08-13-2014, 03:49 PM

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About the Author
Aleksey Medvedev was a champion Weightlifter for the USSR in the late 40s to early 60s. Later he became the head coach for the Soviet Union. After his retirement from lifting, Medvedev became the first Soviet Ph.D. specializing in Olympic weightlifting. His productivity in scientific research on weightlifting was unmatched. As a dean of Olympic weightlifting department of the Russian Academy of Physical Education in Moscow, he published nearly 400 books and manuscripts and prepared over 15 Ph.D. graduates. Medvedev was one of the major contributors for the development of the scientific background of the world famous Soviet training methodology in Olympic weightlifting.
About the Book
The book primarily focuses on structuring a multi-year training program, taking a youth lifter all the way through the ranks of a youth to a 'International Master of Sport,' which was/is the highest ranking in the Soviet Union/Russia for their lifters. The lion's share of text deals with the volume and loading of programming specifically, but the book also covers: Technique, exercise selection, GPP, recovery, coach-athlete relationship, nutrition and supplementation.
Because the Soviets (in particular Medvedev) were extremely detailed some of the information can be a bit repetitive and monotonous, however there are A LOT of gems along the way. Much of the information answers questions that are often discussed/debated by American coaches and novice lifters. While a single author or coaches perspective can't always be taken as the last word on a matter, Medvedev has about as solid as a resume as a Weightlifting coach can get.
The benefit to most of the information presented in the book as that it offers an organized and methodical approach to managing your training or your lifter's training. An argument often made against using a Soviet based system here in the states, is that our lifters don't have as much 'time' to develop as the Soviets , since most of them start at 12-14 years of age, and here most of our lifters start at 18 or later. It is true that Medvedev advises against focusing on strength development until technique is solidified, however he makes some strong cases toward how technique development will yield greater results in the long run..something I think our current best lifters could've benefited from. I think there is likely some adaptations that could be made to this system to create an 'Americanized version' something that Bob Takano is a proponent of.
At this point the relevancy of the content can be called into question, as the book was written in 1996, and of course translated from Russian to English. While nothing jumps out as a blatant translation error, I'm sure there are some things that may have been 'lost in translation.' There are a few things to consider when looking that the date of the information:
1. Russia was likely still better at Weightlifting then, than we are now
2. It gives us a great foundation to build our own system
3. The rules and regulations of Weightlifting are by in large the same today as they were 30 years ago.
Although I've attached many highlighted passages, I would still recommend adding this book to your personal Weightlifting library, and reading it thoroughly. The passages I selected were of my own personal interest and education. There is likely a lot that I missed, and that may of be of personal value to you.
Pros
Just about every possible detail of programming is covered
Wealth of knowledge including exercises I had never even considered
Gives you a structure for a long term plan
Relatively inexpensive purchase
Cons
Dense. The Soviets were thorough, and so a lot of the information is repetitive
Doesn't discuss women's Weightlifting at all (since it didn't exist at the time)
Research and analysis of information from the early 1900s-1980s only.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Where to purchase:
http://amzn.to/2xX8Wfs