Experience With Smolov and 1-6

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

Smolov and 1-6

Deployment in Kuwait is rather boring?not much to do except watch Arab TV or surf the net. So I spend an inordinate amount of off time reading T-Nation, usually skimming through various forums and digging through old articles for new nuggets.
This is how I happened upon the information I used to develop my current routine. I had been using a program I found elsewhere, which had been serving me rather well for the last two years or so. Dang, two years. How?s that for stagnating? But it was easy to follow, easy to push progress, and I enjoyed the results I got from it.

But upon recent digging through articles and forums, I found several new pieces to add to my puzzle. I started on the Advanced German Volume Training program, but didn?t feel like I had done much work the first week. I decided I would rather seek strength(as I had already been doing) and gain size as a side benefit. So dig I did.

My research garnered me several worthy nuggets, including one I had used before.  So I decided to piece together a new routine, using some of the old and some of the new.  The additions were: the Smolov Squat Specialization Cycle(which I saw mentioned in a forum post and Googled), Waterbury's Six-Days-Per-Week for Triceps, and Poliquin's 1-6 Method.

It?s funny, details at work usually are my downfall; but give me some paper, a pen, and ideas for a new lifting regimen, and I?m all over it.  I shuffled the numbers, threw them out on the table, and came up with the following routine:

Day 1

1-6 Bench 4 waves
Pullups, using various grips and methods 8-10 x just shy of failure
Overhead DB Press 5 x 5
Squat 5 x 3, then switched to Smolov
Rack Half Press 5 x 3
Screw Curl 4 x 6
Energy Work, usually intervals on Elliptical Machine

Day 2
Rotator Cuff Work(Internal/External Rotations, YTWL)
Abs/Core
Run 2-3 miles, or Elliptical Intervals
Narrow Grip Pressdown 2 x 25

Day 3
Bent Row(or T-Bar) 5 x 5
Seated Cable Row
3 x 5
Cobra 4 x 6
(replaced Deadlift with Squat here for Smolov)
Weighted Dip 8 x 3
Reverse-Grip EZ-Bar Curl 6 x 4
Energy Work

Day 4
Rotator Cuff Work
Abs/Core
Run or ESD
DB Skullcrusher 2 x 12

Day 5
Weighted Pullup 10 x 5
40-Rep Bench
(Box Squatted here on old program, changed for Smolov)
Close Grip Bench 3 x 5
Incline DB Curl 5 x 5
ESD

Day 6
(added Smolov session)
Rotator Cuff Work
Ab/Core
Trap Work

Due to time constraints with work and allotted PT time, some of the longer days get split into multiple sessions in order to get everything done. I was using some Westside protocols in my squatting and benching; I would do one max effort day for each, but would do a dynamic effort day for squat(box squats) and a rep effort day for bench(40-rep bench).

The 40-Rep Bench came from something I read about trying to max out the Football Combine Test(I think it was here, don?t recall). Basically, you are doing forty total reps with the same weight, the goal is to do as few sets as possible to get the forty. The original article called for using 225, but when I started using it, my 225 was too close to my 1RM, so I used 185, planning on moving up as I got stronger(I never got to where I felt I could move up). Use your own rest periods for everything(except where specified). I use thirty seconds for most movements, except for the 1-6, Smolov squatting(90 seconds), and 40-Rep Bench(120 seconds).

My max effort bench day consisted of eight heavy singles, as close to my 1RM as possible. I never tested my 1RM for this; I guesstimated for a starting point and then pushed the weight up when I could. Made decent gains with this, but every time I got close to my goal of three plates, something would happen. I started having shoulder pain, which caused a short layoff(and the steady rotator work seen above); went on a trip for work where there were no gyms; won an amateur MMA fight before deploying, and then completely stopped lifting for about two months. Always something, right?

The 1-6 benching slid right in where I was doing 8 x 1 before, but I kept the 40-Rep because I like doing it. Here is the 1-6 in a nutshell: you bench as close to your 1RM as you can, then rest for 4-10 minutes. Lower the weight to your 6RM and crank out six, then use the same rest period. That is one wave. For each successive wave, you bump the weight up five pounds or so. Basically, the 1RM effort followed by the long rest period primes your CNS for the 6RM, which then amplifies it that much more when you go back to a heavy single above your 1RM. I have only done four waves of this at a time due to time limitations, so I have no idea how many waves this would work for.

2

I was doing the ballistic Smith bench, or bench toss, for speed work. For those who don?t know, this is where you set up the Smith for benching, load it with light weight, and then bench as fast as possible, literally throwing the bar into the air before catching it and decelerating it on the down path. This is why you use the Smith, so you don?t send a loaded bar crashing into the guy next to you(or onto your head). The problem is, if your not careful, sometimes the hooks catch, disrupting your flow and making a ton of racket.

I enjoy doing pull-ups, if for no other reason than most people can?t do very many, if any at all. I split my pull-ups into two days, similar to benching, where I have a max effort day and a rep method day. I used to do the weighted pull-ups on the same day as my heavy benching, but this was just too tiring, so I reversed the days.

For the various grips, right now I will do a couple sets on each side of uneven chins, where one hand is holding the bar while the other is holding a towel hanging below the bar. I hold the towel as low as possible, since I am trying to work toward a 1-arm chin. After the unevens, I will do three sets of subscapularis pull-ups–do a regular pull-up, then at the top, push yourself back from the bar and control the negative. I will then finish off three sets of regular medium-grip pull-ups, mixing in some towel chins occasionally for grip work.

Most of the exercises I use can be found by searching T-Nation, except for the Cobra. I found this one years ago during my misspent youth, reading muscle magazines. The cobra is like a reverse cable crossover. You grab the cable handles with opposite hands, so that your arms are crossed over your chest. Then, keeping the back flat or slightly arched, you pull your arms across and out, slightly extending your elbows at the same time. You should end up with your arms still partially bent, extended out and a little behind you, squeezing your shoulder blades for a second before controlling the weight back down. I like this one for the upper back, it really hits all those little muscles.

Abs and core work consists of a couple favorites. Obviously, heavy squatting works your core pretty damn well, I just add these in the hopes of avoiding a strength imbalance. I usually group together certain exercises on certain days.
One day will consist of stability ball crunches holding a heavy dumbbell on my chest, supersetted with hanging leg raises for 3 x 10, followed by cable side chops for 3 x 10. Another day would be pyramiding situps to ten and back, trying to improve total time; I would follow this up with the three position plank series for time.

The Plank: You start out prone, supporting yourself on your toes and your forearms, with your elbows directly under your shoulders. You want to keep your butt down, back flat and slightly rounded by really contracting your abs. The next position would be to rotate onto your side(either one), supporting on the side of your lower foot and your lower forearm, again keeping your elbow directly under your shoulder. You should keep your body as straight as a board(no sagging hips), hence the name ?plank?. Follow this with the other side. I usually hold each position for one minute, and finish up with the front plank again, for a total of four minutes. Another progression would be(on the front plank) to alternate holding one leg or the other in the air for 10-15 seconds at a time.

The third day would be just bulk-ups. These start out as hanging knee raises, but turn into something far more evil and painful. Hanging from a bar(a squat rack works well), curl your legs up to your torso. As they come up, roll your body back, and continue accelerating your feet up until you unfold and kick your feet straight up toward the ceiling. As you come down, control and reverse the movement until you are at the bottom. Try to do it smooth and controlled, to avoid any swinging. I usually do 2-3 x 8, and get a lot of weird looks in the process. These suck.

3

Smolov Squat Specialization

This was first printed in Powerlifting USA, back in 2001.  It was brought to us by Pavel, and the original article is full of little Russian words he likes to use to make it sound more special.  For space considerations, I am paraphrasing.

The Smolov is broken up into four mesocycles, and one tapering period; Introductory, Base, Switching, and Intense, followed by the taper.  The Introductory cycle is two weeks, and is intended for those who either haven?t squatted in a while, or don?t use much volume.  The first week you will squat three days in a row:

Day 1 65%x3x8, 70%x5, 75%x2x2, 80%x1
Day 2 65%x3x8, 70%x5, 75%x2x2, 80%x1
Day 3 70%x5x4, 75%x3, 80%x2x2, 90%x1

The remainder of that week should be spent doing lunges with emphasis on stretching the thighs. There are no loading parameters indicated, so do your own thing. I had been squatting regularly already, so I skipped this.

The second week of the introductory cycle, you should squat every other day in the 80-85% range, working up to one set of five before that week is over.  The article mentions doing explosive work during the intro period, but again puts forth no recommendations for loading, exercises, etc.

The base cycle looks like this:

	Day 1,		Day 3,		Day 5,		Day 6

Week 1 70% 4 x 9, 75% 5 x 7, 80% 7 x 5, 85% 10 x 3
Week 2(same routine, but add 20 pounds to every day)
Week 3(same as week 1, but add 30 pounds)
Week 4 rest rest work up to near max single(Days 5 & 6)

During this cycle, you should be squatting at a medium pace, not using too much acceleration, and not doing any speed work. The near max singles at the end of this cycle should net you a new 1RM.

This leads into the two week ?switching? period. During this period, the only squatting you should do is negatives, once or twice a week. Replace the squatting with explosive and dynamic work, such as box squats, squat jumps, leg presses with plenty of acceleration, etc. Basically anything you can think of which is explosive for the legs. This is supposed to be a rest and recovery period for your entire body, as well as a time to reintroduce the speed back in.

The third section is the Intense cycle. This will separate the men from the boys, and is good for up to another 30-40 pounds on your squat. When you start this phase, you will throw away your old 1RM, and use the new one you attained at the end of the Base cycle to plug in for all the loads.

Intense cycle:

Week 1
Monday 65% x 3 75% x 4 85% 3 x 4 85% x 5
Wednesday 60% x 3 70% x 3 80% x 4 90% x 3, 85% 2 x 5
Saturday 65% x 4 70% x 4 80% 5 x 4

Week 2
Monday 60% x 4 70% x 4 80% x 4 90% x 3, 90% 2 x 4
Wednesday 65% x 3 75% x 3 85% x 3 90% 3 x 3, 95% x 3
Saturday 65% x 3 75% x 3 85% x 4 90% 4 x 5

Week 3
Monday 60% x 3 70% x 3 80% x 3 90% 5 x 5
Wednesday 60% x 3 70% x 3 80% x 3 95% 2 x 3
Saturday 65% x 3 75% x 3 85% x 3 95% 4 x 3

Week 4
Monday 70% x 3 80% x 4 90% 5 x 5
Wednesday 70% x 3 80% x 3 95% 4 x 3
Saturday 75% x 3 90% x 4 80% 3 x 4

Once you have finished this cycle, you will taper down as if for a competition.  This taper has you peaking for a Sunday max test.

Monday 70% x 3, 80% x 3, 90% 2 x 5, 95% 3 x 4
Tuesday rest
Wednesday 75% x 4, 85% 4 x 4
Thursday rest
Friday rest
Saturday rest
Sunday work up to new 1RM

The article states that a gain of up to one hundred pounds is possible on your squat, but I figure sixty to seventy is more realistic.  Then again, the article also has you training raw, but testing(actually competing) in a full suit.


So this is my routine for the next eleven weeks.  I started the Smolov with an estimated 1RM of 375, which in retrospect may have been a little conservative.  I set my goal for squat at 450, which is lofty but attainable.

Before I started the 1-6, I was using 265 for eight heavy singles.  So I used that same weight for my first wave, just for a comfortable starting off point.  Since the Smolov runs eleven weeks, I set a bench goal of 375, for the same week as my squat goal.  I have benched 300 a couple of times in the past, but something always came up to keep me from going farther or maintaining that level.  I did get 315 once, but the guy spotting me was a member of the Two-Man Bench/Deadlift Team, so I don?t really count that one.

To avoid pushing too far with the 1-6, I will follow the recommendation of three weeks hard, followed by backing off for a week.  On my backoff week, I plan to drop about twenty pounds below my most recent PR, and do 5 x 2.  40-Rep will stay the same.
4

Update 1

I started the 1-6 before I found the Smolov, so this is going to throw off the week numbers.  Since I did 1-6 for three weeks before starting Smolov, I?ll note what week of Smolov I am on when the time comes.

A little more background: I fought an amateur MMA fight in August?my fourth fight, and my first win(thank you, your too kind, really). I busted my ass getting ready for that fight, following the old Gotch quote, ?Conditioning is the best submission hold.?

After winning that fight on a Saturday, I started a  two-week Navy-required leadership course, which screwed up my schedule to where it was easier not to lift.  I normally lift in the mornings, since we are given two hours of PT time every day.  This course, however, did not allow for that.  I could have hit the gym in the evenings, but in preparing for the fight I had sacrificed a lot of time away from my family, including our four-week old son.  So like I said, it was easier to rest for two weeks.  Which drove me near batty at first, but then became something of a habit.

After the leadership course, I went on two weeks of pre-deployment leave, and again did no exercise of any kind.  Returning from leave, we began packing our gear to leave on deployment in October, so it once again became easier to skip PT and get the work done.

That?s how habits form.  Suddenly I?m sitting in Rota, Spain waiting for a plane, and realized I haven?t trained at this point for about five weeks.  We finally get to our destination, and I jumped back into my old routine with a vengeance.  I found I hadn?t lost too much strength, but wasn?t where I wanted to be.

I did this for about two weeks, then decided to try out AGVT.  I made it through most of the first week, and decided I didn?t like it.  It didn?t seem to be too hard or anything.  I just like lifting near my max, which AGVT didn?t allow for.  Plus, I wanted to get stronger more than I wanted to get bigger, and the latter usually follows the former.  The following week was when I started the 1-6.

Week One
The great thing about 1-6, is you see results the very first time you do it. Since I had been using 265 for my 8 x 1(was stuck around that weight for a while), I used that for my first wave, dropping back to 225 for the six. The workout looked like this:

265 x 1 ? 225 x 6 ? 270 x 1 ? 230 x 6 ? 275 x 1 ? 235 x 6 ? 280 x 1 ? 240 x 6

Added 15 pounds in one session, not too shabby.  The problem with 1-6 is it takes FOREVER.  You have to rest for 4-10 minutes to get the CNS benefit.  I use 4 to 4.5 minutes, and it still takes about 45 minutes, if you include the warmup.  But still, I definitely think it?s worth it.

At the end of the week, the 40-Rep routine went like this: 185 x 19, 12, 9.  Two minute rest periods work good, I don?t think I could sit there much longer.  I didn?t weight myself this week, since we hadn?t found the scale on base yet(they were hiding it at the medical clinic).

Week Two
Found the scale and weighed myself on Sunday. After subtracting clothes, I came in at 202.

Here?s the test for 1-6: will the gains continue a week later, or am I starting over? I warmed up, then went straight to 280 for my first set.

280 x 1 ? 240 x 6 -285 x 1 ? 245 x 6 ? 290 x 1 ? 250 x 6 ? 295 x 1 ? 255 x 5

So the strength gains stay week to week.  Cool.  Felt a little weak on the last set of six, so -since I don?t use a spotter most of the time- I stopped after five.  Still, it?s a great feeling to have your bench go up that fast. Another 15 pounds!

40-Rep looked like this:  185 x 20, 12, 8.  Since I hit twenty reps on the first set, and my 1RM seemed to be climbing, I decided to bump up to 205(my bodyweight) the following week.

Week Three

Back-off week.  I did 275 for five sets of two.  Just to illustrate how fast this is working, I was doing 275 for 5 x 2 the last couple weeks before the fight, and couldn?t have done it before I started the 1-6.  Using my previous bench routine, it would have taken me a good six weeks to get to where three weeks of this got me.

40-Rep:  205 x 17, 13, 10.  This is working out good.

This was the week I found the Smolov routine.  I?m not a real patient person, and I wanted to get started as soon as possible.  So instead of testing my 1RM and then doing the intro, I estimated my max and jumped into week two of the intro.  Squatted three days this week, working up to three sets of five at my 85% level.  The next week would start the Real Work.

Weighed myself on Friday, after subtracting clothes I weighed 206.  Gaining weight already, and I haven?t even started the Smolov yet.
5

Nice job. Great to see someone is training while on deployement.

6

looks like you did some good research. good luck with the program im sure it will work out well

7

well, like I said, we’re really not doing much else. Camp Patriot has a pretty good gym, only a couple things I would like to have there that they don’t have.

It’s pretty easy to do research with this website. There’s all kinds of stuff on here.

I’ll throw another couple updates on here soon, since I am currently in week 6.

8

Dude - you are insane.

I guess this is the first time you perform smolov.

Adding extra work to this routine is not in my opinion the smartest thing to do.

Bench when you have the extra energy and a few deadlift singles, that would be all.

I am sure you can finish this off - but it is extremely brutal. You could easily be overtrained by this volume.

By the end of the base mesocycle you should be pretty beat up.

I have done smolov twice myself, and i have got some valuable experiences from it.

If done properly, you won’t feel like doing a lot of anything else.

If you are not accustomed to squatting many times a week, or doing high volume routines, I suggest that you back off the volume. You won’t lose any strength or mass by just squatting. If you are afraid you will, put in a few upper body exercises, like bench and chins here and there.

First time around smolov increased my squat from 172.5kg to 200kg, second time it increased my squat from 210kg to 240kg.

I have not read everything you wrote carefully, so forgive me if i come forward as arrogant, but I consider me highly conditioned and i am no slacker in the gym. And smolov is brutal.

It is the hardest program that I do. But it really works wonders. I’d probably increase my squat a lot more if i were juicing, but as it is, i have taken a stand to never use any ilegal substances.

I might never be the strongest or biggest man around. But my strength is natural, and my integrity is preserved. Do not take this as an attack on you. I hope that you stay away from unnatural means of achiving strength.

Those who select to cheat, know they are cheating and it is their choice. I do not want to hijack the thread or start a discussion about drugs. I just wanted to point it out.

Be sure to eat hell of a lot of food. I did, and my bodyweight went from about 83kg to 95kg during the smolow cycle. I ate like a hero, and also used creatine/ribose combo, so got some water retention as well. Also some more fat on my abs. But who cares, i got a new 1rm squat!

SMOLOV IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF SQUAT ROUTINES - AND ONLY A WARRIOR CAN DO IT RIGHT!

Here is a poem about the squat - not by me!

As I approached the throne of the great God Squat
My legs began to tremble and my face grew hot
I knew he was a difficult God to please
And that before him all must bend their knees

I quivered and I shook as I stood before the throne
For by his mighty power many weak legs had grown
His penetrating gaze was almost more than I could bear
So I bowed my head in a brief and silent prayer

The bar in his hands held many a blackened plate
Poised as if to crush me with their awesome weight
Slowly I approached as if this act would be my last
In my head I saw visions of memories from the past

As scenes from my life flashed within my mind
I realized that this God was neither benevolent nor kind
His purpose was to torture and inflict terrible pain
His excuse was that without these, there would be no gain

As the great God Squat placed the bar upon my back
My muscles began to twitch and my joints began to crack
“Bow down before me!” he screamed inside my head
As he laid his hand upon me I wished that I was dead

I screamed and cursed and pushed with all my might
Until my heart was pounding and my face turned white
My head was throbbing as stars burst inside my skull
My vision gew dimmer and my senses began to dull

No longer could I stand to bear this evil abuse
As slippery with sweat my grip began to loose
The bar refused to budge no matter how I tried
As I plunged to the depths and in agony I cried

As I staggered away from within his clutching grasp
My head was reeling and my breath came in a gasp
The heaving of my stomach could no longer be restrained
As I spewed upon the ground the contents that remained

Little did I realize that he hadn’t finished with me yet
As I gazed into his eyes he beckoned me for another set
It was there upon the floor that I knew at once within
That never again would I be able to live a life of sin

i also have a link to a forum on a russian powerlifting site in english which discusses smolov in greater detail. pm me for a link

9

Your right, it is my first time with Smolov.

It does look like a lot on paper, but trust me, I have a very non-physical job right now. The most physical part of it after PT(which thankfully is considered part of my job), is standing still on a boat for a couple hours underway. And that’s only once or twice a week, tops.

I go to bed about 10(if my rommmate’s not watching a movie), get up between 630 and 7, eat 3 decent solid meals, drink an MRP after training, drink some whey protein in the afternoon, snack on peanuts at night, and drink some casein before bed.

I’ve gained weight since I’ve been here, gone from 202 the first time I weighed to 212 yesterday with clothes. Ten pounds in 4-5 weeks? Not bad.

I’ve been able to increase the weights on just about every lift, and where I don’t increase weight I increase reps. Today I did 10 x 5 pullups with 60lbs. A couple weeks ago I was pulling with 50.

I hear what your saying about overtraining, but I’m not feeling it. I seem to have a good resistance to volume, from past experience(and current). Like I said above, I may have estimated my 1RM a little lower than it actually was. But the weights I am squatting this week have been brutal. I actually saw stars at the end of Tuesday’s session.

My plan is Napoleon’s plan. It’s a two part plan:
First we show up;
Then we see what happens.

Thanks for your input. Thought I would have gotten a bigger response to this.

10

[quote]boatguy wrote:
Thought I would have gotten a bigger response to this.[/quote]

I’m just sitting here and reading without responding. I’m a powerlifter and mainly on a westside hybrid program of my own but all this info is really interesting.

11

Man please send me that russian powerlifting site that goes into smolov in more detail.

Thanks.

12

well i wish you best of luck. and with a good eating plan it is possible to achive great things. seems like you get a lot of sleep as well. i hope you do well!!!

stay strong and train hard as hell!

if you did not feel “dead” by the end of the base meso cycle - you have underestimated your 1rm.

however i salute your efforts. if only everyone were just as tough. most gym rats are just lazy slobs curling. :wink: only a select few knows what it takes. :wink:

it seems like you are on of them. :wink:

13

You are pushing 'til the cows come home with not enough pulling, imo.

Overtraining is almost a guarantee, but not to be avoided if you can finish.

Good luck on some great ideas.

Rolo.

14

Mastermind

Pushing versus pulling what? Do you mean upper body, or squat versus dead? I cut out deads due to the beating my lower back was taking.

As far as upper body, I figured up my horizontal rowing versus pressing, and the total volume is pretty close, if not actually skewed more toward rowing. Shoulders feel great, and I make sure to do cuff prehab regularly.

Week 4(Week 1 Smolov)
Did the Navy?s semi-annual PRT on Sunday morning, which is my lifting day one. The PRT consists of pushups and sit-ups to failure in two minutes each, followed by a 1.5 mile run for time. I was worried that would affect my benching, but pushed hard anyway. I was also curious where I would stand after the back off week, since I?ve never really followed that protocol before. The workout went like this:
285 x 1 ? 245 x 6 ? 295 x 1 ? 255 x 6 - 300 x 1 ? 260 x 6 ? 305 x 1

Obviously fifty-five pushups had no effect on my bench.  I did wait till that afternoon to lift, so that obviously helped.  I started a little low, since I wasn?t sure how I would feel.  After the first rep seemed to fly up, I added ten pounds instead of five for the next wave.  This put me where I should have been, and I set a new PR that day at 305.

I also cut off the last set of six, due to time. It was just taking too damn long, and I did my entire day 1 in one session, minus the energy work since I had already run that morning.

40-Rep:  205 x 19, 12, 9.  Looks like my 185 rep numbers from a couple weeks ago.  Sweet.
Smolov for this week wasn?t too bad.  Day 1 ? 4 sets of 9 at 265; Day 3 ? 5 sets of 7 at 280; Day 5 ? 7 sets of 5 at 300; Day 6 ? 10 sets of 3 at 320.

The last few sets of three started to suck pretty good. I finally started getting sore, something I have not felt in quite some time. When you?ve been training as long as I have(12+ years, the last 6 heavy), soreness seems to stop. Or maybe that?s just me, who knows.

The soreness isn?t too bad yet, but it seems to be a harbinger of what?s to come.  This is going to suck.  But like one of my instructors in Coronado said, ?You knew it was gonna suck.  Get comfortable with the suck; roll around in it.?

Also didn?t weigh in at all this week.

Week 5(Smolov Week 2)
Weighed in Monday(Day 2 of my routine), weighed 207 with clothes and shoes, so about 204. Then weighed in Wednesday dressed the same, at 209, and 211 on Friday. So I am probably about 208 naked, which is the heaviest I have ever been natural. Hell, on a heavy 5 week cycle of Deca and Sust, I only got to 209.

1-6 felt good this week.  My wife sent me some CDs I had left at home, so I put them on my iPod  and was finally able to rock out appropriately while lifting(Drowning Pool, Hatebreed, Mudvayne, Scars of Life, etc.).  1-6 went like this:

300 x 1 ? 260 x 6 ? 305 x 1 ? 265 x 6 ? 310 x 1 ? 270 x 6 ? 315 x 1
Set two milestones today, one of them a new PR!  This system rocks!  The other milestone is hitting 270 for 6 reps.  Just two weeks ago(back off week), I was doing five doubles with 275.  Now five pounds below that is my 6RM.  Finally got three plates, and I didn?t even need a Deadlift/Bench Team member to help me.  That?s been a goal of mine for a long time.  Now let?s see where else it takes me?

40-Rep Bench:  Backslid a bit this week; 205 x 17,12,11.  Not sure what that was from?
Smolov got a little tougher this week.  All the squat sessions were the same set-rep scheme, but added 20 pounds each session.
Day 1 - 285 4 x 9;  Day 3 ? 300 5 x 7;  Day 5 ? 320 7 x 5;  Day 6 ? 340  10 x 3.

Day 6 was pretty hard toward the end, had to dig down a little.  Started taking Spike at the end of last week, and took it up through Thursday of this week before stopping for Friday and Saturday.  That may explain the drive problems on Friday.

Week 6(Smolov Week 3)
Started Spike back up on Sunday(lifting Day One), but still fell short of my goal of 325 on bench. Will take Spike continuous from now on, and see if that makes a difference.

1-6 felt like shit:  310 x 1, 270 x 6, 315 x 1, 275 x 6*, 320 x 1, 280 x 5, missed 325.
*-Spotter gave a little assistance on rep six.  Missed 325, but still made some progress.
Weighed 211 on Monday with clothes and shoes on, so right about 209 I guess.

Smolov is getting harder, but still feeling good.  Same sets-reps, but added another 10 pounds to last weeks totals.
Day 1 ? 295 4 x 9; Day 3 ? 310 5 x 7; Day 5 ? 330 7 x 5; Day 6 ? 350 10 x 3.

Day 6 was pretty tough, but pushed through pretty good. Played goalie in an indoor soccer tournament that night, and still felt great.
40-Rep Bench: Pushed back to where I was two weeks ago: 205 x 19, 12, 9. Not sure what the deal was there. Tried a new trick(new for me at least) this week, went to near-failure on bench, racked the bar, waited a few seconds, then unracked and squeezed out another two reps to get the 19 and the 12(might have been 13, don?t remember so erred on the lower side).

Staying on Spike pretty much continuous now, as long as my wife keeps me in supply from stateside.  Next week will be my back-off week.  Previously I have dropped twenty pounds from my max for the doubles, but will go 25 this week to 295.  Next week is also max-out week for the base cycle, which is coming to an end.

Finished the week weighing 211 with clothes on.
Also, on other lifts, I?ve pushed my weighted dip up from 115 in week 1 to 135 this week, and weighted pull-ups have gone from 50lbs up to 60lbs.
15

Your doing:

Day One:
Push: 12 high intensity (HI) sets, 9 medium (MI) sets, total of 21 sets
Pull: 10 MI sets

Day Three:
Push: 8 HI sets
Pull: 5 MI sets

Day Five:
Push: 3 MI sets, 1 LI set
Pull: 10 MI sets

Summary: Pushing 33 sets for 162 reps, Pulling 25 sets for 75 reps plus your pull-ups to failure… maybe 50ish? So probably 125 reps. Also, your pushing is much more intense. This is an imbalance.

Good luck, I’m sure you’ll do great.
Rolo.

16

I was only counting horizontal Rowing versus hor. pushing, ie rows and bench. Didn’t factor in all the other stuff.

Also edited in a change I made a couple weeks ago to address the imbalance(which I was fearing at the time), I had added in 3 x 5 seated cable rows after the T-Bar on Day 3. Granted, only makes up 15 reps, but gets it closer.

17

BUMP

18

how goes training ?

19

Week 7(Smolov Week 4)

This was supposed to be my backoff week, so I dropped down to 295 and planned to do 5 x 2 on bench. However, I played goalie in a soccer tournament two nights in a row, and then benched the morning after the second game. Apparently when I throw hard(most of the legnth of a basketball court with a soccer ball), I pull with my right pec a lot. When I started benching Sunday morning, I felt some soreness, but pressed on anyway. When I got up to 295 for my work sets, however, that soreness turned to weakness on the right side. Instead of dropping some more weight(hindsight is always 20/20), I tried to gut through it. On my 4th set, I used terrible form to get the second rep(I should know better by now), and aggravated an old rotator injury which has been healthy for over a year. So I dropped all pressing from my routine for this week, but still did most of the pulling exercises as well as the rotator cuff moves I had already been doing. Started Motrin a few days later(800mg 3x day), and will stay off it for another week or two.

This was peaking week of the base cycle for Smolov, so I only squatted yesterday and today for a max. Got 435 yesterday(followed by a 1.5 mile run which I was forced to do-11:00), and squeezed out 445 today. This leads me to believe that my estimated 1RM of 375 which I started with was VERY conservative, should have been closer to 405 most likely.

The next two weeks are ‘switching’ weeks for Smolov, which means speed work-box squats at 60-70%, squat jumps and other plyometrics, and heavy negative squats 1-2x per week. I was planning on adding back in DB snatches(which I enjoy and used to do before this), but with the shoulder, probably won’t. I am thinking of using the full two weeks to lay off benching as rehab, and then reassess after that when I start the intense Smolov cycle.

Still don’t think I was overtraining at all, but these two weeks will allow me to recuperate properly.

20

[quote]boatguy wrote:
The problem is, if your not careful, sometimes the hooks catch, disrupting your flow and making a ton of racket.

Try attaching a mini band around the hook and fasten it around the back of the smith rack and hook it to a plate peg that holds the plates. If there is no peg then choke it around the side of the rack. This has worked well as I have used this to perform AMT drops with the smith machine.