Supertotal Training Program: A 4-Day Five-Lift Week

Five competition lifts in one week sounds like too much. It is not, if you place each lift with care. The trick is to give the fast lifts your freshest energy and let the slow lifts fill the rest.

This guide shows you how to build a supertotal week. You get a sample 4-day plan, load ranges for each lift and a simple way to progress over a block.

The principles behind a five-lift week

A good supertotal program follows four rules:

• Fast before slow. Train the snatch and clean and jerk first in a session.
• Heavy before light. Do your main lift for the day before accessories.
• Spread the pulls. Do not put heavy deadlifts and heavy cleans on the same day.
• Vary the stress. Mix heavy days and lighter speed days across the week.

The NSCA stresses that structure matters as much as exercise choice.

"However, it is essential that such exercises are appropriately programmed adopting a sequential approach across training blocks (including exercise variation, loads, and volumes) to ensure the desired adaptations, whereas strength and conditioning coaches emphasize appropriate technique and skill development of athletes performing such exercises."

Comfort P, Haff GG, Suchomel TJ, et al. National Strength and Conditioning Association Position Statement on Weightlifting for Sports Performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2023. PubMed

Load ranges for each lift

Use two kinds of work. Heavy strength work builds your squat, bench and deadlift. Fast power work builds your Olympic lifts.

The ACSM progression guidelines support both. They recommend an eventual emphasis on heavy loading of 1 to 6 RM with 3 to 5 minutes of rest for strength. For power, they describe light loads of 0-60% of 1RM for lower body exercises and 30-60% of 1RM for upper body exercises, moved fast (ACSM position stand, 2009).

Translate that into supertotal work like this:

• Squat, bench, deadlift (heavy): 3 to 5 sets of 2 to 5 reps at 75 to 90% of 1RM.
• Squat, bench (light): 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 reps at 60 to 70% of 1RM, moved fast.
• Snatch, clean and jerk: 4 to 6 sets of 1 to 2 reps at 70 to 85% of your best.
• Pulls: 3 sets of 3 reps at 90 to 105% of your best snatch or clean.

How much weekly work you need

More weekly sets build more strength, up to a point. A meta-regression of 67 studies with 2,058 participants (79.1% male) found that strength gains rise with weekly volume and with training frequency, but with diminishing returns (Pelland et al., 2026). Strength showed those diminishing returns sooner than muscle size did.

For a supertotal lifter, that means moderate volume on each lift works well. You do not need huge volume on any single lift. Aim for these weekly totals:

• Squat: 8 to 12 hard sets
• Bench press: 8 to 12 hard sets
• Deadlift and pulls combined: 6 to 10 hard sets
• Snatch: 8 to 15 working singles or doubles
• Clean and jerk: 8 to 15 working singles or doubles

Why the week should undulate

Change the stress from day to day. A meta-analysis of 35 studies found that undulating periodization produced greater 1RM gains than linear periodization in trained lifters, with no difference in untrained lifters (Moesgaard et al., 2022). A five-lift week undulates naturally, because each day has a different main focus.

Sample 4-day supertotal week

Rest 2 to 3 minutes between Olympic lift sets and 3 to 5 minutes between heavy powerlift sets.

Day 1: Snatch and squat

1. Snatch: 5 x 2 at 75%
2. Back squat: 4 x 4 at 80%
3. Snatch pull: 3 x 3 at 95%
4. Core: 3 sets

Day 2: Bench and press

1. Bench press: 5 x 3 at 82%
2. Push press: 4 x 3 at 70%
3. Row: 4 x 8
4. Triceps: 3 x 10

Day 3: Clean and jerk and deadlift

1. Clean and jerk: 6 x 1 at 80%
2. Deadlift: 4 x 3 at 82%
3. Front squat: 3 x 3 at 70%
4. Back extension: 3 x 10

Day 4: Speed and volume

1. Power snatch: 4 x 2 at 70%
2. Power clean: 4 x 2 at 70%
3. Back squat: 3 x 5 at 65%, fast
4. Bench press: 4 x 5 at 72%
5. Pull-ups: 3 sets

Put at least one rest day between Day 1 and Day 3 if you can. Both days load your legs and back.

Progress across a 4-week block

Run three building weeks and one lighter week. Then retest or start a new block with higher maxes.

• Week 1: use the loads above.
• Week 2: add 2.5% to every main lift.
• Week 3: add another 2.5%. Cut one set from each lift if bar speed drops.
• Week 4: drop volume by about 40%, keep loads near Week 1.

On the Olympic lifts, progress by quality. If every rep in Week 1 was fast and clean, add 2 to 5 kg in Week 2. If not, repeat the load.

Adjust for your weak lifts

Your supertotal is a sum, so the weakest lift often gives the cheapest gains. Add 2 sets per week to the lift that lags. Take 2 sets from a lift that is ahead. Re-balance at the start of each block.

Build it in the free builder

Open the builder and enter your best squat, bench press, deadlift, snatch and clean and jerk. Choose 4 training days and a 4-week block. The builder fills each day with sets, reps and loads from your maxes, with the Olympic lifts placed first.

Short on time? Browse the starter programs for a ready five-lift plan, then change any lift or day to fit your week.