Just wanted to post a short recap on my first week of Smolov.
The first week went really well and was actually a lot less taxing and easier than expected. All the weights went up relatively easily and there was never a set or day that was excruciatingly hard. Next week the days will look like this: Monday: 335 x 4 sets of 9, Wednesday: 355-360 x 5 sets of 7, Friday: 380 x 7 sets of 5, and Saturday: 405 x 10 sets of 3. This sounds like a very hard week, but doesn’t sound impossible. I feel good about the upcoming week and about my ability to both psychically and psychologically do it.
One of my new favorite quotes for lifting is this:
Barbell Fat Gripz Floor Press
95 x 3
135 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 1
Dumbbell Neutral Grip Clean & Press
45 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 10, 10
80 x 2
Standing Military Press (with Fat Gripz)
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
Fat Gripz Hammer Curls
35 x 10 LR
40 x 8 LR
Today I began my training for a strongman competition which I will be participating in on December 13th. This will certainly be interesting and should be a good experience for me.
Back Squat
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 2
365 x 2
405 x 10 ***** HUGE PR
Zercher Pickups (pin 2)
135 x 5
225 x 10
275 x 10
315 x 10
Dumbbell Walking Lunges
80 x 60 feet
Today was one of my best and most efficient leg days to date. The 405 x 10 on the back squat was a huge pr by 5 reps. The 315 on the zercher squat was a pr also. Amazing overall day and I’m loving the strongman higher rep work.
Wide-Grip Fat-Gripz Pulldowns/Incline Barbell Pin Press
8 x 10/135 x 5
10 x 10/185 x 5
12 x 10/225 x 5
15 x 5/5 without Fat Gripz
Crucifix Hold (Hands Facing Forward)
27.5 x 25 seconds
27.5 x 30 seconds
E-Z Bar Fat Gripz Curls/Triceps Inward Dumbbell Press
75 x 10/30 x 10
95 x 10 (wall curls)/40 x 10
Just did some upper body accessory work today with back work, bis tris, and the Crucifix hold, which will be one of the events at the competition. The weight for the 176-200 lb class will be 25 lb, but I am going to do it with 27.5-35 lb to get stronger at the heavier weights. Good overall day, Sunday or Saturday will be lower body power.
Dumbbell Neutral Grip Clean & Press
40 x 5
50 x 5
70 x 6
85 x 6 * PR
90 x 6 * PR
Barbell Floor Press
135 x 5
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 3
255 x 3
275 x 1
Barbell Pin Push Press + Black Monster Mini Bands
95 x 3
105 x 3
115 x 3
135 x 3
Awesome day today. The dumbbell clean & neutral press was a PR. Floor press is still weak since my shoulder is getting a bit better. Pin push-press + bands teaches me to use momentum better on push presses.
Back Squat
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 2
365 x 2
405 x 2
455 x 3 *** PR
Snatch Grip Deadlift
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 3
440 x 3 *** PR
This mornings leg day was really great. I wanted to get 455 x 5, but 3 was good enough for a 2-rep PR. 440 x 3 on the snatch deads was also a PR from 435 x 3 which I did last year during a 4 week cycle of them. Not bad for not doing snatch deads in almost a year.
Push-Press
95 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 3
185 x 3
210 x 3
225 x 3
245 x 1
255 x 1 (not a max)
Incline Barbell Press
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 2
225 x 5
225 x 5
Bent-over Barbell Rows
135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 6
315 x 6
335 x 6
Dumbbell Fat-Gripz Curls: 40 x 12, 12
Dumbbell Inward Triceps Press: 45 x 12
50 x 10
Dumbbell Alternating Fat Gripz Curls: 45 x 20 LR, 55 x 6 LR
Complex (Deadlift, Row, Hang Clean, Push-Press, Back Squat)
135 x 6 reps/movement
x 2
Today was a great upper body day. I really hit the back hard and the biceps. Today was the first day that I have done any sort of horizontal pressing with a full range (incline barbell) and not had any pain. I will be doing incline barbell presses more often.
Back Squat (focused on accelerating weight)
95 x 3
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 3
445 x 2 (Fast)
365 x 5, 5
Deadlift (Focused on accelerating weight)
135 x 1, 1
225 x 1, 1
275 x 1, 1
315 x 1
365 x 1
405 x 1
455 x 1
505 x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Barbell Reverse Lunges (Focused on accelerating weight)
135 x 3 LR
185 x 3 LR
205 x 3 LR
225 x 3 LR
245 x 3 LR
185 x 5 LR, 5 LR
Today was a very good workout. I tried to implement CTâ??s methods of ramping and accelerating the weight as fast as possible with good form. 445 x 2 is not a PR, but the weight went up quickly (perceived effort) and cleanly. I worked up to around 85-90 % on my deadlift and performed singles. They were very fast for the first 3, the 4th was quick, and the 5th was tougher, but they all went up cleanly and quickly. The lunges were a new exercise to implement this acceleration, and I really liked doing it. I could probably have done more with 245, but I accelerated the weight well and it felt great. Overall, a good day with these â??newâ?? methods and tomorrow is â??Push day.â??
Floor Press (Max Acceleration)
BAR x 3,
95 x 3
135 x 3
165 x 3
195 x 3
225 x 3
250 x 3
275 x 3 (GOOD)
225 x 5, 5 (much faster than first), 5 (as fast as second)
Standing Military Press
BAR x 3
65 x 3
85 x 3
105 x 3
125 x 3
145 x 3
165 x 3
185 x 3 (good speed, last one was tough)
155 x 5, 5
Close-Grip Incline Barbell Press
BAR x 3
95 x 3
120 x 3
145 x 3
170 x 3
195 x 3
210 x 3
220 x 3 (extremely fast, had 5-6 in tank, 225 would have been better)
185 x 5, 5
Push day went well and my shoulder seemed to hold up pretty well through the exercises. I felt a little pain on the floor press, but nothing close to what I had been feeling over the past two months. The 275 x 3 is not a PR, but is a PR since my shoulder injury so I was happy. All the exercises felt good.
Neutral Grip Pull-Ups
BW x 5
35 x 3
45 x 3
55 x 3
65 x 3
75 x 3
80 x 3 (fast, explosive reps)
55 x 5 (not fast enough)
50 x 5 (better, not great)
Bent-Over Barbell Rows
135 x 3
175 x 3
205 x 3
245 x 3
280 x 3
315 x 3 (very explosive)
345 x 3 (explosive reps)
275 x 5, 5 (both very fast)
Barbell Front Row to Lower Chest (minimal leg drive, but some)
BAR x 3
75 x 3
105 x 3
125 x 3
145 x 3 (very fast)
170 x 3 (very fast)
180 x 3 (explosive, perfect weight)
145 x 5, 5 (tough, but all repetitions were fast)
Today was pull day and I killed it in my opinion. All the exercises felt really explosive which is the goal for this workout template. I always feel that I can be the most powerful with pulling exercises. Really liked the front rows to the chest, they felt a lot better than I thought they would and I also got more weight than I thought. Rest tomorrow and maybe Friday, then back at it.
How long does it take you to get through a workout without a warm up? You always ramp 3 or more excerises with over 7 sets each excerise, must take you a while…
[quote]NLS wrote:
How long does it take you to get through a workout without a warm up? You always ramp 3 or more excerises with over 7 sets each excerise, must take you a while…[/quote]
Usually my workouts take anywhere from 60-75 minutes.
I just wanted to say for all those who follow my log that I have changed my approach a bit and am currently training for strength and size. I am performing a Push/Pull/Legs template and my goals are to essentially be stronger while also gaining some mass.