I competed in the 70's for GB against Bulgaria and trained at their Naval Academy in Varna. Our national coach, John Lear attended an international coaching course in Sofia run by Abadjeyev. When Lear questioned him saying "but you must have a very high rate of injuries?" Abadjeyev replied, "you expect to lose soldiers in a war ".

@nicklol328

6 жыл бұрын

Damm thats hardcore af lmao

@Patensfitness.com1

6 жыл бұрын

John Burns just doing 3 sets of 5 of 315 box sq's after 6 days off with the shits losing 5lbs. 2 sets down and I'm struggling, Read that quote - murdered the last set lol. Put it all on the line man!

@TyRaff

6 жыл бұрын

Thats the way football is here in the US. If you have a couple dozen players competing for a single position on a team then 4 get hurt you still have 20 to pick from as an owner/coach. Oh well!

@smithfrederick2

6 жыл бұрын

its kinda sad tbh, and they give them toradol injections so they can keep playing, which is basically a super anti inflammatory. then they get more injured and risk their entire careers on important games.

@YashSharmaFitness

5 жыл бұрын

🔥🔥🔥🔥

The Great Ivan Abadjiev has died today (25.03.2017) at the age of 85. Rest in peace, master!

@carlosaraujo1327

7 жыл бұрын

Rusty Williams may he rest in peace...

@Horus-Lupercal

6 жыл бұрын

He's coaching his fallen Comrades in the sky now .

@carlosaraujo9037

5 жыл бұрын

@ryan rogers you do not understand anything...

@carlosaraujo9037

5 жыл бұрын

@ryan rogers and you do your own research about the topic of this video... This book has nothing to do with that..you are less than nothing to tell the People what to read....

@americanhighlander3448

4 жыл бұрын

@ryan rogers Amen brother.

His method came from his childhood- he used to work on the countryside fields everyday with his old grandma, and even said the hardest time for him was the harvest season - harder than any workout he had done in his life. So he observed that working during the harvest season everyday for hours, the sun was deadly hot and bright, he and his grandma ate like the minimum amount of food and some water, but he realized that his grandma was able to do that everyday and never got too tired or injured herself or passed her limits. So if an old lady could achieve this, what about a young athlete. Best things come from our everyday life and experience, they are simple. As simple as Ivan Abadzhiev’s method.

@zergbong

Жыл бұрын

Bulgarian grandmas used to be build very differently. My grandma was communist partisan and harvested her own field with various vegetables and fruits by the age of 85. And everyone around her did the same. The old people now are just complaining assholes. P.S. Fuck communism.

@MaxCar54

5 ай бұрын

Thank you. 4444

He's like a spy releasing all his information

@muntasiralam21

8 жыл бұрын

+Juan Lamar blahino?

@corridor1142

8 жыл бұрын

+Munta Alam blaha is not affiliated with this channel

@lolekbolek676

7 жыл бұрын

Abadijev is Robert DeNiro secretly coaching weightlifting.

@joehollow2505

6 жыл бұрын

Damn western spy. From now on Slavic squat test for all.

@callsofscv

6 жыл бұрын

Juan Lamar I doubt Abajayev gives a shit. He's a retired coach and it's satisfying to give the younger generations information so that they may improve it and produce better humans. It's the typical cycle of life.

Bulgarian guy here, great video, spot on analysis, there was a foreign delegation in the 90s that were doing documentary on this training method with Abadjiev in Bulgaria and they asked if this was healthy for the athletes, Abadjiev told them: ' do you want to be healthy or do you want medals?' lol

@Man.Well93

9 күн бұрын

great "supplements" also

Bulgarian method - Lift or Die trying

Oh shit, this was 14 minutes long. I completely zoned out and now I'm 10 minutes late for class. Great video

@micahasher7600

2 жыл бұрын

Did you graduate

@mr.andrew_andrew

3 ай бұрын

Did you graduate? We need to know!

@user-qu1xe5jn7f

3 ай бұрын

@@mr.andrew_andrew this is my first time logging into this account in about 3 years lol, surprised a notification came through to my phone. But yep, BS Kinesiology, been working as a full time strength coach since Nov 2017 plus I run our internship and onboarding procedures. Feels good to reflect on comments like this from a previous version of me... oh how time flies.

@mr.andrew_andrew

3 ай бұрын

@@user-qu1xe5jn7f no way you actually replied! So so many ancient comments on KZread and this one is revived 7 YEARS LATER! Well congrats on your graduation 🎓 and wishing you a long successful career 😁

@mr.andrew_andrew

3 ай бұрын

@@user-qu1xe5jn7f truly it's like a portal into our past selves

1:45 that olympian almost took the guy's arm off shaking his hand like that lol

@hobostrength4737

3 жыл бұрын

Assert dominance

@weightlossresultscoach7082

3 жыл бұрын

He pretty much lifted him off the ground lol.

@onguad

2 жыл бұрын

Alexeev the great

Thank you for sharing this Max.

Really great video, thanks so much for producing it!

I'm a huge fan of Max's videos. I love hearing about this, essentially, do or die style of training.

Excellent information Max!! Nice to hear the view from someone who ACTUALLY trained under Abadjiev.

Great vid, very interesting. I've often heard tales of the Bulgarian method and knew bits and pieces but this vid set it straight. Much appreciated.

I am from Bulgaria. Thank you for sharing this!

Thank you for the great video! And you described very well Ivan Abadjiev! Enjoyed from the beginning to the end!

The bar should be on the man's shoulders on your T shirt to look like a T

@marxflyful

4 жыл бұрын

S montana I was thinking exactly the same thing lol

@paulguitar7438

4 жыл бұрын

@@marxflyful me too

@JarthenGreenmeadow

3 жыл бұрын

Really messed that one up lol

very good video..outstanding explanation...Mr Abadjiev is an icon...well doneJuggernaut...

Watching videos of vintage weight lifting has pumped me up so much.

I like sound of this much better than previous explanations of the Bulgarian system

Loving the old footage!

Great video! Very fascinating!

Let me summarize it for all of you, basically you can't expect to achieve high results in a competition if your preparation differs from it. So the goal of the Bulgarian system is to bring the training as close as to the actual competition. This simple principle can be applied to almost everything we do.

Love this style on historical content!

I remember reading about the eastern european methods of training in the book power to the people by pavel. That is hands down the best book i have read about what goes into strength training.

So interesting explain !! He was working here in Saudi Arabia for a year It’s really a great summary for Bulgarian style and Mr Abajif

Athlete: "coach, I can't squat today, my quads are still sore from yesterday." Abadjiev: "IDGAF ABOUT WHAT YOU FEEL! YOU EITHER SQUAT OR GO WRITE A LETTER TO NOTHING!!"

thats what i call informative.

I'm proud to be Bulgarian!

@qtpie2630

7 жыл бұрын

you should be

@rdrake316

6 жыл бұрын

Fine AK variants too.

@sofiakazakova3031

6 жыл бұрын

FuspHD и аз и аз

@stevenhewes1990

5 жыл бұрын

Методи В. I like your omnedren, nandrolone and clenbuterol.

@chatnik78

5 жыл бұрын

Pozdrav za braću Bugari!

R. I. P Mr Abadjiev... He was the Best...

Yes more videos please!!

Where did all the footage that was spliced in this come from? I could watch that stuff for days.

@JuggernautTrainingSystems

8 жыл бұрын

School of Champions or Champions School. Can't remember which

@sullenday

8 жыл бұрын

agreed

@borismez2282

4 жыл бұрын

4 years later but... 'School of Champions Bulgarian Weightlifting Documentary '

Max! Just wanted to say thanks for this video! But also, I see so many theories transferring over from this into my kettlebell sport training. I have been to three world championships as an amateur and this year I go as a pro. My coach is Russian and I totally see the similar thoughts...they don’t care how you feel or how your workout felt or if the reps were executed perfectly...did you make the time...yes...did you make your rep goal...yes...that’s all they care about. My coach does give some technique advice when I am really screwing something up, but otherwise it’s just time and reps and making the goal. I came to my coach the same way you say lifters came to the Bulgarian coach, they had already been lifting for years so he didn’t try to change their style or technique, same with me and my coach, he said develop your own style and find a way to make your body and your style work for you and hit the goals. Just wanted to share that mentality carries over from olifting into other sports with the Russians. Rock on Max!

@deyanpetkov2544

Жыл бұрын

There is no Russian weightlifter who is even close to the Abadjiev’s method.Everything what Russian federation do in 90’s was to treat the Bulgarian team in 1988 in Seoul that everything above 2 gold medal and 2 silver it will be suspended.Because there was no other way to stop our team and we prove it when we took 6 gold medal in 8 different categories.That’s why when Abadjiev say no I can joke with the hard work which my guys did.After that they just say that they find something which is not allow to use.It was just the game who the bigger empire playing during the cold war.My point is that Russian style and Bulgarian style in Weightlifting sport are completely different.

RIP for POPE of lifting weights IVAN ABADJIEV, I am a Bulgarian athlete dealing with weightlifting in other sport, and I have had the opportunity to observe the training of Ivan Abadjiev, in the whole hall there were metal buckets on the ground, I thought the roof of the hall was flowing. I realized that the buckets were the athletes they trained so hard that at some point they were starting to vomit in the middle of the hall. I thought this guy (Ivan Abadjiev) was crazy!!! But then I saw a lot of these guys becoming gold medalists at the Olympics and world championships. So many gold medals he had brought to his country that if melt them would make him a monument from gold on scale 3:1. RESPECT. Thank you for what you did in the video , this man deserves a lot of people to know who he is, what he's been doing, and what he's accomplished.Thank you

I went from 160kg to 220kg squat in 3months squatting to a daily max.

@HoobleyWoobley

5 жыл бұрын

Michael how did you do that?

@immaletyoufinish

5 жыл бұрын

dilfo snaggins from squatting to a daily max.....

@Highbar250

5 жыл бұрын

That’s incredible

@HoobleyWoobley

5 жыл бұрын

@@immaletyoufinish yeah bro but what's a daily max

@immaletyoufinish

5 жыл бұрын

@@HoobleyWoobley we live in an age where you can have literally almost any information you need within minutes from googling it and you choose to wait around for months for someone on a KZread comment section to spoon feed you I guess for there to be winners there has to be losers

juggernaut logo would look WAY better with a capital T with exact same scale figure but with a press.

Very nicely explained

Lazy guy training Average guy training Fitness guy training Dorian Yates training Ronnie Coleman training Spartan training Bulgarian training

@abrowntx

2 жыл бұрын

wait, why'd you put boy love between ronnie and bulgarian? that's weird dude

@OsnoloVrach

2 жыл бұрын

@@abrowntx lol

I was given Blagoev's actual plan and the Bulgarians also used Pulls as one of the primary movement. Snatch, C & J, F Squat and Pull. The Pull was at 10 kg above lift in C & J and 5 kg above Snatch.

Valentin Christov 110kg Olympic Weightlifter known for his attempt to break Alexeev's c&j record in 1975 World Championships but in the lower weight 110kg class wrote a book on what he was subjected to under the Bulgarian system that would open your eyes to the conditions of training.

Fantastic explanation of the Bulgarian System. Now knowing that the max weights to be lifted were based on numbers rather than how the lifter felt on the day has cleared up a lot for me. I tried lifting, working up to a "heavy max" for the day for months and months and simply put my lack of progress down to poor technique, lack of energy, will power etc (these still might be the reasons) but now knowing the history and exactly how the program should be implemented has now cleared things up for me. Thanks Max! Ivan, RIP

great history lesson thankyou

I really appreciate your clarity in how Papa trained his National Champions. This was just right on. But what is not discussed and something you might know is how they developed the beginning talent before they became, if ever, one of the National Champions. That's the info needed since many if not most of the people listening to you are not Bulgarian National Champions. In the Bulgarian Method video from Bulgaria they emphasized that the beginner spent much time developing technique with a lightened bar before they began moving up. What do you now about that, Alex? What were the physical parameters that the Bulgarian program looked for when selecting it's weightlifting sport candidates?

Awesome video. Repeating stuff alot of times, but i geuss that’s how we learn.

Thanks for the great video. How did bulgarian lifters taper before competition or was it just same training style always?

There is a little interview on youtube with Dimas called "right system at the right time" about his experience and opinion about the Bulgarian system.

This legendary trainer, reminds me of a Bulgarian David Goggins. But, obviously he came 1st. Regardless, just discovered the documentary on him & can't wait to finish watching it!

A brilliant educational analysis of the Bulgarian lifting training program. Thank you for sharing those secrets. The Bulgarians were superb in the 70s 80s . How would you like to work in India ? :)

Great video, extremely informative 💪🏻👍🏻

thx for sharing

I trained with John thrush for quite a few years and his style was similar. He would however back off if I was flat or injured. He often pushed us to lift over 90%. I did my best lifting under him, but I wonder if I would’ve benefited more from more measured training. However, for an elite talented athlete, I believe this style can be ideal. The Bulgarians obviously had a huge talent pool, and I believe the sport is second to only soccer as far as popularity there. Good video.

Bulgarian pride.I am bulgarian and i live 11 yrs outside the country and in my gym i train i am the best physique .And i am 40 yrs of age.

@BudgetGainsByJJ

4 жыл бұрын

rostislav rusev respect my friend! Pozdrav ot Makedonec:) ... nie sme Brajka:)

@jordan9339

4 жыл бұрын

@@BudgetGainsByJJ Сме!

Hi! Thanks for the video! I a bulgarian and I m currently applying this in armwrestling. Every day is different than the other, It's very rough style. I'd like to ask whether you have any information on what did weightlifters eat? Did they consume some specific food at that time? Thank you!

@cryptogymbro

5 жыл бұрын

they ate sugar bags and pure supplements.

Wow. This is a lot different from the "modified" version which people apply to powerlifting. Eye opening

@adrianbraysy3111

8 жыл бұрын

+Destamoon yeah, especially the part about there not being a so called "training max" really surprised me.

Amazing vid never knew this was so intense. Going to apply this to my workouts.

this is a great video

Before 4 days we had another Bulgarian who won 2021 European Weightlifting Championship, 16 year old Karlos Nasar, 206kg clean and jerk at 81kg in bodyweight.

Good information

great video

I love the intro

How did Aita end up in this training farm? great stuff

Max, lifters nowadays seem so afraid of overtraining and frying their CNS, especially powerlifters. Has this experience with the bulgarian method changed your thoughts and beliefs on the subject? Thanks, and awesome video.

@aitamax

8 жыл бұрын

+André Lambert Well I started out training like this from basically the first day of my weightlifting career so I didn't have many ideas about how to train before I had experience with the system. My current beliefs about training revolve solely around developing successful competitors. I think it is very easy for someone to train in a way that doesn't produce good results. That is really all that matters. If you are training to little, or too much, or for whatever reason your results are bad then your training is bad.

@StevenDoza

6 жыл бұрын

André Lambert u7

@369ZIR

6 жыл бұрын

I actually tried it. Well a variation of "squat everyday". It actually made me stronger and I'd recover much faster. My legs and shoulders grew thicker and my overall fitness increased (for the sport I play).

@MURF8393

3 жыл бұрын

Its volume and high level conditioning work that will fry your cns faster than low volume high intensity heavy training will

@energyzer_bunny1913

Жыл бұрын

@@MURF8393 PREACH!!! This is facts!!!

Knowing, watching and being trained by some of Abajiev's champions. I'd like to say, that its not exactly true that there wasn't focus on the technic. And a "max" in his system means the maximum weight without the need of competition type concentration.

Каде са Българите бе!!!

@tashakazulu8737

5 жыл бұрын

в България?

@vladislavrangelov3872

3 жыл бұрын

Тука сме братле 💪🏻🏆🎖🏅🥇🇧🇬

So working up to your max each set, how long did you rest in between each set? And about how many sets did it take to reach your max! Hope your still here! Thanks new subscriber here

What were Max's best training or competition lifts during his oly lifting career?

Really interesting video, i've read a lot of contrasting information about the bulgarian method so nice to hear from someone who's experienced it first hand. Predictable question but do you think the bulgarian system has any place for non professional lifters? I'm not suggesting trying to fit it around work/studies but for example i will have about 6 weeks this summer where i will have 24 hour access to a gym and little other commitments - could this sort of training be successfully implemented over a short period of time or is it simply unrealistic for 'normal' lifters to attempt it?

@beebrian8996

Жыл бұрын

I have firsthand experience of this style of training. At least a version of it that I kind of "invented", but still had the same spirit. My opinion? You are going to make the best strength gains of your life in your six-week stint doing the program. Heck, if you push it for a whole six *months*, even better... But anything beyond that, you will either get hurt or get tempered into a champion. Most likely the former. When I did my own (which was squat-focused and didn't really have the snatch and the clean in it), I was suffering from severe tendonitis in the knees by the fourth month. And by the fourth month, I added 80 pounds to my squat (335 pounds to 415). I'd recommend it if you want/need a quick boost to your squat in the shortest amount of time. But as far as thinking long term? Bad fucking idea.

Silent Mike looks a lot like Ivan Abadjiev

@PendlayRoe

4 жыл бұрын

In some shots I thought he looked like Sylvester Stallone

RIP Ivan.

Max, could you specify, in another video, how much voluminous that bulgarian method is? Explaining how many sets and trainnings per week. And if is possible too, suggest an aplication of the bulgarian for powerlifters. Thanks for all the informations, and thanks the Juggernaut for the channel.

@aitamax

8 жыл бұрын

+Paulo Netto We will be doing more on it in the future i believe.

In that era average weightlifter from USA,Soviet Union was lifting 5 tons per day The Bulgarian lifted around 55-60 tons per day We never gonna see someone like the great Ivan Abadzhiev

@loluskekus

3 жыл бұрын

5 tons? That's what I used to lift when my total was like 200 kg I assume national level lifters would lift much more

@stallthedigger2599

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kias1dad Have a look at Stefan Botev's interview on the weightlifting House podcast he said they would lift between 60 and 70 tonnes a day and occasionally. abajiev would make them skip dinner and lift until 1am. It's an insane workload but I doubt Botev is lying.

@ikipemiko

2 жыл бұрын

For smaller guys like Angel Genchev and Angel Varbanov - it was 50-60 tons, for Stefan Botev it was like 70 tons every day.

@tonividenov2784

2 жыл бұрын

@@Kias1dad 3 times a day. morning, afternoon and midnight trainnigs

@MaxCady7.62

2 жыл бұрын

@@stallthedigger2599 holy fuck. That shit is almost superhuman

what you think about the neuromuscular adaptation/changes occur in both Hungarian systems vs. Bulgarian system? whats your comments on Chinese weightlifters? Drop a video if possible.

This was a great method for preparing a large team but it has a massive attrition rate. If you are lifting for a hobby or to set PR's then this is a good ticket to snap city.

Did this for arms about a year ago and my arms were the biggest/most muscular they'd ever been.

Hey Max, curious if there's a situation where you'd consider using this plan for your athletes. Maybe someone with years of experience but who hasn't competed and maybe has a mental barrier to heavy weight in competition? Or is it just a bad option regardless of the situation? Also, the vid makes Abadjiev sound like that little league teeball coach who takes winning too seriously. At all costs. Go go go. Fascinating stuff. :)

Max / Juggernaut TS -what about the Greeks of the 90s era.They did successfully a derivative of the original Bulgarian system.Do you have any info/data about that???

Do you think that some people could be more receptive to this type of coaching on amateur level? I would have love to hear your personal opinion at the end the video. Great video by the way!

Did lifters get Sundays off? Can you give more detail on how Tues/Thurs/Sat was different? How where bad training days treated? There must have been repeated instances where after 10-20 misses a lifter just has to call it a day, otherwise everyone would be Snatching bars filled with 50kg Bumpers

I think I know the secret that lays in this method. The problem traditionally recovery rate, growth hormone release and testosterone levels ain't seen as a muscle that is also growing. I can imagine when you are constantly stressing your body to the max, your growth hormone will be constantly asked to be released into the body until that isn't much left to release and your levels of testosterone would drop from the constantly lifting and your recovery rate will begin to fatigue. However your body may begin to adapt in the long term to sustain chemical balance. Therefore your recovery rate will increase, your growth hormone levels will increase and your testosterone levels will increase. Eventually it is like your got a new engine in your body that can now withstand greater stress and recovery faster and grow faster.

@Anonymous95202

Жыл бұрын

Well thats completely irrelevant as they would obviously be taking Test and HGH exogenously anyway. And thats ignoring the fact that their isn't any evidence to support that conjecture you've made

@2DarkHorizon

Жыл бұрын

@@Anonymous95202 Stating there is no evidence is not an useful statement and counter productive in this circumstance. Because if you can't state there was a study done on it. It is more of a gaping oversight that it wasn't even done in the first place.

@RobinHood-fi4vp

5 күн бұрын

But Rest. Recovery. Great nutrition and amino acids. Greatly help

@RobinHood-fi4vp

5 күн бұрын

All that leads to Overtrainig . Injuries. Burn out. And depleting carbs

Abadjiev, IMO, probably made a simple, yet very important observation, that can be used as a basis for explaining his whole method, namely, that he was dealing with high-end professional athletes for whom the established norm of training was not applicable (not intense nor specific enough), that is why he could allow himself to push near the edge and eventually break through in continuous successful "production" of champions. He basically trained his lifters always as if it was a pre-competition period, i.e. only competition lifts and near the max intensity. (No (or less) de-loading, no periodization). Another characteristic of his lifters is the low-stress approach in lifting, i.e. excessive excitement before lifting was not advised. Finally, there was strict planning in every single training using only absolute numbers, i.e. kg (not percentages of max, etc), which was probably used to eliminate the subjective factors like moment physical condition, etc.

@SiegePerilousEsauMaltomite

6 жыл бұрын

Chris B Kirov My brother had a wrestling coach who's philosophy was to train every session at max intensity to make it "la norma" or the rule, the norm. They had a good record.

great system and for naturals also or even more .!!! Its just a llittle too time consuming for the random Bob due to 2-3 training sessions a day .

Amazing video

Hello I'm from Bulgaria ! Can I contribute with Bulgarian subtitles for this video ?

I really need to learn how to program weightlifting. I’m new to Olympic weightlifting. Any knowledge someone can share, I would appreciate.

Surely they must have been taking waaaaay more "supplements" to handle that sort of constant intensity....

@KaokashinPlays

8 жыл бұрын

+Matt Deeks yeah but the frequency is as high as possible

@TheGeneralCase

8 жыл бұрын

+Mike Hawkes I dunno about Max, but the Bulgarian team got busted in the 80s for their 'supplements'.

@MrSwatbg

7 жыл бұрын

Aside the concept of absolutely necessarily taking "supplements" to become the best (or "hyooge"), the concept of being under professional supervision of elite grade coaches from the age of eight (8) isn't very popular at some (most) parts of the world. Abadjiev already did revealed (not just once) some spicy information from the kitchen about how his lifters were "busted", including during the 80s.

@wethdtdi

7 жыл бұрын

right about the same amount the todays athletes take :)

@qtpie2630

7 жыл бұрын

You obviously have never tried the program.

He said alex krychev and my jaw dropped. Alex was my soccer coach growing up in the bay area. Thats crazy.

great system and for naturals also or even more .!!!

Man I'd love your opinion on how to incorporate Bulgarian into powerlifting programming. And also if in you think it's acceptable to change up the rep ranges rather than purely going for a single.

@mr.t244

2 жыл бұрын

Such thing doesn't exist, you either do Bulgarian to a T (which Im sure nobody does) or you don't do Bulgarian and you are just using the term.

Pt. 2 for this?

Max, what kind of rest periods were typical between sets?

"If he dies he dies." Abadjeyev

Maybe a little late, but great info Max :-) Thanks

is this kind of training only to be done in short bursts and not long term otherwise you would end up with injuries etc?

Was the squats and the Snatch & Clean done on the same day?

I know you said there wasn't a deload in the system, so would athletes continue maxing out everyday even the day before a meet? It just seem counter productive making an athlete compete in a fatigued state if the goal was to have them perform at their best.

During your time being trained under him what kinda progress did you make in your lifts?

Incredibly similar to the Frantz Powerlifting method... compete! Based on experimental science as opposed to theoretical

Hey Max and Chad, I was training with under a world class powerlifter for a while under his Bulgarian Training method but it had no back off work only work up to 100% + bench x3 a week dead once and squat twice. With volume being so low squat and dead went up a little but bench barely any progress. Im entering and peaking phase and wanted to switch back to Bulgarian method but with back off work extra volume. what do you think

How would this system be implemented appropriately for a training cycle today? Taking recovery into account...???!!!

So there were no rest days? They only rested in between sessions?

Images and clips are from school of champions documentary.