Seriously considering Smolov.

[Pabs]

Evening all.

Well, like the title says I'm seriously considering doing smolov for squats. As I've mentioned before my legs are my glaring weakness and I'm hoping this may help them catch up a little. Or a lot.

One thing that I read was that you shouldn't do Smolov until you've trained for at least one year. I trained for a few years when younger but my accident put a stop to that. I've currently been training again for about the last 8 months now. Is this sufficient for me to move onto Smolov or am I rushing things?

I've asked the guy who got me into powerlifting at the beginning of this year but he really doesn't know a lot about Smolov.....so I thought I'd ask those of you with experience/knowledge of Smolov.

Cheers.

[Darkmanx]

To me doing a programme like smolov or any other strength for that matter is not about how long you have trained before hand, granted i wouldn't just advise someone with no training age do something like this but how proper your technique is going to be in executing a program like this successfully.

You could be training for 20 years and if your squat technique sucks then obviously you started with bad habits and that basically puts you back almost right to the start. And thats not just squat but pretty much bench, deadlift and i would go as far as shoulder press. If your squat technique is good then that makes it all the better. Again this is just how i see it. Im not an avid powerlifter but have dabled in the art waaaay in the past but i think about think from a logical point of view.

Just my 2c

[Danomyte]

It was 13-weeks of hell for me - got some good results but it didn't improve my 1RM by much (210kg to 220kg) but I could bang out 185x3x10 no probs lol.

I haven't met many people who have done the full 13-weeks of smolov - if you do go through with it, don't give up half way - do the full programme - you'll feel good for completing it.

All the best!

[drizzt]

Like Danomyte, I've done the full Smolov (wrote a review here), and got some pretty good gains off it. Phedder on these boards has also done the full Smolov. I think HJP might have too? I also did a base cycle on it's own about 6 months later and didn't quite get as good gains out of it, but that was more due to poor planning on my part.

My squat was my weak point when I decided to do it, I had a really battling sort of 1RM at around 170-180kg. At the end of the 13 weeks I had gained approx 7kg of bodyweight, an awesome beard, and hit 240kg at a comp (must note: with the addition of wraps, too).

It really laid a great base to further my squatting, and my form was far from perfect when I started out - this grew the squat muscles for me, and reinforced better technique. In saying that, I did have good guidance at my gym when it came to technique issues.

I say give at least the Base cycle a go (as a lot of people tend to do), and if you haven't broken anything, move onto the intense cycle :nod:

My 2c.

[Pabs]

Thanks for the replies, guys. It seems like it's definitely worth trying out. I may as well since I'm definitely not getting any younger.

My wife's biggest concern is it will overstress my body and over-fatigue me, leading to my seizures getting worse. I guess I can only try and see how it goes. I've always been a sucker for punishment and my wife is just being a loving wife. Either that or she's worried I won't be able to do the yardwork due to sore legs.

I've already got the beard, Drizzt. Maybe the smolov will give it a shock and purge all the grey hair out of it. \:D/

[Danomyte]

Good advice from Drizzt and Darkmanx above :clap:

My wife's biggest concern is it will overstress my body and over-fatigue me, leading to my seizures getting worse.

OH SNAP! :shock: Be careful bro - hope you find the right mix with smolov and keep the wife happy - happy wife = happy life \:D/

[Pabs]

Good advice from Drizzt and Darkmanx above :clap:

OH SNAP! :shock: Be careful bro - hope you find the right mix with smolov and keep the wife happy - happy wife = happy life \:D/

Indeed, the advice from everyone has been much appreciated.

I'll definitely be careful. One thing about battling back from serious injury and living with epilepsy is it's taught me patience and to listen to my body. There's no point pushing myself to the point where my body will deteriorate and just make things worse for me.

I'll be training with my sons so they'll keep a close eye on me. They're not afraid to tell their old man when he's being a numbnuts.

Keeping the wife happy is definitely a good idea. We've been together since we were 15/14 respectively so after 25 years I've learned how to keep things ticking along nicely.

Plus when the bed covers mysteriously end up on her side all the time I know I've done something wrong.... :?

[Danomyte]

Good advice from Drizzt and Darkmanx above :clap:

OH SNAP! :shock: Be careful bro - hope you find the right mix with smolov and keep the wife happy - happy wife = happy life \:D/

Indeed, the advice from everyone has been much appreciated.

I'll definitely be careful. One thing about battling back from serious injury and living with epilepsy is it's taught me patience and to listen to my body. There's no point pushing myself to the point where my body will deteriorate and just make things worse for me.

I'll be training with my sons so they'll keep a close eye on me. They're not afraid to tell their old man when he's being a numbnuts.

Keeping the wife happy is definitely a good idea. We've been together since we were 15/14 respectively so after 25 years I've learned how to keep things ticking along nicely.

Plus when the bed covers mysteriously end up on her side all the time I know I've done something wrong.... :?

#TheMan - kudos to you bro - all the best

[Phedder]

Definitely a great program to bring up a lagging squat, probably the best out there.

If your squat technique is good then that makes it all the better.

I think this is a really important point, and I learned it the hard way :pfft: I'd really recommend at least spending a few weeks focusing on nailing your squat technique consistently before beginning the program.

I ran the base mesocycle earlier in the year, and then after a small break ran the whole 13 weeks right through (Think I only did 1 week of the switching cycle though?) Whilst I got some great strength gains from it, just focusing on surviving each squat session, instead of executing them perfectly, is now what I believe is holding my squat back the most. I definitely don't think my form has gotten worse from doing the program, but it hasn't improved either because I was working close to my limit so often, and not having a chance to reinforce better habits. I definitely gained a lot of strength from the program, my 165kg squat in March was similar technique wise to my 202.5kg last weekend, but I'm confident if I had reinforced better technique more, I'd be capable of hitting around 215-220kg now, and that's what my next block of training will be focused on.

Other basic tips would be to obviously ensure adequate sleep and food, I put on 8kg or so from my base + full cycle and it definitely helped. You probably don't need to gain that much weight, but adding 2-3kg over the course of the cycle wouldn't hurt either. Being a bit older you'll likely have to pay plenty of attention to recovery as well, foam rolling, stretching, light walks/cycling etc. I'd also drop 5-10kg off your max to help make the program manageable, it's not a lot in the grand scheme of things but will make a huge difference.

Good luck!