partial recovery but primarily develop skill: being 
explosive and efficient at the squat movement pattern. A session may be 6 
sets of 2 or 3 reps, done at a very low RPE (5 or 6) with short rest times. 
2. Volume sessions 
a. Most often done with 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps. This is often thought of as a 
“hypertrophy session.” You are building your foundation here. A weight is 
chosen so that RPE usually does not exceed 7 or 8, meaning 2 reps from 
failure. RPE can be set higher later on in a mesocycle when it’s time to push 
an athlete, but this should be a minority of the work. 
3. Heavy sessions 
a. Often done with 4-6 sets of 2-5 reps. These are done to train the skill of 
pushing heavy weight around, but your performance here is largely a 
function of how much capacity you built in your volume sessions. Most 
weightlifters spend too much time here and not enough time trying to grow 
their muscular foundations. RPE is usually between 8 and 9, reaching 9.5 
and 10 when testing an athlete or during cycles closer to competition when 
it’s necessary to use low volumes to maintain squat strength. 
 

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In strength development cycles further away from competition, an athlete could see all 
three sessions within a week. As competition approaches and pulling exercises take the 
place of squatting, the speed session may disappear, volume may drop, and intensity may 
increase. Eventually an athlete may just be squatting once or twice a week with 
abbreviated heavy sessions to hold onto strength. 
 
Note: accessory work for squat sessions is usually programmed using the volume method. 
 
How does the RPE system work? 
 
RPE system Could have done:
10 0 more reps, 0 more weight. True max
9.5 0 more reps, but could add more weight
9 1 more rep
8.5 1 more rep, but could add more weight
8 2 more reps
7.5 2 more reps, possibly 3
7 3 more reps

6 4 or 5 more reps
 
Pulling programming 
 
By pulling, we specifically mean exercises that are meant to train the pull phase of the 
classic lifts: high pulls, slow pulls, fast pulls, and deadlifts. 
 
To be precise with our definitions, high pulls are still light enough to be pulled above the 
navel. Sometimes you will see lifters finishing a heavy deadlift with an extension 
resembling a high pull, but for our purposes we will just call those deadlifts. 
 
Because pulling can be done with weights that are very similar to the classic movements 
and​ weights that are far above your classical maxes, we use a mix of percentages and RPE 
depending on the kind of movement. 
 
Pulling programming will fall under three types of sessions: 
 
1. Technical sessions 

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a. These pulls will often be done with a classic lift in a complex or placed before 
the classic lifts in a session to promote good positions. An example of a 
complex would be a snatch pull to the hip + snatch, both done at 80%. 
Sometimes we will prime a classic lift with a heavier pull, so a clean fast pull 
at 100% followed by a clean at 85%. Alternatively we may program slow 
pulls at the beginning of a session at 60-70% of max for lifters to feel out 
their balance over the foot and positions.  
2. Volume sessions 
a. These will also be percentage-based sessions using weights that are meant 
to closely replicate or exaggerate a portion of a classic lift. Movements like 
high pulls and fast pulls will be programmed in this way for 3-5 sets, with 
high pulls around 100-120% of max and fast pulls around 90-110%. 
Positions and technique are important here, so we commonly prescribe a 
percentage ceiling. Lifters are encouraged to stay below the ceiling if their 
positions are not consistent that day. 
3. Heavy sessions 
a. This is where we reintroduce RPE. Exercises in these sessions include heavy 
snatch, clean, and Romanian deadlifts. As before, we want to maintain 
positions that are transferable to the classic lifts, but some amount of 
variation is okay. A session may look like 4 sets of 3 at RPE 8 in the snatch 
deadlift at the end of a snatch-focused volume session. Higher RPEs are 
sometimes used, but positions often break down above RPE 8.5 so we 
typically don’t prescribe above 8 unless the lifter is disciplined enough to 
maintain their positions or on the rare occasion that we allow a lifter to push 
a little harder to keep motivation high. 
 

   

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Focusing Your Training Sessions 

 
In a Chinese training hall, most sessions have just a single focus. 80% of the session is 
spent on 2 exercises. If it’s a snatch session, you follow up with snatch pulls; a jerk session 
will be followed with jerk dips.​ ​It​ 's easy to organize training this way, and exercises flow 
together. 
 
However, this is less viable if you train fewer than 7-9 sessions/week. There are often just 
too many things to work on. But this is okay: programming with 2 focuses per session 
training 4-5 sessions/week remains highly effective. Even a 2-3 focus/session on a 
3x/week program is still viable. This is still more focused than many programs we see in 
which a session may have 4-5 different intentions per session. It’s okay to have 4-5 
exercises as long as some of them are focused on the same intention. However, trying to 
focus on all the weaknesses in your snatch, clean, jerk, and squat in the same session is 
unlikely to bring you results very quickly. 
 
Try to limit your priorities, but get very, very good at what you do. 
 
Here are some examples of different weaknesses to consider when writing a program, and 
different productive areas to focus on: 
 
1. Consistent balance over foot in the snatch 
a. Technical primer AND secondary movement will be done with heels hanging 
off of a small plate 
2. Staying upright in the back squat  
a. Squats will be done with lower RPE, focusing on eliminating backward knee 
movement out of the bottom. Accessory work will be chosen to develop 
mind-muscle connection with quads 
3. Stiff back leg in the jerk 
a. The technical primer will be jerks with pause in the split, checking for bend 
in the knee. Accessory movement will be jerk lunges (not a regular lunge; 

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this is a specific movement we teach) to train the back leg to bend in order 
to assume more of the load 
 
As you may have ascertained, each weakness comes with two different things to focus on: 
● muscular weakness 
● motor pattern  
 
Remember to distinguish between these when programming for yourself, as both will 
have different fixes--and be clear that you are working on the right one! We often see 
these two conflated. For example, those with weak positions off the floor are commonly 
prescribed deficit pulls (i.e standing on a block), which in our opinion are a strength fix for 
the legs being weak at closed angles. But is the positioning off the floor truly a leg strength 
issue, or is it due to the lifter having trouble setting the arch in the lower back? If this is the 
case, deficit lifts often make the problem worse because they make it even harder to find 
the proper tightness in the back. Unless the lifter has a back weakness issue that prevents 
them from setting their lower back appropriately (which is rare in an unloaded situation), 
the proper fix is to address their motor pattern. 
 
For more specific help here, we recommend ​applying to our online school.  
 
 
Try this: write down 8 areas of weakness in your lifting. Be brutally honest with yourself. 
This is enough for a 4x/week program to address within a week (but don’t work on all 8 
equally within one training cycle; instead, prioritize some for different times of year). 
Which weaknesses are caused more by a lack of strength, and which by a lack of 
technique? Keep these questions and your list in mind as you move on and look at the 
weekly plans. 
 

   

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Different Weekly Plans (Volume, Intensity) 

 
Everything ahead is only the working sets. Remember to warm-up thoroughly and quickly, 
with short rest-times and lots of sets at light weights to iron things out. By the time you 
get to your working sets, it should feel like the session flowed right into them. 
 
Picking a specific exercise is ​up to you, (​ unless specified) for example: 
 
Back exercise could be: 
● Seated good morning 
● Light isometric holds for time 
● Round back deadlifts 
 
Snatch/clean variations could be: 
● Deadlifts, high pulls, or speed/fast/panda pulls 
● From the floor, hang, deficit, or block 
● Concentric, eccentric, with isometric stops, or mixed;  
● Slow or fast tempo 
● Plate under ball of foot for balance 
 
Squat variations could be: 
● Heel-elevated frog squat 
● Block squat from sticking point 
● 3-pause squat (descend, pause at sticking point, pause at bottom, ascend, pause at 
sticking point again) 
 
Effective, weightlifting-specific bodybuilding movements could be: 
● Lats: Bent-arm cable pull-over (or the DB/KB equivalent lawnmower row) 
● Glutes: Single-leg RDL 
● Chest/delts: Dips (with max ROM; start very light/assisted) 
● Scapular retraction: Underhand Yates row 
 

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Just remember, pick a variation for ​your specific weakness.  

Yearly Periodization Simplified 

 
The year can be divided into two halves, winter and summer. Winter is a strength focus, 
summer is for the classical lifts. Winter and summer can be further subdivided into halves 
such that the year has four phases. 

Winter Part 1 (low-end strength) 

12-14 weeks of pure strength. 
● 50-60% of the time available should be devoted to squatting and pulling and push 
pressing. Between squatting and pulling, the vast majority of this will be squatting 
over pulling for now (unless you are a lifter whose pulling is very weak compared to 
their squatting). 
● 30% of the time should be devoted to technique work in the classical lifts. Don’t go 
above 80-85% of max in this phase.  
● Remaining 10-20% is accessory work. 

Winter Part 2 (top-end strength/transition to pulling) 

The application of new strength to the classic lifts. 
● Strength work volume is decreased to about 40-50% of total work 
● Strength work intensity increases 
● Pulling makes a return and starts to take the place of squatting 
○ Pulling in this phase should be very good positionally 
○ Lower back work is emphasized in accessory movement selection 
● Meanwhile, classical work is up to 40% 
● Accessory work is the last 10-20%, as before. Intensity will go up here slightly while 
rep range goes down. 
 
Spring 

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Summer Part 1 (intensity) 

The trends in Winter part 2 go further. 
● Squatting now happens in singles, doubles, and triples @ RPE 8-9. 
● Pulling is even more prominent, also at relatively high intensities. 
● Classical work is now the majority of your lifting. More sessions are now devoted 
to both snatch AND clean and jerk.  
● Classical intensity frequently pushes up into ~90-93%. Disciplined lifters have 
discretion on high intensity days to attempt new PRs if they feel very good on that 
day, but should limit the number of attempts to stay in line with prescribed volume. 
● Accessory work volume and intensity more or less stay the same. 

Summer Part 2 (peaking) 

This phase is fun but doesn’t last long. 
● Squatting is almost entirely singles and doubles @ RPE 8.5-9.5. 
● Pulling is maintained at high intensities. Some lifters will benefit from slightly more 
work here, but the risk of injury goes up too. 
● The majority/entirety of sessions now train both snatch and clean and jerk 
● Classical intensities now sit from 93-98%. As before, PR attempts are okay on days 
that the lifter moves well. 
● Accessory work drops as we approach competition. 
 
Example “custom” program 
This is an example of a 5-day winter program we’ve customized to a ​hypothetical lifter 
focusing on: 
● leg development (small legs) 
● upper back strength (lifter can’t keep chest open in the extension) 
We’re assuming that this lifter is technically sound otherwise. Pay attention to how these 
two are targeted with different secondary/tertiary movements, and how the training 
program is arranged to fit this in. 
 
5-Day Volume Week (Winter 1) 
 

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Day 1 (snatch volume) 

1. Snatch from hang above knee, focus on dropping slowly to hang with open chest - 
5x2-3 @ 80% ceiling 
2. Snatch high pull from below knee, focus on open chest as above - 4x3-4, 2 back-off 
sets of 5-8. Warm up again from 50%. Start counting sets from 110% of full snatch, 
going up a few kg per set as long as you can still pull the bar above your navel 
without heaving/losing good positioning.  
3. Chest-supported row - 3x12 @ RPE 8. Focus on opening up the chest as much as 
possible. Scapula should be fully squeezed together at the top of each rep. RPE is 
low enough to allow this. 
4. Low intensity, low impact conditioning - 10 minutes 
 
Day 2 (squat intensity) 
1. Back squat - 6 working sets of 2 @ RPE 7-8 (focus on not letting knees and hips 
move backward out of the bottom from the bounce and keeping chest open) 
2. Isometric hold at sticking point - empty bar on back, hold for 3 sets x 1 minute 
3. Single-arm DB row - take a weight you think you can do for 10 reps and do 30. 
Cheating is necessary and encouraged after lifter can no longer perform strict reps 
4. Ab movement of your choice, 2 sets, max reps 
 
Day 3 (clean volume) 
1. Clean with pause at knee + jerk 5x(2+1) @ 80% ceiling 
2. Clean speed pull from hang above knee with slow lowering 4x6 @ 90% ceiling 
(focus open chest the whole time), start from 50% 
3. Underhand Yates row 3x12 RPE 8 (focus on scapular retraction and opening chest 
at the top of every rep) 
4. Standing press 3x12 RPE 8 (can be superset with row) 
 
Day 4 (mixed technique) 
1. Snatch - work up to a double @ 85% ceiling, then take 10% off and hit 3x3 
2. Clean and jerk - work up to a double @ 85% ceiling, then take 10% off and hit 3x2 
3. Weighted pull-ups - 5x5 @ RPE 9. Focus on scapular depression, not letting the 
shoulders round forward to get additional height at the top of the movement 

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4. Dips - bodyweight, 4 sets @ RPE 9 

 
Day 5 (squat volume) 
1. Back squat - 4 working sets of 6 @ RPE 8; 2 sets of 12 @ RPE 7 (focus on not letting 
knees and hips move backward out of the bottom from the bounce) 
2. Pause front squat - 4 working sets of 3, RPE 6, 5s eccentric w/ fast concentric, 
re-warm up from empty bar 
3. Cyclist squat - bar in front rack, heels elevated, 3 sets @ RPE 9 
4. Hyperextension - 2x15 RPE 8 
5. Ab movement of your choice - 2 sets, max reps 
 
Daily work 
1. 30 pull-ups (can be skipped on day 4) 
2. Stretching w/ focus on quads, hip flexors, pectorals, and rotator cuff 
 

Generic Templates 
Now that you have an idea of how we would arrange a program based on the principles 
outlined above and customize it according to weaknesses, we can show you some more 
generic templates. The following are not meant to be followed to the letter. Instead, 
dissect what is likely to work for you, toss out what you don’t think would work, and add 
back in the things that ​you need ​to​ ​work on. If you think it would be useful to get help with 
customizing your program or identifying your weaknesses, consider ​applying to our online 
school. 
 

5-Day Winter 1 
 
Day 1 (snatch + back squat volume) 
1. Snatch variation - 4-6 sets of triples @ 80% ceiling 
2. Snatch high pull - 3-4 sets of 3 @ 120% ceiling 

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3. Back squat - 4-6 working sets of 3-4 @ 8, 2 sets of 5-8 @ 7 

4. Upper body - 4-6 sets 
 
Day 2 (clean and jerk volume) 
1. Clean and jerk variation - 4-6 working sets of 2-3 @ 80% ceiling 
2. Clean deadlift - 4-6 working sets of 3 - ​back-offs optional 
3. Lower back exercise - 2-3 sets 
 
Day 3 (front squat volume) 
1. Front squat - 4-6 working sets of 3-4 @ 8 
2. Frog squat - 3-4 working sets of 8 @ 9 
3. Rows or pull-ups - 3-5 sets 
4. Abs 
 
Day 4 (mixed recovery) 
1. Muscle snatch - 3-4 working sets of 3 (off block if back is tired) @ 60% ceiling 
2. Push press - 4-5 working sets of 3 @ 8 
3. Upper body weakness – 4-6 sets 
4. Aerobic recovery - 20 minutes @ low intensity (~walking pace) 
 
Day 5 (classic intensity/technique day) 
1. Snatch - 4 sets of doubles @ 85% ceiling 
2. Clean and jerk - 4 sets of doubles @ 85% ceiling 
3. Half squat - 4-6 working sets of 3 - ​these are done with very slow descents (so that you 
can’t hear the plates or bar touch the block/pins) and heavy weights, once you get 
accustomed to this exercise 
4. Upper body weakness - 4-6 sets 
5. Abs 

5-Day Winter 2 
 
Day 1 (snatch volume + back squat intensity) 
1. Snatch variation - 4-6 sets of triples @ 80% ceiling 
2. Snatch high pull - 3-4 sets of 3 @ 120% ceiling 
3. Back squat - 6-8 working sets of 2-3 @ 8-9, 1 set of 5-8 @ 8 
4. Upper body - 4-6 sets 

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Day 2 (clean and jerk volume) 
1. Clean and jerk variation - 4-6 working sets of 2-3 @ 80% ceiling 
2. Clean deadlift - 4-6 working sets of 3 - ​back-offs optional 
3. Lower back exercise - 2-3 sets 
 
Day 3 (front squat intensity) 
1. Front squat - 4-6 working sets of 2-3 @ 9 
2. Frog squat - 2-3 working sets of 6 @ 9 
3. Rows or pull-ups - 3-5 sets 
4. Abs 
 
Day 4 (mixed recovery) 
1. Muscle snatch - 3-4 working sets of 3 (off block if back is tired) @ 60% ceiling 
2. Push press - 4-5 working sets of 3 @ 8 
3. Upper body weakness – 4-6 sets 
4. Aerobic recovery - 20 minutes @ low intensity (~walking pace) 
 
 
Day 5 (classic intensity/technique day) 
6. Snatch - 4 sets of doubles @ 87% ceiling 
7. Clean and jerk - 4 sets of doubles @ 87% ceiling 
8. Half squat - 4-6 working sets of 3 - ​these are done with very slow descents (so that you 
can’t hear the plates or bar touch the block/pins) and heavy weights, once you get 
accustomed to this exercise 
9. Upper body weakness - 4-6 sets 
10. Abs 
 
Note: to convert to a 4x/week program, remove the mixed recovery session (day 4) and 
add 20 minutes of free-form technique work to the end of the front squat session (day 
3). 

How to Plan Deload Weeks 

It all depends on the stage of the lifter. 
 
Both intensity and volume are down to 70-80% of the week before.  
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Exercise selection remains generally similar, with some variations included for technical 
issues.  
 
For an ​intermediate​,​ it’s more of a chance to fix any technical mistakes that might have 
developed when doing heavier weights.  
 
For someone more ​advanced​ with good technique, it’s just to recover and resensitize the 
body to training, while also getting in some more isolation work for injury prevention.  
 
For a ​masters​ lifter with limited recovery, we would suggest dropping one training session 
for simplicity sake, and possibly replacing it with active rest (ball games, jogging, 
swimming, hiking, light upper body pump session, etc.)  
In a 3 week cycle it would look like (5 days, 5 days, 4 days deload plus light basketball on 
the usual training day.)  
 
According to Coach Tao Chuang (coach of 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Lu Yong), his 
highest level​ lifters only do deloads when needed, not following any particular pattern. In 
other words, they are highly sensitive to their fatigue levels. If you aren’t, we recommend 
structuring them, possibly more frequently than you think. Coach Chu Meng of Shandong 
Province Sports University structures them every 3rd week for his male lifters and every 
4th week for female lifters (see below for why this is the case). 
 
For us in the Western world training 3-6x/week, it seems a deload every 4th week covers 
most lifters. This happens to be less frequent than the professionals, and we suspect this 
works so well because we aren’t accumulating fatigue as quickly in our loading phases. 
With women, this works especially well if you are in a training situation that allows you to 
time your menstrual cycle with the deloads. 

   

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Conclusion 
 
Everyone should be able to take this knowledge and do something positive with it. 
 
Just remember the plan has to make sense as a whole. Every block should have a few 
areas of focus, and every session should be devoted to those purposes. At the same time, a 
program should also be flexible, so you can adjust it according to your needs. However, if 
you understand the principles behind what you are doing, your strategies can be 
simultaneously effective, flexible, and creative. Put another way, it’s okay if one of those 
areas of focus involves experimentation with a specific approach. 
 
Your needs are your own, so you will have to think for yourself and honestly evaluate 
whether or not something is working. 
 
For athletes who are open-minded, inquisitive, and want to develop under more direct 
mentorship, consider again joining our online school where we can guide you under this 
system. 
 
Coach Yats 
Coach Zhang 

 
Coach PapaYats Online Development School 

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