Squats FTW

Training Training Logs
21

[quote]ctschneider wrote:
Congratulations on the halfway mark - it seems (to me) like the second week is the hardest and you’re now halfway through it! Just kind of curious… are you planning on doing the intense mesocycle after this, or are you going back to doing those brutal 20 rep squats?[/quote]

Thank you very much for your most kind comment. Yes, I use to say if you can do week two, then you can do week three. I’ve done it several times before. And that usually holds true. I’d like to continue with the program after the base meso, but due to some real life issues, it will be very difficult and impractical to do, so following this program, I will mostly do strength maintenance for the month of July. Then coming august, I will decide if I will continue to train for 1RM-strength or if I am going back to high reps. I still want to do 190kg x 20 in the squat. I did 180kg x 20 in October last year, and it would be nice to beat this before one full year is past.

However, I have also set myself a goal of a 270kg raw squat by the end of the year. Since July goes to maintenance, I will have 5 months to achieve that goal. And I better start early to get it. I did 240kg already in February, and the plan was to get 250kg in June, and that’s what I am aiming at now. High reps doesn’t do much for 1RM strength. High reps are also very taxing on the body and the mind. Especially so at big weights.

So to sum up, I have some goals, but I have not outlined how to get them yet. Preferably I will do both 190kg x 20 reps and 1x270kg this year. So let’s pray that the mighty God of squat will let me have my way.

Here’s a video of the halfway mark:

Thank you again for the comment, and I hope you too train hard to reach your goals! SQUAT!

22

Day #7

SQ: 187.5 x 5 x 7
BP: 117.5 x 4 x 4

A powerful training. I am getting stronger.

23

Video from today: Smolov base meso cycle Day #7 - YouTube

24

Day #8

Felt sluggish at the beginning, but it got better from set to set. Had long pauses between sets. Had incredible stiffness in the lower back in the beginning, and had a really painful tightness/pump, that got better after a few sets. Twisted left knee slightly at set #5. Did not feel like not continuing at any point. A good sign.

Was a bit reduced after hard training yesterday, but somehow still had the power to complete the workout. Satisfied. Bench press was very heavy for me today.

SQ: 200kg x 3 x 10
BP: 125kg x 3 x 5
Fat-man chins: bw x 10 x 3

Video of all sets of squats, in actual order from 1-10:

25

Holy crap dude!

Major props on pausing the reps.

Good luck on the last week.

26

Dude, I LOVE your shoes. Oh, and not bad squats.

27

mahwah: Thanks a lot!

undesired08: Yes, I am satisfied with those. They are Do-wins, they are very nice. the squats were decent. Thanks! :slight_smile:

28

Today I have been tired. Also have a very interesting soreness/stifness from the squats yesterday. Went for a walk today, and I think I had the speed of a turtle. Tomorrow is 4 sets of 9 reps. Oh well… just going to bite the iron and force it…

29

Your squat form is impressive. Very nice. It makes me wish I had a squat rack near by.

30

[quote]Pistol Pete wrote:
Your squat form is impressive. Very nice. It makes me wish I had a squat rack near by.[/quote]

Thank you. There are always room for improvement, but I guess it is decent. If you like to squat, then it is good to have a squat rack home. It is a good investment.

31

Smolov base meso cyle day #9 (only 3 days left!)

SQ: 170kg x 9 x 4
BP: 105kg x 6 x 3

Last week i barely made 165kgx9x4, today 170kgx9x4 was not a problem. High reps is never easy, and this was no exception. I felt a little bit nauseated after the squats, and puked
a little, but managed to keep most of the food in the stomach. Also felt it a little bit
in the head. Some more sets with high reps today, and I think all of the content of the stomach would have been emptied. Bench press did not feel strong today. The benching on
saturday was very heavy, and I think I am still tired from it. Sunday and today I’ve been
very tired. Actually I feel better after training today. Being tired from a lot of squatting
is normal, so that’s what I get when I do a program like this. Luckily I have a girlfriend
that’s very patient, but she was a bit upset, when I spent most of the sunday doing
absolutely nothing, because I was tired. I look forward to continue the base cycle and
to finish it off! Today was a good session, and there was no strains or pains whatsoever.
Ofcourse my lungs had to work very hard with the high reps, and my body got a bit tired,
and I felt it in my legs, but no bad pain today. That’s good. After the training I stretched
the upper body for a while. I’m trying to get rid of some upper back and neck stifness and
I find massaging with a small rubber ball, and stretches/flexibility work help with this.

32

smolov base meso cycle day #10, 18th of June 2009

I somehow was not super motivated today, and the
first set felt heavy on the body. But then it loosened
up a bit, and the rest of the work out went well. There
is no doubt the legs are getting stronger. No issues
today, it was just a good and solid workout. I was
very tired on sunday after the two heavy days, and
was still tired on monday and tuesday. I felt a little
better today. Only two workouts left, and I am sure I
will get them.

SQ: 182.5kg x 7reps x 5sets
BP: 112.5 x 5reps x 4sets
Fat-man chins: 3 x 10 @ bw

Bodyweight today: 116.4kg, the most ever.

Vid:

33

day 11 went well. i’ll get back with more updates after todays training. was too busy yesterday to write.

34

Smolov base meso cycle day #11 (19th of June 2009)

SQ: 192.5kg x 7 x 5
BP: 120kg x 3 x 4, 1 x 7 (REP PR)

Comments: This was some serious squatting! I completed the workout in a strong fashion,
but I had to use a lot of energy. Starting to feel it now, and I am happy this program
only lasts for 3 weeks (12 workouts). I felt strong in the bench, and the first three
sets was all paused. Previous rep PR at 120kg was 6 reps, so beat it easily today, and
almost got 8 reps. This is very nice. It seems like doing half the volume of Smolov Jr.
for the bench press is a good deal.

Smolov base meso cycle day #12 (20th of June 2009)

HURRAY! Last day!

SQ: 205kg x 10 x 3, 210kg x 1, 230kg x 1 (10kg PR)
BP: 127.5kg x 4 x 3, 2+1

Comments: Squat today was some serious stuff. I had good pauses, and never hurried, and
made it through. Not one set was easy, but set 6,7 and 9 is the ones that I am most proud
of, they went very well. This was some serious weight, and after all the heavy squatting
from yesterday, I was a bit afraid somehting would snap today. Luckily everything went
well, and I even made 230kg at the end. This is a squat with a wide grip and a pause at
the bottom. With this style I’ve made 220kg before. This was what I had planned to do
today, in fact this lift is what I’ve been looking forward to for the last three weeks.
All that squatting for just a few seconds of effort. :slight_smile: The real maxium attempt with normal
style, no pause, close grip on the bar, I will try in a few days. I am going for a beltless
250kg squat.

Videos will come later.

Conclusion: The Smolov Base Meso Cycle, which I have done several times before, both for
squats and front squats, is one insane piece of a program. Just don’t do it unless you
can handle the amount of work and it ready to tolerate A LOT of pain. You need to put
everything else in your life aside if you are going to do this seriously. In the end I was
so tired some days that I did not want to do anything but relax. Trust me on this: At the
end of week two/week three, it hurts just to exist. My lower back surely has taken a beating
during this period, and I was a bit worried, since I’ve had a really bad injury there before. But if you want to get strong, there is no easy way out. And if you are afraid,
you will never get strong. I can tell I’ve become stronger from this base meso cycle. Also
the smolov jr. with half the original volume has given some nice training rep PRs, and I
think this will translate to a new 1RM PR later on. I am proud and I am happy. That’s it
for now. :slight_smile:

35

Video from the two last sessions. This is serious squatting!

36

hey man I think you are amazing! hats off to the real squater!
I sometimes squat to failure and can just lie on the floor but I’ve never puked.
It is really hard to imagine the intensity to make someone puke. Is it the high reps or the very short rest between sets?

37

If you push yourself to the ultimate limit, you will puke, even if you have timed your meals propely. Nosebleeds can also occur. Even if many lifters push themselves to the limit (they think), there’s often more to be had…

That being said, it is not always the smartest thing to do what strength is concerned. :slight_smile:

Here you have a puke video:

I trained much like this for a few months this year. Does about nothing for 1RM strenght. Gets better at high reps…

As hardcore as it might seem, I think it is better to have a powerlifting plan, if one wants to get truly strong in the squat. But I admit, it is fun to push oneself to the absolute limit!

Thank you for the comment, and train hard!

38

Stallion, you’re my new hero!
Seriously, very very impressive! Your vids are really motivational!

39

[quote]stallion wrote:
Video from the two last sessions. This is serious squatting!

Dude - unbelievable squatting!

I’ve often wandered about giving the base Smolov workout a go but the weights looked crazy! One question I had was how long do you rest between sets, because the weights and %s that you are looking would mean at least 5 minutes?

40

[quote]Berserkergang wrote:
Stallion, you’re my new hero!
Seriously, very very impressive! Your vids are really motivational!

[/quote]

Thank you VERY much. I appreciate comments like that. If I can make you worker harder in the gym,
I am very happy. Results come from hard work, and not from excuses. So keep hitting the iron hard! :slight_smile:

[quote]dheeel wrote:
stallion wrote:
Video from the two last sessions. This is serious squatting!

Dude - unbelievable squatting!

I’ve often wandered about giving the base Smolov workout a go but the weights looked crazy! One question I had was how long do you rest between sets, because the weights and %s that you are looking would mean at least 5 minutes?[/quote]

Ok, I have some advice:

The first time you do Smolov, do yourself a favour and lower the pre-1RM a bit, perhaps with as much as 10 to 15kg from your true max. It will still be grueling hard! Yes, the weights ARE crazy, but by the time you hit week three in the base meso cycle, you will be prepared for the big weights. The workouts are all carefully planned out, and as long as you do everything as prescribed, and eat a lot and sleep and rest enough, and is willing to endure the pain, then you will get success (unless you get sick or injuried that is). I was really pushing it to the limit on the end of this base meso cycle, and I am glad there was not another week with this!

Smolov is very hard, and injuries can happen. But if you make it through, you will become stronger than ever. And it is also a tremendous sens of satisfaction to see it through.

The smolov base meso cycle is only 12 workouts in 3 weeks, but still very hard. The entire Smolov consists of the introductory microcycle, the base meso cycle, the switching phase and the intense phase.

Typical gains on Smolov would be everything from 20kg to 40kg for a natural athlete. But it won’t come easy. Not at all. :slight_smile:

Read everything you can about the program before you start it and consider that to be doing it you should
at least have two years with serious (or semi-serious) training behind you, and you should be used to frequent squatting. If you do not have the capasity, you can be buried after just a few workouts.

But if you want to do it, just try it. Nothing gives you experience like actually doing the program.

– Stallion