Brian DeGennaro 16-Week Team Program

Sixteen weeks of Olympic lifting use five days a week, complexes and heavier meet weeks in weeks nine and sixteen.

By Brian DeGennaro / OWLsheets; Lift Vault recovered rebuildOriginal program

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Your numbers

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Maxes

kg
1-rep max
kg
kg
1-rep max
kg
1-rep max

Details

The program’s usual settings

Rep counts

Week by week

Every workout, as Catalyst would give it to you.

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The schedule

5 workouts a week, on whichever days suit you.

WeekSession 1Session 2Session 3Session 4Session 5
1day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
2day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
3day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
4day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
5day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
6day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
7day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
8day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
9day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5day 6
10day 1day 2day 3day 4
11day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
12day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
13day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
14day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
15day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5
16day 1day 2day 3day 4day 5day 6

How it works

The program’s own rules, as Catalyst runs them.

Train for sixteen weeks in Sunday–Thursday order, adding Saturday or competition workouts in weeks 9 and 16. Week 10 starts Monday, and week-2 Tuesday is off. Add abdominal or core work you choose. Perform complex movements in order at one weight without rest between parts, choosing start height, supports, grip and pauses. For Snatch Pull + Snatch, choose the floor or 12-inch blocks; the specified Clean Pull/Deadlift work uses 12-inch blocks. For week 11’s five Muscle Clean + Press sets, choose either three muscle cleans plus three presses, or one muscle clean followed by two presses. Choose by-feel weights and use the achieved top weights for backoffs. Plan mock-meet attempts from the guide; week 16 includes three snatches and three clean/jerk pairs in order. Pause the squat for three seconds in Snatch + Squat during the first two weeks, but not in weeks 6 or 8. In Snatch + Snatch from one inch off the floor, pause there for three seconds. Keep the above-knee and below-knee start positions distinct. In the realization phase, keep back-squat working weight below about 135% of your best clean. Avoid misses on front-squat max singles, and stop week-16 Monday’s increases well before failure.

What you need

Everything its exercises call for. Missing something? The app suggests swaps that train the same thing.

  • Barbell
  • Squat rack

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