Chinese Weightlifting Training Program
If you have seen the Olympic weightlifting you most probably have heard the terms snatch, clean
and jerk. These are not just for the professional athletes; you can perform these lifts even if you are
an intermediate gym goer or even a beginner.
This simple-looking but highly technical lifts can help you improve your functional strength. You
ought to do them if you are a professional weightlifter if not, you can still perform these for personal
improvement and fun.
The Chinese weightlifting workout program is the routine followed by many Chinese weightlifters.
This routine is different than many traditional weightlifting programs.
This article describes everything you wish to know about the type of training programs used by
Chinese Olympic weightlifting athletes. It also provides you with a workout template to go with.
There is not much information available in the public domain about the Chinese weightlifting
training.
Kirk, who has done his training with Chinese weightlifting coach has complied this workout program
from his experience with them.
The Chinese weightlifters train near their max capacity for the most part of their training. they
almost touch the overtraining level but do have sufficient rest periods to cope up with the intense
training.
Chinese Weightlifting Training Program Overview
In the Chinese Olympic weightlifting training methods, they utilise a variety of exercises together.
They don’t limit themselves to a particular type of workouts.
Their focus is to find and eliminate the weaknesses if any. In real set up, the Chinese weightlifters
have no rigid workout plan but they have an outline of what muscle groups and movements to focus
on particular days.
This workout plan is prepared considering that outline.
This is an intense program involving you training to your max weightlifting capability about 30% of
the time. You have at least one set to be done with your 1 rep max weight every day.
You work for six days a week with four to five different exercises having 2-3 sets each. The exercises
include but not limited to the snatch, clean and jerk, back squats, deadlifts, front squats, clean pulls,
etc.
The rep scheme can be altered with respect to performance. If you miss too many times, you can
reduce the weight by 5-10 kg and do extra 2-3 sets of 3-4 reps.
The workout template given in this article consists of a six day workout schedule with exercises, reps
and sets you need to perform.
If you consider Monday to Saturday as training days, Mondays are a mix of exercises while Tuesdays
are like a whole session dedicated to snatching with little rest. Rest of the week would be a mix of
squats, pulls and lifts.
Important Workout Guidelines
Beginner or expert you need to know the following things if you wish to start training with this
workout plan.

Doing squat at your 1 rep max needs too much efforts and takes time to recover to full
strength. Thus, limit your 1 RM squats to once a week

As you grow stronger through exercising with lower weights, you would be spending less
time in strength training

Most of the lifters never reach the peak of their strength. If you have, you are one of the few

If you are at the peak of your strength you should be using that to lift heavy. As you don’t
need much strength training now, you can utilise that time to power lift

If you don’t know your 1 rep max, use the number of reps you do with moderate weights to
calculate the same

You should be playing with the number of reps and weights used but you should never go
farther than 80% of your 1 rep max

To even out the muscular imbalances, you should do unilateral exercises after the main
workout session
Related Programs:
Russian Squat Program
nSuns 531 Programs with Spreadsheet
Daily Undulating Periodization (DUP) Program
Chinese Weightlifting Program
Snatch to 1RM
CNJ to 1RM
Back Squats
Clean Pulls
Behind neck push press
Snatch to 1RM (Overhead squat after
completion of each rep)
Snatch Balance
Snatch Pulls
Block High Snatch Pulls with Rebend
Clean + FS + Jerk 1RM
Front Squats
Clean Pulls
Behind Neck Push Jerk
Push Press
Back Squats to 1RM
Snatch 85-90%
Clean and Jerk 85-90%
Strict Press
Snatch to 1RM
CNJ to 1RM
Snatch Pulls
Block snatch high pull with rebend
Workout Routine
Monday
3×3
3×2
5-7 x 3-5
5x3
5 x 2-5
Tuesday
5-8 x 2-3
5-8 x 1-3
5-6 x 2-3
6-8 x 2-3
Wednesday
5-8 x 2
5-8 x 1 -3
5-6 x 3
8x1
5x3
Thursday
6-8 x 2-5
2-3 x 1
2-3 x 1
5 x 3-5
Friday
3x1
3x1
5x3
5 x 2-3
Jerk Drives (About the same weight as your max 8 × 3
1RM back squats)
Saturday
Front Squats to 1RM
5-6 x 1-3
Platform Clean Deadlifts
5-6 x 1-3
Snatch Balance
5-6 x 1-3
Push Jerk
5 × 1-3
Related Programs:
PHAT Workout Program
PHUL Workout Program
German Volume Training Plan
GZCLP Program with Spreadsheet
Train Like The Olympian Weightlifters
Through this Chinese weightlifting training program, you would be learning and mastering the
fundamentals of Olympic lifts and also gain the strength to perform them.
The workout plan has the exercises like front squats, pulls, deadlifts, push press etc. to help you ease
with the complex movements like the snatch or clean and jerk.
Even if you don’t plan to be a weightlifter, professional or otherwise, this Chinese weightlifting
workout plan and the lifts carried during this will make you stronger, more flexible and faster.
Dr Workout