No it’s not a supplement, though this could be considered an ad.
I have been doing Poliquin’s 1-6 principle on bench, and I am AMAZED by the results. I set a new PR today, 305! I have NEVER gotten this high before, not even when juicing. I did 315 once a few years ago, but the guy spotting me was of the ‘two-man bench/deadlift’ persuasion, so I’ve never counted that one.
Before I started it, I was doing Wiggy’s singles program, 8x1 at around 265. The first day I tried it, I did 4 waves and went 270-275-280-285. Following week went 280-285-290-295, and backed off the third week to do 5x2 at 275. Then today did 285(should have gone 290)-skipped to 295-300-305. Since it is going up so quickly, I am definitely going to follow the principle of backing off every 3 weeks.
If you don’t know what 1-6 is, it is something I got from a Poliquin letter on here. What you do is bench a single as close to your 1RM as you can, then rest for 4-10 minutes(I usually do about 4:30). You then hit your 6RM, followed by another 4-10 min rest. That is one wave.
On the next wave, you increase both weights by 5 pounds and repeat. I do 4 waves, but if you had plenty of time, you could probably do a couple more.
Science: What it does apparently, is that max effort single primes your CNS for the 6RM. The 6RM bumps the CNS a little more, which allows you to increase your 1RM. Today, on the third wave, I did 260 for 6, which is 5 lbs less than I was doing for 8 heavy singles 4 weeks ago. How’s that for results? The drawback, obviously, is it takes a bit of time to get through the 8 sets(2 per wave). But the results speak for themselves.
I forgot about this little gem. I should try it next time I’m maxing.
You ever do that thing, where you press up against a doorframe with your arms for like, 30 seconds, and then you walk out of the doorway and your arms “float” up?
I basically sit there and try to stay motivated, music helps. I scroll through my ipod a lot.
Coach Poliquin said ‘rest’, he didn’t mention active rest, which I think he would have done if that were an option. I took it to mean you have to do pretty much nothing to get the CNS effect.
So I do nothing.
Wiggy is Matt Wiggins, he wrote a book called Singles and Doubles, which talks about near-maximal lifting. I haven’t read the book, just some of his articles dealing with the same. I had been using one of his workouts(with a few mods of my own) for over a year with pretty good results. Recently changed it around some more, besides adding the 1-6 and starting the Smolov squat cycle.
Hey Boatguy,
Great gains!! I was just wondering what the rest of your training is like ie. is that your only bench/chest workout of the week or do you do more? Also is it a bench specialisation program where other bodyparts/lifts just trained lightly for maintenance. Any help would be appreciated. Hope oyu see more progress.
Jamie
Jamie
I bench heavy on Sunday, and then go lighter on Thursday, and work for a total of 40 reps. It’s something I read to use for acing the football combine, even though I don’t play football. I just like doing it. The second session hadn’t been progressing very well, but a couple weeks ago I got up to 20 reps with 185 on the first set, then upped to 205 the following week and got 19 first set. So that is going up too. Not a specialization, still pushing hard on all lifts.
DT20
Have been gaining weight steadily since I started this, but have been eating a little more as well. Chest seems a little thicker/broader, but hard to tell.
Dan Fouts
Thanks; from here I plan on continuing the 1-6 and the Smolov. Not to sound arrogant, as I just started it, but people talk about the Smolov like it is hell on earth. So far(tomorrow will be day 3 of week 1), I’ve had very little soreness. Course, next week the weights start going up, so I’ll probably be crying then:)
My goal is to hit 450 on squat at the end of the Smolov; a 100 pound gain is possible, but I figure 70 is more practical since I am working it around work schedule. I’ve never squatted more than 4 plates before, and that was 6 years ago and would have qualified more as 3/4 squats, definitely not to parallel.
Since the Smolov has an end point(11 weeks) I set the same week as a goal for bench:375. Right now I have(for the most part) nothing but time to train eat and recover, but stuff pops up here and there, so we’ll see what happens.
When you use this technique, are the strength improvements you see by “tricking” your CNS permanent, or does your 1RM go “back down” to where you started the first session?
real men squat, warriors do smolov! In my opinion it is the holy grail of squat specialization programs!
I’ve done it twice, and added 27.5kg on my max the first time, and 30kg the second time. anymore gain than that and i will be very suprised. but i guess it is possible. it certainly is bloody hard, esp the base mesocycle at the end, and the intense mesocycle also in the end. the body becomes very tired, and not every workout is very fun. but if you put your heart and soul into it you will make it.
you state you have felt no soreness, and also it seems like you think smolov is maybe not so brutal. well comrade, let’s see in 11 weeks.
doing is believing!
if you complete it, which i am sure you will - you shall be very proud.
it brought me to a 550 squat this year @ bw 204, and i plan to do it at least once, maybe twice next year.
feel free to msg me if you have any questions about smolov.
Google smolov for more info
try the search feature. also check Dragon Door
first time i did the smolov routine i nearly died, and the second time was brutal as well. i wish you all best of luck, as you need it.
eat like a horse in base meso, and you gain at least 20lbs on your max already there!
i am excited to follow your progress. you could make a thread on t-mag so we could follow your progress. along with pics and vids would be extremely nice!
The strength gains are real. That was my worry, that ‘tricking’ the CNS was temporary. But I did it 2 weeks in a row, with a constant improvement, then backed off for a week, and when I hit it again, made more improvement.
I started the Smolov with an estimated 1RM of 375(might have been conservative). That is why I am using 450 as my goal, even if I don’t hit it, it’ll still be a good gain.
Would love to do pics and/or vid, but I am in Kuwait, so I don’t have access to that kind of stuff. Don’t know how to post pics or vid anyway… Have been trying to track my weight, actually lost a couple pounds in the last few days, where I was steadily gaining before.
just curious what other work you are incorporating with this wokrout cycle. I.E what work for arms back shoulders ect. i would liek to follow a program similar to this, i am currently using westside type training. thanks.
does ur muscles not get fatigued wen u go back to the 1rm again.
[quote]j62usa wrote:
just curious what other work you are incorporating with this wokrout cycle. I.E what work for arms back shoulders ect. i would liek to follow a program similar to this, i am currently using westside type training. thanks.[/quote]
superscience
You are resting at least 4 minutes between sets, so fatigue doesn’t really affect you.
I hit everything 2-3 times per week. For back, I do pullups twice a week(weighted 1 day, unweighted variations 1 day) and do rows and other upper back work 1 day. I was doing shoulder presses 1 day and lateral raise supersets 1 day, but backed off of those to try and work on some shoulder ROM issues. ROtator cuff series at least 2x per week.
Legs, I am doing the Smolov cycle as mentioned above-this has you squatting 4 days/week, so that’s pretty much all the leg/posterior chain work I am doing right now. Arms-I curl 3x week, and do tris 6 days. I try to get abs in 2-3x a week, and as much cardio as I can since I do have to pass the PRT run occasionally.
Someone mentioned above the idea of writing a piece on this program and what results I get. I actually like that idea… I have been tracking my weights religiously, and try to track my bodyweight as well. Can’t do BF right now(deployed), but can do pretty much everything else.