This Chinese Olympic weightlifting program is a 3 day, 4 week peaking block that runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was originally written for school-aged lifters who could only train 3 days per week, so it fits the snatch and clean & jerk plus all the supporting pulls, squats, and presses into three sessions. The block builds toward a peak at the end of the month.
It follows the classic Chinese high-intensity method: you train heavy often and aim to peak roughly once a month. That shows up in the loading, including the documented spots where the program calls for “100% or more” of a lift’s 1RM. Since you can’t actually grind multiple reps at a true max, the sheet keeps that prescription as written and pairs it with the practical “OR 5×3 @ 85%” approach so you have something you can actually load and hit.
It’s a good fit if you’re an intermediate or more advanced Olympic lifter who’s short on training days and wants a focused peaking block rather than a full year-round plan. If you want a longer Olympic lifting program to build base work first, check out the Torokhtiy 13 Week 3 Day Olympic Weightlifting Program, then come back to this block when you’re ready to peak.
Table of Contents
Program Overview
- 4 week peaking mesocycle
- 3 training days per week
- Trains a variety lifts, but is designed to peak the snatch and clean & jerk
- Trained lifts include the snatch, clean & jerk, power snatch, power clean, snatch pull, clean pull, deadlift, Romanian deadlift, back squat, front squat, hang snatch, push press, and press.
Note About Training Loads
There are a few instances in the program where it calls for multiple reps with 100% of a lift’s 1RM. Obviously this is not possible, but it was left in the spreadsheet because that is how the original program was written.
In these instances, there will be a row added beneath the “impossible row” that says “OR 5×3 @ 85%.”
Alternatives to performing 5 sets of 3 reps at 85% include:
- Performing multiple sets of 3 reps, ramping up to a 3RM.
- Using another rep scheme entirely, ideally one that utilizes heavy triples.
- Using a range of loads in the 80% to 85% range for sets of 3 reps.
If you need help with your lifting technique, consider these helpful “how to” guides for the push press and power clean.
Spreadsheet
Source: OWL Sheets
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