Anyone ever try this with a safety squat bar, and what sort of carryover did you find to equipped back squat? has anyone ever switched squatting styles between mesocycles? how long do these workouts take?
[quote]thirdnalga wrote:
Anyone ever try this with a safety squat bar, and what sort of carryover did you find to equipped back squat? has anyone ever switched squatting styles between mesocycles? how long do these workouts take?[/quote]
I modified my stance quite a bit, due to the beating my hips took. But, that was a few inches here and there. I never timed the sessions, but I could be in the gym for 3 hours (stretching, warmups, and what-not). The key is to rest as long as you need, donāt worry about time.
See I would love to start something like this next week. I really just donāt want my Bench and DL to suffer
[quote]ALKoHoLiK wrote:
See I would love to start something like this next week. I really just donāt want my Bench and DL to suffer[/quote]
They donāt need to suffer. You can still Bench, just donāt overdo it. I didnāt DL at all during the program except for some speed Deads during the Switching Phase, and my DL didnāt drop at all. 4 Days a week of Squatting will maintain you DL just fine.
Itās something I need to do to get my Squats up, they are only 20lbs more than my bench and I just canāt have that.
I was thinking about GOMAD and regular food so that I will be in a surplus of calories.
Any thoughts on that Modi?
[quote]ALKoHoLiK wrote:
Itās something I need to do to get my Squats up, they are only 20lbs more than my bench and I just canāt have that.
I was thinking about GOMAD and regular food so that I will be in a surplus of calories.
Any thoughts on that Modi?[/quote]
Squats and Milk? How can you go wrong with that.
I definitely wouldnāt advise anyone to do Smolov if they were worried about being in a caloric deficit. So yes, I highly recommend eating plenty during this program. I have never tried drinking a gallon of milk in a day, let alone every day of the week, but it has certainly worked well for others. I just think you need to get in plenty of good calories, regardless of the source.
I upped my calories by something like 500 on non Squat days and 1000 on Squat days, and that seemed to be enough to recover without any added fat gain.
If you have the energy left during the cycle, you should be able to Bench without it affecting the program, just cut out the accessory work, especially anything that would have an impact on your Squat.
Yeah see I will have to have energy as getting a 300 bench is a big thing for me and I donāt want to fall below my 280. I know itās not much and muscle memory can come into play.
I read your review and I was wondering would you of done anything differently again if given the chance? Other than the 7x5 were there any other big challenges for you?
[quote]ALKoHoLiK wrote:
Yeah see I will have to have energy as getting a 300 bench is a big thing for me and I donāt want to fall below my 280. I know itās not much and muscle memory can come into play.
I read your review and I was wondering would you of done anything differently again if given the chance? Other than the 7x5 were there any other big challenges for you?[/quote]
My two biggest mistakes in my training career have been trying to progress to many lifts at the same time, and not getting enough calories during an intense training phase.
I came to believe early on that I was invincible, and that the rules that applied to everyone else didnāt apply to me. As long as I had the will power to gut out a program, nothing else mattered.
Big mistake. I now realize that I make the best gains when I focus most of my effort on one of the big 3. When I take in enough calories to support my training. And when I spend as much effort on recovery as I do on lifting. Active recovery is a must. Make sure to take some time to do mobility work as well. Your other two lifts will always be there. I strongly recommend putting two on the back burner if you are going to devote 4 days a week to the third.
First Smolov was early summer 2008. I weighed about 160 lbs and squatted a very sad, shaky 245. I did the base phase exactly as written and got up to 295. 50-lb gain.
I tried it again a few months later, but it was too soon and I quickly failed. Tried AGAIN a few months later but an old knee injury had caused my right leg to atrophy because of a huge knee effusion. You donāt want to try Smolov when the muscles of one of your legs canāt properly contract. I got injured again.
Rehabbed the injury over several months and was able to complete a second Smolov base phase summer of 2009. Iād squatted as much as 347.5 in raw competition, but I was down to 335 when I began the Smolov. Got up to 375. 40-lb gain. Didnāt really gain weight from Smolov, but I was up to 170 lbs and still compete at 165. I squatted 369.5 in comp after cutting 5 lbs to make weight.
Note that both my conventional and sumo deadlifts went up almost as much (75-80%) as my squat without any deadlift training. My sumo deadlift is consistently 100 lbs ahead of my low bar squat and about 20 lbs over my conventional deadlift.
Did a Russian Squat Routine after that last Smolov and got up to 395. Rolled right into my next Smolov after I tested my new max from the RSR. Just did Week I, Day II with 295x7x5. Still weighing 169-172.
hi guysā¦iām new to this forum. iām volleyball player, so can someone tell me if i can gain some inches in my vertical by doing Smolov? thx
my most recent experience:
I squatted mid 838 in a contest (multiply),
A week after the contest I started the smolov base meso cycle. I used box squats for all reps because they carryover better to my geared squat, which is my priority. I set my 1rm box squat to 480lbs. I really had no clue where my raw box squat was, but I hit 576 in metal ace briefs a few weeks before the contest so I figured that it would be around 500 raw (I have always free squatted 15-20% more then box squatted).
After 3 weeks things where feeling good, so I extended the program out 2 more weeks. each added week I added 10lbs to the previous weeks lifts.
After 5 weeks I finished off with a 455 x 10 x 3. When I tested my max I got 545lbs which I estimate is somewhere around a 40lbs gain.
Then I got the bright idea to run the meso again directly after based off a 525lbs max.
The first two weeks where not bad but the last week was killer. Some tendonitis started to flare up in my knee at this point, but with blue heat + knee sleves + nsaids it was bearable. I got to the 2nd last workout (7x5x450) and I loaded the bar to 455 because I am far to lazy to find exact change. After finishing off all 7 sets I started packing my gym bag and thinking about how much tomorrow was going to suck. I said fuck it, loaded 485lbs (not knowing that was 10lbs more then i was supposed to do) and finished off 10 sets of 3. This 17 set squat day on the 8th week of smolov meso was difficult and I donāt really recommend it.
After the second run of the meso, I hit 565lbs. I called it a day after this lift due to some knee pain acting up but I think 575lbs would have gone if I attempted it before the 565.
Overall the net gain was around 65lbs. In the process I also put on a good 10lbs of body weight as well as some noticeable size on my legs. I think I am going to give the intense phase a shot in a week or so here (I am resting between cycles). I really want to get to the 600lbs mark.
- I just finished the last workout of the Base mesocycle this morning.
- I guess that would make my status uncompleted.
- Before I started I tested my 1RM as 335. Itās been almost 1 year of serious training for me, and me squat has always been my worst lift. Swimming all through high school never did much for my leg development. Yesterday I managed a relatively easy 355, but failed at 365 (came about a half inch away from breaking through my sticking point). Today I finished with 360. So Iāve gained 25 pounds so far.
- My eating habits were largely unaffected by Smolov, my caloric intake only increased slightly (I was more consistent with my daily intake). I think I gained about 5 pounds. The third day of the second was definitely the hardest day for me (the second week was the hardest in general). There were a few times I didnāt think I would be able to finish the workout, but by the end of the third week I gained a much better idea of my abilities. Today I got a compliment about my leg girth from another lifter at the gym, but thatās about the extent of it.
Iāll be starting the intense cycle in two weeks or so, and hopefully Iāll be squatting 405 by the end of that.
i finished smolov base meso cycle on saturday, so iām waiting next saturday to test my 1rmā¦ before i started my 1rm was 310lbs so i hope iāll be able to squat around 340ā¦ my vert increased 2 inches
Finished the base meso this evening, for squats, benches AND dumbbell curls (seriously)
Iāve squatted 220kg as a PR when I was about 5kg heavier and pushing my squat (Iāve neglected it for the past 8-10 weeks to get my DL up). So I put in a conservative 200kg as my estimated max. Added 10kg in week two and 5kg in week three. I got thru all the sets fairly solidly. Hoping to hit 220kg again at a lighter bodyweight when I test next week.
Bench started at 142.5kg, which is true close grip max, and 2.5kg under my touch and go training max with a reg grip. I added 5kg in week two and 2.5kg in week three. This was A LOT harder than the squat portion, probably because I was using closer to my true max, and doing it after the squats. I only got 3x9 and 1x8 on W3D1, 2x7 + 2x6 + 1x7 on W3D2 and got my 7x5 and 10x3 on the last two days. Hoping to go over 150kg on the bench next week.
My arms are already up 1/4 an inch from the curls, and when they recover theyāll hopefully grow a bit more!!
I did Smolov 2 years ago. I successfully completed it and went from a 405lb squat to 475lbs with no belt, wraps, etc. I also gained about 20lbs. The only thing I did wrong was use the program for kilograms for units of weight. So when it said to go from, for example, 315 to 325, I assumed that meant 10 lbs instead of 20 lbs. That was the only mistake I made, but I think it was for the best as I honestly donāt think I could have added more weight than that. I tried Smolov a second time but had to stop short because of elbow problems from all the squatting.
I just completed the base mesocycle and 1rm test. I am 40 years old and started lifting weights to lose fat last January. I lost some fat and started training for PL in June, and ran 6 or 7 cycles of 5-3-1. In October, I tested my squat max and hit 385 but missed 405. December 5th I competed in my first USAPL meet and hit 385, but missed 408. I ran the base-cycle percentages based on a 395 max.
I tested today and hit 405 and 425 pretty easily. I tried 455, but I pitched forward on the bottom and got crushed. Frankly, the weight scared me a little. So, +40 lbs. PR. Iām not sure what I could have got, but I am pretty sure it is more than 425, but less than 455.
This program was very hard for me, but doable. I got plenty of rest and ate everything I could. I donāt count calories, but I would not be surprised if I was breaking 10,000 on some days. I never, ever really felt full or satisfied. I weighed in at 218 (with some water manipulation) on December 5, and I weighed in at 238 a couple days after I completed the base cycle. I packed on a lot of fat. I donāt think I would have gained that much fat if I had been a little more careful with my sugar intake, but it was the holidays and I was in no mood to be that discriminating.
I was never in danger of missing any reps, but it was very mentally challenging. Each day was hard in its own way. My lower back and hips were in distress and very tight through most of the program, but I felt stronger and stronger under the bar as time went on. My body told me to quit the program on the third day and every day thereafter, and I had to use mental tricks to convince myself that I could keep going without getting injured. This has really changed my views on the concept of āautoregulation.ā On the last day, on my last set, I hit 9 triples with 365, as called for. On my tenth set, I put 385 on the bar and hit 6 reps. That was a lifetime rep PR + 5 reps with my previous best-ever lift.
I am very glad I did the base cycle, but I am still undecided on whether I am going to do the intense phase. I want to bring my lagging bench up and lose some weight, and I donāt think, for me, it would be possible to do this while also doing the intense cycle. I did a small upper body workout on each 9 and 7 day, but only for maintenance purposes. (Hanley, my hatās off to you, running Smolov on three lifts at the same time took some balls). I will probably make the decision on Saturday.
Anyone who says you need to use PEDās to benefit from this program is full of shit. Also, I would not advise using a āconservativeā max to run the program. It will suck even if you do, so you might as well get the full benefit.
For anyone interested, here is link to my log.
tested my 1rm yesterday and i hit 345lbs (+40lbs)ā¦now 2 weeks of speed workouts and then intense phase
Tested today after the base meso. MAD success.
Previous PR was 220kg @ 102kg. I hit 225kg today at 97/98kg!!
Pre-cycle max was about 210kg, so 15kg from the base meso. Iāve a Crossfit comp in a month, so Iām gonna spend the next month training for that and doing speed and power work before getting back to the intense meso, probably gonna result in some fat loss, so Iāll base my numbers for the intense off 210-215kg.
Vids below;
220kg
225kg
Very good progress. How much more weight do you think you can loose?
Just finished the intense a couple days ago, on the final day i went for my max instead of doing the workout and i added roughly 18lbs to my max. Ill retest squat again in a couple of days, besides that I added about 10 lbs of bw in the 9 weeks and about 1 1/2 inches to each thigh.