I gotta add to the party. Excellent work, man! The post on elitefts is very cool too.
Thanks everyone. I just got back from a long weekend with no computer access (it’s nice every once in a while), so I haven’t checked in for a few days.
I just didn’t want anyone to think I would post a video of a big PR, thank all my sponsors and then not reply to anyone. I can’t imagine anyone actually doing that, but just in case…
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
Damn 85 lbs in 10 weeks- talk about your Smolov success story!
I take it you used to train with Matt?[/quote]
Yeah, Matt and I trained together for a while when he was up here in Boston. We still do all of our meets together, so we’ll hook up at Raw Nationals in July.
[quote]Donut62 wrote:
That’s not even 2.5xBW. Not really impressive.
[/quote]
Yeah, that’s what I said too.
I’ve still got to add another 55lbs before I get out of this damned Intermediate Lifter stage. Either that or I have to drop about 25lbs.
[quote]Hanley wrote:
That’s just insane… amazing work bro. Especially considering how high your squat was already.
So, was it worth it??[/quote]
HAHA, When I read this, I thought you were calling my Squat high!
Thanks Hanley. I’m pretty happy with the results. As long as my Bench and DL didn’t go into the shitter, then it was worth it. I feel like my DL should be pretty strong right now. Bench might have dropped a few lbs or stayed the same, but I’ll get in back in time for Nationals.
Now that you’ve finished, could you give us some feedback/advice. Did you do the intro 2 weeks, what do you feel is the best way to lift upper body during Smolov, what did you find worked best for the switching?
I’m looking at putting myself through this torture and am hoping you could steer me in the right direction (or talk me out of it).
I’m gonna go back and read through your log, I just figured you could give me some cliff notes.
Congrats on your gains.
05/27/09 - Not Squatting Stuff
A) Deadlift
…315x5
405x4x2
455x3x3
B) Bench
…185x5
225x4x2
275x3x3
C) Rope Pushdowns
70x8x4
D) Lunges
5x3
I’m about 90% sure I’m going to go back to Sheiko for the 8 weeks leading up to the Nationals. I really need to get back into the groove of Deadlifting and Benching, and all the repetition will be good for me.
Today I did a loose version of the Conditioning Week Day 2, but subbed Bench for Incline. I just rounded numbers off to the closest quarter plate. My hands are about as soft as a baby’s bottom, so I need to get used to pulling again.
Friday will be a Bench and Squat day, and then by the weekend I’ll know for sure what I’m doing. Sort of.
[quote]mahwah wrote:
Now that you’ve finished, could you give us some feedback/advice. Did you do the intro 2 weeks, what do you feel is the best way to lift upper body during Smolov, what did you find worked best for the switching?
I’m looking at putting myself through this torture and am hoping you could steer me in the right direction (or talk me out of it).
I’m gonna go back and read through your log, I just figured you could give me some cliff notes.
Congrats on your gains.[/quote]
Cliff notes:
-I didn’t do the intro 2 weeks because I had just come off the 13 week Beginner Sheiko Cycle, so my work capacity was pretty high already. I would definitely suggest it, if you are coming off something like Westside though.
-For upper body I basically worked around shoulder/elbow injuries, so when I was hurting, I would do board work to shorten the ROM. When I felt good, I secretly ran the Smolov Jr. for Bench, but only did half of the working sets, and only did it twice a week instead of four times per week. I started this in the Base Meso Cycle, and then restarted it during the Switching Phase. I didn’t complete it because I ran out of time, but I like the structure of it, and by only doing half the sets, it wasn’t very taxing.
-Everything else for upper was really done for the purpose of shoulder/elbow recovery (pulldowns, rope pushdowns, etc.)
-I started every Smolov session with 2 sets of BTN Band Pullapartsx10, 2 sets of Band Shoulder Dislocatesx10, 1 set of Band Facepullsesx10-12, and 1 set of Band Pushdownsx50.
- For the Switching Phase, I did:
Mon: Squat Negative, Star Jumps, Lat Pulldown, Face Pulls, Rear Delt Pullaparts
Tues: Bench, DB Fly’s, Rope Pushdowns
Wed: Speed Deads, Stair Jumps (jumped up my bulkhead), GHR’s
Thurs: Bench, DB Fly’s, Rope Pushdowns, Face Pulls
Fri: DE Safety Bar Box Squats, Lat Pulldowns
My log should be pretty accurate. I did a lot of complaining during Smolov because my shoulder or elbow hurt pretty much every day, so ignore that.
I would say that recovery is the most important part of this program. Lots of icing/foam rolling, light pushing and pulling to keep the blood flowing. I upped my calories by 500 on non Squat days (very few of those), and by around 1000 on Squat days. I started the program at 271.5, hit a high of 274ish, and finished at 272.4lbs.
One thing I had to keep in mind is that I wasn’t special. I’m not Superman. I always want to do too much with this kind of program, and it took a huge effort on my part not to try to push any of my other lifts.
This folowing is not for Mahwah, but for everyone who feels the need to butcher a program before they even try it:
Programs like this work as they are written. I’m sure thousands of people have completed the program as it is, and there is no reason to think that it should be tweaked before trying it as is. The Russians/Bulgarians/Eastern Bloc coaches have had thousands of guinea pigs to experiment on, and have used those results to come up with these types of programs. Trust in that experience and don’t go thinking that your 5 years of lifting trumps the tens of thousand sessions that these guys have coached. If you were that smart, then you would have figured this stuff out on your own and not had to bastardize someone else’s program.
[quote]Modi wrote:
Programs like this work as they are written. I’m sure thousands of people have completed the program as it is, and there is no reason to think that it should be tweaked before trying it as is. The Russians/Bulgarians/Eastern Bloc coaches have had thousands of guinea pigs to experiment on, and have used those results to come up with these types of programs. Trust in that experience and don’t go thinking that your 5 years of lifting trumps the tens of thousand sessions that these guys have coached. If you were that smart, then you would have figured this stuff out on your own and not had to bastardize someone else’s program. [/quote]
So, you’re saying that I’d be in the wrong if I didn’t want to deadlift while using the Coan/Phillipi DL cycle? I’ve been lifting for 6 years so you clearly can’t be talking about me. 
[quote]novaeer wrote:
So, you’re saying that I’d be in the wrong if I didn’t want to deadlift while using the Coan/Phillipi DL cycle? I’ve been lifting for 6 years so you clearly can’t be talking about me. ;-)[/quote]
Haha. Haven’t you already run C/P? If so, then feel free to change it, but yeah, I would still include Deads.
No, the problem would be if you ran the Coan/Philippi cycle but swapping out DL’s for Deficit Snatch Grip DL’s with 200lbs of chains, while doing Smolov Jr. for Safety Bar Box Squats, but changing the reps and sets, and subtracting 5% on the first day, adding 10% on the second, and keeping the last two days the same, but adding bands on the fourth day and not the third. While at the same time doing the Critical Bench Program, but doing it for Shoulder Press, and using DB’s instead of the Barbell and…
Trust me, I’ve made these kinds of mistakes, so I speak from experience.
I did C/P while doing 5x5’s for Squats and the MM2K Bench Program at the same time, while in a caloric deficit. I thought I was special. I’m not.
[quote]Modi wrote:
novaeer wrote:
So, you’re saying that I’d be in the wrong if I didn’t want to deadlift while using the Coan/Phillipi DL cycle? I’ve been lifting for 6 years so you clearly can’t be talking about me.
Haha. Haven’t you already run C/P? If so, then feel free to change it, but yeah, I would still include Deads.
No, the problem would be if you ran the Coan/Philippi cycle but swapping out DL’s for Deficit Snatch Grip DL’s with 200lbs of chains, while doing Smolov Jr. for Safety Bar Box Squats, but changing the reps and sets, and subtracting 5% on the first day, adding 10% on the second, and keeping the last two days the same, but adding bands on the fourth day and not the third. While at the same time doing the Critical Bench Program, but doing it for Shoulder Press, and using DB’s instead of the Barbell and…
[/quote]
Man, you must have broken into my house and peeked at my training plans. Although I think I’ll change things around a bit by subtracting 10% on the first day and adding 5% on the second. Gotta keep the body guessing.
[quote]novaeer wrote:
Man, you must have broken into my house and peeked at my training plans. Although I think I’ll change things around a bit by subtracting 10% on the first day and adding 5% on the second. Gotta keep the body guessing.[/quote]
There just isn’t any logic to that. Why would you want to subtract 10% from what is already the lightest day of the week? Whatever. Good luck man.
05/28/09 - GPP
A1) Lat Pulldown
100x10
140x10x3
A2) Hypers
x10
40lbsx10x3
B1) EZ Nosebreakers
EZ+50x10
EZ+70x10x2
B2) EZ Pullovers
EZ+50x10
EZ+70x8x2
I’m looking forward go getting back to stuff other than Squats.
I’ll be doing GPP/Active Recovery stuff on my off days. Trying to hit my upper and lower back, bi’s, tri’s and abs during this cycle. They feel a little neglected.
05/29/09 - Sheiko stuff
A) Bench
…185x5
225x4x2
275x3x3
B) DB Flyes
40x10x3
C) Squat
…315x5
365x4x2
435x3x3
I skipped the Rope Pushdowns and the GM’s today because of a very strong gas smell coming from somewhere in my basement. I’m waiting for the gas company as we speak. I was getting a headache, and pussed out.
How’d those Squats feel?
[quote]mahwah wrote:
How’d those Squats feel?[/quote]
Pretty brutal. I think my last Smolov workout was 555x4x3, so 435x3x3 was a shock to the system.
No, they felt fine. My adductors were a little tight from only Squatting once in the past two weeks, but it definitely felt like a warmup weight.
[quote]Modi wrote:
I skipped the Rope Pushdowns and the GM’s today because of a very strong gas smell coming from somewhere in my basement. I’m waiting for the gas company as we speak. I was getting a headache, and pussed out.[/quote]
I’m still alive. Everyone can now rest at ease.
Turned out there was some gas spilled in the garage and the fumes were leaking into the basement and first floor of the house. Luckily I wasn’t banging metal against metal or anything else that would have cause a spark and blown up my gym. (or house, dog, wife…)
Good to hear your ok modi and really nice that you are enjoying the “other” work.
[quote]Free2Be wrote:
Good to hear your ok modi and really nice that you are enjoying the “other” work.[/quote]
Thanks man. We weren’t stupid enough to light any matches of burn any candles. All is well.
05/30/09 - GPP
A) Ghetto T-Bar Rows
4 platesx10, 5 platesx8x3
B1) GHR’s
8x3
B2) EZ Curls
+50x10,+70x8x3
C) Abs on GHR w/Green Band
10x3
Who knew there were things to do in the gym other than Squat?
I found this stringy little thing on the front of my arm that runs from my shoulder to my elbow, and apparently makes my elbow flex. I will be training this muscle 2x/week for a while, along with all the other neglected muscles.
Good luck on the training leading up to your meet!