Wil Fleming, Author at Breaking Muscle

The Free 4-Week Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program

Wil Fleming — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 00:53:06 +0000

Click Here for the Stronger Than Ever Weightlifting Program

I turn 32 in the coming days.Wait one second, let me read that again.

Click Here for the Stronger Than Ever Weightlifting Program

I turn 32 in the coming days.Wait one second, let me read that again.

Just had to check for a second. That is a true statement, but one that is hard for me to believe. I turn 32, but I am stronger than I have ever been, except for a moment in college when I was thirty pounds heavier and squatting three inches higher.

Just last week I totaled over 300kg in an Olympic weightlifting meet for the first time in my life. A goal I first set for myself at the age of seventeen – finally off my bucket list. I am closing in on a 500lb back squat and front squatted over 400lb. Over the past twelve weeks I have hit personal records on the following:

10-, 5-, 3-, and 2RM Back Squat
5-, 3-, and 2RM Front Squat
Power Clean
Power Jerk
Clean and Jerk
Snatch

This newfound mid-life strength is the result of the program you have before you. I call it the stronger-than-ever program. Well, to be exact, my new records are the result of that program and some pretty freaking hard work. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that my athletes that have been on this program have hit personal records in every one of the above lifts and more, as well.

About the Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program: Timing

This is a four-day-per-week program. The best timing for the training sessions is going to be a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday type split. If that isn’t possible, then find some combination of day on, day off, two days on, day off, day on, day off.

You’ll need the days off to recover from the intensity and volume of the training days. Stacking the middle of the week with two days on is possible because day three on the program is a lighter day, so your squats will be at a lower intensity and jerks are rarely as taxing as the classical full lifts.

About the Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program: Exercise Selection

The basic daily plan is to squat, complete some variation of a classical lift, do a strength-based auxiliary movement, and complete the session with some basic bodybuilding work. This isn’t a Bulgarian, Russian, or Chinese program, but rather I have selected it after experimenting with many different Olympic lifting protocols. With trial and error under my belt, these exercises are chosen in the order and quantity I know works best for a majority of lifters.

This isn’t a program for Olympians, but neither you nor I are one of those. Instead, this is a program meant for the common lifter, the people who are obsessed with using the iron to get stronger and be more powerful.

About the Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program: Squats

You’ll be squatting four days a week. Three days of back squat and one day of front squat. Across the four weeks you will find a strictly linear periodization of either increasing volume or increasing intensity. The goal of the program is to hit a 5RM by the end of the cycle in the back squat.

Day one is always high rep and heavy back squats. Day two will be a higher intensity, but lower volume front squat day. Day three will be back squats again for high reps, but at a lower intensity, and we will wrap things up on day four with higher intensity and consistent reps on the back squat.

You’ll note the squats are always placed first in the session. This can be odd when you are used to a program that has you squatting later in the program, but I have had great success with squatting first and sapping some of my strength away before hitting the competition lifts. While my legs may be fatigued, I find my technique is more buttoned up and sharper for the competition lifts later in the session.

About the Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program: Classical Lifts

Each session during the week will feature some variation on a classical clean and jerk or snatch. Each of the first three days will only feature one of the three lifts, and the final day of every week will feature both lifts at a higher intensity.

Early in the program, you will be completing the classical lifts using some variation of a complex or combination movement. The goal with these is to have the bar in your hand for longer than you are accustomed and get something I like to call “sneaky” volume. No one needs to or should want to do five-plus reps on a snatch, but three reps of snatch and a couple additional overhead squats can get you used to the bottom of the snatch position in a hurry.

About the Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program: Strength Lifts

Each day will also feature a strength lift or two that is some partial repetition movement designed to both dial in your technique and also get you used to handling heavier loads before having to hit them in the classical lifts. Typically, these movements will be a pull for the snatch and clean or a jerk squat (the dip portion of the jerk). In my lifetime, I have never cleaned, jerked, or snatched something before handling it during a pull or partial movement. Getting your body ready for that load later down the line is an important part of the preparation process.

About the Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program: Bodybuilding

Some Olympic lifting programs shy away from these movements altogether. If it ain’t a squat or a classical lift, it’s worthless, right? Well, not so fast.

The bodybuilding portion of training prepares your body for larger loads in the future. By thinking about weak points – shoulders, elbows, trunk – and then training them specifically, we can prepare ourselves for more demand in the classical lifts and the squats.

Conclusion

This program is not designed to peak you out for a meet, but it is definitely one you can use to start building your strength. Start to enjoy the grind and embrace the daily squatting. Your lifts will thank me later.

Click Here for the Stronger Than Ever Weightlifting Program

The post The Free 4-Week Stronger-Than-Ever Weightlifting Program appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 4

Wil Fleming — Sat, 10 May 2014 09:00:00 +0000

EDITOR’S NOTE: These workouts are written byWil Fleming, co-owner of Force Fitness and Performance. Wil finished 8th in the 2013 National Weightlifting Championships and coaches dozens of weighlifters at his facility in Bloomington, Indiana. To learn more about this program,read Wil’s article here.

The stronger-than-ever-program is a four week, four day-per-week program. Workouts will be posted on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday each week. The program utilizes squatting, Olympic lifting, and bodybuilding movements during each session to get you, literally, stronger than ever. So let’s do it!

Week 4, Day 4

Back squat up to 5 rep max
Snatch pull from knee* 3X5 at 90%
Snatch 3 reps at 60%, 3 reps at 70%, 3 reps at 80%, 3 reps at 85%, 2+1 at 90%
Clean pull 3X5 at 90%
Clean and jerk 3 reps at 60%, 3+1 reps at 70%, 3+1 at 80%, 3+1 at 85%, 2+1 at 90%

A. Push ups 3xAMAP
B. Chin ups 3xAMAP
C. 3-way shoulder raise 3×5 per arm

*Lower Slowly between reps

The post Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 3

Wil Fleming — Thu, 08 May 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Week 4, Day 3

Back squat (10% lighter than day 1) 10 reps at 65% 1RM, 3X6 at 75%
Jerk squats 8 reps at 80% 1RM, 5 reps at 85%, 3X3 at 100%
Jerk 3 reps at 60% 1RM, 4X3 at 80%

A. Single Leg RDL 3×10 per leg
B. Back Extensions 3×10
C. Reverse Crunch 3×10

The post Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 2

Wil Fleming — Wed, 07 May 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Week 4, Day 2

Front squat 5 reps at 65%, 5 reps at 75%, 5 reps at 85%, 2X3 at 95%
Snatch grip shrugs 3X10 at 95%
Hang snatch from above the knee + snatch* (complex) 2 reps at 60%, 2 reps at 70%, 3X2 at 85%

A. 3-way DB bicep curl (Zottman, strict, hammer) 3×5 per arm
B. DB Pendlay rows 3×10
C. OH tricep extension 3×10

*Lower slowly between reps

The post Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 1

Wil Fleming — Mon, 05 May 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Week 4, Day 1

Back squat 10 reps at 60%, 10 reps at 70%, 3X6 at 85%
Clean + power jerk (complex) 5 reps at 60%, 5 reps at 70%, 3X3+1 at 85%
Clean pull from below the knee 4X5 at 90%
Bench press 10 reps at 70%, 3X6 at 85%

A. Pistol squats (modify height if necessary) 3×5 per leg
B. Single-leg reverse hyper 3×15 per leg
C. Ab wheel rollouts 3×10

The post Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 4, Day 1 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 3, Day 4

Wil Fleming — Sat, 03 May 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Week 3, Day 4

Back squat 5 reps at 70%, 5 reps at 80%, 3X5 at 87%
Snatch pull from knee* 3X5 at 90%
Snatch 3 reps at 60%, 3 reps at 60%, 3 reps at 70%, 3 reps at 80%, 2X3 at 85%
Clean pull 3X5 at 90%
Clean and jerk 3 reps at 60%, 3+1 reps at 70%, 80%, 2X3+1 at 85%

A. Push ups 3xAMAP
B. Chin ups 3xAMAP
C. 3-way shoulder raise 3×5 per arm

*Lower Slowly between reps

The post Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 3, Day 4 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 3, Day 3

Wil Fleming — Thu, 01 May 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Week 3, Day 3

Back squat (10% lighter than day 1) 10 reps at 60% 1RM, 3X8 at 70%
Jerk squats 8 reps at 80% 1RM, 8 reps at 85%, 3X6 at 95%
Jerk 3 reps at 60% 1RM, 3X4 at 75%

A. Single Leg RDL 3×10 per leg
B. Back Extensions 3×10
C. Reverse Crunch 3×10

The post Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 3, Day 3 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 3, Day 2

Wil Fleming — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 09:00:00 +0000

Week 3, Day 2

Front squat 5 reps at 65%, 5 reps at 75%, then 5 reps at 85%, 3X4 at 90%
Snatch grip shrugs 3X10 at 90%
Hang snatch from above the knee + snatch* (complex) 2 reps at 60%, 2 reps at 70%, 4X2 at 80%

A. 3-way DB bicep curl (Zottman, strict, hammer) 3×5 per arm
B. DB Pendlay rows 3×10
C. OH tricep extension 3×10

*Lower slowly between reps

The post Strength and Conditioning: Wil Fleming, Week 3, Day 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

How to Brace and Breathe Properly for Weightlifting

Wil Fleming — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 15:00:00 +0000

Click Here for Wil’s Free Stronger Than Ever Weightlifting Program

In the past, I have just given the advice to “brace the core.” This cue brings about the image, or it should at least, of bracing your abdomen for a punch to the gut from Chuck Liddell. (There are probably more current references, but the Iceman packed a punch back in the day.)

The brace is still important, but it isn’t the only piece of the puzzle to creating a trunk that is stable enough to stand up with massive weights on the chest or overhead. The breath is the second piece of that puzzle, and without the correct breath, no one can brace in the right way.

What Is the Core?

Before we get to the breathing part, I think a definition of the core is important. In terms of weightlifting the core is anything that is part of your trunk, including but not limited to:

Rectus abdominus
Internal and external obliques
Transverse abdominus
Spinal erectors
Deep hip flexors
Pelvic floor
Diaphragm (pay attention to this one)

I would go so far as to say that anything that crosses into these muscular groups, like your lats sharing vertebrae with the erectors, could be included in your core. If we want to go even a step further, muscles above and below have a direct relationship to the proper function of the core too – as in the gluteals playing a big role in the ability of your rectus abdominus to function well. So your “core” includes a lot of stuff.

The Importance of Bracing in Weightlifting

Bracing is simply the best way to engage the entirety of the core and to create stiffness in an area that normally does not have stiffness. Mike Robertson, coach at Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training, defined the function of the core in the simplest way that I have heard, when he talked about “the two Rs” of the core.

The core has two functions: The first is redistribution, as in redistribution of tension. Think of this R like a suspension bridge. The cables themselves are not tight to begin with, but they can support the weight of the bridge below through a redistribution of tension, like in a plank. The second R is redirection, as in the redirection of force. Power that is created in the lower body can only be moved along the kinetic chain through a core that is tight.

In Olympic lifting, we must use the core with both Rs in mind. The first is redistribution of tension, as the initial lift off from the ground needs a tight system to budge the object at rest (the barbell on the floor). Once the second pull is initiated, a redirection of force is necessary to finish the pull and begin to move under the bar.

Bracing your core is the only way to create enough tension so that your core does not fold under loads. The alternatives to bracing are twofold. First, you can use an overly extended posture, in which you are relying solely on tension in the lower back spinal erectors to maintain position. The second option is to hollow the abdominal cavity, as in the bodybuilding “abs” pose (please excuse me if I am not up to date on my bodybuilding lingo). While the abs certainly pop, and the pecs look large in this pose, it is not creating the high-tension system that we need for weightlifting. The only true way to get your core into the action is to brace your core, and the only way to effectively brace your core is to breath your way to it.

Bracing Through Breathing

Bracing the core through breathing is easily seen in powerlifting where almost every single athlete is using a belt. With the belt on, it is not uncommon to see a powerlifter push their belly out over the top and bottom of the belt. If you know some powerlifters, you might think this is due more to their diet choices rather than their mastery of core control, but with 1000lbs on their backs or 800 on the floor, they are likely in control of exactly the kind of posture that’s wanted.

Bracing is about filling your trunk with pressure and this is exactly where your diaphragm comes into play. Most athletes I run into are in an extended posture, as in an accentuated lordosis of the lumbar spine, anterior tilt of the pelvis, and flared lower ribs. This posture is also known as Janda’s lower cross syndrome, characterized by muscles that are overly tonic or phasic (tight hip flexors and erectors, weak gluteals and abdominals) The simple nature of this extension posture generally means that the diaphragm is inhibited.

Ideally the core is a cylinder, like a can filled with your favorite (highly) processed food. If you imagine that same can slightly crushed on the back side and bulging out the front side, you would picture a can that is ready to burst – one that has a weakness because disproportionate pressure is being exerted on one side. An extension posture is this badly misshapen can. This posture means that the top of your core (your diaphgram) is not facing the bottom of your core (the pelvic floor) and creating pressure in the core is much more difficult to do now.

To effectively Olympic lift, you must use a bracing posture. Try doing this now, first by tightening your stomach for the knockout blow, and then breathing into your stomach. With the diaphragm acting as part of the equation you now have a complete brace.

This is easily illustrated without a lifting belt by placing your hands on your obliques right above the crest of the pelvis. When you brace properly, you will see your hands move laterally. Now put one hand on your stomach, breathe deeply into your stomach. You will feel your hand move, and your ribs should expand laterally, as well. We call this “breathing into the brace.” Complete this move before every snatch, clean, jerk, or squat.