The Training of B. Selitsky for the XIX Olympic Games
R.A. ROMAN
Weightlifting: Sbornik Statei
58- 62:1970
Translated by Andrew Charniga, Jr.
Sportivny Press©
2008
B. Selitsky made the following result at the 1967 USSR Spartakiade: 145 + 142.5 + 175 = 462.5 kg. This was in July of 1967. But after one year and some odd months, in October of 1968 he became Olympic Champion in the 82.5 kg class with a result of 150 + 147.5 + 187.5 = 485 kg. During his training leading up to this event he pressed 160 kg and clean and jerked 190 kg in training.
How do you explain the athlete’s stormy improvement in such a short period? Undoubtedly, it was his training method.
The contents of Selitsky’s training for the 1967 Spartakiade and the following period are presented in the table. You can see from the table that the sportsman executed 570 lifts in July of 1967 in training for the competition; 313 (55%) were in the press, the snatch and the clean and jerk exercises. 205 lifts (36%) were performed with weights less than 80% of maximum and only 109 lifts with 80% and higher, which yields the greatest improvement of results.
A small number of lifts (19) were performed with weights 90% of the limit press, snatch and clean and jerk.
The quantity of pulls and squats was large (45%) which were performed with significant weights (the average weight of the snatch pull was 100.4% of the limit snatch and the average weight in the clean pull was 98.3% of the maximum clean and jerk). Consequently the average weight of the barbell for the month was high (129.1 kg).
A fourth of the training (25%) was carried out with lifts less than 70% of maximum which do not yield the desired training effect for improvement of results.
The training loading was increased sharply during the August – September period for an average of 1,039 lifts per month. The changes in the loading were qualitative. The volume of lifts in the press, the snatch and the clean and jerk exercises, even in the preparatory period, was 62% (in January of 1968 it was 66%) of the general volume. This volume comprised 644 lifts versus 313 lifts in July, i.e., more than double the volume.
The volume of lifts with 80% of the limit and higher grew by one and half times (from 105 to 166). The portion of pulls and squats diminished by 38% (and in January by 34%). Furthermore, the average weight in the snatch pull was 93.8% of the limit snatch and 96.5% of the limit clean and jerk in the clean pull (instead of 100.4 and 98.3% in July of 1967).
The average weight of the barbell diminished to 127.8 kg and in January to 127.4 kg. The volume of exercises performed with less than 70% comprised 19% of the monthly volume instead of the previous 25%.
The emphasis of training was speed – strength instead of strength.
Subsequently, in January of 1968 the number of lifts with 90% and higher in the press, the snatch and the clean and jerk exercises increased to 26 in the preparatory period.
The contents of training changed completely in the competition period. The number of lifts was increased from 730 in October of 1967 to 800 in September of 1968. The volume of press, snatch and clean and jerk exercises increased in the pre-Olympic period by making up 74% of the monthly training volume.
The volume of exercises performed with 80% and above weights increased with the approach of the Olympic Games; in August and September it comprised 21% of the monthly volume or 168 lifts.
The number of lifts with 90% of the press, the snatch and the clean and jerk limit increased up to 40 lifts a month in August and September.
During this period he reduced the monthly volume of pulls and squats to 26%; whereas, it was 29% in October of 1967.
The mean training weight in the classic exercises was significantly different: 78, 80 and 77.1% of the limit result, as opposed to 71, 77.3 and 73% in July of 1967. The mean training weight during this period in the snatch pull was reduced to 93.4% and 95% of the maximum clean and jerk in clean pulls.
The number of weights with less than 70% was 21 to 22% in the competition months instead of 25%. The volume of the classic exercises also grew in August to September of 1968 to 35% of the monthly volume. The average training weight became 127 kg for these months.
If you take into account that the volume of pulls and squats comprised 26% of the monthly volume and that the weight of the barbell in pulls was reduced, it becomes obvious that the increase in the average weight was by means of increased training weight in the press, the snatch and the clean and jerk exercises.
Therefore, B. Selitsky achieved high results by making qualitative changes to the contents of his training.
Conclusions:
- there was an optimum increase in the number of lifts in both the competition and preparatory periods;
- the volume of press, snatch and clean and jerk lifts increased whereas the volume of pulls squats and other assistance exercises decreased;
- the number of lifts with 80% and more in the press, the snatch and the clean and jerk increased;
- the number of lifts with 90% and more in the classic press, the snatch and the clean and jerk was increased to the optimum level;
- the weight of the barbell in pulls and squats was reduced;
- the number of lifts with less than 70% were reduced.