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Russian Masters Squat Routine

Russian Masters Squat Routine with Calculator at end of page

Many people will be familiar with the Russian Squat Routine as a specialised squat routine to improve leg strength. A high volume of squats performed both heavy and frequently with progressive loading result in an improvement of squat 1rm. However, for most people, squatting three times a week, as required by the original template published by Zeinalov in the Russian journal Tiazhelya Atletika in 1976, is not easy to implement into your training and is rather demanding and detrimental to other lower body work. The original article, "Methods of developing Leg Strength" can be read on sportivny press (which is itself an excellent resource).

Luckily, I was introduced to the so called masters version of this program on a forum. The simple premise is you reduce the frequency of squat workouts to twice a week, and extend the program to 9 weeks rather than the original 6.

Russian Squat Routine (Original)

All prescriptions are in sets x reps format

Session:	1	2	3
Week 1.	6x2@80%	6x3@80%	6x2@80%
Week 2.	6x4@80%	6x2@80%	6x5@80%
Week 3.	6x2@80%	6x6@80%	6x2@80%
Week 4.	5x5@85%	6x2@80%	4x4@90%
Week 5.	6x2@80%	3x3@95%	6x2@80%
Week 6.	2x2@100%	6x2@80%	1x1@105%

In order to alter this to the masters version, we perform two sessions per week instead and it is highly recommended to use a training maximum rather than an absolute maximum:

Russian Masters Squat Routine

All prescriptions are in sets x reps format

Session:	1	2
Week 1.	6x2@80%	6x3@80%
Week 2.	6x2@80%	6x4@80%
Week 3.	6x2@80%	6x5@80%
Week 4.	6x2@80%	6x6@80%
Week 5.	6x2@80%	5x5@85%
Week 6.	6x2@80%	4x4@90%
Week 7.	6x2@80%	3x3@95%
Week 8.	6x2@80%	2x2@100%
Week 9.	6x2@80%	1x1@105%

I prefer to reorganise the days to have the harder squat session first in the week, and this allows me to deadlift after the 6x2@80% of the second squat session.

Russian Masters Squat Routine (Modified 10 Weeks)

All prescriptions are in sets x reps format. The final maximum session can be completed at any time in the tenth week; ideal for a weekend competition.

Session:	1	2
Week 1.	6x3@75%	6x2@80%
Week 2.	6x3@80%	6x2@80%
Week 3.	6x4@80%	6x2@80%
Week 4.	6x5@80%	6x2@80%
Week 5.	6x6@80%	6x2@80%
Week 6.	5x5@85%	6x2@80%
Week 7.	4x4@90%	6x2@80%
Week 8.	3x3@95%	6x2@80%
Week 9.	2x2@100%	6x2@80%
Week 10.	1x1@105%

The masters version of this allows you to train other lifts while still performing a good squat cycle. I have ran it utilising four training days; squat, bench, squat + dealift, press. If you are a powerlifter there is ample opportunity to train the bench and deadlift around this template. If you are a weightlifter, I would expect the heavier day to significantly impact the training of the classic lifts. I would organise the heaviest day to be a separate squat day. Even 6x2@80% may be challenging in conjunction with olympic lifting in the same session. If you intend to do this as a weightlifter, there must be a good incentive for you to prioritise squatting this much, as discussed in the original article and this critique by Bud Charniga "Concerning the Russian Squat Routine".

Still, its a great cycle and an example of very sound programming. Personally, I failed a 160kg squat before running this cycle and achieved a 180kg maximum after the ten weeks. +20kg in ten weeks is not bad at all!

Russian Masters Squat Routine Gen (Modified 10 Weeks)

Enter your Max:

Session:	1	2
Week 1.	6x3x	6x2x
Week 2.	6x3x	6x2x
Week 3.	6x4x	6x2x
Week 4.	6x5x	6x2x
Week 5.	6x6x	6x2x
Week 6.	5x5x	6x2x
Week 7.	4x4x	6x2x
Week 8.	3x3x	6x2x
Week 9.	2x2x	6x2x
Week 10.	1x1x

A Beginners Guide To Peaking for a Powerlifting Meet

  There are many simple and effective ways to reach peak condition for a competition. The important factors are elucidating the most top-end strength possible from your base strength work, dissipating fatigue accumulated in the heavy weeks of volume and loading, and developing your skill at lifting maximum weights.

  In order to achieve the most top end strength from more volume based work such as 3x5, 5x5, 5x3, 3x8 etc we must move from a higher volume, moderate intensity approach, to a high intensity, low volume approach. Now, high intensity lifts, as the term suggests, are very taxing. So it is important whilst building our strength to its maximal level, that we do not over exert, accumulate more fatigue and see our performance decrease (overreaching, overtraining, fatigue - it has many names, but the end result is that you lift less - something you don't want to happen at a competition).

  By lifting heavier weights, our skill at lifting maximal weights improves. It follows logically that doing a heavy double helps your ability to successfully perform a max single more than a set of five or ten reps. As the intensity increases in our training, our focus on technique and producing maximal force should also. For a good one rep max attempt we need the best reasonable technique, our strength level must be good, we must be well-recovered, and confidence must be high. A max effort lift that starts with the best technique will probably end looking pretty awful, and a max effort lift started with bad technique will likely not end at all. The point here is to keep form as good as reasonably possible so that we can lift the most weight.

  Finally in preparation for a competition, we need to be well-recovered. The fatigue and muscle damage accumulated from regular training must be dissipated and recovered. How is this done? By reducing the volume of out workload. Now I have gone over the basic points lets get to some practical and usable examples.

This guy knows a thing or two about peaking, and you should too!

The First Peaking Template I Ever Used

The people who helped me do my first meet showed me this, which I believe they got from a Josh Bryant routine, and I have seen many similar templates - such as a spreadsheet Marc Keys gave to someone on the PropaneFitness Forum. Its a powerlifting classic and is dead simple.

Let's assume you squat on monday, bench on wendesday, and deadlift on friday. You run a basic 3x5 or 5x5 routine, or even something like 5/3/1 and you have a reasonable idea of what the maximum you can achieve in each lift is, if not I will put a rough guide at the end so you can figure this out.

• 4 weeks out, work up to a heavy triple on the individual lift on its respective day (90% of your projected 3rd attempt - this will probably be your opener); normal assistance, last real session for it, hammer anything you really like.

• 3 weeks out, work up to a heavy double (95% of your third - will probably be your second attempt); reduced assistance volume

• 2 weeks out, openers (work up to[b] one single[/b], with 85-90% of your predicted max for the comp); minimal assistance, only keep stuff you believe keeps you from being injured like rows or face-pulls.

• 1 week out, reduced load (stretch, do 50% for sets of 5, tops. just get some blood flowing and leave feeling like you haven't done a damn thing. The hard work has been done, nothing will be gained by doing anything now.)

Use the triples in week 4, and the doubles week to figure out what you will be good for at the meet. If the weight you used for a triple blows your eyes out their sockets, reign in what you try for a double, and then from that feel out what you will be able to max out on.

Apply maximum focus to these triples and doubles. Do them as if they are the real thing. Get a friend to call the commands for you if possible. Concentrate on your technique warming up, get in the groove, then use maximum strength and power on your top set. Do whatever you like to lift the most, for some people thats to walk around the gym going mad, running up to the rack and lifting like a maniac for others its just keeping quiet, getting focused and lifting.  Get in the mindset you like, and helps you lift the best. This will get you conditioned to lift well with maximum weights!

A common mistake made by novice lifters (and more experienced ones) is to lift too heavy and attempt max singles only a few weeks out from the meet. This is only done due to a lack of confidence. Max singles will not help you get stronger in the last weeks of meet preparation, they will only hinder your recovery. Smash the triples, smoke the doubles and you will be set, it will all come together on the day. I guarantee it.

George Zimmer guarantees you will have a good meet if you dont max out beforehand...

Attempt Selection

The next mistake that is often made is selecting bad numbers. How you feel on the day of the competition should also come into play when choosing your attempts. If you feel bad, or particularly weak on a certain lift, it is wise to curb your numbers in response to that. What should you be looking for with your different attempts?

• Opener (1st): This should be easy. Almost a token lift. ~85-90% of what you think you are capable of. Generally something you can triple on a bad day. The less experience you have, the more you should err on the side of caution. You want to get a feel for the commands, which will differ with federations, and for the equipment you will be using. It might feel totally different to what you are used to (its usually a lot better). You want to go to the platform and absolutely smoke this lift. flawless victory, three whites, etc so you are brimming with confidence for attempts 2 and 3 which are the important ones.
• 2nd Attempt: This should be a good heavy lift for you, but within your limits. ~95% of what you think you are capable of. More or less depending on how your warmup and opener was.
• 3rd Attempt: This should be the most you believe you are capable of on the day, the heaviest lift you can achieve. If your predictions were right, that should be ~100% but it may be less or even more.

The key here is to take a light easy opener, and get some good lifts in with your next two attempts. No one ever lost by opening too light, and no one ever won by bombing, failing to get a lift because they opened too heavy for the sake of ego.

What do I do if my program already has a taper built into it?

  This is only a good thing. Do your best to get the three lifts to coincide together. If you don't have a template for one of the lifts, use the general guide above. You should maintain peak levels of strength for 2 weeks or so, so if you have a weekly template that goes something like:

3x8

3x6

2x4

2x3

2x2 

max

You can either do the meet when the max session is indicated, 1 week after the 2x2 session, or you can squeeze in a deload week, i.e.:

3x8

3x6

2x4

2x3

2x2

deload

max

People worry that if they stop training they will all of a sudden become weak. Its generally quite the opposite. As soon as you lay off for a week or so depending on your level of strength, you will be much stronger as you are no longer fatigued from your basic training.

A More Advanced Way of Peaking

  Programs such as the RSR (Russian Squat Routine - which everyone on the forum is currently fapping arl owa) has in built periods of accumulating volume, then peaking intensity. This is a great program to use for a meet if you are looking for something a bit more advanced than the methods above.

  For deadlift, the coan-philipi routine (http://tsampa.org/training/scripts/coan_phillipi_deadlift/) has always worked well for me, but my personal favourite due to the increased deload time before the meet is the simple 10-week routine by Paul Carter from Lift Run Bang 9http://www.lift-run-bang.com/2010/10/raw-powerlifting-deadlifting.html).

 There are also some great Coan style templates on www.joeskopec.com/programs.html with a great bench one here. (http://www.joeskopec.com/edcoanbench.html)

How To Calculate Your Projected Maxes For a Meet

3x5 with a straight weight = 80% of your 1rm, so divide the weight you used for 3x5 by 0.8 to get your approximate max.

for 5x5, it will vary from 75-80% of your 1rm, same deal divide by 0.8 or by 0.75

for a single set of 5, this is roughly 86% of your max, divide by 0.86 woohoo

for a single triple, 90%

for a double, usually 95%

I wouldn't base your max of anything over a set of 5, so if you have only done 3x8 or 3x10 for example, do a heavy 5 or 3 and use that.

Summary

Don't max out in the run up to a meet, use triples, doubles, common sense and intuition to figure out your attempts.

Open light.

Setting up for a max you want to get everything perfect technique wise, the just think about pushing or pulling as hard as you can. Dial in your technique on the warmups so you can focus on just lifting the damn weight when the time comes.

Your peak levels of strength will last for a week or two once you start to lay off. Don't be stronger two weeks later in the gym after the meet.

Get familiar with the federation's rules before the day, get your kit packed with all the equipment you need the day before (what you should take to a meet needs a whole other article…) and go lift some heavy shit!

8 Week Bench Cycle

A simple but hard bench cycle that I'm running at the moment.

I wanted a boost to my numbers, but I didn't want to run Smolov Jr again because I'm prepping for a meet and I want to push my squat and deadlift as well. Don't get me wrong, its no 4x a week job, but its still fairly hard.

No more preamble BS, here it is...

Determine your 1rm, either directly, or estimate through say a 3x5 or other rep scheme.

Now either take 105% of your 1rm, or a sensible jump for an 8 week cycle. It could be as much as +10kg, just plan for something realistic.

Now using the projected max, the max that you want at the end of the cycle, calculate the %ages:

                 1st Day       2nd Day
Week 1    6x6@70%    5x5@75%
Week 2    4x4@80%    3x3@85%

Week 3    7x5@75%    5x4@80%
Week 4    4x3@85%    5x1@90%

Week 5    5x5@80%    5x3@85%
Week 6    5x2@90%    4x1@95%

Week 7    4x4@85%    3x3@90%
Week 8    2x2@95%    1x1@100%

Since I am actually running this for a meet, on week 8, instead of 1x1@100% I am going to take my opener with 1x1@90% (general rule 90%, 95%, 100% of what I think my max will be for 1st 2nd and 3rd attempts). The meet I am doing is sunday of what would be week 9 in the above template. I do the 1st session on Monday and the 2nd on Thursday which leaves adequate time for recovery, both session to session and week to week.

Here is an example with 100 so you can see the percentages:

We see there is a mid intensity, high volume week followed by a high intensity, reduced volume week, this repeats and as it does so the overall volume reduces and the intensity increases. wonderful. straight from prilepin's guidelines.

Anyone who faps to sheiko will have noticed that you are working up to rep schemes that should equate to the projected max you desire and you are actually ascending through them by intensity i.e. 5x5, 5x3, 4x4, 3x3, 2x2 in order to peak.

The reason I made this program is that I have found that my top end bench doesn't really correlate as well as it should to what I can do for sets of 5 or more. I wanted the chance to do top end work with heavy weights, without fatiguing myself with the miserable torrents of volume of a smolov cycle.

I am currently running it in the hope of getting a meagre 110kg paused bench out the other end. I am typically pausing the last rep of most sets, or just the last rep of the session. I tried to pause all 5 on the 7x5 day and that resulted in a sad spot for the last rep. lesson learnt.
Ive actually missed a couple of reps so far but hopefully that won't be an issue because both times I was running on about 3 hours sleep.

Anyway, I hope some people can run it to get some bigger numbers than me, and enjoy a lot of benching without murdering their shoulders.

I do the following:

• Rows - all kinds of rows, pendlay, yates, kroc, chest supported, DBs etc you get the picture
• Chins or lat pulldowns 
• Rear Delt Swings, face down on a moderate incline bench, meadows style
• High rep and heavy face pulls
• High rep rotation (external and internal, horizontal and vertical) on a cable machine

At the end of week 4 and no problems so far. Stretching and soft tissue work would also be recommended, but frankly I haven't got enough time to do as much as I should, so I do a bit when i can.

I should add, this is the assistance I do:

Day 1 (Chest assistance)
Bench
Incline DBs 3x10
Incline Flyes 3x8-12
Rows
External Rotation phaggy time

Day 2 (Shoulder assistance)
Bench
Chins
Seated DB Press 3x10
Delt Swings 1-3x20
Face Pulls usually 5 sets in a pyramid working up the cable stack

Throw some curls in too.

I don't like posting a template I haven't actually finished but me and my training partner are running it seems to be going well. Ive probably pushed my numbers a bit too hard (as usual) but he is smashing it and is on course for 120 or 125kg paused.

Its fun and hard, but not insane, so I thought id share it.

Smolov Jr for Bench: How I added 15kg to my 1rm in 3 weeks (from 85kg to 100kg)

I did this for my bench around August last year, there are very little resources on this program other than some forum discussions so here are my thoughts and advice on how to do this program. It took my bench from 85kg to 100kg, and shortly after my friends from 110kg to 120kg both in just 3 weeks. I originally wrote this as a guest article for his website http://propanefitness.com/, but they haven't edited and posted it yet so I'm putting it up here.


Smolov Jr is a 3 week volume intensive training cycle where you attempt to rapidly increase your strength in a certain exercise. It can be done for either the squat, bench, or deadlift. If you were careful with the weekly increases I'm sure it would be possible to do it for the press as well. I don't believe in doing this kind of training for multiple exercises at once although bench and either squat or deadlift can be done simultaneously - if you can do this it might be worth running a simple 3x5 style template however. I view this kind of training as a specialisation in a lift, so running two in conjunction defeats the purpose. I would choose the one you want to run it for - if its for either deadlift or squat, then do not perform the other exercise i.e. don't squat if you are doing it for deadlift and vice versa and run it with a sensible bench template, if you do it for bench, running a normal template for squat and deadlift is fine, for example I did bench running alongside the coan phillipi deadlift routine, and a simple 6 week squat program designed to give you +5% over 6 weeks.

Bench has always been the worst lift for me and after seeing two incredibly scrawny bros benching 90kg with traditional “its all you” discourse, this had to change. I was also planning to do my first meet in about two months time and the thought of benching anything less than 100kg was simply embarrassing. So after around 6 months of not benching I started again and within a few weeks I maxed out. I did 85kg ok, and 90kg didn’t budge.

I wanted to get this lift up as fast as possible, and being familiar with the idea that if you want to get good at something you have to do it more Smolov Jr seemed to fit the criteria:

• Potential for a big jump in your 1rm

• A challenging program (and bad-ass because its Russian)

• Benching 4 times a week

Needless to say, I was up for this, so I made a spreadsheet using this resource for Smolov and Smolov Jr, plugged in my very poor 85kg 1rm and went for it. You can find the spreadsheet with an explanation at the end of this article so you can just plug your numbers in and go. These are the numbers I used for the three weeks:

	Week 1	Week 2 +5KG	Week 3 +7.5KG
Monday	6x6x60         (70%)	6x6x65	6x6x67.5
Wednesday	7x5x65         (75%)	7x5x70	7x5x75
Friday	8x4x67.5      (80%)	8x4x72.5	8x4x77.5
Sunday	10x3x72.5    (85%)	10x3x77.5	10x3x80

(all weights in kg and sets x reps format) 

  The first thing that might stand out is doing 5kg less than my max for ten triples in three weeks. It is doable. The first week is taken from percentages of your one rep max (70%, 75%, 80%, 85% for M W F S respectively), then in the second week you simply add 5kg to all of these lifts. In the third week you either add 5kg again (+10kg total), or you add another 2.5kg (+7.5kg total). In the second week I missed reps all over the place and it was very tough – in hindsight this was because my eating and sleeping suffered not because of the weights, so my 3^rd week of +7.5kg rather than +10kg was easier than it should have been.

  At the end of the third week my 10x3x80kg felt fairly good. I maxed out the next week and ground out an ugly bum off the bench 100kg. I swear this rep took about 5 seconds to lockout the last inch. It was a true 1rm.

  The rep scheme 10x3 is commonly used with 85% of your 1rm (for Olympic lifters squat programming in particular) so if you do this program I believe taking the weight you did for 10x3 in week 3 and dividing by 0.85 will give you a projected max that you should be able to do. This will serve as a good guide what to go for. This is why I advised my friend Yusef to aim for 120kg in his training log on the propane fitness forum (102.5/0.85 = 120). Lo and behold he got 120kg!

  This is the reason I believe my third week was too easy, my 10x3 was at 80% (80kg and I maxed at 100kg the next week). I attribute this to noobie gains, because I started with a low bench, it will go up faster and easier than someone who starts with 100kg or more.

With this style of training there are a few things to bear in mind:

1)   Failed reps here and there don’t mean shit

  You are training this lift 4 times a week for 3 weeks. It is the volume and intensity from this program that drives up your lifts. I believe the rep schemes are very clever and push you just the right amount each session. I know John Broz has said the rep schemes on this kind of program do not matter and to an extent I agree – this is why occasional failed reps are unimportant – but, each sessions leads into the next and thinking in week 3 ‘well, I did 7x5 of that so I will be able to do 8x4 of the next weight’ is a real confidence boost.

2)   Disregard form, Acquire kg’s

  Although you will be working very hard on your bench form and set up – and over the 3 weeks of this program you will find your technique becomes truly honed in due to very regular practice – if getting that last rep or set means your bum coming off the bench or wriggling as you struggle to lockout the bar on the last set of ten triples then do it. Don’t stop a rep because you couldn’t maintain form on it. With this in mind 80-90% OF YOUR REPS WILL BE DONE WITH GOOD FORM. That’s in capitals so you don’t read this paragraph as an excuse to have awful form on bench.

3)   Look after your shoulders:

“Good luck with your shoulder destroying goals in 2011.” – MongSquat after realizing I was benching 4x a week on the same forum.

  Benching four times a week will take its toll on your shoulders. I did the following every bench session (ok not every session but over 80% I would say).

• Take a resistance band and tie it to the squat rack about two feet above your head. Take hold of the band so your arm is 45 degrees from your head. Turn away from the band but push your whole body forward from the hips, don’t lean forward. This will stretch the upper chest (pec minor especially). 2mins each side. (if you don’t have a band, just hold the squat rack – the distraction (the band gently pulling your joint apart) from the band is really good though.

•  Lower the band tied to the rack to just above shoulder height and do the same thing but this time the focus is on the mid lower chest (pec major focus). 2 mins each side

•  Get a tennis ball or pvc cricket ball or hockey ball or even a golf ball if you are a masochistic nutcase and do two things. Work the chest and shoulders against a wall/on the floor. Lean your back on a wall, stretch your arms out in front of you, protracting your shoulder blades, and put the ball between your upper back and the wall. Say hello to pain but goodbye to trap and rhomboid tightness that will undoubtedly accumulate over the program (trap tightness induced headaches were standard for me over the 3 weeks).

  Doing the above got me through the program with only mild shoulder pain and aches. I would strongly recommend anyone considering Smolov Jr for bench to follow this procedure as zealously as they follow the program itself – even if you look like an idiot doing these things. The bench press is very taxing on your shoulders and the first step to minimizing these issues is learning solid technique - elitefts: SYTYCB, the second is stretching and soft tissue work like I have detailed here. You must also balance benching with rowing/pullups but this is not covered in the scope of this write-up as it is fundamental to any weightlifting programming.

4)   Don’t overdo any assistance work

  If this is your first time running smolov jr for bench, I would advise not doing any assistance work for bench, none at all. You have to really understand your own limits, especially in terms of recovery, to add any extra chest or tricep work on this program. You will also find because you are benching so often, your weak points will be brutalized by just the main exercise – for myself this was my traps, and I believe they were brought up more than my chest/shoulders by benching four times a week.

It is fine to do smolov jr for bench in conjunction with squat and deadlift, I would say it is preferable to split them into an am and pm session if you can, but many times I did both (bench first though) in one session. I would include at least one rowing movement and one pullup/chinup movement per week to balance against benching. Light face pulls are a good idea, but don’t go heavy on them here, you don’t want to tire out the secondary muscles.

5)   Prioritize bench

  You are going to commit four days a week and a lot of effort to benching, don’t kid yourself and make sure you get the most possible progress out of it. What does this mean:

• Eat above maintenance, you will be doing more volume and thus need more calories. It would be a good 3 weeks to gain a bit of weight but it is not necessary. Just don’t under eat and impede your recovery. Trying to lose weight in a calorie deficit alongside this program would be Fu…oolhardy (to phrase it lightly and not include too many profanities)
• Do bench first in a session with more than one big lift in
• Focus especially on the 10x3 session every week, this is the important one
• Now that food is covered, get enough sleep

  If you work hard on this program very good gains are possible:

Myself: 85kg to 100kg, +15kg

Yusef: 110kg to 120kg, +10kg

Both in just 3 weeks.

  Other advice I would offer to anyone doing the program is that unless the second week is absolutely ball breaking and you feel run down and soul-crushed opt for another +5kg in the last week. If you made all the reps in the second week and it was a bit hard, you will manage the +5kg in the last week, even if you think you cannot.

I went on to convert that bum-off-the-bench touch-chest-and-go ugly grind of 100kg to this, paused bum on bench in a BPC Novice comp a few weeks later:

To put this in perspective squat was 165kg and deadlift 185kg at a bw of 90kg, not very good, but an ok start. And thankfully, not too embarrassing!

Here is the spreadsheet I made:

Smolov Jr Spreadsheet - xlsx format (excel 2011)

Smolov Jr Spreadsheet - back compatible xls format

Notes on using the (American-friendly one size fits all) spreadsheet:

Just plug in your current 1rm, select kg or lbs from the drop down menu.

The numbers for your first two weeks will be displayed.

Once you have chosen the correct measurement (kg or lbs) in the first menu the 2^nd drop down menu will display the correct options for +7.5kg/+15lbs and +10kg/+20lbs.

I would do the first two weeks, and then consider your third week.

The workouts should be done with the Sunday and Monday workouts on consecutive days. I discovered why to do this the hard way. The easiest workout should follow the day after the hardest session, anything else is much harder than this combination.

Aside: if you have a bigger bench say around 140kg plus and you are a more experienced lifter you may wish to play with your starting max to produce some reasonable numbers and focus on what you want out of the program. 140kg to 150kg would be a reasonable goal. For a predicted 150kg you need 127.5kg for 10x3, so either play with your starting max or use +5kg then +7.5kg in the second week.

A blog about weightlifting

I am going to be posting a few different things here, mostly about my own training, writing up programs that I do, but also about athletes I look up to and anything else I want really

In lieu of having nothing to write about right now heres a video of one of my favourite lifters, Taner Sagir, taking gold at the age of only 19 at the 2004 olympics in Athens