One does not simply bicep curl into Mordor
- Thread starter shifty_uk
- Start date
My coach gave me a pair of his old Adidas size 8's! Felt bad accepting them but said he got them for free a few years ago and they've been lying gathering dust!
That'll save me £140 for the time being to try them at least
That'll save me £140 for the time being to try them at least
Totally disheartened by tonights performance.
Might be the cold I'm nursing but no excuses, my technique was awful!
C&J:
Warm up with the bar
1x60kg
1x70kg
1x80kg
2x90kg - failed both times
2x80kg - failed both times
1x70kg - failed
5x60kg
As you can see the weight goes up rapidly but boom, when I failed the 90, I failed every set I lowered the weight until I could only manage 60.
Front Squats:
5x90kg
2x100kg
1x110kg
3x90kg
3x90kg
Bit all over the place during tonights session, wasted a lot of time trying to get my technique back on track but failed every time.
Might be the cold I'm nursing but no excuses, my technique was awful!
C&J:
Warm up with the bar
1x60kg
1x70kg
1x80kg
2x90kg - failed both times
2x80kg - failed both times
1x70kg - failed
5x60kg
As you can see the weight goes up rapidly but boom, when I failed the 90, I failed every set I lowered the weight until I could only manage 60.
Front Squats:
5x90kg
2x100kg
1x110kg
3x90kg
3x90kg
Bit all over the place during tonights session, wasted a lot of time trying to get my technique back on track but failed every time.
Welcome to Olympic lifting. 
These lifts are a bit different to regular squats/etc. because of the speed (and nervous system/muscle activation) required. As such, you won't be able to work at - or close to - your max for many reps at all.
What broke at 90kg? The initial lift? Which part? The jerk?
Once you blitzed yourself at 90kg, your body was probably done. Simple. If you want to increase your working capacity at big numbers, you really need to think about your routine away from lifting as much as the training itself: more sleep and better rest. And training itself? Get used to more frequent training sessions with consistent heavy weights. The neural and muscular adaptation that takes place over time will help numbers as well as consistency, but it takes time... Rough numbers I have seen suggest six months as a minimum (look at Bulgarian system of lifting) and that is at low starting loads.
The Western style of training is to work at lower loads for the majority of sessions with only periodic big singles: tapered training, if you will. So if your 1RM for the moment is 80kg, the suggestion would be most of the reps around 60-70kg with maybe a big single at 75kg and that's it. They also push a lot of squatting.
The funny thing with Olympic lifting is that squatting and squat numbers do not correlate well with it: bigger clean and jerk/snatch numbers come from, well, bigger clean and jerk/snatch numbers... A big front squat doth not a big CnJ make, if you will.
So, my suggestion is to determine what you want from your training now that you are getting a feel for them: big Olympic lifts? Or just to have them included as part of your wider training?
Also, post up a video of your clean and jerk. And finally: get your mobility sorted ad get snatching... The movement will really help with and support your CnJ.
These lifts are a bit different to regular squats/etc. because of the speed (and nervous system/muscle activation) required. As such, you won't be able to work at - or close to - your max for many reps at all.
What broke at 90kg? The initial lift? Which part? The jerk?
Once you blitzed yourself at 90kg, your body was probably done. Simple. If you want to increase your working capacity at big numbers, you really need to think about your routine away from lifting as much as the training itself: more sleep and better rest. And training itself? Get used to more frequent training sessions with consistent heavy weights. The neural and muscular adaptation that takes place over time will help numbers as well as consistency, but it takes time... Rough numbers I have seen suggest six months as a minimum (look at Bulgarian system of lifting) and that is at low starting loads.
The Western style of training is to work at lower loads for the majority of sessions with only periodic big singles: tapered training, if you will. So if your 1RM for the moment is 80kg, the suggestion would be most of the reps around 60-70kg with maybe a big single at 75kg and that's it. They also push a lot of squatting.
The funny thing with Olympic lifting is that squatting and squat numbers do not correlate well with it: bigger clean and jerk/snatch numbers come from, well, bigger clean and jerk/snatch numbers... A big front squat doth not a big CnJ make, if you will.
So, my suggestion is to determine what you want from your training now that you are getting a feel for them: big Olympic lifts? Or just to have them included as part of your wider training?
Also, post up a video of your clean and jerk. And finally: get your mobility sorted ad get snatching... The movement will really help with and support your CnJ.
Cheers for the tips, much appreciated as always MrThingy!
They're definitely different in a way that you feel physically capable of carrying on and pushing weight but your body simply says no!
The second pull/hip thrust is what broke the lift. For some reason when the weight gets heavier I can't seem to get myself under the bar and into the squat position, maybe I need to grow a pair, concentrate more or maybe the weight is just too heavy at this stage! I'll go with the latter!
I'll take heed of your advice and stick to 70k until my form is absolute perfection to progress!
The overall focus is to go for big olympic lifts.
My routine is currently as follows:
Monday: Deadlifts, Snatch Grip Deadlifts, Pullups and additional support work.
Wednesday: Physio and mobility training
Friday: Clean and jerks, front squats, push presses/jerks.
I'm thinking I'll either need to include more days or just focus on the olympic lifts every session.
I'm gutted I cant get into the gym more at the moment, it's winding me up!
They're definitely different in a way that you feel physically capable of carrying on and pushing weight but your body simply says no!
The second pull/hip thrust is what broke the lift. For some reason when the weight gets heavier I can't seem to get myself under the bar and into the squat position, maybe I need to grow a pair, concentrate more or maybe the weight is just too heavy at this stage! I'll go with the latter!
I'll take heed of your advice and stick to 70k until my form is absolute perfection to progress!
The overall focus is to go for big olympic lifts.
My routine is currently as follows:
Monday: Deadlifts, Snatch Grip Deadlifts, Pullups and additional support work.
Wednesday: Physio and mobility training
Friday: Clean and jerks, front squats, push presses/jerks.
I'm thinking I'll either need to include more days or just focus on the olympic lifts every session.
I'm gutted I cant get into the gym more at the moment, it's winding me up!
If you want big Olympic lifts, then there is only really one option. 
You also need to learn how to snatch, as what you learn from that will improve your clean, too.
I would ditch your snatch grip stuff as it won't really help your Olympic work, and just focus on more Olympic lifting: if you think about it, you'll be getting a similar-ish stimulus to deadlifts and squats with each snatch/clean, so...
Regarding your ability to power clean more weight than you can actually clean, this is precisely how I started. It's pretty cool, you feel like a legend and everybody in the gym think you're a beast. However, I have just spent the past four months re-learning the lifts to improve the deep catches, as this will be key to increasing the lifts in the long term, and it is what you will have to do when it comes down to getting meaningful increases. As such, my clean 1RM record hasn't increased in nine months, but my technique is now a much better foundation for any progress I decide to make when I finally get a couple of weeks' consistent training in.
As a result, this is where the 70kgs number came out. I'd probably try it at around 60kg first to see how you get on, and literally pull hang clean after hang clean (or full clean/whatever) and - even though you won't have to - sit deep and catch deep. Once you've nailed this at 60kg, increase the weight by 5kg and keep going until you stall again. Then back off 5/10kg and keep going. for a week or so at that weight.
This is one of the things with Olympic lifting: you will probably need hundreds of reps to get the catch right to the point where you will know it feels right. For instance, two weeks ago, I upped the weight and wound up catching on my toes which isn't good. Two days later, with more work, I'd addressed the problem (I'm lucky as I can train at home). This takes a big number of reps, a lot of well-managed food, and even more sleep.
Take a video of what you're doing, too, if you're unsure. I'm curious as to how you feel the second pull let you down and how that translated into not getting under the bar fast enough. I think I know, but will leave it to you to furnish me/us with the requisite information.
And learn to snatch. It is actually much easier than the clean.
If you've got three days (with your current program considered):
MONDAY 3 rep sets (number depends on how much time you have)
- Power clean to push press (get you warmed up)... 3 sets, at a guess.
- Full clean (or I do full clean -> 2 hang cleans) and jerk;
- Front squats (heavy)... 4*3
WEDNESDAY Beach day...
- Back squats (heavy, 4*5);
- Bent-over rows (5/6 rep sets);
- Bench'
- Chins/whatever...
FRIDAY same as Monday.
Spend most of youre time on the full clean during the routine as this is where you want to be strong. Power cleans will get the juices flowing, as the full clean will get you in the positions you want and make you really work hard for those kg.
Back squats (high bar) are important assistance for snatch work, so get them in there, too.
You need to learn to snatch. End of. Once you start work on it, simply add it in before you clean work (if you have time). We'll cover that when we get there.
I would also be inclined to ditch your current Wednesday mobility thing and do it yourself in your spare time.
Regarding loading, depending on how crap you want to feel each morning, keep your working rate at around 85% max: if you go in straight at any more than that, you will really hurt a lot. Slowly build on your work rate, so you will do two days of 85% max lifting (Monday/Friday) and Wednesday as a rest day (as such). As your body adapts, you can ramp the work rate in terms of days training, as well as the loading pattern.
The Western way of loading that I've seen is pyramid-ing the weight (i.e. 5 triples at 60%, 3 triples at 75%, 2 doubles at 85%, two singles at 95%). This helps you build up easily and then go for some big numbers right at the end.
The old Eastern Bloc method of training is to train heavy, every session, every week. With at least 80% on the bar... this goes for all their lifts. This will kick your proverbial, very, very hard if you go for more than twice a week, but you might want to try it out. If so, start light.
Either way, you will have to disengage your brain from the idea that big squat = big Olympic lift. It does not. View them as assistance exercises, only.
You also need to learn how to snatch, as what you learn from that will improve your clean, too.
I would ditch your snatch grip stuff as it won't really help your Olympic work, and just focus on more Olympic lifting: if you think about it, you'll be getting a similar-ish stimulus to deadlifts and squats with each snatch/clean, so...
Regarding your ability to power clean more weight than you can actually clean, this is precisely how I started. It's pretty cool, you feel like a legend and everybody in the gym think you're a beast. However, I have just spent the past four months re-learning the lifts to improve the deep catches, as this will be key to increasing the lifts in the long term, and it is what you will have to do when it comes down to getting meaningful increases. As such, my clean 1RM record hasn't increased in nine months, but my technique is now a much better foundation for any progress I decide to make when I finally get a couple of weeks' consistent training in.
As a result, this is where the 70kgs number came out. I'd probably try it at around 60kg first to see how you get on, and literally pull hang clean after hang clean (or full clean/whatever) and - even though you won't have to - sit deep and catch deep. Once you've nailed this at 60kg, increase the weight by 5kg and keep going until you stall again. Then back off 5/10kg and keep going. for a week or so at that weight.
This is one of the things with Olympic lifting: you will probably need hundreds of reps to get the catch right to the point where you will know it feels right. For instance, two weeks ago, I upped the weight and wound up catching on my toes which isn't good. Two days later, with more work, I'd addressed the problem (I'm lucky as I can train at home). This takes a big number of reps, a lot of well-managed food, and even more sleep.
Take a video of what you're doing, too, if you're unsure. I'm curious as to how you feel the second pull let you down and how that translated into not getting under the bar fast enough. I think I know, but will leave it to you to furnish me/us with the requisite information.
And learn to snatch. It is actually much easier than the clean.
If you've got three days (with your current program considered):
MONDAY 3 rep sets (number depends on how much time you have)
- Power clean to push press (get you warmed up)... 3 sets, at a guess.
- Full clean (or I do full clean -> 2 hang cleans) and jerk;
- Front squats (heavy)... 4*3
WEDNESDAY Beach day...
- Back squats (heavy, 4*5);
- Bent-over rows (5/6 rep sets);
- Bench'
- Chins/whatever...
FRIDAY same as Monday.
Spend most of youre time on the full clean during the routine as this is where you want to be strong. Power cleans will get the juices flowing, as the full clean will get you in the positions you want and make you really work hard for those kg.
Back squats (high bar) are important assistance for snatch work, so get them in there, too.
You need to learn to snatch. End of. Once you start work on it, simply add it in before you clean work (if you have time). We'll cover that when we get there.
I would also be inclined to ditch your current Wednesday mobility thing and do it yourself in your spare time.
Regarding loading, depending on how crap you want to feel each morning, keep your working rate at around 85% max: if you go in straight at any more than that, you will really hurt a lot. Slowly build on your work rate, so you will do two days of 85% max lifting (Monday/Friday) and Wednesday as a rest day (as such). As your body adapts, you can ramp the work rate in terms of days training, as well as the loading pattern.
The Western way of loading that I've seen is pyramid-ing the weight (i.e. 5 triples at 60%, 3 triples at 75%, 2 doubles at 85%, two singles at 95%). This helps you build up easily and then go for some big numbers right at the end.
The old Eastern Bloc method of training is to train heavy, every session, every week. With at least 80% on the bar... this goes for all their lifts. This will kick your proverbial, very, very hard if you go for more than twice a week, but you might want to try it out. If so, start light.
Either way, you will have to disengage your brain from the idea that big squat = big Olympic lift. It does not. View them as assistance exercises, only.
I've been out the game for a little while, firstly with work commitments then with a 7 week long dose of the flu which was absolute hell. It's just subsiding now.
During that time I've made the decision to switch my entire routine and focus on the oly lifts entirely with the various assistance exercises in tow. If anything, my interest in the sport has only grown from strength to strength.
Some vids of my first sessions back in the gym:
Split jerk form:
If you notice my back curves forward at the bottom. Currently working on improving this with the help of my coach. I wish I could remember all the terminology and muscular expressions!
Clean:
Working on the catch. Occasionally the weight is transferred forward onto the ball of my foot.
Haven't got a routine set out at the moment but a personal focus is going to be on getting my squat up. I'm still only back squatting 140 with a front squat of 120. These are ass to grass squats with a slight pause at the bottom.
During that time I've made the decision to switch my entire routine and focus on the oly lifts entirely with the various assistance exercises in tow. If anything, my interest in the sport has only grown from strength to strength.
Some vids of my first sessions back in the gym:
Split jerk form:
Clean:
Haven't got a routine set out at the moment but a personal focus is going to be on getting my squat up. I'm still only back squatting 140 with a front squat of 120. These are ass to grass squats with a slight pause at the bottom.
As I said I've just got back into it after quite some time off.
Clean is sitting at 90, looking to improve my squat so that I can get under the bar and support the weight in the squat position because my second pull seems to be coming along nicely.
Snatch is a different story, I can't catch it with my hands behind my head(shoulder mobility) in the squat position. My arms bring the bar infront of my head. So, that's sitting at around 40 but with progression, hopefully my shoulder will free up to allow me to get into the correct positioning on the catch.
Clean is sitting at 90, looking to improve my squat so that I can get under the bar and support the weight in the squat position because my second pull seems to be coming along nicely.
Snatch is a different story, I can't catch it with my hands behind my head(shoulder mobility) in the squat position. My arms bring the bar infront of my head. So, that's sitting at around 40 but with progression, hopefully my shoulder will free up to allow me to get into the correct positioning on the catch.
The clean looks smooth, but that's part of the problem I think...
Tips to improve your clean...
- Sort your first pull out: you're starting position is too high.
- Explode harder in the second pull (with your hips)... meaning moar heels.
- Actually use your traps on the second pull!. You're drifting under the bar, rather than actually pulling under it. Get your shoulders up by your ears!
- You also drop forward in the catch, which suggests you're not over the bar far enough in your second pull (this could also be a first pull issue)...
For the jer...
- You're not getting your head through far enough: this could be a problem with your tight delts and tight pecs.
- Keep your core locked hard. I heard of a Russian weightlifter cracking a PVC pipe against some NYC crossfitters to keep their cores tight during the jerk.
- As you drive for the jerk, help the dip by pushing yourself DOWN under the bar.
And learn to snatch.
Good work on switching to a full Olympic programme, too. For somebody like you, the main thing is just to lift from the floor as much as possible and get the technique right. From their, supplementary work would be positional drives and pulls.
Let me know if you want some fun with this...
Tips to improve your clean...
- Sort your first pull out: you're starting position is too high.
- Explode harder in the second pull (with your hips)... meaning moar heels.
- Actually use your traps on the second pull!
. You're drifting under the bar, rather than actually pulling under it. Get your shoulders up by your ears!- You also drop forward in the catch, which suggests you're not over the bar far enough in your second pull (this could also be a first pull issue)...
For the jer...
- You're not getting your head through far enough: this could be a problem with your tight delts and tight pecs.
- Keep your core locked hard. I heard of a Russian weightlifter cracking a PVC pipe against some NYC crossfitters to keep their cores tight during the jerk.
- As you drive for the jerk, help the dip by pushing yourself DOWN under the bar.
And learn to snatch.
Good work on switching to a full Olympic programme, too. For somebody like you, the main thing is just to lift from the floor as much as possible and get the technique right. From their, supplementary work would be positional drives and pulls.
Let me know if you want some fun with this...
Cheers for the feedback Mr-T, always appreciated and taken onboard! I'll post some videos over the following weeks.
Been snatching tonight, all is well until I go into a deep squat position and then the bar moves forward. I've got some major tightness in the delts or so, working on that.
I knew this would be a long and frustrating road but the clean situation is really winding me up. I can't get past that 90 PB. Sometimes I'm struggling to hit 80. My 'working' weight seems to keep dipping up and down, sometimes 85, sometimes 80, sometimes I even need to stick at 75.
I'm gonna need to devise a solid structure to follow every time I go into the gym, week on week to try and get these weights up. I'll be taking a notepad from now on!
What kind of structure do you follow mrthingy? You outlined a little program for me before but give the switch in routine, anything you could recommend?
Cheers!
Been snatching tonight, all is well until I go into a deep squat position and then the bar moves forward. I've got some major tightness in the delts or so, working on that.
I knew this would be a long and frustrating road but the clean situation is really winding me up. I can't get past that 90 PB. Sometimes I'm struggling to hit 80. My 'working' weight seems to keep dipping up and down, sometimes 85, sometimes 80, sometimes I even need to stick at 75.
I'm gonna need to devise a solid structure to follow every time I go into the gym, week on week to try and get these weights up. I'll be taking a notepad from now on!
What kind of structure do you follow mrthingy? You outlined a little program for me before but give the switch in routine, anything you could recommend?
Cheers!
Main questions are how often do you train, for how long, and what sort of kit do you have access to ( I.e. jerk blocks, platform, etc.).
I am guessing you can't drop based on your posts, so anything else?
My training (aside from the past three weeks) has generally (ish) been...
Monday:
Snatch balance 3*3
Snatch from hang 3*3
Snatch from floor 3*2
Clean and jerk 3*2
Front squat 4*3
Weds:
Snatch balance 3*3
Hang snatch 3*2
Snatch 3*2
Clean and jerk 4*2
Back squat 4*3
Fri:
Warmup (whatever - normally hang/power snatches)
Snatch (100%) 3*1
Clean and jerk (100%) 3*1
Front squat (80%) 5*3
So Monday is snatch, Weds is Clean and Jerk, Friday is showboating. Tuesdays and Thursdays is everything else (RDLs, Good Mornings, OHP, curlz and chest).
However, you should generally be looking to get at least two days as week of Olympic lifting with a third for general strength if you that is all you have.
I am lucky bexause I train at home in the morning and at work in the afternoon (if I am organised enough)... kind of makes me wonder why I cannot lift more.
I am guessing you can't drop based on your posts, so anything else?
My training (aside from the past three weeks) has generally (ish) been...
Monday:
Snatch balance 3*3
Snatch from hang 3*3
Snatch from floor 3*2
Clean and jerk 3*2
Front squat 4*3
Weds:
Snatch balance 3*3
Hang snatch 3*2
Snatch 3*2
Clean and jerk 4*2
Back squat 4*3
Fri:
Warmup (whatever - normally hang/power snatches)
Snatch (100%) 3*1
Clean and jerk (100%) 3*1
Front squat (80%) 5*3
So Monday is snatch, Weds is Clean and Jerk, Friday is showboating. Tuesdays and Thursdays is everything else (RDLs, Good Mornings, OHP, curlz and chest).
However, you should generally be looking to get at least two days as week of Olympic lifting with a third for general strength if you that is all you have.
I am lucky bexause I train at home in the morning and at work in the afternoon (if I am organised enough)... kind of makes me wonder why I cannot lift more.
Excellent, cheers for the tips, I've been going over your routine combined with this article I read: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/olympic_lifting_made_simple_ (Page 2) and it's definitely given me some food for thought.
Do you always combine both lifts during each session? The routine in the link splits them up quite nicely with appropriate assistance lifts but I'm wonder if, given my lack of training days, it would be more beneficial to combine both per session...
As you said, I've got a lack of of decent equipment. The only olympic style weights in my gym are light so I generally stack them onto the bar with the smaller iron weights on the outside so that I can drop them if needs be - A 15kg iron weight is smaller than a 5kg olympic weight in my gym, for example.
There's an olympic weightlifting gym 20 miles from me which is open to the public a couple of hours on a saturday - In the New Year I'll travel there each week to get a decent training environment.
Do you always combine both lifts during each session? The routine in the link splits them up quite nicely with appropriate assistance lifts but I'm wonder if, given my lack of training days, it would be more beneficial to combine both per session...
As you said, I've got a lack of of decent equipment. The only olympic style weights in my gym are light so I generally stack them onto the bar with the smaller iron weights on the outside so that I can drop them if needs be - A 15kg iron weight is smaller than a 5kg olympic weight in my gym, for example.
There's an olympic weightlifting gym 20 miles from me which is open to the public a couple of hours on a saturday - In the New Year I'll travel there each week to get a decent training environment.
It depends how good your relative techniques are, as well as how much time is available, really.
A lot of Western lifters pull from blocks and do a lot of assistance exercises, but you'll find the guys who lift biggest with the most epic technique just do the full lifts with limited assistance exercises. Is that before or after they get awesome, I hear you ask? Well, given most of these lifters have been going at it since they were teenagers, it isn't even a fair question.
I normally stack snatch -> CnJ -> squat because the first two have little impact on each other and as the snatch is the most technical lift! it comes first. I train Clean AND Jerk because you'll find putting them together a lot harder than the lifts in isolation. I used to train cleans and jerks on different days and paid a huge price for it later, once I realised how much work actually went into the combined lift.
I used to train with separate snatch and clean days, but found out with the time available to me, I felt I missed out on a lot of something, so I doubled up... And found that all the jerk work completely screwed any squatting I tried to attempt. So I now train squats in the afternoon.
My training generally changes week to week based on what I feel I need to hit. Most of the time, I do a lot more snatch than I think I will because the movement is notionally similar to the clean and - as the weight is lighter - I can bang out a lot more reps. Heavy CnJ is NOT something to do reps on!
If you are starting to work on both lifts, stick them on different days: there is no harm in doing this. If you are lifting with an efficient technique, you may want to change things around.
Ultimately, it is whatever works for you. I go through phases of around 5-6 weeks and then have a rethink on how my lifting is structured, normally because work travel interrupts my training and I need to spend a week recovering. However, it does give me time to work on refining my technique.
The stuff in the link is a good start and reasonably similar to what I started out with last year and carried on through the first half of this year. Personally, I wouldn't get hung up in training from blocks, rack jerks, high/low whatever pulls unless you feel that you suck in one of them. Block work is fun because it forces you to generate a huge amount of power, but are not as biomechanically similar to the actual lift as a lot of people think (for instance).
It is the same principle behind what one of my coaches called catcher squats: squatting in a rack with the ions set too high so that when you bottomed out in the hole, the bar would hit the ions and come off your shoulders... You then had to power up without any elastic tension out the bottom of the hole. Which sucks. Massively.
Ultimately, the decision will be up to you - as the lifter - through discussion with your coach. I am more than happy to share my very limited experience of the lifts and my routines, but every lifter is different.
A lot of Western lifters pull from blocks and do a lot of assistance exercises, but you'll find the guys who lift biggest with the most epic technique just do the full lifts with limited assistance exercises. Is that before or after they get awesome, I hear you ask? Well, given most of these lifters have been going at it since they were teenagers, it isn't even a fair question.
I normally stack snatch -> CnJ -> squat because the first two have little impact on each other and as the snatch is the most technical lift! it comes first. I train Clean AND Jerk because you'll find putting them together a lot harder than the lifts in isolation. I used to train cleans and jerks on different days and paid a huge price for it later, once I realised how much work actually went into the combined lift.
I used to train with separate snatch and clean days, but found out with the time available to me, I felt I missed out on a lot of something, so I doubled up... And found that all the jerk work completely screwed any squatting I tried to attempt. So I now train squats in the afternoon.
My training generally changes week to week based on what I feel I need to hit. Most of the time, I do a lot more snatch than I think I will because the movement is notionally similar to the clean and - as the weight is lighter - I can bang out a lot more reps. Heavy CnJ is NOT something to do reps on!
If you are starting to work on both lifts, stick them on different days: there is no harm in doing this. If you are lifting with an efficient technique, you may want to change things around.
Ultimately, it is whatever works for you. I go through phases of around 5-6 weeks and then have a rethink on how my lifting is structured, normally because work travel interrupts my training and I need to spend a week recovering. However, it does give me time to work on refining my technique.
The stuff in the link is a good start and reasonably similar to what I started out with last year and carried on through the first half of this year. Personally, I wouldn't get hung up in training from blocks, rack jerks, high/low whatever pulls unless you feel that you suck in one of them. Block work is fun because it forces you to generate a huge amount of power, but are not as biomechanically similar to the actual lift as a lot of people think (for instance).
It is the same principle behind what one of my coaches called catcher squats: squatting in a rack with the ions set too high so that when you bottomed out in the hole, the bar would hit the ions and come off your shoulders... You then had to power up without any elastic tension out the bottom of the hole. Which sucks. Massively.
Ultimately, the decision will be up to you - as the lifter - through discussion with your coach. I am more than happy to share my very limited experience of the lifts and my routines, but every lifter is different.
Cheers MrT. It's good to hear about your experience so far and how others work. There's an abundance of technique write-ups out there but little in the way of routine breakdowns - for us 'Westerners' with limited time that is 
I'm going to log every workout from now on to give me a basis for weekly improvements following this new routine.
So, this week so far:
C&J Day:
Warmup
Power Cleans from floor
3 x 60
3 x 65
3 x 70
Full C&J
3 x 60
3 x 60
3 x 60
Clean pulls from floor
3 x 60
3 x 70
3 x 80
Front squats
3 x 80
3 x 90
3 x 100
Finished with some BW dips
I'm going to log every workout from now on to give me a basis for weekly improvements following this new routine.
So, this week so far:
C&J Day:
Warmup
Power Cleans from floor
3 x 60
3 x 65
3 x 70
Full C&J
3 x 60
3 x 60
3 x 60
Clean pulls from floor
3 x 60
3 x 70
3 x 80
Front squats
3 x 80
3 x 90
3 x 100
Finished with some BW dips