LiftHard Chinese Weightlifting System

Based upon the highly successful Chinese methodology that has propelled China into weightlifting superstardom. Hugethanks to my former coach, Coach Wu for all the information he’s shared with me and how he’s taught me to dissectand analyse information presented. Thanks to the Malaccan, Malaysia government for importing such a wonderfulcoach to Malaysia.

Seriously…..you guys will listen to these two guys. And get strong.

Now, we’ll go through this system in chapters. I will write, the way I think and make it as simple as possible. Do NOTspeed read this. Analyse what I’m saying and dissect it and come back to me on how you think I can improve theknowledge I’m about to share. I will also sound a little weird sometimes because I’m trying to convey the message.

Chapter 1: Psychology.

- Intention.

When training, it would be recommended to have a partner. In training, we’ve this saying “51% of the job’s inthe head” and this is to explain intention. The intention we’re talking about here, is important to everything.When you approach a person you like, your intention is different. When you see someone you dislike, yourintention is different. But it’s still a human being you’re approaching.

In training, you must have the right intention, thus when going to the gym, you must set the right intentionbased on the purpose of training on that day. If it’s a snatch technical session, don’t go there with an intentionof seeing how heavy you can get. Keep with the plan. Patience.

What if you don’t feel like training that day? Tell someone, you’re going to hit a certain amount of weight acertain amount of technical proficiency, a certain amount of reps, whatever. And then video it to show to thatindividual. Take longer warm-ups. Do something innovative that’s specific to yourself to help you train thatday.

- Partners.

You need to also have a partner preferably to challenge you. Ever had one of those days, where you’re just notfeeling it? And then suddenly your mate comes in the door, or some cute chick comes in and you’re suddenlyenergized to train again? That’s the power of a partner. If you can, get a partner to lift with you. If it’s someonewho isn’t at your level, then give the individual a deficit that’s suited to his or her skills. Example, you squat,200KG. This person squats, 150KG. Give the person a 50KG handicap advantage and compete against thisindividual.

Admittedly, if you have someone who’s on your level or very close, the competition does feel a lot moreintense and you’ll be able to push more effectively.

- Learning to feel.

My coach thinks this is a psychology topic, so I’ll go with the man. Learn to trust your instincts. Be in tune withyour body and study the rhythm of your body. This is a strange concept I agree where we’re living in a culturewhere things are dictated by lawyers, accountants, the president of world bank all of which are about ascreative as dried wallpaper.

On days that you’re feeling like a world champion, understand that feeling and remember it. Try to store thisemotion and flow of your body. Learn to jot down what difference in terms of how you think, on that daycompared to the usual other days when your performance is “normal”. On bad days, jot down what youbelieve caused it. A lot of things happen mentally, more than we are willing to admit. Preferably, avoid mediaor news that’s depressing. Be in tune with happiness not sadness.

Remember this term “Find the feeling”.

Chapter 2: History to Chinamen Strength

The Chinese are genetically a smaller race compared to the rest of the races in the world. To demonstrate their strengthmeant to have to tweak technique till they could lift more. Chinese lifters probably aren’t the strongest in terms of theirsquats or pulling strength, but the efficiency in their technique allows them to lift the weights necessary. This however,isn’t to say they aren’t strong. They know that getting stronger required more volume, required greater technique,required more speed to break through the portions of the lift where they find most difficult. This is why, feeling it isespecially important.

Also recovery was a huge factor because they needed the volume but they could not keep training the samemovements. So an idea popped out to one of the pioneering Chinese weightlifting coaches who recently left us. Hisname was Chen Jingkai. Why don’t, we build strength, the way we build a building? We don’t have to just build one wallthat might fall should a wolf come and huff and puff it away. We can gradually build all four walls, and it’ll be muchstronger than just one wall.

This is the basis, of the Chinese system. Building, all the walls together. It seems now; the walls have grown to be anoctagon shaped wall. Now through the years, the Chinese have tweaked it so much that I believe Director Jingkaihimself would be confused if he actually looked at it at first glance. But the theory behind it remains. You much buildstrength, power, balance and skill. You need to understand the history of this system, to implement it correctly.

Chapter 3: The System Guidelines

Here are the GUIDELINES. Do NOT be stifled by guidelines. Guidelines are there, to light your path. It’s not a master andcommander relationship. Be ready to stray away slightly so you can learn more. Do not “know” too much. Try morethan know.

RPE

- Rate of perceived exertion is very important. The higher your RPE, the less your volume. The lower your RPE,the higher your volume.

- Every rep and set range that’s prescribed has a (+- 1) range. So if I say, 5 reps, it can be 4 or 6 too.

Olympic Weightlifting Movements

- You will have snatch days (and variation), twice a week. One on focus day, one on strength day.- You will clean and jerk (and variation), twice a week. One on focus day, one on strength day.- You will do snatch and clean and jerk together (and variation) heavy, once a week. Usually Friday.- You will have perfect or near perfect technique in every, single, rep. Even at max or PR.- You will build strength in the snatch and CNJ, with variation and repetitions and sets, after you hit your day’s

1RM. The volume that’s scraping the 85+% range will be those that develop your skill in the WL movements.- You will change the movements week by week. Every time you come back to a movement, say 3-4 weeks after

that you’ve used previously, you should PR.- BUT there are some of you that can actually PR the same movements a few times before switching. Do that.

Squat Movements

- You will have 2 squat days at least in a week. 3 is preferred. 4 if you are truly weak in the legs. 5 if your legs arethe size of Lindsay Lohan.

- You need to believe that partials, are key to getting you strong- Most but not all squat work should be at 80-88% (higher if technique is better)- You need to start believing that squatting between 70-80% for speed, has a purpose too.- Squat jumps with minimal knee bend will help you “send” the bar to its place- You got to stop squatting ass to grass all the time with the same damn stance every time. Why do you think

you squat ATG all the time? Because you’re comfortable with ATG. Want comfort, find a spa.

Pulls

- You will pull often and you will pull as fast you can. All pulls must feel the same as the actual snatch and clean.You mustn’t switch the thought process.

- If your goal for pulling is for strength, go heavier. If your goal for pulling is for power or technique, work withinthat “power or technique range” where you feel the most amount of power or control.

- The shrug is necessary in almost all cases to keep the barbell close.

Press and Rows and Bodyweight Movements

- All these movements, GENERALLY belong in D,E,F- Your back is more significant than your shoulder (Yes I said it)- You don’t want an excessively tight shoulder girdle, so if you press, you must row- You need to handle your trunk stability well. This is why handstands are so important.- High rep band pre-hab and unilateral and bodyweight movements will save your tendons and ligaments- Always finish your workout with some form of rows (band rows, ring rows, bent over rows [vary grip], etc)

Structural Balance

- If you begin to find that you’re leaning sideways when squatting or pulling, use a mirror to correct it.

Chapter 4: Lifthard Chinese Weightlifting System (LCWS)

The Big 8:

These are the 8 muscles that can and should be trained daily. RPE between 1-4.

1. Lats2. Rear deltoid3. Triceps4. Abs5. Lower back6. Ass7. Hamstrings8. Calves

Definitions

A: The main movement for that dayB: The secondary strength movement to assist the main weakness in “A”C: The secondary power or technical movement, to assist weakness in “A”D: The main ISOLATION assistance to weakness in “A”E: The main isolation assistance muscular weaknessF: A bodyweight, unilateral, band assisted movement to address any imbalance

Further Explanations

Most of these percentages are unimportant. Your feeling, your control and technique is far more important. The % ismerely A guideline. The REPS tell a better story than the percentage.

If you don’t feel like it’s the right time to max, while the guideline says max, do not max. If you feel like you can max,the guideline doesn’t require maxing, then max. You can choose, to ignore the guidelines, cleverly by listening to yourbody. Feel it.

All % is to be based against 1RM performance on THAT day. Not your lifetime 1RM.

Total Tonnage

Total tonnage means you will calculate the amount of weights lifted on that day. It should increase every week. Once itstarts to be very difficult to hit, you know it’s time to deload slightly for about a week. But don’t stop training. Reduceyour weights, reduce your sets, increase your reps.

Can I use powerlifting methods?

Like the bands? Yes! Of course. It’s a variable, that’ll assist with your squats or overall pull strength. A drill makes holes,a hammer breaks walls. Use the right tools for the right purpose. Culture should have NO influence to your pursuit ofstrength and happiness. See what I just did there?

KungFu & KungFool Exercises

KungFu exercises are exercises that you’ve mastered and are comfortable doing it. These are exercises with hugetransfer to your movements and will be preferred. These are exercises that have huge transfer to your lifting. You wantthis list to keep GROWING. How? Glad you ask.

KungFool exercises are exercises you suck at. Once you’ve mastered the movement and you don’t hate it anymore (eg,snatch balance, snatch high pull, power jerk, squat jerk), they become your KungFu exercises.

A: This movement should usually be worked to a 1RM with good form (40-50 minutes)

- First work up to movement 1RM- Strength day is usually squats. WL day, snatch, CNJ.- Squats - 82-88% 1RM, 4-6 sets @ 2-3 reps- WL - 85-90% 1RM, 4-6 sets @ 2-3 reps (if feeling good). 75-85% 1RM, 5-7 sets @ 3 reps (if not feeling good)- Remember +-1 rule- For on clean and jerks, drop by 1 set and 1 rep and play within that % range too.- Usually, partial squats are used with full squats. Partial squats, could be, “A” or “B”

B: Main strength assistance to suckiness in “A” (15 -20 minutes)

- If your first pull on that day sucked, you shall pull. If your jerk on that day sucked, you could partial front squat.If your back squat, you kept leaning over, do some extra range pulls.

- For pulls, go to 1RM (Would probably be between 130-150% of snatch and CNJ max)- Then go down and do 4-6 sets @ 3-4 reps @ 85%-90% on a good day. 6-8 sets @ 3-4 @ 70-80% on a bad day.

Always base upon your max of that day- If doing overhead work, again go to 1RM of that overhead work (snatch balance, push press, push jerk, etc) and

follow above guideline.- If you choose to snatch and CNJ on this day, after the squats (actually a great idea), try to stick for triples.

C: Main power or technical assistance (15 minutes tops)

- To address technical or power deficiency in that day’s technique.- 4-6 sets @ 2-3 reps for power- 8-10 sets @ 3-5 reps for technique- Percentages are difficult to explain on this day. Feeling, however should be comfortable and in control.- Example: Panda pulls, high hang snatch pulls, behind neck push press, rack jerk for reps,

The reps tell a better story. Always remember that.

D: Main Isolation (10 minutes)

- At this point, you want to begin thinking “muscular” and “biomechanics”. You want to go for 6-8 reps hereonwards if the movement has an eccentric portion. 15< reps if no eccentric. If your hamstrings are weak, usethings like Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, good mornings with bands hanging Kettlebell, extra rangedeadlifts, back extensions, glute ham raises, kettlebell swings (high reps, no eccentric), ball tossing

- 4 sets should be sufficient

E: Isolation Muscular Assistance (10 minutes)

- You’re attacking another muscle group that is weak. If on that day, you feel your hamstring truly is weakest,move to a 1-3 RPE movement. Attack it with 20-30 reps. Up to 50 reps. 3 sets should be enough.

F: Final assistance (10 minutes)

- About now, if you did it right, you should feel like a wet noodle. Some bodyweight, isometric, band work,bodybuilding; pre-hab work should be done at this point.

- Sprints, box jumps, broad jumps, some wrestling,

Extra Note

- ABC are all interchangeable- DEF are also interchangeable- ABC can also be done in DEF- But DEF should not be done in ABC

Example:

2 week training log

Week 1 Week 2Day 1: Snatch Day

- Hang snatch to 1RM (130KG). 2x2 @ 120KG, 4x3@ 116KG

- Triple pause snatch pull to 1RM (155KG), 5x4 @140KG

- Panda pulls, 130KG 8x3- Romanian deadlift styled pulls to feel glute and

hamstrings, 110KG x 6 x 4- Wide stance squats with Kettlebell, 3x50

Day 1: Strength Day- Front Squats with weights on the edge of bar

(177KGx1). Then hung bands with 24KG/each bellfor instability. 68KG+100KG plates x 5 x 2

- TNG Snatch grip deadlift, 6x6 @ 160KGFeeling awful…move to D

- Kettlebell Swings, 32KG x 4 x 25 (feeling betternow)

- Snatch from high hip for technique, 70KG x 7 x 3

Day 2: Strength- Front Squats to 1RM (180KG), 3x2 @ 160KG- Snatch from high blocks (previous tested 1RM

was 132KG), 105KG x 4x3- Quarter front squats (210KG) x 5 x 10- Bulgarian Lunges with kettlebells hanging off

bands (60KG), 3 x 15- Ring rows for weak back, 3 x 30 reps

Day 2: Snatch Day- Snatch from block above knee, 131KG. 4x3 @

121/124/121/125KG- Snatch balance to 1RM, 150KG x 1, 120KG x 3 x 5- Hang Panda pulls, 7 x 3,

Day 3: CNJ- 1 Pull + 2 clean + 1 jerk complex to 1RM (150KG),

5 x set of complex @ 120KG- Behind neck jerk to 1RM, 160KG, 3 x 2 @ 155KG.

Feels easy, 162KG x 1- Power clean + push press to 120KG (1RM), 5x3 @

110KG. Every rep, clean again- Clean pulls, 5x3 @ 170KG.- Band triceps extension, 4 x 50 reps with light

band

Get the idea now?

Day 4: Strength- Back squats with wide stance to 1RM (220KG), 5

x 3 @ 200KG- Sumo deadlift, 6x2 @ 200KG- Snatch Balance, 5x3 @ 140KG- Step-Ups carrying a partner on back, 3x20 each

leg- Eat a goat and die

Day 5: Snatch/CNJ- Classic snatch to 1RM, 131KG (PR!) then 128KG x

4 x 1- Clean from block to 1RM, 155KG, then 148KG x 2

x 2- Speed Squats @ 40% squat 1RM, 8 x 2- A crossfit wod to combine DEF (strict pull-ups x 5,

kettlbell clean and press x 10, renegade rows x20, 3 rounds)

Extras:

- Finished every workout this week with GHR because back was feeling tight