If you have even made it this far in the article, bravo. I feel like most people would have clicked away at the notion that Prilepin’s chart is somehow flawed. Thanks for reading this far - let’s keep going. Why am I saying this? It is because a new coach can easily be convinced that Prilepin’s chart is gospel. Then the minute they get hired they go use it to dictate sets and reps for a team. Prilepin’s chart is a great starting point - but without knowledge of the chart and how it was started - they can miss the mark.
Understand the past
Let’s take a quick history tour. Prilepin’s chart was created many years ago by Alexander Sergei Prilepin, who recorded and studied data off of the best Olympic weightlifters (1). That is the first point to highlight. This chart was based off Olympic weightlifters - not team sport athletes. They were also the best of the best in the USSR (2). So we know these athletes had great restorations.
Now understanding the fact that this chart was based on the best Olympic weightlifters from the USSR somewhere between the time of 1960-1980, we can apply it to 2023. Your team sport athlete is not an Olympic weightlifter. They play a sport - which often involves running in multiple directions. This right here is where you need to start asking questions. Are my athletes in a period of time where they are playing their sport a lot? If so - you need to keep this in mind and be on the low end of Prilepin’s chart. In season 90% might feel more like 100%+ for your athletes based on the game and practice volume.
The same can be said if they are doing a lot of speed, conditioning, and agility work in the off-season. Think back to all of the on field or court work you are doing with the team. Acceleration, curves, max velocity, change of direction, agility, and conditioning. This is just your work, not to mention the practices that the sport coach has the athletes doing. There is a lot of work on their plates. So when you program 15 reps of optimal work with 88% for the team over 3 sets of 4 reps and 1 extra set of 3 reps - that will probably destroy them.
This is why you would want to stay in the lower range. Keeping the same example of 88% doing 2 reps per set over 5 reps does put you in the total range. This keeps you in the range from Prilepin’s chart - but again in season this would still be considered aggressive for some athletes. Especially your strongest and most experienced athletes.
What to do?
With that being said - Prilepin’s chart is a goods starting point for your team. If you are new you need to understand the sporting demands outside of the weight room. This will help keep you from putting too much weight on the bar. Older coaches who might have been too conservative, maybe you needed to look at the chart again and understand that you can load your athletes more. The biggest take away for you as a coach is to understand that your team sport athletes do more than just lift weights. You need to take this into account when programming in the weight room because all of the on field/court volume will have an effect on how much weight they can lift in the weight room (3).
If you want more help on programming the weight room and court/field sessions for your sport - go inside the network and watch a presentation on that sport. Our education site has every sport you can think of, and every topic of strength and conditioning. Not a member? No problem. Click here and try the site for 24 hours for $1 and check it out.
References
Understand the past
Let’s take a quick history tour. Prilepin’s chart was created many years ago by Alexander Sergei Prilepin, who recorded and studied data off of the best Olympic weightlifters (1). That is the first point to highlight. This chart was based off Olympic weightlifters - not team sport athletes. They were also the best of the best in the USSR (2). So we know these athletes had great restorations.
Now understanding the fact that this chart was based on the best Olympic weightlifters from the USSR somewhere between the time of 1960-1980, we can apply it to 2023. Your team sport athlete is not an Olympic weightlifter. They play a sport - which often involves running in multiple directions. This right here is where you need to start asking questions. Are my athletes in a period of time where they are playing their sport a lot? If so - you need to keep this in mind and be on the low end of Prilepin’s chart. In season 90% might feel more like 100%+ for your athletes based on the game and practice volume.
The same can be said if they are doing a lot of speed, conditioning, and agility work in the off-season. Think back to all of the on field or court work you are doing with the team. Acceleration, curves, max velocity, change of direction, agility, and conditioning. This is just your work, not to mention the practices that the sport coach has the athletes doing. There is a lot of work on their plates. So when you program 15 reps of optimal work with 88% for the team over 3 sets of 4 reps and 1 extra set of 3 reps - that will probably destroy them.
This is why you would want to stay in the lower range. Keeping the same example of 88% doing 2 reps per set over 5 reps does put you in the total range. This keeps you in the range from Prilepin’s chart - but again in season this would still be considered aggressive for some athletes. Especially your strongest and most experienced athletes.
What to do?
With that being said - Prilepin’s chart is a goods starting point for your team. If you are new you need to understand the sporting demands outside of the weight room. This will help keep you from putting too much weight on the bar. Older coaches who might have been too conservative, maybe you needed to look at the chart again and understand that you can load your athletes more. The biggest take away for you as a coach is to understand that your team sport athletes do more than just lift weights. You need to take this into account when programming in the weight room because all of the on field/court volume will have an effect on how much weight they can lift in the weight room (3).
If you want more help on programming the weight room and court/field sessions for your sport - go inside the network and watch a presentation on that sport. Our education site has every sport you can think of, and every topic of strength and conditioning. Not a member? No problem. Click here and try the site for 24 hours for $1 and check it out.
References
- Setanta College. (2020) https://florida.setantacollege.com/how-useful-is-prilepins-table-for-weightlifting-training/?gclid=CjwKCAjw15eqBhBZEiwAbDomEvIiqN3x6WLYm3Ab_8frvjQOccfG_niojJEE-SVf8F2LMfaHFu6CARoCUKwQAvD_BwE
- Andrew Charniga (2014) https://www.sportivnypress.com/2014/a-s-prilepins-scientific-practical-contribution-to-the-intensification-of-the-modern-training-of-weightlifter/
- Kontos (2021) https://www.elitefts.com/education/prilepins-chart/
