Karlos Nasar is the danger. Since exploding onto the scene in 2021, the 20-year-old Bulgarian weightlifting prodigy has obliterated any record — and athlete — caught in his blast radius.
His gold-medal, record setting performance at the 2024 World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain capped off Nasar’s best year yet. In ‘24, Karlos ran the room at four of the biggest international events in weightlifting:
- European Weightlifting Championships: With an 11-kilogram margin ahead of longtime rival Antonino Pizzolato, Nasar declared 2024 would be his year in front of a home crowd in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- IWF World Cup: At the last-chance qualifier for the Paris Olympics, Karlos cemented himself as the strongest 89-kilogram weightlifter in the world, having decisively beaten his rivals from China, Colombia, Moldova, and Italy.
- Olympic Games: Nasar brought the house down in the South Paris Arena, setting new world and Olympic records en route to his first win on the biggest stage in sport.
- World Weightlifting Championships: Nasar set a snatch world record while winning his second Senior World title; he now holds all three in the 89-kilogram class.
Weightlifting House
It’s the kind of run most athletes only dream of. That’s why we worked with Karlos to mastermind our latest collection of training gear — more on that later.
But what about the weightlifting workouts Nasar used to dominate 2024? We’ve got those, too. Weightlifting House is proud to pull back the curtain on Karlos Nasar and show you just how the most dangerous man in weightlifting lives up to his own mantra:
I win, you lose.
Karlos Nasar's Weightlifting Workouts
There’s a duality to Karlos Nasar that most people never see.
“Once training is over, Karlos is able to relax and ‘switch off’ extremely quickly. His stress levels seem very low,” says House founder and head commentator Seb Ostrowicz, who spent a week last October living and lifting with Nasar in Bulgaria.
But once Karlos is on, he’s on: “He lifts like every set is the one that’ll help him set his next world record.” Take one look at Nasar’s training log and you’ll see for yourself; he’s got a softer side, but in the gym, it’s all business.
We pried open Karlos’ journal to give you an exclusive look at a full week of his training. These are the workouts he used to peak for the 2024 World Weightlifting Championships, where he would set his tenth world record in less than five years.
Monday
Karlos trains twice per day, six days per week. In classic Bulgarian fashion, he doesn’t stray far from the foundational exercises that support the snatch and clean & jerk.
But hours of heavy barbell work take a toll, even for an athlete at the top of his game. We’ll get to how Nasar handles the pressure in just a moment.
Editor’s Note: The notation for the workouts below reads as “[Sets]x[Reps]”.
Morning
- Massage
- Front Squat: 9x1-2 up to 250KG
- Power Snatch: 3x1 up to 120KG
- Power Snatch + Hang Power Snatch (1+2): 1x1 at 140KG
- Snatch Pull: 3x3 between 180KG and 200KG
- Pull-Up: 1x20
Evening
- Massage
- Snatch: 6x1 up to 160KG, then 3x1 at 170KG
- Snatch + Hang Snatch (1+2): 1x1 at 150KG
-
Power Clean + Power Jerk: 7x1
- (1+1): 70KG, 120KG
- (1+0): 140KG, 160KG, 180KG, 200KG
- (2+1): 170KG
- Clean Pull: 1x3 at 220KG, 1x2 at 230KG, 1x1 at 240KG
- Pull-Up: 1x20
- Massage
Tuesday
Morning
- Front Squat: 3x3 up to 160KG, 2x1 at 180KG, 200KG, then 1x5 at 220KG
- Muscle Snatch + Power Snatch + Snatch: 3x1+1+1 at 50, 70, 100KG
- Massage
Evening
- Massage
- Snatch: 10x1 up to 176KG, then one attempt at 178KG
- Clean & Jerk: 5x1 up to 200KG
- Clean Pull: 3x3 at 220, 230, and 240KG
- Snatch Pull: 3x3 at 180, 190, and 200KG
- Back Squat: 4x1 up to 220KG, then 1x5 at 240KG
-
Bodybuilding Accessories
- Strict Press
- Front, Side, Rear Delt Raise
- Lat Pulldown
- Tricep Pushdown
- Pull-Up
Weightlifting House
Wednesday
Morning
- Massage
- Front Squat: 2x3 at 70, 120KG, 3x1 at 160, 180, 200KG, 3x3 at 220, 225, and 230KG
- Block Snatch: 2x3 at 50, 70KG, 1x2 at 100KG, 3x1 at 120, 140, and 150KG
- Block Snatch Pull: 2x5 at 200KG
- Massage
Evening
- Massage
- Clean & Jerk (1+2): 5x1 up to 195KG, then 1x1+1 at 200KG
- Clean Pull: 3x3 at 220, 225, and 230KG
- Muscle Snatch: 4x3 up to 100KG
- Back Squat: 6x1 up to 270KG
- Pull-Up: 1x20
Thursday
Morning
- Massage
- Front Squat: 4x3 up to 180KG, 2x1 at 200, 220KG, then 1x3 at 240KG
- Power Snatch: 3x3 up to 100KG, then 4x1 up to 160KG
- Pull-Up: 1x20
Evening
- Massage
- Clean & Jerk: 3x3 up to 150KG, 2x1 at 170KG, 190KG, then 3x1 at 200KG
- Clean Pull: 3x3 at 220, 230, and 240KG
- Snatch Pull: 3x3 at 180, 190, and 200KG
- Back Squat: 4x3 up to 220KG, then 1x1 at 250KG
- Massage
Friday
Morning
- Massage
- Front Squat: 4x3 up to 180KG, 2x1 at 200KG, 220KG, then 1x3 at 230KG
- Power Snatch: 4x1 up to 120KG, then 1x3 at 140KG
- Snatch Pull: 1x3 at 180KG
Evening
- Massage
- Snatch: 3x3 up to 100KG, then 5x1 up to 170KG
- Snatch Pull: 3x3 at 180, 190, and 200KG
- Power Clean + Power Jerk: 1x3 at 120KG, then 2x2 at 150KG, 170KG
- Massage
Weightlifting House
Elsewhere: Youth & Junior Worlds to Merge in 2025
Saturday
Morning
- Massage
- Front Squat: 7x3 up to 230KG
- Power Snatch: 3x3 up to 100KG, then 2x1 at 120KG, 140KG
Evening
- Massage
- Snatch: 3x3 up to 100KG, 1x1 at 120KG, 1x5 at 130KG, 1x4 at 140KG, 1x3 at 150KG, 1x2 at 160KG, 1x1 at 170KG
- Snatch Pull: 3x3 at 180, 190, and 200KG
- Power Clean & Jerk: 5x2 up to 180KG
- Back Squat: 5x3 up to 250KG
Karlos Nasar x Weightlifting House
What do you get when you mix a once-in-a-generation athletic talent with the right weightlifting workouts? Karlos Nasar. What happens when you combine Karlos Nasar and Weightlifting House? You get the best weightlifting equipment on the market, period.
We tapped Karlos for ideas, input, and plenty of real-world testing for our latest and greatest line of lifting gear. After months of painstaking collaboration, we landed on straps, wraps, sleeves, and two belts; leather and neoprene.
- Karlos didn’t miss a single snatch in competition in 2024; we credit that to lots of heavy pulling and plenty of practice at high percentages, for which Nasar relies heavily on lifting straps that go the distance.
- He also tends to wear the same accessory equipment — knee sleeves, wrist wraps, usually a belt — in the gym as he does on the platform. Karlos only missed 3 out of 24 lifts last year. We credit that consistency, in part, to having the right supportive equipment.
The I Win, You Lose collection, forged by Weightlifting House and put to the test by Karlos Nasar himself, is live now.
