Has anyone ever done a Smolov squat cycle?

[Kerpal]

Just read about it here: http://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?rm=mode3&articleid=80
http://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?rm=mode3&articleid=81

Looks very interesting/painful. I'm thinking about giving it a try next week. I've never done a 1RM test on squats before but a 1RM calculator says it is 320 lbs, I don't know how accurate that is though. I'd love to get it up to 360 lbs (double bodyweight) and eventually 405, just think it would be cool to be able to squat with 4 plates on a side.

I've been doing Rippetoe for a while so I'm used to higher volume, so I'd probably skip the introductory phase. Since I'm not a powerlifter I'll probably skip the taper and peaking weeks also. I'd just do the base mesocycle, the switching cycle, and then the intense mesocycle, making it a 10 week total program.

If anyone's done it or if you know anything about it, what exactly are you supposed to do during the switching phase? The article says:

A so-called 'switching' semi-mesocycle is now in order to let the body and mind recover before taking on the pre-competition cycle. With the exception of negative squats recommended once or twice a week, all lifts and exercises are now performed with maximum explosion. Series of various jumps and hops, deep squat jumps with a light barbell, etc. are on the Party approved list. So are leg presses with compensatory acceleration and similar drills. Exploding from the sticking point in the squat is another fine exercise for the switching period.

But there is no specific plan given for that 2 week period. I don't want to wind up like the guy in the 2nd article and waste a week trying to figure out what to do during the switching phase, I want to have a complete plan laid out before I start.

Also, I would do upper body stuff as well since my presses (bench and overhead) are relatively weak compared to my squat, deadlift and power clean. But will my power clean and deadlift go down a lot if I don't train them at all for 10 weeks, or will my squat going up compensate for that? Could I train power cleans and deadlifts during the switching phase?

 

[mrRuckus]

bah ignore my post

 

[Quagmire911]

Go over to stronglifts.com, he did it recently and a member of his board did as well. Think he added 17.5kg to his front squat in 8 weeks or something insane.

And with your squat at 3x5 285, I reckon you could get quite a bit over 320 for a 1RM. Depends on individual fibers etc though...

 

[Kerpal]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

I got 320 lbs from a 1 rep max calculator. How accurate are those things? I tried 3 different ones and they all gave me the same number.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

I got 320 lbs from a 1 rep max calculator. How accurate are those things? I tried 3 different ones and they all gave me the same number.

I reckon they are generally conservative. Remember you did 3 sets of 5 and not one set, and this has to be taken into consideration. Also, that some people with your numbers would only manage 315, others 330...it is individual. The best thing to do is not to bother with these calculators that "predict" and go and actually try it.

 

[Kerpal]

I decided to wait a month so the holidays would be over and the gym would be open. Started on Monday... First workout was 4 x 9 @ 70%. Have a little soreness, nothing too bad, but I know it's going to get a lot worse Tomorrow is 5 x 7 @ 75%. I want that 405 lb atg squat badly.

 

[Quagmire911]

I decided to wait a month so the holidays would be over and the gym would be open. Started on Monday... First workout was 4 x 9 @ 70%. Have a little soreness, nothing too bad, but I know it's going to get a lot worse Tomorrow is 5 x 7 @ 75%. I want that 405 lb atg squat badly.

Good luck with it, hope you intend to log it.

 

[Kerpal]

I will update this every week in case anyone else is interested.

Week 1 completed today:

(sets x reps)

Monday: 4 x 9 @ 220 lbs
Wednesday: 7 x 5 @ 235 lbs
Friday: 5 x 7 @ 250 lbs
Saturday: 10 x 3 @ 265 lbs

This week felt good. Honestly didn't feel too hard at all, but I know it is going to get a hell of a lot harder. Next week, everything is exactly the same, but you're supposed to add 20 lbs to all your weights... should be fun

 

[Kerpal]

Week 2 completed today:

Monday: 4 x 9 @ 240 lbs
Wednesday: 5 x 7 @ 255 lbs
Friday: 7 x 5 @ 270 lbs
Saturday: 10 x 3 @ 285 lbs

Also I realized on my last post I got Wednesday and Friday mixed up, Wednesday should be 5 x 7 and Friday should be 7 x 5.

Legs feel fine. Back is fatigued, but not as much as yesterday. I have burns on the backs of my shoulders from the bar.

 

[Quagmire911]

It's gonna get fun

 

[Kerpal]

Yeah, my lower back is extremely fatigued right now. I was doing overhead press but I think I'm going to have to replace it with seated overhead press at least until next week is over so I don't overwork or hurt my back.

Also my weight is skyrocketing, I have gained 7 lbs since I started this program. I tip the scales at 190 lbs now. I started a creatine cycle a couple weeks ago and have been drinking tons of water though, so some of that is probably water weight. Bodyfat seems to be the same as it was before I started. Once the program is over I am going to pick up the conditioning work and try to get back down to 175 without losing any strength.

 

[Mad Manic]

Would rather work on my arms tbh than bother with this. Also prefer to just go on the feel of the workout and play it by ear.

MM

 

[Quagmire911]

Would rather work on my arms tbh than bother with this. Also prefer to just go on the feel of the workout and play it by ear.

MM

As you say we all have different goals. From what I see Kerpal is more about functionality etc than aesthetics, a bit like myself really

 

[Mad Manic]

As you say we all have different goals. From what I see Kerpal is more about functionality etc than aesthetics, a bit like myself really

Yes true, however I do find squats are fun though when they go right, like yesterday for example. Did 125 k for reps no problemo, woooop wooop. The previous week I found 122.5 k very hard. I know, don't ask. :| The Smolov cycle seems like a lot of squatting though, dunno about you guys but after 4/5 sets of squats my legs are shot for 2/3 days. I couldn't ever imagine squatting more than say twice a week, even then I would only do 3 sets max per workout with no failure to avoid bad DOMS that may well impede the next workout.

MM

 

[Kerpal]

The Smolov cycle seems like a lot of squatting though, dunno about you guys but after 4/5 sets of squats my legs are shot for 2/3 days. I couldn't ever imagine squatting more than say twice a week, even then I would only do 3 sets max per workout with no failure to avoid bad DOMS that may well impede the next workout.

MM

Well I had been doing Rippetoe for a long time so I was already used to squatting 3x a week. The Smolov routine also includes an introductory 2 weeks that gets you used to a high volume of squatting. Doing workouts from RossTraining.com also increased my mental toughness greatly because those workouts are extremely difficult, after some of those workouts the Smolov routine doesn't seem so bad. My legs feel fine. They are not sore at all, and the only time they've ever been sore is when I first started Rippetoe. You adapt to the volume. The place I'm feeling it the most is my back.

My goal is to get stronger. I want to get to a 405 lb olympic squat @ 175 lbs. Eventually I want to do a 2.5x bodyweight olympic squat. This routine can add 100 lbs to your squat in a couple months. I don't train specifically for looks. I'm just training for performance. I figure if you train for performance you will look good as a byproduct of that, but I don't think it works the other way around, at least not for what I'm training for (BJJ/MMA). I'm doing upper body stuff too along with Smolov. Pull ups, chin ups, dips, bench press, and overhead press.

 

[Quagmire911]

Well I had been doing Rippetoe for a long time so I was already used to squatting 3x a week. The Smolov routine also includes an introductory 2 weeks that gets you used to a high volume of squatting. Doing workouts from RossTraining.com also increased my mental toughness greatly because those workouts are extremely difficult, after some of those workouts the Smolov routine doesn't seem so bad. My legs feel fine. They are not sore at all, and the only time they've ever been sore is when I first started Rippetoe. You adapt to the volume. The place I'm feeling it the most is my back.

My goal is to get stronger. I want to get to a 405 lb olympic squat @ 175 lbs. Eventually I want to do a 2.5x bodyweight olympic squat. This routine can add 100 lbs to your squat in a couple months. I don't train specifically for looks. I'm just training for performance. I figure if you train for performance you will look good as a byproduct of that, but I don't think it works the other way around, at least not for what I'm training for (BJJ/MMA). I'm doing upper body stuff too along with Smolov. Pull ups, chin ups, dips, bench press, and overhead press.

I'm pretty sure Mehdi's OH press suffered greatly while he was on it.

From what I hear when you enter the "mesocycle" I think it is called, that is when it gets really tough. I think it gets a lot harder after the first few weeks as well.

 

[Mad Manic]

Well I had been doing Rippetoe for a long time so I was already used to squatting 3x a week. The Smolov routine also includes an introductory 2 weeks that gets you used to a high volume of squatting. Doing workouts from RossTraining.com also increased my mental toughness greatly because those workouts are extremely difficult, after some of those workouts the Smolov routine doesn't seem so bad. My legs feel fine. They are not sore at all, and the only time they've ever been sore is when I first started Rippetoe. You adapt to the volume. The place I'm feeling it the most is my back.

My goal is to get stronger. I want to get to a 405 lb olympic squat @ 175 lbs. Eventually I want to do a 2.5x bodyweight olympic squat. This routine can add 100 lbs to your squat in a couple months. I don't train specifically for looks. I'm just training for performance. I figure if you train for performance you will look good as a byproduct of that, but I don't think it works the other way around, at least not for what I'm training for (BJJ/MMA). I'm doing upper body stuff too along with Smolov. Pull ups, chin ups, dips, bench press, and overhead press.

Cool. But it does work the other way around too. It simply has to.

MM

 

[Kerpal]

Cool. But it does work the other way around too. It simply has to.

MM

Not necessarily. For example, a bodybuilding routine is the absolute last thing someone who is training for combat sports should do. The focus is on aesthetics, not performance. They're great if you want to look good at the beach, but I say who cares how pretty your muscles are, if a guy half your size can knock you out or take you down and make you submit? If a fighter used a bodybuilding routine to train for a fight, he would gas out 30 seconds into it.

 

[Mad Manic]

Not necessarily. For example, a bodybuilding routine is the absolute last thing someone who is training for combat sports should do. The focus is on aesthetics, not performance. They're great if you want to look good at the beach, but I say who cares how pretty your muscles are, if a guy half your size can knock you out or take you down and make you submit? If a fighter used a bodybuilding routine to train for a fight, he would gas out 30 seconds into it.

I disagree, with a bodybuilding routine you get stronger and bigger. All big bodybuilders are pretty damn strong too. Infact, to get big it's fair to say you need to be pretty strong by most people's standards. But to be strong you don't need to be that big, infact probably a bit above normal size and you can still shift big weights if you know what you're doing.

In other words, strength necessitates size moreso than the reverse at least in our categories, not sure about the elite end. So it's unlikely a small guy can knock out a big guy via strength. Maybe Marius could knock out Coleman though, then again tough call, Coleman shifts a lot too.

MM

 

[Kerpal]

Bodybuilding emphasizes aesthetics. It is about posing various muscle groups for a panel of judges. It has nothing to do with fighting. In combat sports, nobody cares if your 6 pack is symmetrical or not. They are two completely different things.

A bodybuilding routine is the absolute last thing a fighter should use. Bodybuilding routines emphasize sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (getting bigger, but not necessarily stronger) thru high reps with lower weight. This leads to unnecessary (from an athlete's point of view) weight gain.

Remember, combat sports have weight classes. A fighter would be much better served using weightlifting and powerlifting principles in their strength training routines because weightlifters and powerlifters know how to train for relative strength and power. In other words, they know how to get very strong without getting a lot heavier.

Also, excessive muscle mass messes up your conditioning. Not to mention that bodybuilding routines emphasize low intensity, long duration cardio to lose fat. This is not optimal conditioning for combat sports, to say the least.

Bodybuilding is a completely different thing from combat sports. Someone who used bodybuilding principles to train for a fight would gas out almost immediately, just like someone who used combat sport training principles to train for a bodybuilding contest would get laughed off the stage.