First Run of Smolov Jr for Squats

Training Logs
1

Intermediate lifter here. Have a month that freed up from volleyball (I play competitively) so I decided to do a run through Smolov Jr. My starting squat 1 RM is roughly 325 lb, and 3 RM is 295 lb at BW of 165 lb, single digits BF. I made 1RM 320 lb for the purposes of the program.

Prior to starting Smolov Jr, I’ve gotten used to squatting thrice weekly. I was doing stuff like hitting 5 sets of heavy triples, etc. Today, I completed the first week of Smolov Jr.

____Weight(lb)Effort (%)
6x6 @ 225 ______ 60

5x7 @ 240 ______ 70

4x8 @ 255 ______ 55 (yes, this felt easy)
3x10@ 270 ______ 80

Day 1 was straightforward. Day 2 was harder but simply because I was sleepy due to the weather. Day 3 was very easy. So easy, in fact, that I went to 6 reps on the last set and could have probably done 2 more.

Today was harder. Had a bit of DOMS (maybe 5/10), and definitely didn’t feel as fresh due to lifting yesterday. A few of the reps were grinders. I could feel that my core was also tired on the last sets.

Overall, the week was a 7/10. I didn’t need to get psyched for any of the lifts, which is good. That means there is a lot of potential strength reserves that I am not using yet. Until today, I was planning to add 20 lb for next week. I will be a bit more realistic and add 15 lb, though.

Some interesting points which could make this Smolov Jr cycle educational for others -

  1. This week I was probably on a slight caloric deficit. I have no hypertrophy goals, I am looking for strength only. Next weeks will be roughly neutral although if it gets hard I might venture into a slight surplus. I just came back from vacation with 2-3 extra pounds of fat.
  2. I train cardio every day. Roughly 4500 calories per week. Unrelated fitness goal.
  3. I sleep 8-11 hours per day - however much I feel like. My job is not physical, so all my energy is dedicated to training only.

My goal is a 365 lb 1RM at the end of the cycle. This will bring me into the >2 x BW squat territory for the first time in my life.

2

Started week two today. 6x6@245. Felt like 60% effort for me. When I say that, I mean I could have done 3+ more sets or could have done maybe 2 more reps each set.

3

OK, so these have been my last 3 weeks. The weight go too heavy for me during the last week. I clearly should have based this program off a training max - not a contest max.

225 6 6
240 5 7
255 4 8
270 3 10

245 6 6
265 5 7
275 4 8
290 3 10

255 6 6
270 5 7
282 4 8
300 3 10

Last workout tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.

The major problem for me has been hip flexor pain for some reason. It kicks in at depth, and is quite severe. My knees and hips don’t feel much discomfort at all.

DOMS has been mostly in the glutes and never debilitating.