I’m not one to seek conflict, but sometimes it’s dropped in my lap. I also don’t feed the trolls, but when someone I respect a lot criticizes something I’ve written, I think it’s worthwhile to speak my peace, because online reputations are fragile things.
Lyle McDonald published an article today raking The Bulgarian Manual through the coals.
I invite you to read his article, and I want you to keep in mind while reading it that I agree with the vast majority of what he wrote. The only major thing I take exception with is that he attributed the positions in that article to me, and what I wrote in The Bulgarian Manual.
I also want to make it clear that this isn’t a personal beef with Lyle. We’ve had some disagreements, but I’ll be the first to say that he’s contributed massively to the fitness world, and I greatly respect his body of work.
However, I’m having a hard time understanding how he came to think that my views resemble those presented in his article. I don’t want to think he was purposefully misrepresenting them, but I did my best to clearly articulate my positions in The Bulgarian Manual. It seems that most people understood it well, but if anything is unclear, I’d love to hear about it so I can make corrections and clarifications. If it is truly a misunderstanding, I’d like to know what it would take to ensure it’s not similarly misunderstood again.
For starters, what we agree on:
- The Bulgarian System as practiced by the Bulgarian weightlifting team under Ivan Abadjiev is not well-suited for powerlifting, or really anyone who isn’t a professional athlete, probably on a ton of drugs.
- Any derivative of the Bulgarian System is probably not suitable for new lifters under almost all circumstances.
- True daily maxes (often to the point of missing reps) are much better suited to the snatch and clean and jerk than they are to the power lifts.
What we disagree on:
- Can a modified version of the Bulgarian Method be effective for powerlifting?
- Do Bulgarian System weightlifters care about pushing their squats super high? And are they effective at doing so?
I’ll address those things a bit more later, but for now, I want to go through the article and point out some things that are wrong, or that misrepresent what The Bulgarian Manual actually says.
Lyle, from the intro: “I want to look at what the Bulgarian approach actually is, then look at how it’s usually attempted to be applied to PL’ing. And then I’ll tell you why it never actually works.”
For starters, “never” is a strong word, and it takes considerable evidence to back up a claim including “always” or “never.” This one is simply untrue. I used it to add 160lbs to my total in 10 weeks. Omar used it to increase his squat 50 pounds in about 8 weeks. Gabe Malone used it to add something like 80lbs to his squat in a summer. Mike Zourdos found it to produce significant strength gains when he ran a study on it. Those are all easily verifiable. I’ve helped dozens of other people use a modified version of the Bulgarian Method to hit all-time PRs, and dozens more have emailed me in the past few months after downloading The Bulgarian Manual to say it did the same for them. “It never actually works” is an easily falsifiable claim that holds no water. We could argue that perhaps something else would be more effective, and that could be a productive discussion, but “it never works” is an absurd statement.
The first sentence begins with, “I want to look at what the Bulgarian approach actually is.” His breakdown of it is very accurate, and corresponds with both what I’ve read, what I’ve heard from Coach Abadjiev in interviews, and what I’ve been told from lifters like Max Aita who trained in Bulgaria. No qualms whatsoever with that part of the article, and it corresponds with how it’s described in The Bulgarian Manual.
The first sentence ends with “…then look at how it’s usually attempted to be applied to PL’ing.”
That’s where the issues begin, as he misrepresents almost everything contained in The Bulgarian Manual.
The main issues raised (some in the article, some in the comments):
1) You can’t sustain huge, grinding efforts (what is typically associated with the word “max”) in the powerlifts with high frequency, and The Bulgarian Manual advocates that type of max.
2) The Bulgarian Method isn’t suitable for beginners, with the claim that I never said otherwise in The Bulgarian Manual.
3) There is no room to combine daily maxes with any sort of autoregulation.
4) The Bulgarian Manual doesn’t address the issue of the Bulgarian team being on drugs.
5) The Bulgarian Manual advocates higher training intensity for the squat than the Bulgarian weightlifting team did.
6) The Bulgarian Manual doesn’t accurately report the way the Bulgarian weightlifting team actually trained.
7) Since the Bulgarian Manual lays out a modified version of the Bulgarian Method, it’s improper to use the word “Bulgarian” to describe it.
Here are some direct quotes from The Bulgarian Manual directly addressing these points. I’ve done my best to accurately sum up his contentions:
No. 1
Lyle’s position: You can’t sustain huge, grinding efforts (what is typically associated with the word “max”) in the powerlifts with high frequency, and The Bulgarian Manual advocates that type of max.
My response: From Page 21: “It is absolutely crucial that you understand this section. For most of your workouts, you’ll be working up to a daily max.
“What a daily max is not:
A daily max is NOT a true max. A daily max is not an all-out grinder with the aid of pre-workouts, death metal, and an ammonia cap. It does not allow for any technical breakdown. There’s not room for “it was sloppy, but I got it.” It should not be a grinder unless you’ve been on an HIHF program for at least a couple of months, and you can still grind out a lift with flawless form.
“What a daily max is:
A daily max is the weight you can hit with NO psychological arousal and no form aberrations. Not only should you not need aids like stimulants and music, but you shouldn’t even need to psych yourself up. There should be no doubt in your mind that you can crush the lift before you even attempt it. If you have to stop and think about it, it’s too heavy.“If too many of your daily maxes start looking like true maxes, it increases your odds of getting worn down physically (from form deviations) and mentally (from psychological arousal).”
I agree with Lyle that the type of maxes PLers usually do would be unsustainable long-term.
No. 2
Lyle’s position: The Bulgarian Method isn’t suitable for beginners, with the claim that I never said otherwise in The Bulgarian Manual.
My response: From Pages 5 and 6:
“Also, just to get this out of the way early, this is NOT intended for new lifters. You could probably pull it off if you were training (in-person) with a good coach who knew how to make the necessary adjustments for you, but if you’re training by yourself or just with some gym buddies, diving straight into the Bulgarian Method without at least a couple of years of serious training with more orthodox programs is not a very wise decision. Unless you’ve already got great technique (and I don’t mean this as recourse to the nebulous but not-too-helpful idea of “perfect form,” but rather technique that allows you to perform a lift hundreds and hundreds of times with minimal injury risk), and unless you understand how to listen to your body (again, with less than a couple of years under the bar, you may think you know how to listen to your body, but odds are pretty good that you’re not as good at it as you think you are), the Bulgarian Method is not for you.”
Elsewhere I said that you needed a MINIMUM of three years of experience, and Chapter 13 is entirely dedicated to how to ease into it because of how difficult it can be, even for more experienced lifters.
No. 3
Lyle’s position: There is no room to combine daily maxes with any sort of autoregulation.
My response: Addressing this would mean copying and pasting half the manual. How to autoregulate and when to pull back (along with tools you can use to monitor readiness to know when you should push daily maxes, and when you should take it easier) is addressed in detail in Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 14. The two concepts are entirely compatible (and the daily maxes themselves should be autoregulated).
No. 4
Lyle’s position: The Bulgarian Manual doesn’t address the issue of the Bulgarian team being on drugs.
My response: Pages 7 and 8:
“Since then, it’s been something in the back of the mind of the powerlifting community. It seems like everyone has an opinion, ranging from positing that it’s the best training plan bar-none, to postulating that it simply cannot work for someone not juiced to the gills (it’s well-known that many of Abadjiev’s lifters have failed drug tests) and will inevitably result in injury. However, in spite of the range of opinions, not many people have actually TRIED the Bulgarian Method for themselves.
“I have. I took my first crack at it in the summer of 2012. I wrote an article about my experience that was published on a major lifting website, and that’s when the questions started rolling in. Since then, I’ve helped about 50 people who have wanted to take their own crack at the Bulgarian Method. From their experiences and my own, I’ve documented what tends to work and not work. Those experiences with (mostly) drug-free powerlifters are primarily what I draw upon for this guide.”
No. 5
Lyle’s position: The Bulgarian Manual advocates higher training intensity for the squat than the Bulgarian weightlifting team did.
My response: Yes, the Bulgarian team worked up very heavy in the squat. Different weightlifting teams approach the squat differently. In one of Sean Waxman’s lectures, I believe he recommended a front squat ~10% over one’s best clean, and a back squat ~15-20% over one’s best clean. If it’s higher than that, there’s no point in pushing the squat higher. That’s the standard Russian System way of approaching the squat (and Lyle even uses the example of Alexeev’s squatting compared to his clean).
However, Abadjiev believed in pushing the squat as high as possible. In fact, all of the videos Lyle links at the end of the article show people whose squats are “too high” compared to their cleans, with the exception of Rezazedeh front squatting 280, with a max clean of 263.5. However, it is obvious from the video that his max is considerably higher, which would necessitate heavier training, unless Lyle is contending that he could absolutely destroy a 280 front squat like that without actually going heavier than 280. In fact, his back squat max was reported to be 390 (859lbs).
His other point in posting those videos was to illustrate that a max squat in weightlifting doesn’t entail the same degree of grinding as a max squat in powerlifting generally (of course there are exceptions. Milko Tokola is a great example). I agree with this entirely, which is why that’s what I recommend for daily maxes in The Bulgarian Manual (refer to point 1).
No. 6
Lyle’s position: The Bulgarian Manual doesn’t accurately report the way the Bulgarian weightlifting team actually trained.
My response: I described the “true” Bulgarian Method the same way he did, both in terms of implementation and rationale. Refer to this graphic, and to Chapter 2 of The Bulgarian Manual.
He claims I don’t understand what it involved. If that’s the case, then we’re both wrong.
No. 7
Lyle’s position: Since the Bulgarian Manual lays out a modified version of the Bulgarian Method, it’s improper to use the word “Bulgarian” to describe it.
My response: This is absolutely true. From Page 5:
“If you’re not familiar with the Bulgarian Method, here it is in a nutshell: Lift heavy (85%+ of your 1-rep max), almost every day of the week, focusing on the lifts you want to excel at.
“Now, that’s the simplified definition we’ll be working with. However, for the sake of accuracy, be aware that what I’ll be talking about here is NOT the “true” Bulgarian Method. Unless you are literally a professional athlete, with time to train 2-3 times per day, every day, under the watchful eye of an expert coach who is constantly monitoring your readiness, your strengths, your weaknesses, and making constant adjustments to your training within the overall Bulgarian framework, you are not doing the true Bulgarian Method. The purpose of this guide is to take the overarching principles of the Bulgarian Method and teach you how to implement them in your training for maximal effect within the framework of a “normal” life.”
So yes, it IS a modified version. I’d like to point out that even in weightlifting circles, coaches that identify as “Bulgarian Method” coaches are quick to point out that their programming is not exactly like Abadjiev’s. Everyone makes modifications as they see fit, while staying true to the overarching principles. I’d recommend this article for more info.
If Lyle is opposed to the use of the word “Bulgarian” for anything that’s not the EXACT, original Bulgarian Method, then so be it. However, he is almost entirely alone in that regard. Nearly everyone else is content to understand “Bulgarian Method” as referring to an overarching set of principles (high frequency, heavy training with a high degree of specificity).
I make no attempt to hide the fact that The Bulgarian Manual doesn’t lay out a system of training that is exactly like how Abadjiev trained his lifters. It lays out a way to apply those same principles to a different sport, for a different population (powerlifters who aren’t on drugs, and who aren’t professional athletes).
If someone is disappointed because The Bulgarian Manual doesn’t lay out the exact style of training used by the Bulgarian weightlifting team, then I’m okay with that. The manual is free, and they’ll only waste 2 minutes of their time figuring it out (as it’s addressed on the third page).
Lyle and I both agree that a strict application of the original Bulgarian Method isn’t suited to powerlifters (or weightlifters not on drugs), we agree that daily maxes should be heavy lifts with flawless form, not epic grinders, and we agree that if a high frequency, high intensity routine is to be effective and mitigate injury risk, there needs to be sufficient autoregulation.
We disagree about how hard the Bulgarian weightlifters pushed their squat training (which is a moot point anyways, since The Bulgarian Manual is a modified version of the program; the exact application of the original method is largely irrelevant), and we may (I’m honestly not sure) disagree about a modified version of the Bulgarian Method being effective for building strength for drug-free powerlifters.
However, almost everyone I know who has tried it has reported good to great results, and the worst experiences I’ve heard are essentially, “It was about the same for me as ‘normal’ training.” No overtraining or injuries. Now, I’m certain that there’s plenty of selection bias going on so I’d never claim that it’s the be-all-end-all of training or that it carries no risk whatsoever. By I do think the statement “And then I’ll tell you why it never actually works” has been more than falsified.
I also want to make it clear that I’m not just trying to defend The Bulgarian Manual due to ego or any sort of perverse motive. For one, it’s free. And for two, I have no problem whatsoever making adjustments to what I write if I say something that’s either inaccurate or that could be explained better.
In fact, all of these articles have been edited in some way to either clarify something or to correct an error I made:
Gender Differences in Training and Diet – Spencer and Kasey Nadolsky let me know the section on birth control’s effects on insulin sensitivity wasn’t quite nuanced enough.
The Science of Steroids – Dr. Mike Israetel let me know I understated steroids’ neurological effects.
Everything You Think is Wrong with Your Deadlift is Probably Right – Bret Contreras and Andrew Vigotsky let me know I overstated the effects of spinal flexion on reducing required hip extension torque.
Squats are Not Hip Dominant or Knee Dominant – multiple people informed me that I didn’t make the central point of the article clearly enough.
Avoiding Cardio Could be Holding You Back – several people pointed out that I forgot to take movement efficiency into account when calculating metabolic cost in a couple places. This one really was a bonehead mistake. Still a little embarrassed about it.
Tucking the Elbows for Bench – You’re Probably Doing it Wrong – This one I actually changed based on Lyle’s criticisms. The original title was WAY overstated and, admittedly, click-baity (I think it was “why you shouldn’t tuck your elbows for bench” or something of that nature). He also pointed out that I didn’t make the distinction between raw and equipped bench press form clear enough.
These are just from the top 10 most-read on the site. 60% of them are edited to make them more understandable, nuanced, or just plain accurate. I don’t “like” criticism any more than the next guy, but when it’s valid criticism, I have no problem making adjustments.
And that applies to everything I do. Before The Art of Lifting and The Science of Lifting were published, I sent them out to three different batches of people I respected, and made three rounds of (pretty substantial) edits before they saw the light of day. And I send surveys out to everyone who’s read them so they can let me know what needs to be changed, expanded upon, added, or clarified so I can keep improving them.
All of which is to say, I welcome criticism of The Bulgarian Manual. And if the way Lyle represented it is the way people are interpreting it, I want to know how I can clarify it. It’s free. You can read it for yourself, and if it makes it seem like I recommend no autoregulation, true grinding maxes, and no flexibility, please let me know how I can improve it.
And I want to reiterate that this isn’t meant to be an attack on Lyle. I don’t think the way he represented The Bulgarian Manual is accurate, but if his article describes how a lot of people are interpreting it, I’d like to know how I can fix that.
Again, you can download it here or just fill out the box below if you want to check it out for yourself, and if you do, I’d love to know how I could improve it.