[quote]BicepCurls wrote:
Thanks, Jake. I forgot to mention that I did hardly any other lifts during the Base. I basically just squatted and went home. I was too exhausted to do anything meaningful. That probably helped my recovery a bit.
For those of you who have completed the entire program, which mesocycle did you think was more difficult? Base or Intense? [/quote]
Yes I’m sure it maximised your results, I still have a chest, shoulder, arm and back day so I’ll take what I can get.
Base I missed more reps, but they were pretty equally difficult I think, my form just improved and my weight stabilised/went up for the intense portion. Intense is better if you want to have motivation to train other bodyparts I think… although it can be done since myself and a few others on the training logs ran smolov base, smolov jr. and either had a back day or included some assistance work too.
Had my first session today. 3x4 was tough, and the last rep on the set of 5 was an extreme grinder. The low volume was refreshing though, and I felt good enough to do some light overhead and back work. Anyone who can run Smolov and a Smolov Jr. alongside it is a man, in my book.
This routine is awesome. It works, plain and simple, and you grow to like the feeling of having to grit your teeth and will your way through a session. I think everyone should run it at least once. It’s a great feeling repping weights near or above your original max.
[quote]BicepCurls wrote:
Had my first session today. 3x4 was tough, and the last rep on the set of 5 was an extreme grinder. The low volume was refreshing though, and I felt good enough to do some light overhead and back work. Anyone who can run Smolov and a Smolov Jr. alongside it is a man, in my book.
This routine is awesome. It works, plain and simple, and you grow to like the feeling of having to grit your teeth and will your way through a session. I think everyone should run it at least once. It’s a great feeling repping weights near or above your original max.[/quote]
+1. It makes pretty much everything feel “relatively” easy in comparison…
Just wondering. If I were to run smolov jr on any 1 of the big 3 lifts, should I be expecting no real gain for my other two lifts? Should I keep my other two lifts to a minimum or try hitting PRs on them like usual? What I think is that if I run Smolov jr on bench, while it has no use of squat/deadlift muscle, it will be taxing on my CNS which will result in a loss of strength for my squat/deadlift. Correct?
[quote]Macmade wrote:
Just wondering. If I were to run smolov jr on any 1 of the big 3 lifts, should I be expecting no real gain for my other two lifts? Should I keep my other two lifts to a minimum or try hitting PRs on them like usual? What I think is that if I run Smolov jr on bench, while it has no use of squat/deadlift muscle, it will be taxing on my CNS which will result in a loss of strength for my squat/deadlift. Correct?[/quote]
It’s only 3 weeks so just try to maintain other lifts during that time. If you can make enough progress on multiple lifts in 3 weeks you’d probably be better off doing a program that focuses on them all equally.
Missed mad reps today. Barely, and I mean barely, got the 3x3 and then had nothing left in the tank for the 2x5. If I miss reps again, I will take 20lbs off my max and roll with that. Intense is pretty…intense.
I have embarked on the Smolov quest, today was day 1
I will post back after the base cycle is done, that is when i will decide on doing the intensive half, shooting for as close to a 650 raw squat as possible so wish me luck. I believe one website described it as Halloween every day and you body being hell.
Cycle: Base Meso
Status: Complete (today)
Gain: 295 to 345 - 50 Lb gain
Bodyweight: 205 to 210
I have been lifting for years but for some strange reason only just got into squatting this past January. I found a squat style I enjoy (high bar narrow stance ATG) and began with some basic 5x5 training twice or so a week. Last month I found out about Smolov and jumped at the thought of increasing my noob squat. The most I had squatted for a single was 295 the previous week, but I wanted to plug at least 300 in the excel sheet - don’t know why. I settled for 305 because the numbers came out cleaner.
Getting into the program. The first week was new to me. The high rep days gave a cardiovascular smack to the face, and the last 2 days brought out the little aches and pains to deal with. Week 2 is when I really began to appreciate the programming. What I mean is that every single set of every day, the weight never felt “Heavy” and psyched me out. The weight would feel the same as it did the previous weeks, only that it went up a bit slower and was a bit harder to push… if that makes sense. I’ll admit some days it was a battle (The very last day was the hardest for me) But you can play mind-games with yourself to get it done as some of the above posters said. On my final day I was to do 290 3x10. I got a bit cocky and because I didn’t want to fuck around with 5’s and 2.5’s I threw on 295. It felt sort of fitting to do the last workout with my previous max. It was hell. After the last set I felt a huge wave of accomplishment hit me. A great feeling!
Some quick thoughts that may help. I highly recommend increasing the calories substantially. I
drank a lot of chocolate milk 1% fat, and really ate what I craved, mostly carb cravings. feeding hormone levels will skyrocket the last 2 days of the week Take advantage and indulge! My maintenance is around 3400ish and I ate 4000-4200 most days. I’m happy I did as I now look leaner with bigger legs. For any who care about aesthetics or bodybuilding I added an inch to my legs measured midway down the femur and again at the top of the thigh. My last tip would be to take some time after each session and really roll out with a foam roller or lacrosse ball over tight areas, maybe do some light stretching before and definitely after. Trust me it will feel great and help out with the next workout.
Final thoughts… I highly recommend Smolov to lifters looking to zone in on their squat and bring it up a great deal. Very happy with the results and looking forward to more smolov in the future. Will test deadlift soon and post any improvements. YEE!
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
BUMP (If it’s still technically considered a bump even though the thread is still on the first page, Lol)
I just started this two days ago and am excited about the post excessive squatting feelings of death.
My starting 1RM is around 180 and I dream of someday having a two-plate squat.
Let’s hope this progam will get me closer to that.
Is this stallion person still posting? He seems like a wonderful well of information.
OH EDIT: yes I am reading this entire thread post by post, ha-ha
← No life[/quote]
Dude, your starting 1RM is 180, do Starting Strength or something, you should make more gains on that without the kind of volume in Smolov. this is waaayyy too early to use Smolov.
You can probably milk more from 5x5 (squat 3x a week plenty of volume) than smolov. Not saying that you shouldn’t do smolov, but i’m just letting you know in terms of optimization, something like 5x5 would be better. you can reserve smolov for when you hit a plateau as you hit higher weights in squats.
^^^ Bullshit. Smolov rocks and there is no reason to discourage someone who wants to try it. Everyone ought to run it at least once just to find out for themselves.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
^^^ Bullshit. Smolov rocks and there is no reason to discourage someone who wants to try it. Everyone ought to run it at least once just to find out for themselves.
Spock, honestly 5x5 or starting strength is made for people at your level, but give smolov a try. Hell i plan on running it multiple times throughout my lifting life.
Its rough, but it works, GL dude. Make sure you eat a lot, get your rest, and do not underestimate the program and think you can do a lot of accessory. On 5/3/1 I did anything i wanted, on smolov follow the guidelines.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
^^^ Bullshit. Smolov rocks and there is no reason to discourage someone who wants to try it. Everyone ought to run it at least once just to find out for themselves.
Spock81, go kick some ass. [/quote]
I did not discourage him from trying it. As I said, it would be optimal for him to do 5x5 or SS IMHO. My reasoning is not because of his strength level but because of his experience. Squatting 180 means he hasn’t been lifting for that long. There are a lot of things required for a successful gains off Smolov (eating/resting enough, consistency, mental strength) and not every beginner has them all. That’s why I proposed a safer alternative to make use of those time. Also remember, Smolov is a PEAKING cycle. In other words, not a lot of people will be able to hold on to the max gains they obtained from the cycle (they definitely do get stronger though).
And this is not to berate or undermine spock but
"I dunno, I 5/3/1-ed myself into a hatred for all things basic and “beginner”. "
I’m pretty the majority of people who stuck to 5/3/1 on a CONSISTENT basis can squat over 180. From the tone of that statement, it also seems like spock is just trying to do the “hardcore” or “advanced” stuff thinking it will give him more and better gains. The scenario is most likely spock reading all the gains people have made in this thread and wish to jump on Smolov and reap the same reward.
I say this because I was like that once too and I pretty much went in a circle. Spock can listen to this post or ignore it and I don’t really mind. This is the internet after all and he can make whatever decision he wants. I just thought I’d chime in with my opinion.
And again, I’m not discouraging but merely questioning if he has what it takes.
Take advantage and indulge! My maintenance is around 3400ish and I ate 4000-4200 most days. I’m happy I did as I now look leaner with bigger legs. For any who care about aesthetics or bodybuilding I added an inch to my legs measured midway down the femur and again at the top of the thigh. My last tip would be to take some time after each session and really roll out with a foam roller or lacrosse ball over tight areas, maybe do some light stretching before and definitely after. Trust me it will feel great and help out with the next workout.