Getting Weaker

[quote]DanProsser wrote:

[quote]mertdawg wrote:

[quote]jais wrote:

This I don’t understand. You ran a super advanced routine that you need to have everything dialed in to make progress on; diet, sleep, mind, etc, and experienced awesome gains, but you switch to a basic 5-3-1 template and everything goes to hell? Doesn’t add up.

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Dude…

I don’t agree with this part. Sheiko can be complicated, but don’t most weak beginners do well by benching 3 times a weak with moderate weights? I don’t think Sheiko is necessarily advanced at least regarding the bench press. I think it is pretty simple:Train frequently at an effective dose and intensity. Almost all of my bench press improvement came from 3 x per week with an occasional day off. [/quote]
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               MON	        WED	    FRI	           SAT

Sets x Reps 6 x 6 7 x 5 8 x 4 10 x 3
Week 1 70% 1RM 75% 1RM 80% 1RM 85% 1RM
Week 2 70% +5kg 75% +5kg 80% +5kg 85% +5kg
Week 3 70% + 10kg 75% +10kg 80% +10kg 85% +10kg
Week 4 REST Test Max

This is almost exactly how I trained the bench to go from 170 to 360 in 18 months, and this was after 3 years of being stuck at 170. It is simple, basic (really just 1 exercise), and if you use a max of 90% for training, which is the definition of 100% in Russian training literature it is not heavy. You get used to it. The volume builds the strength, and every rep is doable without queston. I never made my bench press go up by benching 2 or fewer times a week. On this program you don’t have to worry about making your top set count. And if you don’t run the squat simultaneously it is a very specialized, and not systematically taxing routine. The reason I couldn’t maintain it was because I got strong enough that it did become too taxing, I got sore wrists and neck. I just never understood calling Smolov Jr. an advanced routine. For 5-3-1 to work for me, everything has to be dialed in. For Smolov Jr. Bench to work, all I have to do is show up and not leave until its done, and not follow a cutting diet while I’m doing it.

Man I don’t know why I ever let myself try Westside or 5-3-1 or anything else on the bench press. (Not that they don’t work, but given my improvement I had no real reason to change what I was doing). I gained 10 pounds a month on Smolov for a year and a half (while ignoring the squat granted) and it never stopped. It is my definition of simple and basic.

While ignoring the squat…says it all. Run Smolov while trying to improve your squat, deadlift and press and see what happens. I don’t think the OP’s goals consisted of getting a bigger bench at the expense of everything else. Smolov JR is simply a bench specialization program. In order for it to work you have to give up progress on important lifts…like squats. It’s beyond me why one would want to get stronger on 1 lift while getting weaker overall for an extended period of time but that’s just my take on it.
The only reason that makes sense to me is training for a bench only meet but even then the other lifts can be maintained until the last few weeks.

[quote]Beara33 wrote:
While ignoring the squat…says it all. Run Smolov while trying to improve your squat, deadlift and press and see what happens. I don’t think the OP’s goals consisted of getting a bigger bench at the expense of everything else. Smolov JR is simply a bench specialization program. In order for it to work you have to give up progress on important lifts…like squats. It’s beyond me why one would want to get stronger on 1 lift while getting weaker overall for an extended period of time but that’s just my take on it.
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Well, that is why I stopped doing it. I was benching 360 and squatting 330.

OP - how are things going?