Smolov JR

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
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Hey Guys,

I have a bench press competition up at my school and wanted to increase my max (currently 325) I’m about to start smolov jr monday for my bench. I know I’m not supposed to do much else since it’s so much volume except some rows so there is no imbalance. But the thing is, intramural basketball is also starting next week as well. I was wondering if playing about 2 games of basketball a week would interfere with smolov. I was hoping if I eat and sleep enough there shouldn’t be a problem.

Thanks.

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Basketball wouldn’t be a problem I doubt… I personally think that running smolov jr for bench alone is not actually that insanely stressful if you use a realistic-slightly conservative max. You could certainly still squat if you wanted in moderation. So basketball shouldn’t be overly stressful by any stretch of the word. This is of course assuming that you are eating, sleeping, stretching, foam rolling, active recovering etc etc.

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[quote]arramzy wrote:
Basketball wouldn’t be a problem I doubt… I personally think that running smolov jr for bench alone is not actually that insanely stressful if you use a realistic-slightly conservative max. You could certainly still squat if you wanted in moderation. So basketball shouldn’t be overly stressful by any stretch of the word. This is of course assuming that you are eating, sleeping, stretching, foam rolling, active recovering etc etc.[/quote]

This.

When I ran Smolov Jr on my bench I didn’t find it super stressful. I was still able to squat and deadlift to maintain my lifts. Just be sure to get enough rest and eat everything in sight

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Im interested in how this goes. I have a similar scenario coming up, with a very similar max. so tells me how it goes. I hear to make sure you eat a lot and sleep a lot. Just curious, how big are you, cuz i hear that the lighter/smaller you are the better you recover from high volume training

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Thanks for the response guys.

@musclehamster- I’m 6’0 and weight between 195 and 200. I’m also 20 years old if that helps.

I tested my max last week and got 325 but I’m going to base the program off of 315 to be a little conservative. I start the program today I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

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did 6x6 with 220 yesterday. Pretty easy as I expected then I did 1x20 of rear delt flies with pretty light weight. Looking forward to saturday when I do 10x3 with 265

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lol… “great bar speed. great bar speed”… You want to get stronger? Pause at least the last rep of every set, if not every rep. Also your technique could be wayyyyy better. It’s not terrible, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Watch the “so you think you can bench?” videos.

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[quote]arramzy wrote:
lol… “great bar speed. great bar speed”… You want to get stronger? Pause at least the last rep of every set, if not every rep. Also your technique could be wayyyyy better. It’s not terrible, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Watch the “so you think you can bench?” videos.[/quote]

thanks man, I’ll give it a try. As far as technique, I’ve seen “so you think you can bench?”. I mean, I squeeze my shoulder blades back and down, arch my back, pull the bar apart, and push through the floor i.e leg drive. It probably looks sloppy in this video because it was a lighter weight so I was going more for speed and explosiveness.

An thing is particular you noticed with my form? Any criticism is greatly appreciated

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  1. Depending upon where you intend to compete the feet may need to be flat on the floor.
  2. You should really try to increase the tension running from your feet up towards your traps. Try to drive in the feet to increase pressure on your traps. Remember when you bench you should think about putting the weight on the traps.
  3. IMO I think that the suicide grip is a mistake. A lot of people like it but I think that if you can do thumbed grip without pain, then you can grip the bar harder and get more lat activation. Remember to rip the bar apart and really build tension in the lats.
  4. I think you should try to train a better arch and a better shoulder blade squeeze. Pull em back and down to the feet.
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I’ll give it a try thanks. With my feet though, I’m not planning on competing in a real meet, just some little contest my school is running so they dont care about foot position. I find that with the way my legs are set up in the video i get the greatest leg drive

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Finished my last day today 10x3 @300. Going to test my max again Thursday