Fundamentals of the Soviet System: The Soviet Weightlifting System

Who should read this book? Everyone who wants to increase their weightlifting totals! Learn how to write weightlifting training programs based on scientifically proven methods. Includes programming templates for every level of lifter; Beginners and Masters, Intermediate, National and International level. Get the most out of your hard training with the science-based, natural recovery methods revealed in this book. The methods presented are based on fact; the Soviet system methods have proven results. These sample programs are not based on internet rumors or opinion, they're based on the training and recovery of Russian athletes who repeatedly won olympic medals. This book can teach anyone with a basic knowledge of weightlifting how to program their training and how to recover. In effect, anyone with a basic understanding of the olympic lifts and safe weightlifting techniques can use this book to improve their weightlifting totals. This book is written such that all levels of weightlifters and coaches can get something out of it. And, the book covers standard programming terminology, explaining it in detail; this will help people new to the sport. It will also help coaches communicate with other coaches in the same universally accepted technical terms. This book also covers advanced topics which even very experienced coaches will find interesting and be able use to grow their knowledge.

About the Author :
Gwendolyn Sisto is one of the top 69kg weightlifters in the USA and has competed for Team USA on at least four occasions. She competed at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Gwen is also a Rocket Scientist. She holds a Masters of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. She has worked in the high-tech aerospace industry for over 10 years. She enjoys applying her scientific background to studying and improving training methods and technique. Ivan Rojas is a renowned coach and former international weightlifter. He has coached numerous National Teams in the sport of weightlifting. His record includes: - Coach of the 2015 Panama Pan Am Games Team - Coach of the 2010 USA World University Team, which won 15 medals (most successful team in last 30 years) - Coach of the 2014 13 and under USA Youth Women's Team - Coach of the 2015 Panama World Team He has studied weightlifting behind the Iron Curtain in the former Soviet Union, as well as Bulgaria, Cuba, and East Germany. He was the first American to ever be permitted into the Chinese National team training hall and study the training of their National team (most successful at the 2008 Olympics). He has studied in Kazakhstan, the most successful weightlifting team of the 2012 Olympics, and even lectured on training methodologies to Kazakhstan National Coaches.

Review :
"Ivan and Gwen at Risto sports are pioneers at educating their methods in modern Olympic lifting. Many programs and books don't help the athlete understand programming, how to build out a program, and also how to raise or lower it for different implementations. This book is a great sample of the "whys" behind a program-- not just merely facts spit onto paper. Ivan and Gwen have worked with top athletes from around the world but also work with many local level athletes allowing them to make the beginner feel like they are being treated like the pro's." Matt Adamcheck, Head Coach & owner of 4 Star Strength "A powerful book for any strength coach to have in their arsenal. Like it or loathe it, the basis for ALL periodization programs stem from the original work the Soviets did. This book gives a solid review of that system with privilege to source material that few others could even hope to have, enabling it to provide a prospective second only to actually having visited and trained there yourself. In studying this material you stand to gain insight on how the largely successful Soviet coaches viewed the minutia details of a program and how they played on their athletes. Having been a student of one of Russia's greatest coaches, Boris Sheiko, I can tell you from first hand experience that these methods are anything but dated and useless. Quite the opposite; in fact the methods covered here can be used to create devastatingly effective programs, and in the hands of a master provide a coach the tools to orchestrate a concert of volume and intensity culminating in a championship performance. The Soviet method does not try to sell you with sexy buzz words. Instead it is based on solid empirical science whose only missing component is brutally hard work in order to bring it to life. As mentioned in the book, once you come to grasp the concepts outlined you can apply them to virtually any other sport or program you wish to see results in. I cannot recommend reading this book enough, and then to continue your studies further into the origins and history of the Soviet era programming science." Jance Footit, 5 Rings Barbell "Fundamentals of the Soviet System by Risto Sports is a modern review of the programming used by, arguably, the most successful machine ever devised to produce world-class weightlifters with long careers. Content ranges from theory to detailed day-to-day implementation, with over 50 pages of set-by-set, 12 week macrocycles for athletes training 3,4, 5 and 6 days a week--recreational to elite level athletes. The authors ride a great line between the two objectives of giving big picture reasons for the classic Soviet approach and providing a manual for coaches faced with the everyday realities of training weightlifters in the United States. " Scott Glasgow, USAW National Coach, President and Head Coach of Utah Barbell