NSFC - Joel gets dirty

[joelash302]

Current stats are:

Height - 6'1"
Weight - 183# as of this morning
Body sizes will come once I find a friggin tape measure.

Eating style
Intermittent Fasting. Generally home made food, rarely eat out. Calories will have to be 3,500+ to bulk, partly due to lifting style below.

Lifting Structure
This will be a bit of a bitch but we'll see what ends up happening. I will be running Smolov with a base max of 280. Upper will be done on 2 or 3 of the non-squat days based almost entirely on feel (like if I feel like dying or not).

Current Big 3
Squat - 280
Dead - 435
Bench - 260


Supplements
None at this time. Might be adding some 5-htp, melatonin, etc. in a couple of weeks as I'm feeling like it's going to be an issue.

[joelash302]

To update my log from yesterday's lifting session, this is a ramp-up week for Smolov volume. I generally ran very tight reps and a ton of sets which was crap for squats but gave me +85 pounds in dead lift in 3 months... So now I have a back that can take a hammer and legs that give out if I run up the stairs too quickly. Sweet.

This is the second day of Smolov ramp-up:

Warm up cycle is high pull, BTN push press, OH squat.

Warm up - 4 sets of 5 @ 95 pounds across. I should be changing weights but I'm lazy about this part and stretched for like 20 minutes before.

Squats
95x9
135x5
135x5
185x8
185x8
185x8
205x5
205x6
225x5

Thoughts - This was a morning lift session which I thought would turn out pretty rough (On top of an 800 cal lunch 30 minutes before). I ended up seeing stars after the second 185 set, I discovered how much I'll need ample rest for this whole thing. On the plus side, this does give me good indication that I can at least handle the volume. All sets at 185+ are belted, short torso and long legs gives me way too much forward lean potential and the belt is solving that problem nicely.

Also finding out that contrast showers are just barely keeping me up right, will need to do a lot of massaging.

Diet
Got up at 7, 2 big cups of coffee, chicken and egg noodles at 11, lifting at 12, post-lunch chicken and egg noodles at 1, dinner at 5. Ended up way over maintenance thank god as I'd be crippled today.



Today was a lazy day - Going to probably make this a habit as my forearms, hamstrings, and lats feel like I got shot. Tomorrow is going to be another leg day and will be the Smolov intro micro cycle.

[DDon1996]

Both bulking on Smolov while IFing with similar lifts.


This competition (for me) is now between me and you. :)

Subbed.

[joelash302]

Oh yes, we will have some fun. What's your goal squat?

Also I noticed I typo'ed my title lulz.

[DDon1996]

Oh yes, we will have some fun. What's your goal squat?

Also I noticed I typo'ed my title lulz.

At the end of 18 weeks.... I'd be very happy with 365. Something about 3 plates and a quarter, just feels special. :)

Working up from the bar again sucks.

[joelash302]

Update for today-

Breakfast: 3 cups coffee, black.

Lunch: 1 pound home made sausage lasagna, 2 pieces string cheese, a cup of yoplait yogurt, a banana, and a peanut butter sandwich.

Dinner: Another pound (ish) lasagna, 6 cups whole milk, sauteed yellow squash, a pear, a piece of string cheese, and whatever I end up snacking on thru the night. Will update later on.


Lifting
W/U series - 65x5, 95x5 for 3 sets.
Squats - 4 sets of 9 @ 200 belted

Notes - I decided to jump into base meso after some advice that I'm regretting taking by someone much better at volume than me. After comparing numbers from Saturday we agreed that the intro micro was a waste as my volume was more than sufficient. First 2 sets were clean thru 7 and the last 2 slower, last 2 sets were good thru 5 and the last 4 struggled. Rest times were 3-4 minutes a pop. No seeing spots as I'm getting the rhythm of breathing again on longer sets. Light stretching and contrast shower followed.

This is definitely going to suck. Upper day tomorrow.

[juliacheh]

Who made lasagna?:)

[joelash302]

Who made lasagna?:)

The girl did. I would have preferred beef (as my fat intake is kind of absurd anyway hah) but it's really tasty. I'm going to finish the full 10x13 pan in 4 meals.

[juliacheh]

The girl did. I would have preferred beef (as my fat intake is kind of absurd anyway hah) but it's really tasty. I'm going to finish the full 10x13 pan in 4 meals.

Heh...lucky you:):)
I started drinking coffee black again.

[joelash302]

Heh...lucky you:):)
I started drinking coffee black again.

Nothing wrong with that. I just picked up a pretty strong french roast, starting to have trouble sleeping already. I think a GNC trip is in the works soon for some 5htp/melatonin/zma.

[ko300zx]

In for some Dirty Joel!

[Joseph1990]

Up in this mahhhfkkaahhh.

[mss55699]

Go get em brah!!!!!!!!

[oats_addict]

In to see your progression on smolov, good luck bro

[spicyprice]

In!!!!!!

[joelash302]

Today's update -

Breakfast - 2 cups of some of the best coffee I think I'm capable of making.

Lunch - ended up eating at 11 instead of 1 due to a class all day. Had another pound ish of lasagna (almost gone), 1 banana, 1 apple, a yoplait yogurt, 2 sargento string cheeses.

Snack at 4 - peanut butter and honey sandwich on whole wheat.

Dinner, currently eating and preparing:

-Spinach salad with shredded cheese and this "goddess" dressing my gf bought (excellent btw)
-6 cups whole milk
-10 chicken legs
-1 acorn squash
-dessert will be 2 cups frozen berries splashed with heavy cream

Lifting
Upper day, a bit of a testing day to see what to pair with Smolov. Working sets only listed, thoughts appreciated:

Dips: 3x5 @ +115, 90x5, 90x4

High Pull: 3x7@95, 2x6@135

Incline Bench: 135x5, 165x5, 3x5@185

Chin Ups: 3x1@+70, 3x5@+45

DB Rows: 2x5@110, 1x8@95

Military Press: 1x5@135 (trashed by this point)

Accessory abs

Thoughts: I ended up straining my lower back on a damn row so I may end up pulling that from an option until this is done. Dips, high pulls, and chins are staying in. I'm thinking I will end up following Layne's dual factor upper part. Felt sluggish during the gym but the numbers aren't as bad as I was expecting, apparently I am eating enough :). Direct arms will be done once a week on a higher volume schedule.

Legs feel great, contrast showers and light massaging are doing a lot of good. As always, opinions welcome!

[joelash302]

Quickies update -

Lifting
Warm up same as above

Squats - 5x7 @ 210, 30 reps below parallel and 5 on the edge

Thoughts - First time I've had to wait and see if I'm going to throw up or not at the gym. At the end of the 4th set I stood there burping up peanut butter for a good minute. Definitely pouring sweat at the end despite 3-4 minute rest periods, but it got done. Having some stress headaches so I think I'm trying to look up way too hard. My belt is digging the hell out of my hips, lots of bruising (Inzer Lever 10MM) but it's doing it's thing.

Upper will absolutely have to be modified. I was dragging ass the moment I walked into the gym. Not sure how exactly yet, will be doing some research. Contrast showers have been an absolute godsend by the way. DOMS are gone, just persistent low level soreness which is tolerable. I think I'm going to have to invest in Ibuprofen. Also doing tennis ball trigger point stuff and deep squat stretching right now. Recovery is definitely an activity on it's own and not just a side part to lifting.


Foods
Ended up being a lot of leftovers today, I need to start calculating these macros... Ended up with about 20 ounces of my home made mac and cheese (egg noodles, chicken, and Parmesan/Romano cheese), a banana, apple, PB+honey sandwich, and a yogurt for lunch. Dinner was the final pound of lasagna (sad panda), 8 ounces of spinach (i ran out of salad stuff so just shoved it in my mouth), 2 chicken legs, 6 cups of whole milk, about a cup of greek yogurt with frozen berries tossed in.

[m3dude]

strong dips man!

[xlb57]

S
u
b
'
d

[ko300zx]

Squat VID! Where is it!?

[joelash302]

Squat VID! Where is it!?

Gonna try to sneak in the camera tonight. 7x5 @ 225 is the goal.

[juliacheh]

Gonna try to sneak in the camera tonight. 7x5 @ 225 is the goal.

Yeah, squats are sexy :)

[joelash302]

Let's see how this turns out, should get critiqued royally lol -

FtOxkAEiEsU

Also to update my diet for the day -

Subway foot long meatball sub with salami, pb and honey sandwich with a banana all for lunch.

Dinner was a 1 lb ribeye and mashed potatoes at a local place, currently working on a couple cups of milk. I'm way under where I need to be right now so tomorrow is really iffy on whether or not I will be able to do back to back leg days as tomorrow calls for 10x3 at 240. I did some hella hot and cold contrast showering, I'm actually getting to enjoy the cold now. Right hip has a little strain to it due to some extracurriculars with the girl... little embarrassing but whatever haha.

[xlb57]

Good work - Nice and deep son! ATG tomorrow morn here me thinks.

[joelash302]

Good work - Nice and deep son! ATG tomorrow morn here me thinks.

Good times, which one are you going to? I'll be in the LA Fit on University in the early PM. Hoping to grab another vid that looks decent, the trainers there are actually helpful about stuff like that. I hid my phone under some 2.5's on a bench for these haha.

[xlb57]

Good times, which one are you going to? I'll be in the LA Fit on University in the early PM. Hoping to grab another vid that looks decent, the trainers there are actually helpful about stuff like that. I hid my phone under some 2.5's on a bench for these haha.

Nice - So the 2.5's ARE good for something after all! I hit the Oakdale location on Saturday/Sunday. A bit closer to home and I'm giving the wifey a ride to work tomorrow to leave my car at the shop for an alignment. She works right out that way as well.

[joelash302]

Quick update for today - No lifting, been working a huge knot in my hip all day. Tomorrow is 10x3 @ 240. After tossing up the vid on facebook it was advised to add in some heavy shrugs as I'm having trouble keeping my head up. Will be giving this a shot and seeing how it feels.

Diet was a blast though - gf and I spent a ton for groceries for day haha. For lunch i made 12oz burger (2 buns) with avocado, blue cheese, and 2 glasses of whole milk. Paired that with a grilled artichoke painted with home made garlic butter, much noms were had.

Dinner - 3 home made mahi mahi tacos with fresh lemon, lime, and diced jalapeño on corn tortillas. Another 3 glasses of whole milk. Had to make a quick dinner due to some time constraints but will be adding in some greek yogurt with frozen berries in a minute here :).

[ko300zx]

Great squat session! Solid reps the whole way through every set. Some of the 4th and 5 reps on some sets were awesome. Slow, controlled, and pretty much sitting on the floor.

"Now that's how you supposed to squat! From now on, that's how you squat!"

Going to share this with the meat heads at my gym who think that any bend of the knee justifies a squat.

I've heard mixed things about the head staying up and the head down. Still don't know which is supposed to be the "correct" way.

[joelash302]

Hah thanks bro, that means a lot. I've been working on getting my depth right for a couple months now. Now I want to be doing this with 315!

[juliacheh]

Mad jelly of your delicious food and depth on squats:)

[Joseph1990]

Beautiful squats.

[spicyprice]

Mirin squats HARD!


Very awesome!

[joelash302]

Thanks guys :).

So unfortunately I'm going to be missing days here and there since the girl's bday is coming up but I managed day 1 week 4 of Smolov only a day late. 10x3 @ 240 underfed and underslept. Diet will be a crapton of tacos today, my favs.

Tomorrow and Wednesday will be nice upper days. Tuesday is the next Smolov day.... 4x9 at 216. I have no god damn clue how I'm going to make it thru that but vids will definitely be coming.

[SideSteal]

Nice squats!



Diet will be a crapton of tacos today.

I approve of this behavior and would be mirin' pics of said tacos.

=)

[spicyprice]

Nice squats!



I approve of this behavior and would be mirin' pics of said tacos.

=)


I concur with Dr. Sidesteal and am awaiting pics of tacos.

[joelash302]

6 of these babies, unfortunately my phone died so only 1 for show. Totaled out at 1 pound 80/20 beef, 6 corn tortillas, 1 avocado, 1/3 cup shredded cheese, 1/4 cup sour cream, alongside 4 cups of milk:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3272681&stc=1&d=1303085441


And as you can see, the best hot sauce on the planet covering them. Much noms are being had.

[SideSteal]

BOOYA, that's the sh!t i'm talkin about.

Nice avocado slice on there, that's a biggie. Aware me on that hotsauce if you get bored enough to type about it. I'm a junkie.


reps on recharge, well done sir.

EDIT: fook. I'm going to make tacos tonight, now that you posted this. srs.

[spicyprice]

That is a BEAUTIFUL avocado..... I am 2 for 2 fail on good ones so far this season.

[joelash302]

Light firmness = perfect avocado. The skin color doesn't matter. I think that's all there is to it lol, maybe I'm just getting really lucky. I've had about 10-15 this spring and only one has turned out bruised a little.

[SideSteal]

Light firmness = perfect avocado. The skin color doesn't matter. I think that's all there is to it lol, maybe I'm just getting really lucky. I've had about 10-15 this spring and only one has turned out bruised a little.

I've also had a lot of them in the past couple months. Eating them when they aren't quite ripe is also problematic. They get sort of "stringy" if that makes sense.

I usually just eat them plain. Maybe a little salt.

[spicyprice]

Joe, do you grow your own?

[joelash302]

Negative, get them from Target. Hopefully someday I can live in an area that isn't perpetually cold haha.

[juliacheh]

Joe, do you grow your own?

Jeez, you are asking him about avocado, I thought it was about some other plant ;););)

[spicyprice]

Negative, get them from Target. Hopefully someday I can live in an area that isn't perpetually cold haha.

Target! Interesting. The last place we picked some up from was on the side of the road, so I was expecting deliciousness. Ended up being full of weird brown clumps on the inside. I wonder if our wet weather has affected them. Will have to check out Target.


Jeez, you are asking him about avocado, I thought it was about some other plant ;););)

ha ha ha.....I have NO idea what plant you might be talking about.... Roses?

[xlb57]

Negative, get them from Target. Hopefully someday I can live in an area that isn't perpetually cold haha.

If you manage to grow avocado here, I will be impressed...and ask for some...frequently.

[joelash302]

Picked another great avocado for dinner salad :). Also tossed together some fried rice and shrimp... gonna be a bit under maintenance today but the meal turned out decent.


Feeling lazy due to serious lack of sleep last night, light upper day today. 185x3x8 on bench, 185x2x8 incline bench, 3xBW dips (holy lazy), 200x3x8 rows, and ended up spending most of my time spotting a guy on bench.

Which brings me to gym thoughts by Joel - Who the fck practices a 500 pound bench without bringing someone who knows how to spot?

[xlb57]

Which brings me to gym thoughts by Joel - Who the fck practices a 500 pound bench without bringing someone who knows how to spot?

Dude with a death wish or some serious strength? Wouldn't know - I'm definitely not that guy. Keep hammerin' away man!

[joelash302]

So different perspective on today...

Diet

Lunch was a Chipotle chicken burrito with errr'thing, a banana, and a pb/honey sandwich on whole wheat.

Dinner is 6oz spinach salad, couple pieces of string cheese, 1 pound shrimp/1.5 cups rice/1 whole egg all fried up, 3 cups milk, and mild snacking later.

Lifting

Vids will come but compared to the last series I am embarrassed about depth. It was just barely parallel. I think the angle makes it look slightly worse because I had trouble setting it in the same spot. Script called for 4x9 at 215, I missed 1 rep (9-9-8-9).



I thought about that rep long and hard. In fact, I thought about the entire lifting day in the shower. Every rep felt off and I think it shows that I was pushing to GTF out of there, which is fairly common with higher rep sets for me. So what happened? Well, last night I found out all my credit cards were stolen sometime in the last couple days, one of which I kind of need for an expense coming up really soon (vacations are expensive btw). My brand new skullcandy earbuds quit working so I had to mail those out yesterday... bought them at a Best Buy kiosk and the brick stores won't accept kiosk returns. A major project that I am managing is being delayed and I have to talk to a big boss about it tomorrow. And my phone quit taking a charge so I had to replace it today. Luckily that part was free of charge.

So what happened in the gym was this - I wasn't in the god damn gym. Not for a second. I was thinking about who took my cards, if and when I can get my earbuds back, what I'm going to talk to my boss about, why my hip is cramping, the fact that I hate high rep sets, blah blah blah blah blah. In fact, I was so out of it that I stuttered a rep and gave up (set 3 #8). Not until then did I realize what I was actually doing. I was blowing a perfectly good lifting day. Set 4, I finished all 9. Because I WAS THERE. I know my Buddhist gf will love this, I was in the moment. Not tomorrow, not yesterday, not even today. Now. The weight, the bar, the cage, and 9 reps that were going to be done come hell or high water or an awkward stare of 15 gym patrons wondering if I was going to die (yea I'm noisy sometimes).

The gym for me is cathartic. I'm there to train, to feel the weight move, to make iron do something I've never done before. I'm there and nothing else matters until I stagger out of the doors. Attitude is everything in the gym and I am back in the game. No more pissing and moaning about how hard this is going to be, just how hard I'm going to be at the end of it. Everything else will work out.


Vid finally:

wKcvQLSe_jE

[xlb57]

Good work man. We all have those moments/days in the gym, glad to see you regained it and got it done. I hope all the the other shart works itself out for ya!

[spicyprice]

Way to find the strength within and bust through the mind--fawk of a day that you have had.

The gym is an awesome place to escape reality.

[AlwaysTryin]

I'm trying to workout the "dirty" part of this bulk? :p

[joelash302]

I'm trying to workout the "dirty" part of this bulk? :p

I've pretty much thrown calorie counting out the window right now and getting thru as much food as possible within my IF time frame. I expected it to be a little more fattening (as I'm stuffing myself to the brim for dinner) but I think I'm actually losing fat haha. Smolov is taking a ton of energy out of me.

In reviewing the vid, I feel I hit depth sufficiently for a high rep set but the rest of the week will be stronger. Friday (a day late as the girl's b-day is tomorrow) is slated for 5x7 at 230. Gonna be burying some squats wuwu.

[joelash302]

Today's update -

Foods
Lunch was sesame chicken and friend rice at a local azn place. Fantastic, filling, and fatty as hell. Good stuff. Also had my newly found fav of PB and honey sandwich with a banana on the side.

Dinner: 1.5 pounds of pork chops, 1 acorn squash, spinach salad with avocado, 6 cups whole milk, and 2 pieces of string cheese.


Lifting
Reasonable upper day - flat bench, flat flyes, military press, upright rows, and some db rows. Weights were not big time but it was more keeping my upper body warm. I did manage to give myself a HUGE knot in my mid back practicing PL bench. Nice big arch, tight legs, heels into the ground. Pushed up 225 for 3rd rep and all of a sudden I almost throttle myself with the bar trying to work out a knot and rack at the same time. Much lulz had but I freaked out a lot of people haha.

Tomorrow is the girl's b-day. No updates till Friday's fight of Joel v. Smolov. Betting men will go in my direction this time.

[juliacheh]

Jealous of all your delicious food.
Happy birthday to your gf! Will you celebrate?
I totally believe that smth intense like Smolov will drain a ton of energy.

[xlb57]

Tomorrow is the girl's b-day. No updates till Friday's fight of Joel v. Smolov. Betting men will go in my direction this time.

In for tree fiddy - Do eeet!

[joelash302]

Grill Mastery by Joel, gf's B-day dinner. Ribeye, king crab legs, asparagus, and potatoes:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3284641&stc=1&d=1303431438


Definitely pumped for tomorrow's leg day.

[xlb57]

Umm...YES PLEASE.

Looks amazing!

Edit: xlb57 with post #57 - Yeah buddy!

[joelash302]

So lifting ended up not as great as I was hoping, but it was not for lack of effort. I went 7-7-6-7-6 so missed 2 reps - 30 sunk, 4 missed depth, 2 died in the hole... and I mean fcking buried: hams to calves and no motion was happening. So the issue now is this - If I keep missing reps do I finish the next full week and push the 1RM week OR redo this week full out. I'm open to suggestion on this one.


Last 2 days have been exhausting and way under maintenance so I bought a quart of Edy's Cookies and Cream to go with dinner wuwu. Lunch was super light, had some tiny pulled pork sandwich for a work function and that was it. Dinner is a big ass salad with avocado and cheese, pear while waiting for about 4 pounds of chicken legs to finish up, and however much ice cream I put down before diabetic coma sets in. Wish me luck :).

[DDon1996]

So lifting ended up not as great as I was hoping, but it was not for lack of effort. I went 7-7-6-7-6 so missed 2 reps - 30 sunk, 4 missed depth, 2 died in the hole... and I mean fcking buried: hams to calves and no motion was happening. So the issue now is this - If I keep missing reps do I finish the next full week and push the 1RM week OR redo this week full out. I'm open to suggestion on this one.



Why squat so deep?

Missing one or two reps just push through.

[xlb57]

So lifting ended up not as great as I was hoping, but it was not for lack of effort. I went 7-7-6-7-6 so missed 2 reps - 30 sunk, 4 missed depth, 2 died in the hole... and I mean fcking buried: hams to calves and no motion was happening. So the issue now is this - If I keep missing reps do I finish the next full week and push the 1RM week OR redo this week full out. I'm open to suggestion on this one.


Last 2 days have been exhausting and way under maintenance so I bought a quart of Edy's Cookies and Cream to go with dinner wuwu. Lunch was super light, had some tiny pulled pork sandwich for a work function and that was it. Dinner is a big ass salad with avocado and cheese, pear while waiting for about 4 pounds of chicken legs to finish up, and however much ice cream I put down before diabetic coma sets in. Wish me luck :).

Might want to hold out for somebody more well-versed in Smolov, but I would be tempted to push on (that's just me). Finish out the program per the layout as is, if you miss a rep here or there, so what? I seriously suspect that you are going to see massive gains regardless. Would hate to fall into repeating weeks only to burn out and get sick of the program before finishing. Again, just my thought, but good work nonetheless man.

*I can't help but go up and stare at your dinner from last night btw.

[joelash302]

Why squat so deep?

Missing one or two reps just push through.

Deep squats now = parallel at max. It also is giving me a chance to do it right from the start, as I'm already finding break-downs in form.

[Joseph1990]

Way to find the strength within and bust through the mind--fawk of a day that you have had.

The gym is an awesome place to escape reality.

Preach!

I have had days so much worse it makes your situation look like a trip to Disney Land. (Not to take anything away from you)

Went to the gym to escape and release some emotions and escape reality for a little, felt as good as I could feel considering circumstances.

[joelash302]

Preach!

I have had days so much worse it makes your situation look like a trip to Disney Land. (Not to take anything away from you)

Went to the gym to escape and release some emotions and escape reality for a little, felt as good as I could feel considering circumstances.

Oh I am sure brother. Honestly I hate complaining sometimes as I know that my life isn't bad. That's what I am trying to work on (props to my girl for this), looking at the positives more and more. To that note though, I'm currently freezing my balls off (quite literally) in a cold tub following my day-late Smolov :


7x5 @245. I thought my depth was iffy but I was given cues by a trustworthy lifter that form was on target. Missed 2 reps at sets 3 and 6, one was flat out death and the other was more of a second guess. Another 2 or 3 were crap form and suspect depth, so I'm flagging this as 30 legit 2 miss 3 no-lifts.


Diet
Weekend diet shouldn't even be talked about, definitely under maintenance due to gf's b-day party on Saturday which involved staying up until 3 AM Sunday. Yesterday was not hot either, took a nap at some point and spent much of my time under the Jeep installing a motor mount lift. Today was finally back on track with my home made mac + cheese (grilled chicken chopped up in egg noodles with parmesan cheese), which is being followed by a spinach salad and TACOS woohoo. Also, switched to chocolate milk as my sweet tooth is going nuts lately.


Overall thoughts - Despite having some serious apprehension regarding the ability to squat today, I went in feeling SUPER aggressive and pushed myself very hard ("there is nothing stopping me from finishing this" was the thought of the day). The fact of the matter is, progress on my squat is finally being made. Ramp up week was 1 set of 5@225 feeling like dying and I just plowed thru 33 reps @245. Fck yea. Legs aren't any bigger from what I can see but the girl says they feel like I put metal under my skin which is about as excellent as I can ask for. This coupled with the fact that I'm doing diet purely by feel on an IF schedule.

I am really looking forward to pulling a dead during 1RM week in 2 weeks. Right before this I pulled 430 with a very high hip placement. I think I'll be able to drop the hips just a little and pull 450 w/straps. My grip, back, legs all feel a lot stronger. Chest and shoulders I'm not sure about but the weights are staying in a safe range for how little I'm working on them.



Alright my legs and wedding tackle are numb, time to make some dinners.

[Joseph1990]

I am considering Smolov to take me the distance for the remainder of my cut. I take it you're liking it thus far?

[juliacheh]

I am considering Smolov to take me the distance for the remainder of my cut. I take it you're liking it thus far?

Smolov on a cut = no no no .

[joelash302]

I am considering Smolov to take me the distance for the remainder of my cut. I take it you're liking it thus far?

Well, to be fair I'm not even keeping up with the program. Base mesocycle is monday 4x9, wednesday 5x7, friday 7x5, saturday 10x3. After doing some research, extending rest days is fine but I'm not sure if I'm pushing my luck taking so much time off.


That being said, I do like the program for squats but I have either a) no energy to do anything else or b) do an upper day in between and feel like passing out on the following squat day. This is solely because my squats are lagging so far behind my deadlift that I wanted to focus on them and get up to a respectable number. After this I may go to intense meso or back to an upper/lower depending on where I end up.

I would definitely not suggest doing this on a cut, or even at maintenance. It's taking a lot of recovery steps just to keep up (foam rolling, trigger point, contrast showers, and wearing a belt to keep my back in check). I couldn't imagine getting past week 3 on even a slight deficit.

Today is supposed to be 10x3 at 260. This will likely be a 90-120 minute session if I'm going to make it through. Updates tonight!

[joelash302]

Alright I'm a little annoyed with myself. This was the first time during Smolov that I've been able to stick to the time schedule and do back to back at the end of the week. Schedule called for 10x3 @260. I missed 3 reps @ sets 2, 7, and 10. So I'm annoyed because I was scared of today for no good damn reason!

Depth was on target, a bit of falling forward toward the 3rd reps on sets 5-10 but I really pushed hard. Eyes were bloodshot for a good hour. I really should have kept this schedule since the beginning, but now I know I can do it next time around haha. I also had a spot on the last set which made me feel a lot better, but I was fried so it took everything in my body to get 2 out.

For lunch - fried rice and sesame chicken from a local azn place. Much noms.

Dinner is a spinach salad, half gallon of chocolate milk, a 1.2 pound porterhouse steak, and a loaded baked potato. Much noms again.


Thoughts for the day - Cold bath last night was insanely helpful. I spent a good solid 20 minutes warming up and checking depth / form knowing that it was going to be a struggle. I'm still letting my lower back loose in the hole, but people aren't noticing when it's happening so it's hard to fix. My knees are really struggling right now so going to be working them with a tennis ball and a bar that I've been grinding out my quads with.


Today was a good day overall. Next up 4x9 at 226 on Thursday. Progress is definitely being made, I feel like I could kick thru a wall haha.

[joelash302]

First day of week 3 base meso - 4x9 @226 (and I think it was actually near 230, the gym I went to had ridiculously fat bars). All buried, all up. Bad form for 3 or 4 but I did it. Also did a quick 4x9 @135 for bench, thinking I might do smolov jr. for bench in a few weeks.

Feeling AWESOME! A big part of this program for me (maybe the program is this way anyway) is forcing yourself to do something well beyond what your legs are telling you to do. I've never been closing to throwing up before and I had to lay on the floor for 5-7 minutes between sets 2,3 and 4. The girl came with to spot and said I looked like I was going to kill someone. Apparently my intensity is sufficient lulz.

And the girl made curry chicken for dinner along with white rice and a crap ton of whole milk.


Not much else to update, parents are coming up for the weekend so hoping Sunday I'll be able to do the 5x7, I think it will be at 240...

[ko300zx]

The girl came with to spot and said I looked like I was going to kill someone.

I see you took my advice and took the girl squatting. Solid maneuver. Squatting > The Notebook and spooning.

[spicyprice]

I see you took my advice and took the girl squatting. Solid maneuver. Squatting > The Notebook and spooning.

Truth.

[joelash302]

Yes. She just moved up to 3x10 with 40 pounds this week. I am very proud of her. Now on my end... Unfortunately I had to put an end to Smolov. On day 1 of 1RM day I buried 300 and felt like a badass. Day 2 I strained my hip really really bad after damn near sitting on the floor with it. Interestingly, I did not realize how unbelievably $hitty my form was on squats prior to this on high weight sets, so easily gained 40 pounds of useful squat weight. Spent the weekend in Chicago and today was my first day back in the gym doing legs -

I am deloading and starting back into an upper/lower routine at this point. I should have never stopped back in November but I really cleaned up a lot of form issues on squats so all is well for now -

3x9 back squats at 205
3x10 good mornings at 105
2x10 front squats at 135
2x90 calves

Gym was hot as hell and I went caffeine free but I was pushing hard as fck and every squat was buried 100%. The GM's are explicitly due to an upper back strength weakness that I have found so I'm going to be following a little more westside style of finding weaknesses and working towards them. Clearly I'm really far behind in the competition at this point, but now I'm known as the squat guy in my gym so can't argue with that.

[ko300zx]

Smolov on a cut = no no no .

Why not?!


This log is so dirty. Feels good.