DSSG wrote:
Aragorn, I tried sending you a private message, but I don't think it worked... How much of your deadlift increase did you keep/roughly how much weight did you gain?
Hey buddy, I didnt see any PM in my box so i'm guessing it didnt go thru. I kept practically all the weight on my DL, after allowing a week or two for my body to recover afterwards lol. As far as weight gain, I don't remember becaise it was a long time ago (a few years), and I only cared about my numbers on the bar but it wasn't crazy.
Join date: Dec 2010
Location: Florida, USA
Posts: 760
Hey ya'll I have a thread over on the over 35 forum section to the tune of '13 Weeks of Smolov Hybrid Hell' if anyone is interested.
@BigRedMachine87-I think your goals look great and it's really good to see someone not using any gear. I do use a belt to squat heavy most of the time but recently did parallel box squats with 460lbs x 12sets x 2reps on the last day of the switching cycle on Smolov using no belt and the weight felt good. I might start doing more heavy rep work with no belt. Good to see others working Smolov magic.
Join date: Nov 2010
Location: Tennessee, USA
Posts: 328
Thanks for the posts everyone. Finished up the second week of the base. Back feels better. Knee still hurts a little. I actually couldn't find where. I mean I pushed around, didn't find any tender spot. I did notice a creek feeling when i moved my leg side to side with my hand over my knee. But it's not bad. Other than that I feel good. About as good as I could have hoped. I will be moving up weight for the third week.
I'm not sure how I'm going to go about my max do for my new numbers. I'll give it some thought. I don't know if I'm just going to pick a number and just go for it, or go conservative with it a do a couple of sets. And when I get my new max, I don't even know what number to use.
My max before this was 425 and I used 400 and I couldn't even move up week to week like I was supposed to, so I probably would have died if I used my true max. I don't know, some stuff to think on.
halcj wrote:
Hi
I am doing Smolov at the moment, final day of base tomorrow with 10x3 of 137.5kg. I began with 140kg max, but put 145kg into the calculator (mad? not sure); I have not missed any reps, and have to say I feel great. Also running Smolov Jr Bench in the PM with 105kg max.
I was thinking of doing a moderate session at the start of the taper week, then resting three days before testing my max. BTW I have been training beltless, and started with a beltless max, what does anyone think about testing with a belt and then running the intense mesocycle belted? Good idea? I appreciate the input.
EDIT - in the future, I'd probably just start a new thread.
If you're going to use the belt, make sure you use it at the start of the taper week, then go right ahead and put it on when you max man, shouldn't hurt.
Definitely run the mesocycle belted, it's not necessay, but go for it.
My max before this was 425 and I used 400 and I couldn't even move up week to week like I was supposed to, so I probably would have died if I used my true max. I don't know, some stuff to think on.
I know a lot of people who had a similar problem, and I think a lot of it might be due to not being used to the frequency of 3-4x weekly squatting before starting Smolov, like they recommend you have. If the recovery capacities aren't there to start with, it's hard to do the planned workload. Not saying this is your particular problem, but it's true of a lot of people. Also mobility comes into play since the original recipients of the Smolov cycle were oly lifters who stretched and mobilized religiously. Not many people have the same hip, knee, ankle, t-spine mobility of a serious O lifter. I know my brother is used to 4x weekly squatting in the 5x5 rep scheme as part of his oly lifting coach, so he probably would not have as much of an issue as most people because he's already used to extremely frequent volume. But the bottom line is, it's freaking hard regardless and sometimes you just have to do what you can lol.
FWIW, I think you should not have a specific number in mind, just max hard at the end of the base, but do it with clean technique even if you do grind it up some (i.e.: don't count a rep that was "broken" even if you did get the lift eventually).
I think the intense phase is a lot easier with a base of volume like you are going through now. I'd use your actual max number, or something close to it. If you have a "clean" max, it means you will probably be able to use the number.
Join date: Nov 2010
Location: Tennessee, USA
Posts: 328
I'm almost done with the base. Friday and saturday, then next week I'm done with that part.
I'm really exhausted and it seems like it gets easier from here. I haven't been able to use the foam roller the last two times, which sucks, I miss it.
Should be able to friday. My back cracks every time I use it. Is that a problem? It feels great, but I mean people have always told me it's bad to crack your knuckles, so isn't that about the same thing?
And with the max, I still haven't decided on what to try. I think I hit 425 in September, and trained some on my own stuff before smolov. So....I was thinking like 440? 445? 450 lol....I don't know. 440? How much did you guys go up from the start to first max test.
Join date: Oct 2012
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Posts: 39
BigRedMachine87 wrote:
So....I was thinking like 440? 445? 450 lol....I don't know. 440? How much did you guys go up from the start to first max test.
I ran Smolov for the first time when I was still pretty new to squatting, and the base/intro took me from 355 to 425, and the switching/intense took me from there to 450. I think I had some really easy gains in me because I was just getting started, though, so take those numbers with a big grain of salt. I was at a bodyweight of around 245lbs at the time; the full 13 weeks almost caught my squat up to my bench (embarrassing to admit...lol).
Join date: May 2012
Location: Delaware, USA
Posts: 1279
BigRedMachine87 wrote:
I'm almost done with the base. Friday and saturday, then next week I'm done with that part.
I'm really exhausted and it seems like it gets easier from here. I haven't been able to use the foam roller the last two times, which sucks, I miss it.
Should be able to friday. My back cracks every time I use it. Is that a problem? It feels great, but I mean people have always told me it's bad to crack your knuckles, so isn't that about the same thing?
And with the max, I still haven't decided on what to try. I think I hit 425 in September, and trained some on my own stuff before smolov. So....I was thinking like 440? 445? 450 lol....I don't know. 440? How much did you guys go up from the start to first max test.
Good luck on the last couple of days... I'm starting it for deadlifts and had once nearly finished it for squats but injured slightly before it would of finished... As far as maxing, probably just hit your old max and go upward in weight until you have hit a new one. Aragorn seems to be recommending you to hit a max on whatever you can do with good form so it would be best to stop when you look like you're attempting a max effort squat morning.
Join date: Nov 2010
Location: Tennessee, USA
Posts: 328
I'm going to go for 450. I'm not really into that get close and work up. Why would I waste energy on 425? All or nothing. The site I got the spread sheet from said I should have gained 30-60 pounds on my max at this point. I'm only moving up 25 pounds. So I'm under the lowest that site says.
And smolov for dead lift sounds insane. I wouldn't do it.
Join date: May 2012
Location: Delaware, USA
Posts: 1279
BigRedMachine87 wrote:
I'm going to go for 450. I'm not really into that get close and work up. Why would I waste energy on 425? All or nothing. The site I got the spread sheet from said I should have gained 30-60 pounds on my max at this point. I'm only moving up 25 pounds. So I'm under the lowest that site says.
And smolov for dead lift sounds insane. I wouldn't do it.
There's been some people here who have done either the full smolov, base, or intense for the deadlift with results. I am doing a sumo deadlift so less of the work/stress is on the back. I'll be eating a large amount and sleep 10+ hours a night so I think I can do it as long as I keep my recovery up along with no form issues.
For switching I do explosive work. I go for a mixture power/ hang cleans, sprinting, box jumps and 60 - 70% squats for low reps/ high sets. I do some of the above everyday.
It also says to do heavy negatives with 110% of my working max, which I'd do 2-3 times over the 14 days, but i only have free weights in my home gym so it's a pain in the arse to have to keep taking plates off to re rack. If you have access to some big ass chains I think you'd get more out of negatives, (with plates it's either too light at the top or too heavy in the hole).
Edit: And you may worry that you're wasting time/ losing gains while you do what seems like nothing, but try to ignore those doubts, and best of luck.
