General Cycle
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General Cycle


8 weeks   |   Free   |   Web, Text

This is an easy, simple, low-demand training cycle.

Good For:
  • Athletes with limited recovery ability and/or training time
  • Combining with other training/sports

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Sample Week

Week 1 Day 1 Monday
Comments (9)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Hang power snatch - 60% x 2 x 5
  • Hang power clean + power jerk - 60% x 2 + 2 x 5
3 sets:
A1. Sit-ups x 15
A2. KB swing x 15

This will be a light transition week so we can move into the next cycle. Lots of ice, stretching, foam rolling massage, and whatever other work you need to get you back to 100% by next Monday.

Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 2 Tuesday
Comments (10)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Back squat - 55% x 10, 60% x 8, 65%, 8, 70% x 5
  • Press - 3 x 8
  • Bent row - 3 x 8
3 sets: no rest:
20 m bear crawl
10 halfmoons

Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 3 Wednesday
Comments  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

Rest

If you're feeling good, spend some time doing very light technique work where you need it. No more than 30 minutes.

Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 4 Thursday
Comments (3)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Snatch + 2 OHS - 60% (of snatch) x 5 sets
  • Snatch pull - 80% x 3 x 3
  • Snatch push press - 3 x 5
  • Planks - 2 x 1 min; no weight


Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 5 Friday
Comments (6)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

Rest

3 rest days this week. Don't get soft.

Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 6 Saturday
Comments (2)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

  • Clean + 2 front squat + jerk - 60% (of clean) x 5 sets
  • Front squat - 60% x 5, 65% x 5, 70% x 3
  • Good morning - 3 x 8 light
4 sets:
350 m row
1 min rest

Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.
Week 1 Day 7 Sunday
Comments (1)  |  Help  |  Programs  |  Exercises

Rest

Questions? Get answers here or post in comments.


16 Comments
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Ally L
August 28 2017
If I can only train 3x/week, should I do all 5 workouts just stretched out over 1.5 weeks? Or should I cut 2 per week out? Does it matter?
I would try to compress the week to 3 days. You'll need to remove a few things. See this for suggestions.

Greg Everett
Mark Tramble
September 14 2019
Is there any way to add more PR days to this program?
Mark - I would suggest doing the program as written to get the intended results.

Alyssa Sulay
Mark Tramble
November 17 2019
How long are the rest periods on snatch and C&J days supposed to be?
Mark - 1.5-2 minutes or so.

Alyssa Sulay
Matt Landers
January 27 2020
If I wanted to add some accessory work what days do you suggest to add them to?
Matt - You can add accessory work to all of the days if you woud like.

Alyssa Sulay
Michelle Ritter
November 1 2020
Are all percentages off our full lifts? For example, Power Snatch 75% 2x5 - is that off my power or my full snatch percentage?
Powers are % of best power unless otherwise noted.

Greg Everett
Prashant Kandathil
August 12 2021
Stupid question but how do you read this: Press - 3 x 8. 3 sets of 8 reps or 8 sets of 3 reps.
You can see all of the notation explanations here.

Greg Everett
Juan Lopez
October 13 2021
Ran this on the off season and had great results. Do you happen to have a 3x a week program that would be good to pair with rugby training?? Thank you
I don't, but check this out for help modifying this or another program to be 3 days.

Greg Everett
Vincent Dang
October 23 2021
Is this program good to do after the general strength cycle?
Yes

Greg Everett