Robert Asks: Good morning Mr. Everett- I saw an article written by you re: Strength Lifts and classic Lifts for weightlifting from May 2011- very interesting. My question is, are squats really necessary then for a somewhat advanced lifter, or to your point, would doing more c&j accomplish more to improve strength for the c&j more so that doing less c&j and substituting more squats- which drives which I think you mention. All the best and thank you for any advice.

Greg Says: I suppose I can’t state as an irrefutable fact that squats are necessary for such a lifter, but I believe they are, and even if not necessary in the strictest sense of the word, at the very least beneficial and effective. I believe that in certain circumstances for certain lifters, every accessory lift could be eliminated for periods of time with the exception of squats—this would include pulls. However, I find pulls very valuable and would be reluctant to eliminate them for anyone permanently. I have been known to drop pulls for several weeks at a time for lifters I feel are suited at that time for more of a Bulgarian-style program focused on heavy classic lifts and squats, but the squats always stay.

The bottom line is that the benefit of squats is derived largely because of their simplicity—they are a non-technical exercise that allows a huge amount of overload, not just of the local musculature, but also with regard to the endocrine system. Because the snatch and clean & jerk are both technical and speed-dependent, they cannot be relied on in quite the same way, although they can certainly provide significant stimulus for strength. These features create somewhat of a limitation on what a lifter can do, and squats allow that lifter to continue training beyond that threshold (as do pulls).

A borderline solution might be achieved by using complexes to incorporate more squatting into the classic lifts themselves: complexes such as cleans + front squats, or pull + snatch or clean could increase the strength stimulus to a point without technically doing squats as a standalone exercise. A lifter could also perform more reps, particularly in the clean (doubles and triples rather than singles) to achieve a similar effect; however, you run into a similar problem in that the limiter for reps in the clean is more often the ability to pull and turn the bar over adequately, not to recover in the squat once the former has been done.

Squats also provide a way to increase and manipulate the training volume and intensity without exceeding a volume and intensity of the classic lifts that may produce repetitive stress injuries. In other words, increasing the number of classic lifts performed in a given period to achieve the same local and systemic overload in the absence of squats is more likely to cause problems in the joints; using squats instead of that increased classic lift volume provides enough variety to help avoid such problems, a little break mentally, and more loading on the legs and trunk than can be achieved through the classic lifts.

Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that in order to improve in the snatch and clean & jerk, a lifter must snatch and clean & jerk, and do so more frequently and with greater intensity the more advanced he or she becomes. Bob Takano’s new book, Weightlifting Programming: A Winning Coach’s Guide, discusses this well and provides examples of program design demonstrating a reduction of accessory exercises and increased volume, intensity and frequency of classic lifts as a lifter progresses through stages of advancement.

Additionally, consideration needs to be given to the present abilities of a given weightlifter. Regardless of what stage of advancement that lifter is in, how proficient he or she is with the classic lifts versus squats will determine where the emphasis is placed (or should be). That is, a lifter who is able to squat at a level far beyond his current snatch and clean & jerk numbers needs to prioritize the snatch and clean & jerk, and vice versa.

The classic lifts provide training stimulus that can’t be replicated with any other exercises. I think much of the confusion arises because weightlifting is a sport in which the competition movements are training exercises. No baseball player thinks he can get better at baseball without playing baseball; no football player thinks he doesn’t need to play football to be a better football player. In these cases, it’s very obvious because the sport itself and the training in the gym are very different; in weightlifting, there is more crossover so it’s not as clear.

Ultimately, I don’t know why a weightlifter would ever desire to eliminate squats from his or her training program. The issue really is just finding the proper balance of emphasis, volume, intensity and frequency based on each lifter’s level of advancement and present abilities.


Thomas Asks: I am approaching my 65th b-day in June. I haven't lifted regularly in about a year. I want to get back to lifting on a regular schedule and possibly some local competition although my strength level has dropped considerably during my layoff. I have easy access to a facility set up for weightlifting and would be able to devote an hour a day for workouts. Could you suggest a routine. For recovery purposes what would be the best, a 3 or 4-day schedule? Thanks for any help you can give me.

Greg Says: How well you recover and consequently how many days a week you train is not something I can tell you—you will need to experiment to find out what works best for you. However, after such a layoff, I would start with three days per week for at least two weeks to graduate back into your training conservatively.

A good basic three-day program structure would look like this:

Day 1
Snatch
Snatch Pull
Front Squat

Day 2
Jerk
Push Press
Overhead Squat

Day 3
Clean & Jerk
Clean Pull
Back Squat

However, note that those exercises are representative of classes of exercises rather than specifically that exercise. In other words, “snatch” could be any snatch-type exercise, from power snatch to hang or block snatches, to snatch complexes. What you choose to do would depend on your needs. The same goes for the pulls—this could be any kind of pull or deadlift variation, like partials halting, segment pulls, pulls on a riser or off of blocks, etc. The push press can also be varied—snatch push press, press, snatch balance—really any overhead exercise you need to work on. Likewise, the overhead squat can be anything similar, like a snatch balance.

I would suggest making the first couple weeks back to training very light and easy on volume: worry more about getting back into the swing of the movements, loosening up and feeling good rather than beating yourself up. You may also want to minimize speed movements—for example, do snatch and clean deadlifts instead of pulls and keep the squats at a fairly slow tempo. After a couple weeks, if you’re feeling good, start ramping up the intensity, volume and speed. Typically I will push lifters for three weeks, then back off a week. You may find that two weeks hard and one week light will work better for you. Again, this is something you will need to determine through experimentation. I suggest starting with two weeks and increase to three weeks if two feels too easy.