Riskiest Squat Program: Smolov
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- sikastrength.com
00:41 - Where Do You Start?
01:40 - It's Silly
03:44 - Can I Do Smolov?
07:28 - It's Not A Great Program
10:54 - You Can't Do Anything
12:47 - Injury From Overworking
14:27 - A Better Program - Спорт
So what I’m hearing is I should run Smolov as a bench program! Not that I would ever give my bench that high of a training priority competing in strongman.
Smolov Jr or S alpha yes
@@LithCS I Googled S alpha and came up empty. What is it?
No as a deadlift program
TLDR: take drugs, get big, lose hair
I’ve ran the 13 week smolov 1 year into training and went from 100 kilo squat to 143 kg. That being said I was exhausted every day and like Eoin said, had no energy or time for anything else. I’ve also ran RTA and went from 183 to 200 and was able to do crossfit alongside it 5 days a week with double sessions for the entire cycle.
What's RTA?
Oooh filthy little plug, well done
@@SmallFry01 Road To Anywhere. Name of the squat program the Sika Boys sell
To be fair, you'd have gotten that far on any reasonable program with solid consistency.
okey but 100 to 143 can be done quite quickly assuming ur and average height anyuway?
I ran Smolov jr on squats but instead of pushing it in 7 days, I did a "week" of 8-9 days. Worked amazing for me.
Thats the trouble with some lifters. Stuck on that whole "a week is 7 days, and thats what my training program needs to follow!".
same for me added 35kg and continued to add weight in the squat after
We all need to accept that the arbitrary measurement of 7 days is meaningless
@@nischal711
This is literally exactly what i did
Keep up the smart work my friend 👍
@@brianfox340
Agreed
In Soviet Russia you don't question program, program question you.
Just ran and finished the 13 week smolov program last week, went from 180kg to 225kg. Swapped the peak phase for a 2nd base volume phase though. Even though it worked very well, alot of the points in the video are true. Had tons of calf pain in the early weeks, even though it subsided. It also took pretty much all my training capital, couldn't train deadlift at all (Still set a 10kg PR) and bench just maintained. Some workouts were just brutal, really helped me realise what true RPE 10 is like and how hard you can push your squat, but its definitely not maintainable. Overall it was fun and helped my squat alot, in form and weight, but the program has major flaws (The peak phase is insane and the switching phase made me weaker really). Definitely wouldn't recommend to someone who doesn't have alot of experience under their belt, its more of a mental trial than an optimal program tbh.
Yea.. the switching phase is the secret sauce imo. I went way to soft for those two weeks, and when the intensification phase came about, the bar fucking crushed me.
Smolov>Smol
Bigolov>Bigg
So don't use smolov
Smolovlets BTFO
I think you put it well that smolov represents a fantasy for many.
I ran a double Smolov Jr a few months ago. I did it with squats and Deadlifts at the same time, and I will say, it was extremely tough. I burst an eardrum, got shin splints and cracked my knee cartlidge. That said, I went from an absolute grinder of a PR at 171kg to a 181kg squat with relative ease in only three weeks. I posted vlogs of the workouts on my channel if you're interested.
look honestly as someone whos half way through the sika squat program, you don't even need to ask us about it to get an earful. these guys wrote a sufficiently sadistic program. i just finished w4d2 and im very glad to hear its one of the more noteworthy days
The most insane squat gains I ever got was doing Super Squats. Started at 185x20 and ended at 275x20 and I’ve had back problems for years. That program was a grind but man it worked
Were the back problems related to the program are you saying you could run it despite having back problems?
@@Styl4x probably meant despite since he has had the back problems for years
@@Styl4x previous back problems for years before. My squat technique gradually got better and my bracing became great. Whole program done without a belt. Reinjured my back after running the program unfortunately so never got to build off the success
@@jacobwilson7030 ah I see, that makes sense. Really unfortunate about the second time tho.
Do you roughly know what your 1rm was before the program and after?
@@Styl4x supposedly i went from around 310 to 460 if you go by the old 1rm formula but I would think 295 to 405 is way more reasonable
Crazy that Ben Rice ran this program for squat and bench press at the same time many years ago successfully!
Regarding the base mesocycle, I say to people that if you wake up the morning after the 5th workout and still want to continue, you'll be able to finish.
Running Smolov for more than 10 years for peaking my squat with great results. It's important to adapt it to your level. Making small gains with no injuries as a master powerlifter.
I ran Smolov Jr for front squat and back squat about 2 years after I started weightlifting, it added 7.5 kg and 10 kg respectively, but it was definitely tiring and hard to program around, never mind time/ energy for jiu jitsu 2x a week as well. I couldn't imagine how much harder the ful program would be, but I and my knees never want to find out.
I ran the full smolov 6 yrs ago. Got the spreadsheet from ATG at the time.
I made it 9 or 10 weeks in and then I had to stop. The rep schemes were crazy.
I didnt get injured but it took me about a month to recover and then after some ramping up and smashed a pb by about 30kg.
So the volume and intensity helped ... In the end but I totally agree there's a smarter way to do things.
I did somlov jr but I did it over 4.5 weeks instead of 3 weeks and went from 140-175kg.
I did it as I could only squat and do some upper body due to the lockdown.
I did maintain the strength gain and had est max of 190kg during the prep for my weightlifting comp.
I only ever ran Smolov for bench press, it did increase my max, but my clavicular joint started to bother me. Also had some days where I failed sets.
Also I ran the russian squat program many times, and had great results, not really any injuries either. My squat went from around 150kg to 170kg.
RTA got me an extra 15kg pb. Unreal. Tough. Worth every cent.
One thing interesting I read about Smolov that actually makes sense is that Sergei Smolov actually DID NOT write it for weightlifting or powerlifting. He supposedly wrote the program in the 2000s or late 90s in a Russian *bodybuilding* magazine, and the program was a "shock" program meant for if you took a long vacation from training legs and you needed something to shock the system and get back quickly. In this way the jumps of "plus 30lbs" etc make sense, and even the kind of random volume, if you look at it from that perspective. That your 1rm would not be anywhere near your true 1rm, and also bodybuilding being relatively untested and more likely to use drugs, too. What's also interesting is Sergei Smolov actually has a UA-cam channel if you look up his name in Cyrillic, with some WL videos and stuff on it. So theoretically you could maybe even just message him.
As far as things like RSR and Smolov Mini/Jr, I've ran the Masters version of RSR and it worked relatively OK, and it's just one volume day, one maintenance day, so the 6 weeks stretched to 9 weeks by going twice a week instead of 3. I was actually underwhelmed as while I got the 105% PRs out of the program, for 9 weeks of training it's just meh. Smolov Mini I also ran just on my military press, and that went fine, too, and gave the 105% PR but no more, but I think it would have been better to stretch it to 3 days instead of 4 days a week for more recovery. I've even heard of people getting Smolov Mini and making it 6 or 12 weeks, by doing only one or two workouts a week. Smolov Mini is kinda just straight linear progression though, same with RSR, I think they're different beasts than the full Smolov program.
Overall I don't really know if I'd do either again, just because in 10 weeks I made better gains just doing 5-10 sets of heavy triples once a week on squats, and my upper body just doesn't respond that great to low rep "strength" programs and I really need to at least start with a lot of high rep work, and then of course you taper/etc. But "Russian" style programming never worked for my upper body. Even running Sheiko #29 when I was young, I gained 50lbs on my deadlift in a month and 10-20lbs on my squat, but 0lbs on my bench, despite the fact it's a super high volume of benching, just because it was all low rep work.
Interesting thx man
Remember Smolov being very popular 2005-2010 era. From what I saw juiced guys did fine with it, 99% natural guys were crippled by it. Saw this and never even tried it.
I ran the 13 week Smolov and my back squat went from 143kg to 170. I was able to do weightlifting with it, but had to run two-a-days, squatting in the morning, lifts in the evening. Felt like my weightlifting suffered, but my measly total still went up.
I doubt that Smolov program was even a thing. It looks like it was made up by someone else and named after some soviet coach because you know it's cool! I've read a lot of soviet literature on weightlifting and I've never seen such blunt programming there ever.
Yeah the drastic forced progression in weight isn’t soviet at all….
Good shtuff as always lads
I'm currently on my first week of Smolov Jr. on front squats. I did it 6 months ago on back squats and gained only 10kg on my back squat. I like Smolov because it is so fuckin challenging and I like to brag about doing Smolov.
I tried smolov for 2-3 weeks and the amount of joint pain I accumulated in that time was tremendous. I've definitely banged up my knees over the years, so that probably contributed to it, but it seemed absolutely absurd to even attempt 13 weeks of it.
Good video, I have lagging legs in relation to my upper body so I found smolov and was planning on running it next winter. Seeing this video is making me rethinking my decision however, I think I'll just stick to 5x5 twice a week lol.
IMO, the biggest benefit Ive found running a program this brutal is the inner mental strength one can achieve in successfully completing it. You’ve got to 100% believe in-yourself (mind) and your ability (heart) to make each lift in the later parts of this program. (the birth of a warrior)
Great stuff boys! Sika squat program >>>
The brief moment of silence at 10:18 is deafening
Wow, a blast from the past! I tried Smolov around 10 years ago and failed miserably.
I started Smolov due to wrist injury. After the first 6 weeks I went from 100kg to 118kg. Crazy gains and I responded very well to volume. But then my switching phase was too soft, so my body wasn't ready for the intensification phase. Grueling. Had to cut short some of the sets. Never ended up the program. Was happy to stop when I hit a easy 100x5. My wrist had recovered by then and I went back to regular weightlifting programming
I ran the full Smolov program about a year ago with great results. I shared it on my UA-cam channel as well. Ive trained squat in a powerlifting style heavy, hard, consistent, for 11+ years. Im drug free as well. If I remember correctly, I went up around 20-25 kgs, ran it for my high bar squat, which I had rarely done up until that point. Low bar squat that frequently would have fucked up my low back and elbows I believe. But it added about the same amount to my low bar squat as well even though I didnt train low bar during the program. My low bar squat after the program was 220 kgs, which Ive managed to increase to 230 kgs since then while training squat just once per week. Smolov is definitely a bit overkill but if done right, can be possibly the most effective program youll ever run. I also gained about 5 kgs of mass, and like 1.5" on my legs.
Smolov is to squats what crash dieting is to weight loss. I can certainly "work", but not sustainable or necessary unless maybe you have a hard deadline to accomplish "x".
there was a IPF lifter who ran smolov apparently going into nationals. he had owies going in silly goose vibes
I've run a modified smolov program
4sets of 9 reps on Mon.
5sets of 7 reps on Tues.
4sets of 5 reps on Thurs.
Cut the triples
Repeated next week, with 5 pounds extra except for Thurs.
Did this for two weeks total, pr'd on front squat by 20lbs
Took a week off and on Saturday I had a 25lb increase on my regular squat
It sucked ass, but it does make you stronger
I wonder if stretching smolov to 4 weeks from 3 would improve the program by quite a bit for most people
I kind of want to try Smolov now
Good stuff here. Would also love to see you lads talk about Garage Strength's video from today on their thrower's workout.
I'm currently running Smolov for the second time because I think I need to increase my squat to over 200kg. For the first time I used it for recovery after like half a year of basically not training, and I recovered to my max in about 1 month. Otherwise it would probably take me about more than 3 months. This time I'm being more lenient and making a couple of modifications by 1. making a week 8-9days, even 10 days if I feel necessary. I feel my muscle groups and my neural systems can both get better recovery, and I also got some time to do other stuff 2. removing the 7*5 on "Wednesday" cuz I feel this might be for hypertrophy, but 9*4 on "Monday" for me is enough for that purpose, so if I can do the 5*7 subsequently on "Friday" then I'm gonna go straight into the most sadistic 10*3 part on "Saturday". If not then I'll analyze myself: 3. I can't do it this time. Is it because I haven't developed enough leg strength? If yes, 3.1 do the 5*7 again, this time I can probably (like 90%) do it; if no, 3.2 maybe my neural system is fatigued or my body starts to develop a slight resistance to squat at this time, or maybe there is a bottleneck somewhere else like my core or my lower back. In this case I'll stop squatting for at least 3 or 4 days as a "half deload week" and start doing clean, snatch, pull, or something else to just refresh my neural system, or focus on my core or lower back accessories to remove the bottleneck. After this I feel more confident to smash 3*10 and then start the next week of training.
I actually like the sadistic part of Smolov, but I also believe that being sadistic should be bounded by scientific and intelligent programming such that I can do it in the most rewarding way in order to increase squat strength and at the same time at least maintain my capacity in other areas. If you do it in the most rewarding and "enjoyable" way, the gain will be maintained cuz you still wanna squat after this program, although surely not even near in terms of intensity.
Its refreshing to see someone realise they can take Any program and changen it to suit themselves...training programs are templates. Thats all. Nice job.
I know the lads aren't looking for it but I gotta say the SIKA squat program is the best. Why? BECAUSE IT COMES WITH A MAINTENANCE CYCLE. I have PR'd my back squat outside of the program and always use the maintenance cycle after each PR. You get the gains and you keep the gains.
not sure id elitefts was ever pushing smolov...
Ha ha I’ve just ran low bar squat program, rehabbing my popping hip now! May do front squat program next so I can rehab my knees next😉
Would love to see a video breaking down the insane physical hardship endured by Tom Cream and Co on their Antarctic expeditions.
The level of betrayal with that Sikastan comment is immeasurable.
At about 8yrs of lifting i did 16 wks of smolov. Total gains after deloading for a week at the end...0kg. Haha lesson learned.
The SikaStrength RTO Squat program: It pushes you very difficult.
Smolov JR works and works well for what it's intended to do. But it's temporary gains. The problem is keeping up the insane amount of volume after which isn't feasible.
The Russian Front Squat Program is a lot of fun and actually makes sense as a 6 week cycle program. Ran it a few times with some success over the years, interesting to hear that it kind of just is one of those myth based things.
What's the Russian front Squat program
@@shrexyboi1850 check out Zack telanders video on it. If you're gonna run it you may want to space out your weekly cycles to 8 or 9 days instead of 7 to recover better. I started to get minor tendinitis the last 2 weeks or so trying to stick to the 7 day format.
RSR is fine. Smolov, on the other hand..
i did smolov in 2009 or 2010 i dont remember. did it a few times over the years but i found out i was doing smolov program just a few months ago .
My friend ran smolov. When I asked her why, she said "I like to hurt myself".
this cost me a year of training. got to the end of the volume phase, but was also playing golf every day. goodbye lower back.
I was looking for a relatable comment, this destroyed my lower back I was living in hell for 2 years, no I just ache throughout the day. It’s fucked my life up to say the least
I did Smolov Jr about 1 year ago. Definitely helped my 1RPM but yeah my knees got fucked for a couple months after. They are a lot better now but they weren't right after running it. I probably won't again
>Talks about people promoting smolov
>shows wenning
bro lol
I've done smolov back in the spring/summer of 2017 when i was 20 years old, it pushed my back squat from 150kg to 185kg at a 92,5kg bodyweight, since I've been doing weightlifting for 1,5 years at that moment, my knees/Hips didn't really mind the frequency because I've been used to squatting 3-4 times a week anyway. I just used my paused back squat pr(141KG) as the 100% reference for calculating the load. Was it worth it? not really, the gains from that programm disapeared as fast as they've come :D
I ran smolov but only the first 8 weeks.. travelling got in the way of finishing so later in the summer I did smolov jr. my squat went from 112 to 119 as a 64kg female lifter. I didn’t have any pain but I was used to the high frequency of squatting from my weightlifting programming. I was told I was crazy for doing smolov twice in a summer and I didn’t get the gains I was hoping for. My new coach does not agree with me doing it and I have maintained my squat only doing it once a week so we won’t be doing that again.
it's a tough program, not necessarily a smart program. depending on other life stressors you might be underperforming, missing weights occasionally (or smartly skip/lower them instead) but it sort of works a bit for me but I've done better squat programs certainly. I just did it because my Squat was totally out of whack and now it is dialed in again but if u run this in your 30s I highly suggest backwards sledwalking and backextensions because you need to take care of your knees in some capacity and the abductors got critically fried (but also because I currently study for exams and sit too much)
I ran smolov about 2 years into my training and went from a 145kg squat to 175kg and I loved sadistic nature of it being 18yrs old
Definitely not the most intelligent program in hindsight but it did make me fall in love with weightlifting over CrossFit so I see this an absolute win
Might suck for those who can't endure the program, I've missinterpreted the program and ended up doing smolov base cicle 3x per week. After all the hell my pr went from 150kg to 190kg...
Twice per week seems to be the sweet spot for my squat. I'll usually try to back squat Monday-Friday and do a light front squat on Wednesday. I could not imagine M-W-F-S back squatting. The knees would blow up. Smolov Jr for bench might be legit, though.
Can't imagine it for bench though. My pec would tear out of the bone lol from the amount of work and overuse.
was considering running the sika squat cycle sometime next year when my current program is over. Since it's only twice per week I think I could be pairing it with another program, a weighted calisthenics program. Basically, the weighted cali program also has 2 leg days per week, so i would just swap them out for the sika cycle. Would there be value in doing that? the calisthenics program is basically all about weighted pull-ups/dips/HSPU/push ups so also quite strength/compound movement focused.
Not from sika but a squat program is exactly what you do for legs when you are running it. You dont really do anything else for legs.
Yeah, substitute the leg work in the calisthenics program for sika squat.
I have a friend that ran Smolov clean and his knees have never been the same and had to give up squatting ever since. He'll say its because the bar was slightly bent and not that he was doing Smolov, but we all know the truth.
I went from 405 to 475 to 225lbs because patella tendinitis and was so bad i couldn’t even walk down stairs. My squat regressed after now 9 years I squat 100% knee pain free. So it took me 9 years to Pr after doing smolov not worth it. In that time frame i benched 405 deadlifted 674 but could barely squat without being in pain..
This is so sad. We are humans not machines.
Man, week 4 day 2 is why I need to restart the program, shiz too much :D
How stupid of an idea would it be to run the sika squat, deadlift and bench programs concurrently, as that is my current endeavour and I’m on week 2
Would Smolov work for bench since higher volume bench isn't nearly as much of an issue?
Pavel is/was marketing ploy by a guy called mike Mahler, who realised he needed a Russian guy as the face if he was going to sell kettlebells and kettlebell ebooks
"Most effective programming is incredibly simple."
Ahem.
"The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stuff up the drain." - Captain Montgomery Scott
What would you say as smolov being a tool to gain back strength and then a little more? I’m working back up to a 190 kg squat and trying to hit 200, but I’m currently at about 165/170. If I run smolov with the idea of it primarily being something to get me back to where I was before, would you think the fatigue would lower since the weights are “sub optimal” to some extent? Should I just be doing something else entirely instead? I’ve run Russian squats several times always to great effect, which basically carried me over the years from 130 to 190.
Keep in mind this was the first squat program I ever did but when I ran a variation of the russian squat program my deadlift went up 35 lbs without even deadlifting during the 6 week program. Could most likely be attributed to noobie gains though
You guys can't say that "Smolov program" isn't smart.
I think this is a regime for advanced lifters. Also yo need huge amounts of eastern german "supplements".
Worst part was finishing the program and realising you’re now effectively ‘detaining’ (even if only with reference to skill acquisition/improvement) if you don’t squat to the same frequency and that now you have time to focus on other movement patterns e.g deads, squats you realise they’ve becomes ‘detrained’ due to neglect whilst running Smolov.
The minute benefits you do get from it are overshadowed by the negatives.
Just an all round, rubbish program.
I did Smolov for bench and weighted pull-ups and Russian squat for the front squat at the same time, during my 100/200m track season.
I also started Smolov with my 7/8 rm instead of 70%.
2mins rest between sets on the dot.
Pull-ups superseted with bench🤣 All that obviously led to training to extreme failure on every set lol.
I‘m not crazy strong though besides weighted pull-ups, so no crazy weights were used…
Gained ~2,5-3kg of muscle
It worked, hit a huge peak but I lost my gains after like 5 weeks again 🤣
No PEDs, slightly inflamed biceps tendon.
I’m just realizing now what a retard I am
Just because something is abusive doesn’t mean it’s a good thing to do.
I run that program back in the day and that how I reach 405 for the firts time but yeah I hate life by week 3 😁, but I won't recommend that too nobody ,now if the person is on Gear that I wast ,yeah I could see how you can take your gains to the roof but basically everything work on gear lol .
I’m prepping for in-season for my sport (parkour). The program I’m running is great, but I don’t know how to transition into the spring/summer so that I’m ready to jump as far as possible. In the past I’ve lost a lot of squat strength over the summer and I’d like to avoid it next year. Do you have any videos that cover this?
Smolov + gear = more tries. Is very easy.
2:10 Olga Korbut.
I'm sika knowledge
Might be ok for enhanced lifters. It if you are in your late 50s and natty. Then it’s like slavery. I tried it to get from 190kg bench to 200kg bench and failed. Eventually I did get 195kg but that was using my own internal body programme. If I do get 200kg or 180kg for clean reps then I’ll shill my programme. 😂😂😅
3 times a week squatting just put me in wheelchair plz
5:55 satanistic MonkaS