Smolov Experience Thread For All

Training Powerlifting
81

Here is a question for those how have ventured into the Intense phase: What were your workout days? On the stronglifts and joeskopec templates, the days are set as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

But, on ontariostrongman and kraftsport, the days are Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The reason being that the Wednesday session calls for the greatest load, so you get two days of rest.

When looking at the chart and loads, mon-wed-sat makes the most sense in terms of recovery.

So sound off with what you plan on doing or what you have done while going thru this phase.

82

Havenā€™t done it but have struggled with what to do from the options as well.

The routine as described by Pavel says M, W and S. Like youā€™ve pointed out, this makes more sense as far as recovery is concerned, at least on paper.

This is what I would be following but I also would love to hear from people whoā€™ve ventured there.

83

3rd week, went up 10 lbs instead of the planned 5 lbs.

255x6, 265x5,275x4,285x3

Next week itā€™ll probably be 5 lbs and then the de-load.

290 close grip for triples, not bad.

84

Alright, Iā€™ve gone and bruised a rib. So Iā€™m thinking Iā€™ll rest until Monday and pick up from where I left off then, essentially just taking a few extra days to finish. Would this be feasible?

85

[quote]undesired08 wrote:

When looking at the chart and loads, mon-wed-sat makes the most sense in terms of recovery.

So sound off with what you plan on doing or what you have done while going thru this phase.[/quote]

I plan on using M, W, SA.

86

When I did the intense phase, I did M W F. Used all of the weekend to rest, stretch, and eat. I liked having the weekend off, because I generally could sleep for 12 hours both nights and milk the rest days for what they were worth.

87

From my experienceā€¦and Iā€™m not a fan of calve workā€¦when doing a higher volume of squats and/or deadlifts my calves get sore. The feet work hard during squats and feet and calves are the base of the legs and so although they do not move they do work to stabilize the leg. No such thing as an isolation exercise and squats are far from isolation as we all know.

Ever done heavy deadlifts after a layoff (or increased dl volume) and had your biceps get sore? I have and I donā€™t ā€œpull with my arms.ā€ I keep my arms straightā€¦

I pull my toes up on both squats and deadlifts and Iā€™ve seen this happen.

Iā€™ve tried all kinds of training and one thing I know is that when you introduce new high volume lifting to the legs the calves will get stronger and probably grow.

Maybe the next person to jump on smolov or something similar should measure before and after to see if squatting can increase calve size. I think it would be better for someone that has not been doing this high of a volume of work to do it, not someone already doing a high work loadā€¦Undesired would have been a good candidate after his injury lay off a while back.

88

I donā€™t work calves prior to squatting for size, I do it as a supplement to warming up my calves and ankles (3x10-15 w/3plates on standing raises). I agree that the cavles get worked pretty well during squats. But during Smolov I also believe if your calves are weak (like mine), you will benefit from getting your calves warmed up. I donā€™t do them every session, just when I feel extremely tight or vulnerable in that area (about every other session).

BTW, I have put a 1/2 inch on my calves (cold measurement) over a 4 month period. But, I have little baby 16.5" calves, so I donā€™t know if that would be a ā€œsignificantā€ increase or not. This is the only other body part I keep track of, because I am very insecure about them. The other being my ghetto/squatters ass because my wife thinks itā€™s looks like ā€œI am smuggling two fine hamsā€ and tells her friends how big it really is.

89

Finally I feel like I can post something worthwhile here:

  1. Cycle: Smolov Squat Base Meso Cycle
  2. Status: Complete
  3. Gain: 50lbs (535lbs to 585lbs)

I started with a 535lb Squat. This was a 10lb Meet PR that I set on 3/1/09 at the Albany Strength USAPL Meet.

I started the Smolov Base on 3/8/09.

I tested today after the week layoff and hit PRā€™s of 557.5 (misload), 565, 575 and 585 for a total gain of 50lbs.

On the last day of the Base Mesocycle I was supposed to go for 485x3x10. I did the first 9 sets and decided to go up to 495 for the last set. I didnā€™t stop at 3 reps, instead hitting 5, and leaving one or two reps in the tank. I knew then and there that I had a big PR waiting for me. I spent last week at an all inclusive resort eating sleeping resting, and way too much drinking. But it all paid off today.

  1. My BW went from 271.5 to 274.8lbs. Much of gained last week on vacation. I fought a few injuries during the first cycle. My back was still injured at the beginning of the cycle from from my final DL attempt at the meet. My shoulders hurt much of the time, my right adductor was tight quite a few days, and my left elbow had some serious inflammation on my Low Bar Squats. So much so, that I had to switch to High Bar on the lighter days, just to let my elbow recover.

Iā€™m going to start the Switching Phase on Monday, and stay away from the barbell as much as possible. I have a SSB that I will use, and do enough Benching to keep it from plummeting. Then I will start the Intense Cycle after that.

Smolov = Results.

Video from today:

90

AWESOME! Thatā€™s all that needs to be saidā€¦ Oh, and stay healthy.

91

Impressive results, Modi!

Major props to you.

I am training on a program that ends in mid-may, and my next vacation after that (where I will have access to a gym) is mid-July. I am thinking right now that I will take the 9 weeks between the end of my current program and my vacation to do a 9 week Sheiko program (4 week base + 5 week peaking), then, do the 2 week ramp up during vacation, and hit the 11 weeks of the Smolov starting when I get back from vacation at the end of July.

I was thinking of doing the Smolov squats in the a.m. and Smolov Jr. for bench in the p.m. Other than, the only thing I think I will do is after the p.m. workout add some pullups tand abs to balance things out for my shoulders and lower back.

I had considered doing some active recovery/GPP/skill training on my ā€œoff daysā€ (I donā€™t want to forget how to C&J and Snatch), but I plan to go really really light on those (just so I stay in the groove, not for strength training purposes). I also thought, just moving some really light weight on off days might get the blood pumping and help with recovery.

For those of you who have been through the Smolov, does this sound like a reasonable (albeit tough) plan?

92

Iā€™m thinking of doing the smolov too. Here are my current stats:

Bodyweight: 200-205 lbs.

Height: 5ā€™6 feet

Age: (does it really matter?) 17 years old.

ATG front squat with a pause at shoulder width stance (right after a heavy snatch session, so it might be more):

280-290 lbs. X 1 rep (just an assumptionā€¦)

Ive been doing the ā€œheavy light mediumā€ method from Bill Starr for a few weeks, do you think I have enough work capacity for smolov? And do I really have to eat alot? I donā€™t wanna gain an ounce at all. In fact, Iā€™d rather gain 30 pounds in my squat while losing 5 pounds than 100 pounds while gaining 3 pounds. Iā€™m fat enough!

Thank you!

93

[quote]undesired08 wrote:
AWESOME! Thatā€™s all that needs to be saidā€¦ Oh, and stay healthy. [/quote]

Thanks. You mean, get healthy, not stay healthy, right? :wink:

94

[quote]Checkmate wrote:
Impressive results, Modi!

Major props to you.

I was thinking of doing the Smolov squats in the a.m. and Smolov Jr. for bench in the p.m. Other than, the only thing I think I will do is after the p.m. workout add some pullups tand abs to balance things out for my shoulders and lower back.

For those of you who have been through the Smolov, does this sound like a reasonable (albeit tough) plan?[/quote]

Thanks Checkmate!

I had the same plan for about 2 days. Unless you have an amazing work capacity, and unless you try to gain a pound or so a week, I think itā€™s a recipe for overtraining. I had all kinds of grand plans at the beginning of Smolov. But it really is a brutal program, and Iā€™m not sure that adding anything else challenging (i.e. Smolov Jr.) is a great plan.

The only way I can see that working is if you are genetically gifted, and you have all your restoratives lined up. Iā€™m not anti drug, I just choose not to use them myself. But thatā€™s about the only way I see someone making it through both programs at the same time, along with your OL, pullups, shoulders, abs, etc. Most of the days that I Squatted, I walked out of the gym afterwards. Itā€™s just too draining to think about adding something else, regardless of how good it sounds. My advice would be to do one program at a time.

95

I actually just completed the three week base mesocycle. Starting bodyweight of about 211 pounds and finishing weight of between 219-221 pounds. No noticeable fat gain. Max squat went from 405 to 435. The second and thrid Saturday were preoccupied so I squatted Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The first two sessions of the first week were particularly brutal but by the third week 4x9x315 felt like squatting air.

This is truly an amazing program for anyone who has the stomache to suffer through it. I could literally feel myself get stronger, it was indescribable. My question is how long to wait before entering the intense phase? I havenā€™t read a layout that clearly specifies or maybe I just havenā€™t read closely enough. I took one week off before retesting my max and took this week off from squats but not leg work. So when can I start the fun stuff?

96

After you test your max, you do a two week switching cycleā€¦

ā€œA so-called ā€˜switchingā€™ semi-mesocycle is now in order to let the body and mind recover before taking on the pre- competition cycle. With the exception of negative squats recommended once or twice a week, all lifts and exercises are now performed with maximum explosion. Series of various jumps and hops, deep squat jumps with a light barbell, etc. are on the Party approved list. So are leg presses with compensatory acceleration and similar drills. Exploding from the sticking point in the squat is another fine exercise for the switching period. ā€œThe motto of the switching program is speed, and speed again,ā€ explains S. Smolov. For a change of pace as much as anything else.ā€

http://www.ontariostrongman.ca/Resources/training/smolovsquatcycle.htm

Then you can begin the Intense Cycle.

97

Thanks for clearing that up

98

Ok, itā€™s my turn to tell a story

  1. Cycle: Smolov Squat Intro + Base Meso Cycles
  2. Status: Complete
  3. Gain: 30lbs (295lbs to 325lbs)

*BW this morning was 185lbs, about 184lbs when I started the base.

First, I have to say that my 30lbs gain may be tainted. I was supposed to test my new 1RM on 03/16 but didnā€™t do so until today, 04/08. I had to abandon the test on 03/16 because of really painful hip flexors. I suspect my old right hip labral tear injury got too irritated during the base.

With that said, I was not that fresh today and I havenā€™t really squatted anything serious in the last 3 weeks. So my guess is I gained at least 30lbs on the Base.

I got traumatized by Smolov Base. Some of that because of the intensity of the program, and some because I am a beginner as far as squatting is concerned. I was also boneheaded to start a tough deadlift program during the Base.

But I am proud to say I completed the program. On really tough days when I missed rep(s) on a set, I would take a long rest and redo the set.
My worst session was perhaps Week 3, Day 1 - I deadlifted the day before so go figure. When I went to bed night of Week 3, Day 2, the last thought I remembered was that I was going to stop the program. Got my mojo back by Day 3 and I finished strong on the last day.

I had problems with sleeping. I have never been a heavy sleeper. I can barely sleep unaided for 6 hours however long I stayed in bed. But it got worse with Smolov. Even ZMA stopped helping. By end of Week 1, day 3, I was averaging less than 4 hrs per night even though I was staying in bed for at least 8 hrs.

I knew I was not going to last that way so I started popping Tylenol PM every 3 days or so. Things improved.

I took the liberty of eating some bad food during the program - ice cream everyday I squatted, lots of burgers and packaged pizza. This also helped with recovery.

I also learned how valuable the foam roller is.

I am really happy with the 30lbs gain. More importantly my training wonā€™t be the same again because of Smolov. I realized that I am so much capable than the effort I was giving, at least as far as squatting.

Like Avocado succintly put it, if you can get 2, then you can get 1 more on the Squat. Not a lot of people will develop this mindset without a program like Smolov.

99

ā€œI got traumatized by Smolov Base.ā€

Welcome to our world. Deadlifting should only be done light or medium for singles if at all.

Congratulations on making it through with a nice PR too. You are now officially a real man. :slight_smile:

100

[quote]chicanerous wrote:

Immediately up is the switching phase and then itā€™s onto the intense one. Iā€™m hoping to come out of the program with a squat in the 400ā€™s, so I can be finally satisfied with where itā€™s at. (Well, at least, for a day or two and more like ā€œnot embarrassedā€ than ā€œsatisfied.ā€)[/quote]

Just an update. Day 1 and 2 of the intense phase were harder than any other I completed during the course of the program. The middle of the concentrics were gruesomely slow and I ultimately wasnā€™t able to complete the volume at the written intensity on day two. I dropped the 5-10% normally saved for the end of week two for the last set (plus one rep) and completed it. I ended up pulling a muscle in my upper/middle back two days later (prior to my third workout, but unrelated to lifting), which took the better part of the week to recover enough function to wipe my own ass without pain. So, Iā€™ve said fā€™ it and started the transition back to more well-rounded lifting with my results from the base mesocycle.

Perhaps, my switching phase was executed poorly. Too much, not enough, Iā€™m not sure. I did pull an all-nighter during it for school (10-11th) and my nutrition slacked a bit near the end though. Hereā€™s the workouts from it:

3/9:

PCL: 2x1x135, 2x1x185, 2x1x205, 1x225
SP BSQ: 4x135, 5x2x185 on :45
JSQ: 3x8x45 (shallow)
VJ: 2x8

3/12:

BSQ: 2x4x145, 3x205, 2x275, 1x295, 1x315, 1x335, 1x355
NEG BSQ: 385, 395, 405 supersetted with BJ: 5, 5, 5
KSQJ: 4, 5x20
JSQ: 3+3+3x45, 3+3+3x45 (deep, mid, shallow)
VJ: 6

3/16:

BXSQ: 3x135, 3x185, 4x205, 4x225 | 2x4x225, 2x3x250, 2x2x275 + black bands (all sets)
JSQ: 2x5x135 (deep)
VJ: 2x5

3/18:

BSQ: 2x4x155, 3x225, 2x275, 1x305, 1x325, 1x345, 1x365
NEG BSQ: 395, 405, 415, 425 supersetted with BJ: 4, 4, 4, 4
SP BSQ: 2x5x135
JSQ: 2x5x45 (shallow)

3/20:

BJ: 3, 3, 3x4, 4 (w/ hop)
RPJ: 2x40 kg, 2x60 kg, 2x80 kg, 2x90 kg, 2x100 kg, 1x110 kg, 1x120 kg
PCL: 1x90 kg, 1x100 kg (to get bar back on the rack)
JSQ: 4x50 kg, 4x80 kg, 4x90 kg, 3x100 kg (deep)
VJ: 3x5

The abbreviations are for power clean, rack power jerk, speed back squat, jump squat, vertical jump, negative back squat, kneeling squat jump, box squat, box jumps.