The Bulgarian System

The System
SAID

SAID stands for “Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands” and states that “adaptation to a stressor is specific to that stressor”. Applied to weightlifting, this implies that performance is best improved by performing the snatch and clean & jerk with maximal weights. The SAID principle became the corner stone of Abadjiev’s training philosophy.

“Our athletes do not do any "supportive exercises" they stay with full clean and jerk, snatch, and front squat We have found that taking back squat out is more effective for the healthy lifter. Sticking with the three lifts named above as the only training for the advanced and healthy lifter…. If the athlete is injured they will do back squat or parts of the lift the full lifts (ie. high pulls, push press, etc...). You must be extremely careful with the stresses you put on your athletes. You must have direct benefits from each exercise because the athlete has limited recovery capacity.” IA
- 'David Woodhouse - Ivan Abadjiev & the Bulgarian Weightlifting System'

Progression rates

Extracts from 'Takano - Weightlifting Programming'

Qualification levels used:

Catalyst Athletics Programs

Quick and Classic

Clean and Jerks

Liao Hui 184kg

Oleg Perepetchenov

Real number 1

Number 1

Snatches and Hinges

The ultimate goal is to pull the bar up high enough for you to get under it. The bar starts on the floor and must finish overhead. You can lift the bar to just above your hip level simply by standing up with enough force. But that will not be a sufficient height for you to slip underneath it.

A lot of emphasis is given to multiple pull sections from the floor to overhead. Breaking down each stage into a different pull. I think this is a poor way to visualise the movement as it (in my mind at least) leads to segmented, non free flowing movement. It can be taught correctly, obviously, as almost all successful weightlifters are taught via the breakdown of the pulls. This is simply another way of looking at it.

Really, it's all a single pull, the only thing that changes is that at certain heights on muscle group is more suitable placed to move the bar higher than another group would be. Or at least, more suitable to do so whilst preserving the ultimate goal in an efficient manner and in a direction that benefits the lifter most.