Smolov base day 1 complete. I was feeling it in my back tonight. Hopefully, my form will get better over the coming weeks. But, I still have clean-up work to do around the yard, so who knows.
Anyway, it was a 4x9 with 127kg and it was just as fun as it sounds. Looking forward to Wednesday!
[quote]undesired08 wrote:
Invictica wrote:
good luck bro.
I just finished week 1 of the base cycle. its a real kick in the pants, my legs feel like carjacks already
Thanks. I have to make sure I get enough food to power the machine and focus on one day at a time. I am friggin pumped and ready to go.
Are you doing front or back squats?
[/quote]
Back squats. Your form will definetly fall apart once the weights start moving up. And you will get light headed. But the workout is incredibly satisfying, mentally, in that you start hitting numbers you never thought you could.
Oh yea, I dropped 700 calories for that first week. Definetly not a good idea, now I’m back up to 5k. Sleeping 9 hours too. Recovery is my friend here haha.
[quote]Invictica wrote:
undesired08 wrote:
Invictica wrote:
Oh yea, I dropped 700 calories for that first week. Definetly not a good idea, now I’m back up to 5k. Sleeping 9 hours too. Recovery is my friend here haha.
[/quote]
Yeah, sleep is something that I don’t get too much of around here. I can usually get between 5 and 6hrs a night. On the weekends I take a LOT of naps to get rested, but it’s not the same as 8-10hrs a night.
Now food, on the other hand, is eaten almost constantly. On days I squat, I’m anywhere between 4,500 and 5,500. On off days, I just eat when I feel like it. So, I usually take in around 3,500 to 4,000. I count my intake about 2 times every few weeks, since I eat pretty much the same foods week-in and week-out. Not that anyone cares. LMAO.
Good shit man, 4x9 sucks ass. Keep it up.
4x9 is not fun at all. Smolov base day 2 complete. 5x7 with 136kg isn’t much fun either, but I did feel more in sync with the weight tonight. I do have to say that warming up with leg presses and calf raises really helps my hips and knees. I lost count on the 5th set and ended up doing 8.
I have not been able to stop eating for the past 36hours. My wife is great with the snacks she buys me, high protein/low fat.
Apparently, nothing wanted to upload anywhere last night. Here is the link to the vid of the session, for the few who are interested in seeing masochism at work…
Smolov base day 3 complete. 7x5 with 145.2kg was tonight. The hardest part was I only had an hour to get loosened up to finish the 7 sets due to my gym closing at 8p.m. I had enough rest to get a few swallows of water, catch my breath, and start to get ready for another set.
Just like the first week of Smolov Jr, my hips are getting fried. The only thing I can hope for is to recover during the second week just as fast as I did then. I’m fighting not to look at whats in store next week too much, since that 10kg jump will be a BLAST!
I’ve uploaded the video, but it is still processing at this time. I have to go get some “relaxation” time with my wife so that I can be ready for my 10x3 tomorrow, so give it a few minutes from now to be ready to watch.
Smolov base day4 complete, 10x3 w/154.2kg. I felt better on the “downhill” side of 10 sets. The longer I did squats, the better I felt.
Next week is going to be a TON of fun. But, at least I won’t be on-call and should be able to get better rest.
[quote]undesired08 wrote:
Smolov base day4 complete, 10x3 w/154.2kg. I felt better on the “downhill” side of 10 sets. The longer I did squats, the better I felt.
Next week is going to be a TON of fun. But, at least I won’t be on-call and should be able to get better rest.
[/quote]
haha 3x10 is by far the most mentally draining. before you hit set 5 it just seems like you’re crossing this vast desert with no sign of ending.
Good luck on the 10kg increase!. I just finished it this week. The numbers look big. but you WILL finish it.
[quote]Invictica wrote:
undesired08 wrote:
haha 3x10 is by far the most mentally draining. before you hit set 5 it just seems like you’re crossing this vast desert with no sign of ending.
Good luck on the 10kg increase!. I just finished it this week. The numbers look big. but you WILL finish it.[/quote]
I found myself resting around 3-4 minutes in between sets on the first 5 sets. After that, I felt good enough to just sit back and relax between sets. I’m not a fan of 2+ hour gym visits, but with smolov it is sometimes necessary (with strecthing, warmup exercises, then squatting for 5-7 warmup sets and 10 working sets).
The 10kg bump will be an interesting mind game. Since the only weight I haven’t done will be the 10x3 w/162.3kg on Saturday. All of the other weights will just be 1 or 2 less sets and 2 more reps.
All I can do is squat, eat and think about sqauting, pretend to work and watch vids of people squat, have marital relations and think about how it is helping my hip drive for my squat, and the list goes on… I just try not to think that I won’t be done until the latter part of April. Instead, I think about what I have the potential to gain out of all of this “suffering”.
Keep it up man, sounds like you’re on track. My last day of the Intense cycle is tomorrow! If it makes you feel any better, I get weird looks being in the squat rack for an hour, and then I pack my stuff and leave not touching another piece of equipment… no one understands it.
Hang in there man, set micro goals during your workout and it eventually ends. Say to yourself, “just need to get to set 2…” and so on. Looking back on this whole thing, I feel a TREMENDOUS amount of accomplishment. SQUAT!
[quote]Evolv wrote:
Keep it up man, sounds like you’re on track. My last day of the Intense cycle is tomorrow! If it makes you feel any better, I get weird looks being in the squat rack for an hour, and then I pack my stuff and leave not touching another piece of equipment… no one understands it.
Hang in there man, set micro goals during your workout and it eventually ends. Say to yourself, “just need to get to set 2…” and so on. Looking back on this whole thing, I feel a TREMENDOUS amount of accomplishment. SQUAT![/quote]
Last day…I will know that feeling in 2 months. Jesus, that makes me want to throw up. LOL
Week2 Day1 of the base complete. 4x9 w/136kg. That really opens up the lungs. Looking back at the vid, it went a LOT quicker than it felt. My back is fried from the yard work this weekend and shows when I start getting winded. Tonight was an endurance test, but Wednesday will be the big test 5x7 at 145kg. All I will focus on is that it is only two reps more than last week and two less sets.
Week2 Day2 of the base complete. 5x7 w/142.9kg. We are at the halfway point and my hips and hammies are so tight. I have an appointment with my wife’s hottie masseuse on Saturday, but no “happy ending”.
Anyway, tonight’s session had it’s ups and downs. The down was the first rep of the last set. I got to the hole and didn’t think I was going to recover. I think next week will be so much more smooth (that is my wish).
The further I got into the base, the better I performed. I believe it was week three where I started to “adapt” and it felt like just another workout (still tough/challenging though).
You look solid as hell in your vid, I wanted to tell that goober who walked in front of the camera to move, I was actually talking to my screen here. Do you use wrist supports? I couldn’t tell, but it looked like something on your wrists. If so, my wrists have been sore after the squats from using the low bar, and I can’t seem to get them straight… any tips?
[quote]Evolv wrote:
The further I got into the base, the better I performed. I believe it was week three where I started to “adapt” and it felt like just another workout (still tough/challenging though).
You look solid as hell in your vid, I wanted to tell that goober who walked in front of the camera to move, I was actually talking to my screen here. Do you use wrist supports? I couldn’t tell, but it looked like something on your wrists. If so, my wrists have been sore after the squats from using the low bar, and I can’t seem to get them straight… any tips?[/quote]
Thanks, E. 4x9 and 5x7 are tough on my system, since I am still adapting to doing rep work. I always feel like I am performing worse than I actually am, as a whole. I do wear wrist straps. While doing the Smolov Jr, I started pulling my grip in a LOT and carrying the bar lower and I developed some pretty intense wrist pain squatting 4 times a week. Now that I use the straps, my wrists feel good enough to do weighted dips after my squats (when I don’t puke). Personally, I use quiet a bit of wrist play when I squat and press. I do static holds with about 25% more weight than my 1rep max, so I don’t worry about my wrist giving out.
Don’t worry about the goober. Right after I racked the weight, I told him to watch the f*ck where he was standing. We both had a good laugh at that point.
Smolov Base Wk2 Day3 complete. 7x5 w/154.2kg. Man, that was a pain in the hips. There were a couple of reps that weren’t so smooth, but I got thru it. I was not 100% focused tonight, because I started looking past tonight and thinking about the last week.
But we got it and now there is one more session and then we enter the final four. I am going to get a hour massage before my 10x3 tomorrow. Hopefully, I will be able to tunnel in and get that focus back…tomorrow is all that matters…
Smolov Week2 Day4 complete. 10x3 w/163.3kg. The massage helped my thighs and lower back, but my hips were still on fire. The recovery day tomorrow will be really good (not too much yard work left). Just 4 sessions left to complete the base. The weight increase of 5kg will be hardly noticeable, I just have to get my butt and hips loose so that I can fire off my sets like they are nothing.
Man your vids motivate me to do Smolov again.
Just as an update, I tested my 1RM Friday night to wrap up Smolov. I got 350 lbs! Thats a 75 pound increase from when I started (at 275)!
Stay motivated and under the bar, its definitely worth it. I was just as amped walking out of the gym as I was walking in, I felt really accomplished. You’re looking solid, keep up the intensity bro.
That is a great gain, E.
I am getting prematurely excited about my next 1RM test. Next week should be smooth, since it is such a small bump in weight and my wife has given me permission to take off of yard cleaning duties for the day (since the weather has turned).
I have been discovering other members on youtube and getting envious of modi, hanley, stallion (mr smolov), and meat. Just watching their squats keep me motivated enough to hit bigger numbers, cause I know they are in me.