Shiny Umbreon's Smolov Attempt

[Hajiroku]

I was growing rather bored with my powerlifting routine and I decided to attempt the Smolov Routine. I know this isn't something one haphazardly picks up out of boredom, but I wanted a challenge.

Last time I checked my stats were
Body Weight: 160 (checked this morning)
Low Bar Squat: 405 Paused.
Bench: 230 Paused
Conventional Deadlift: 440
Overhead Press: 170

As a smaller guy I don't expect a huge increase in my squat by doing Smolov. I honestly just want to see how far I can get.

Anyways, I decided to attempt Smolov Squat and Bench. I know I'll get flamed for that last sentence I wrote, but my recovery is fairly fast. If I find that I can't keep up with both I'll gladly drop Smolov bench in favor of Smolov Squat. Furthermore, since it's my first time attempting this I used 405 (squat) and 225 (bench) as the base for the routine. Many people suggested going slightly lower than the last 1RM you pulled off so that you don't start to miss reps.

All that being said I know this is going to be one hell of a challenge and I'm looking forward to it.
Here's a video of today's workout:
http://youtu.be/0USO8Lek81E

Feel free to ask questions or offer advice/criticism.

The only thing I ask is that it's all constructive. We're all here to learn and become the strongest baddest lifter we can be.

 

[Jakethaniel]

I would strongly advise you to pick one or the other to run smolov for then after it do the same for the other.

What you could do is Smolov for squat first:

m Smolov
t Heavy Bench Singles +accessory work
w Smolov
t Bench for sets of 5 +accessory work
f Smolov
s Smolov
s Light Bench singles

The after that Smolov for bench

m Smolov+accessory work
t Heavy Squat Singles
w Smolov +accessory work
t Squats for sets of 5
f Smolov
s Smolov +accessory work
s Light Squat singles

If you were going to do the intense phase do the same, but there would be a real rest day.

If you are set on it go for it, but I have tried the same experiment and it does not work out for most. Yes, it is possible you could make gains for both, but the gains are a lot better when done separately.

 

[Hajiroku]

I would strongly advise you to pick one or the other to run smolov for then after it do the same for the other. What you could do is Smolov for squat first: m Smolov t Heavy Bench Singles +accessory work w Smolov t Bench for sets of 5 +accessory work f Smolov s Smolov s Light Bench singles The after that Smolov for bench m Smolov+accessory work t Heavy Squat Singles w Smolov +accessory work t Squats for sets of 5 f Smolov s Smolov +accessory work s Light Squat singles If you were going to do the intense phase do the same, but there would be a real rest day. If you are set on it go for it, but I have tried the same experiment and it does not work out for most. Yes, it is possible you could make gains for both, but the gains are a lot better when done separately.

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it. I'll definitely consider what you said. I'm basically playing it by feel, but I'll most likely stick with Squat for now.

 

[herderdude]

Agree with Jake. Most people have the best success when they only do the Smolov reps and nothing else. No assistance, no other exercises. One of the members here, CincyKiller45 did Smolov that way and put a lot on his squat and just as much on his deadlift even though he didn't pull once during the whole cycle. And now he pulls 6.

 

[Hajiroku]

Agree with Jake. Most people have the best success when they only do the Smolov reps and nothing else. No assistance, no other exercises. One of the members here, CincyKiller45 did Smolov that way and put a lot on his squat and just as much on his deadlift even though he didn't pull once during the whole cycle. And now he pulls 6.

Damn. That sounds amazing. I gotta admit it kills me to not deadlift since it's my favorite lift. I guess I'll just suck it up and stick with all Squats for now. Do you know what the average time frame is for someone to get back into the swing of things for their other lifts after Smolov?

 

[herderdude]

Damn. That sounds amazing. I gotta admit it kills me to not deadlift since it's my favorite lift. I guess I'll just suck it up and stick with all Squats for now. Do you know what the average time frame is for someone to get back into the swing of things for their other lifts after Smolov?

Not really sure, but from experience, when I go to a variant or subtract a piece of equipment and then come back home to it, it's usually 2-5 weeks. Depends on how locked in your form was before and how quickly you can find it again.

 

[usealittle]

Looks god other then the little high squats. I think you should move a tad faster and try to get more Consistent on the depth.

I ran it a while back and got 65lbs in 5 wks, droppin 2 lbs of body weight and adding 1500 calories ed. So as long as you gettin in enough calories you should do great.

 

[Hajiroku]

Looks god other then the little high squats. I think you should move a tad faster and try to get more Consistent on the depth. I ran it a while back and got 65lbs in 5 wks, droppin 2 lbs of body weight and adding 1500 calories ed. So as long as you gettin in enough calories you should do great.

Thanks for the feed back. I didn't post a video today, but I was more mindful of my depth. Ah, squatting quickly (or at a constant pace) has always been difficult for me. I'll try to work on that.

 

[usealittle]

i dont mean like a rhythm, just come up like your trying to get somewhere.... looks to me like there is no urgency for you to stand up... the faster you stand back up the less effort the rep takes. slow mo makes you have to work harder, smolov is hard enough.

 

[Hajiroku]

i dont mean like a rhythm, just come up like your trying to get somewhere.... looks to me like there is no urgency for you to stand up... the faster you stand back up the less effort the rep takes. slow mo makes you have to work harder, smolov is hard enough.

Ah, okay. I've received comments about my pacing before so I thought that's what you meant. I'll keep your advice in mind and try to be more explosive from the bottom next week.

 

[Jakethaniel]

Ah, okay. I've received comments about my pacing before so I thought that's what you meant. I'll keep your advice in mind and try to be more explosive from the bottom next week.

Something I have tried recently which I think is great for power out of the hole, as well as building the squat all together, is heavy jump squats. You could give them a try after the smolov base if you want. For a week or 2 I completely replaced my squatting with them and I came back to regular squats stronger and more explosive.

Here is a article on them in the form that I am talking about, but I will warn you the article is NSFW.
Edit: The link did not work, so I will PM you it.