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My Journey into the Smolov Squat program

coolcolj

coolcolj

New member
Well I'm on a Holiday till After Christmas - so what better thing to than to do Soviet Smolov Squat program! :D

Its hard work though squatting 4 times a week - take a look

This is just the first phase.

Week 1
Day 1 - 4x9 70% of 1RM
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - 5x7 75%
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - 7x5 80%
Day 6 - 10x3 85%
Day 7 - Rest

Week 2 - add 20lbs!

Week 3 - add 10lbs

Week 4- Rest until Thurs or Friday - test new Max. Most people add around 40-55 lbs from what I hear.

Only the hardy need apply :p

I'll be upping my protein intake another 100grams over what I normally take in. Sleeping as much as I can, and just being plain lazy :)

I'll be adding some other exercises on the various days. With moderate intensity and sets, presses and bench will have some mild band tension.

Day1 - Bent over rows
Day2 - Overhead Press and Upright Row
Day3 - Bench
Day4 - Chins

Plus I'll be doing some light Olympic lifts form work at the start of each session, and some bodyweight reverse hypers and light ab work after each session.

I'll be doing a Full Olympic Squat - current max estimated at 270lbs - I should be good for 315 by Christmas - hopefully :) Some light bands will be added to kick in halfway up. Just to keep me honest in pushing all the way up.

Well I started today, 4 sets of 9 with 190lbs+light bands kicking in after the sticking point. Worked well, the bands really made me squat more forcefully. But I failed on the fourth set at the 7th rep. In hindsight because of the bands, I should have used 185lbs or 180lbs.

It was BRUTAL! I'm not used to squatting above 5 reps. needless to say my Legs were pumped like balloons, on the 4th set they were so tight, I could barely feel them :)

I'll keep you guys posted! If I hit 200lbs I'll post some before and after pics. At the very least my legs should blow up a bit :p Current weight is 193-194lbs - yes it went up this week after my rows and bench session :fro:

Guess I'll have to postpone my deadlift Max PR attempt. I should be able to hit 500lbs a week after this you'd think :)


In 2 days time - 5 sets of 7 reps with 195lbs+bands - gulp...
 
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Junior version seems more sane :)

Speaking of superstrength, try the following Russian powerlifting routine if you have what
it takes! Based on a recent max practice of a lift
or two:

Workout # 1 70%x6x6 (reps x sets)

Workout # 2 75%x5x7

Workout # 3 80%x4x8

Workout # 4 85%x3x10

The original routine by Smolov calls for practicing a powerlift four gruesome times a week
but I shall kindly let you off the hook with two or three times. Do not train both the
deadlift and the squat in one cycle, one or the other. The second lift can be the clean
and press or the bench press. Do it on a separate day. Come to think of it, the program is
so brutal, you may want to do nothing but the DL or the SQ followed up by some Relax into
Stretch stretches.

In the workouts # 5-8 follow the same sequence but add 10-20 pounds to your 70, 75, 80,
and 85% in the DL or SQ; 5-10 in the press. The workouts # 9-12 call for half that
increase: 5-10 in the big lifts and 2.5-5 in the press.

When you have completed the twelve sessions, which should take you from three to six weeks
rest for 5-7 days and test your max again.

Make sure to practice all the Power to the
People! high tension techniques; remember that
any routine is worthless without the proper skills. If you have never done a high volume
SQ, DL, or KB program prep yourself for this schedule by doing 5x5 with a comfortable
weight three times a week for a couple of weeks.
 
And judging by today's results, and knowing my own body. I will cut the volume down a bit.

Day 1 - 3x9 70% of 1RM 27 total reps
Day 2 - 4x7 75% 28 TR
Day 3 - 5x5 80% 25 TR
Day 4 - 8x3 85% 24 TR

This looks good. Do 2 of these a week, plus a day for Bench and rows etc. I'll add 10lbs for the 2nd cycle and then 5lbs on the 3rd.

Or

Day 1 - 5x6 70% 30TR
Day 2 - 6x5 75% 30TR
Day 3 - 7x4 80% 28TR
Day 4 - 8x3 85% 24TR

Add 10lbs on the 2nd way through the cycle and then 5lbs on the 3rd.
 
these fully planned out routines work better if you complete the whole lot.....you will gain strength and functional size using half, but i would be inclined to finish it up
 
Mekannik - good gains.

That Smolov is supposed to wack on up to 100lbs if you follow the whole 12 weeks.
 
why are you changing your program, you were already making great gains, i think u could be making a mistake
 
I'm just doing a little bit of squat specialisation - I'd like to get my squat over 315lbs in record time that's all.

But I'm playing it by ear. I may just use some of the ideas here and fuse it with my own stuff.
 
it looks like you will overtrain from this program. seems like too much volume and to frequent. but good luck man

i think these programs were made for trainers with enhancements. i mean when u think of soviets and russians you associate them with steroids. im shure the soviets have great training programs but they juice the hell out of there lifters to win contests.
 
American athletes were caught with steroids more often than Russian or Eastern Bloc athletes during the 70s and 80s.

I dont think they juiced all that much during the 70s and 80s, although they did a lot of drug expirimentation of all kinds earlier. Soviet lifters were actually slimmer and trimmer than thier Western counterparts during the 80s. Athletics were held in almost as high regard as military in Russia (the thought was that a physically fit population would be more productive, plus better olympic standings was good for propaganda). Things that pro and college football teams adapted in the last 5 or 10 years were being used in the 60s and 70s in the USSR.

They did do a lot of massage and pressure chamber and oxygen rich enviroment stuff to help speed muscular recovery.
 
nclifter6feet6 said:
it looks like you will overtrain from this program. seems like too much volume and to frequent. but good luck man

i think these programs were made for trainers with enhancements. i mean when u think of soviets and russians you associate them with steroids. im shure the soviets have great training programs but they juice the hell out of there lifters to win contests.
Click to expand...

Yeah I hear ya, but the guy who did in that page was drug free and he addded 100+ lbs onto his squat. But like I said I'm a holiday right now, so I'm gonna chill as much as I can, eat a lot and hope I recover :)

If I overtrain I'll bail, but I should make some gains. While the volume is high, the intensity is actualy lower than what I'm used to. I normally squat aorund the 90-95% 1RM area and have been doing 6+ sets the last few weeks.

And remeber I'm not going to failure so it shouldn't be as bad :)
 
Day 2

Legs seem to have recovered, soreness pretty much gone from first day


Always get the stares when I hook up the bands :p

I felt pretty queezy during the warmups and leading up to the squats - either it was because of the chocolate I ate in the morning crashing my insulin levels or it was due to squat anxiety :(

195lbs+bands 5 x 7

Perfect weight!

This program is really evil! It seems that 2nd last set is always tough but still within comfort limits, but the last set smashes you way over the comfort zone!! It really separates the men from the boys and I love squatting!!!
After the 4th set my thighs were starting to get really tight from the pump and they were aching like hell... your mind starts to play tricks.. was that the 4th or 5th sets... didn't I just do the 7th rep....

I'm just glad the reps are coming down over the next couple of sessions :)

Next week I have to add poundage to my sets.... gulp


I also did bent oevr barbell rows and tricep dips today.
I'm hoping the massive testosterone release from all this squatting will rub off on all these extra exercises I'm doing and blow up my whole body :)
 
So far so good - my legs are hardly sore at all after the 2nd session. Just some slight stiffness and ache in my quads, hams, erectors and glutes. Triceps don' even have any DOMS from the dips.. :confused:

Maybe its the calm before the storm, but my body is coping just fine with this program.

My legs look and feel a lot bigger already! I measured it just then - smack bang on 27 inches, up quarter of an inch! That's huge for someone of my small frame! Probbaly end up at 28 inches if I decide to go all the way and do the full 12 week program :D

Not only that but the rest of my body is starting to blow up as well, bodyweight is creaping up too.
 
Forgot to mention:
ice your knees after training every session

and deep heat extra concentrate "super hot"....before bed and when ever you need it
 
rest times

Rest times by the guy who wrote that article

"As for rest, this is a PL routine, so the answer is alway the same - as much time as it takes to fully recover between sets. 5 minutes would be a good average for me, but the higher volume sets take longer. With 4 9s I rested 10 minutes between the 3rd and 4th set. On 10 3s day, I only had to rest about 3 minutes between most sets, but that increased as the weight went up and toward the last few sets. Do it by feel, and avoid the pump at all costs!

he is right, having a pump in the legs ruins the quality of the sets
 
I asked someone who has done the full routine about any body mass gains - he gained over 90lbs on his squat BTW


Did you gain any bodyweight?
##### Yes I did, I watched my diet to gain as little as possible, but still gained. I lost it anyway, and my squat is the same now. I had to lost bodyweight because of class limit, not because I want to.

That little gain was about 4 Kg, and my brother who isn't competing, so he don't need to worry about class limit gained 7-8 Kg for this 13 weeks. Basicaly, the Party says that base mesocycle delivers 5 Kg (11 Lbs), and intense phase 5-7 Kg (11-16 Lbs).

Another thing, Party says to cut the rest intervals as more as you can in base mesocycle (no more than 3-5 minutes).

------------

he is right - I've gained 3 lbs already after my first week! Lots of squatting + long rest periods = big testosterone spike
But I don't think I'd jump up 20lbs though - but who knows )
 
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Just an update -

Into 2nd week now

Just measured my upper thighs - 27.25inches!!!! That's a gain of 1/2 inch in 6 workouts (2 weeks). Amazing!

I will definitely have more than enough leg size to last my lifetime of training now as far as a base for generating maximal leg power and strength goes
Hips/glutes came in at 41 inches, another 1/2 inch gain. More than enough booty! :)

That should translate to a very large increase in my Squat max I would think. We will see in 2 weeks time :)
 
anyway update on the Smolov Squat program - just about halfway through the last and final week of the first mesocycle (don't think I'll do the full thing)

I've added 3/4 inch on my legs in 2.5 weeks and some 6-8 lbs in bodyweight and I'm natural!!! Legs went from 26.75 to 27.5 inches, bodyweight went from 192 to 196-199lbs. Most probbaly gained at least 25lbs on my Squat max too!

Legs are too big now for my needs - quads, glutes and hams :)
Added some mass to my torso, but none to my arms as far as. I can tell, slightly leaner as well. Then again I didn't do any arm work apart from the dips and chins

My Smolov is slightly modified however - the first week as per normal, then weeks 2 and 3 used 6x6, 7x5, 8x4, 10x3 for the sets and rep schemes. And only worked 3 times a week.
On Week 1 I used Light bands on the top half only, week 2 Average bands, and this week back to Lights.
I didn't use any bands on week 2's 4th workout, and boy did the bar feel light!

I'm pretty much used to it now, its not that hard after the 2nd week. Mark my words high frequency and high volume is the key to fast mass and strength gains!!!

Oh yeah squatting is anabolic :santa2:
 
Glad to see u are making good gains...

Do you think i would be able to do a modified version of that program with front squats?
 
Yeah - I know someone who did this, but he got really sore knees, so I dunno.

It works well with deadlifts.

But I would only do this program if your on a holiday etc - recovery is a big issue - especially the first week

You could just do one workout in place of your leg routine. That will work as well. But the frequency is the reason for the big gains as well.
 
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Sounds like a really solid program...
Do you think that all the squatting added some weight to your deadlift as well?
How did your bench react?
 
Damn! Those are some good gains for such a short time period...
I wish I had the time to do something like this....
Hrmmm.. my contract expires in 3 weeks... maybe it will be time for me and your good friend Smolov to meet up for a little big volume training... I wonder if my knees can take it...
 
Sebass67 said:
Sounds like a really solid program...
Do you think that all the squatting added some weight to your deadlift as well?
How did your bench react?
Click to expand...

Well I'll be finishing this up in a week's time, then I'll take 5 days off, and then test my Squat Max. I hope to shoot 315+lbs up. My estimated max before the program wast 270 for the full squat.

Then I'll be spending 2 weeks working on my deadlift form and then I'll max up after that - my last PR 3 months ago was 405lbs, I'm confident I can hit at least 455, maybe as high as 500lbs - we will see :)
My hams, glutes, and lowerback are all much bigger and stronger so my deadlift should go up by a bit.
Plus I've been Oly lifting as well throughout this time before the squats, from blocks - working on starting strength power.

Bench - I haven't done them much during this time, I've been doing lots of dips though, so that outta help the bench out. I will see when I return to my normal workouts.

BTW my knees became a lot stronger, the tendons and ligaments around the area have really thickened up. when I touch the patella area it just feels alot more robust.
 
Nice job, ColJ.


I've had to back off squatting due to my knee injury - so it looks like a couple of months with surgery before I can hit them again.

If you're worried about your arms - PM what you're trying for (bi's, tri's, both) and I'll hit you with a few suggestions that have worked great for me.


Besides of course the obvious - Sust, Dbol, Winny...
 
Did you read this whole thread? :)

If you did, you will see I outlined what I did with upper bopdy stuff. You don't wanna go to heavy or too hard on the upper body, stuff idea is to maintain to some extent - but you will get gains from all the squatting anyway.

When you specialise in one exercise and go high volume and frequency, you have to back off elsewhere or else your not gonna recover.

I suggest you workout 3 times a week if you decide to do it. And just add a push, pull and shoulders day. Not much need to do abs as they will get fried from the squatting.

Oh yeah its pretty damn tough :) Rest at least 3 mins between each set, 4-5 mins is about right, and sometimes more if your starting to tire. Avoid any pump if you can in your legs.

remeber - never go to failure
 
cool shit ccj...when i first saw your thread when you first started the routine i was thinking..."if this works the poor guy is going to be bombarded with pms and posts"

lol

great job though
 
While I only did the SMolov for 2.5 weeks, I still got my desired gains!

4-5lbs of extra mass and a big jump in hip and squat power!

Vertical jump is up 1-2 inches judging by my jump in the gym with my heavy Oly lifting shoes on!

Full Olympic Squat (no belt) went from 270 to 315lbs! Could have got 325 had I been fresh - I did lots of Oly lifts before hand and even set some PRs, also did 2 reps at 275 which just about failed on the 2nd rep.

That's a 45-55 lb gain! Not bad for 2-3 weeks work :fro:
 
Interestingly enough my 315-325lb 1RM is a lot high than my 275lb 2RM, that tells me I have quite a high fast twitch percentage in my quads and hips :D
 
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