Starting Smolov tomorrow, any tips?

[Eric_Edge]

Should I be afraid?

[Tylerh2055]

Should I be afraid?

Its not as bad as a lot of people say it is, but just know you have to work hard. The harder you push the better you will be rewarded. some tips would be though:

1.Ice the low back post workout and knees if possible
2. Stay on top of mobility, ESPECIALLY shoulders and hips
3. Head like a horse man, actually, eat a horse if you can.

[Eric_Edge]

Ok thanks, man. Repped

[adamsz]

Its not as bad as a lot of people say it is, but just know you have to work hard. The harder you push the better you will be rewarded. some tips would be though:

I don't agree.

I ran Smolov last year and ended up tearing my groin, which then lead to a bulged disk afterwards.

I pushed myself extremely hard, and did an hour+ of mobility work everyday, and ate my face off.

13 months later I still have not fully recovered from the injury. The groin has healed but the bulged disk is still there. This is after doing rehabilitation with a sports chiropractor.

I think a lot of it can come down to body types and squat stances.

I squat wide and have long legs. This puts a ton of torque on the hips.

I ran it with a friend who squatted narrow olympic style. He hit a 60lb PR, and didn't get injured. He also did 1/4 of the mobility work that I did.

So I think it can basically be a gamble. If you're on certain supplements I think it helps with recovery, so that's something to take into consideration.

If your sig is correct and your squat is at 315, my personal opinion is that you could progress rather fast on your squat employing much safer programming like linear progression of some sort.

[Mohlentank]

I would go for smolov Jr... Unless you're on everything under the sun you more than likely won't be able to recover and it's going to do more harm than good. I attempted smolov about 6 months ago and made it a few weeks into the base cycle before I was just smoked. Smolov Jr. I think can be a far more beneficial for someone who isn't juiced to the gills. Take a look into it at least.

[cm85]

I don't agree.

I ran Smolov last year and ended up tearing my groin, which then lead to a bulged disk afterwards.

I pushed myself extremely hard, and did an hour+ of mobility work everyday, and ate my face off.

13 months later I still have not fully recovered from the injury. The groin has healed but the bulged disk is still there. This is after doing rehabilitation with a sports chiropractor.

I think a lot of it can come down to body types and squat stances.

I squat wide and have long legs. This puts a ton of torque on the hips.

I ran it with a friend who squatted narrow olympic style. He hit a 60lb PR, and didn't get injured. He also did 1/4 of the mobility work that I did.

So I think it can basically be a gamble. If you're on certain supplements I think it helps with recovery, so that's something to take into consideration.

If your sig is correct and your squat is at 315, my personal opinion is that you could progress rather fast on your squat employing much safer programming like linear progression of some sort.

Usually something like a bulged disk is caused from repeatedly doing a certain activity the wrong way, like squatting for example. I'm currently going through rehab on a disk injury that was caused by repetitive butt-wink during the squat. It didn't just happen during a workout, I ended up waking up one day to pain.
But to OP, if your form is on point, Smolov isn't that difficult as long as you work hard on recovery. If you have bad form, Smolov will make it worse, and visa versa.

[Dark Phoenix]

I would go for smolov Jr... Unless you're on everything under the sun you more than likely won't be able to recover and it's going to do more harm than good. I attempted smolov about 6 months ago and made it a few weeks into the base cycle before I was just smoked. Smolov Jr. I think can be a far more beneficial for someone who isn't juiced to the gills. Take a look into it at least.

I ran full smolov and I am not on anything. I added 60lbs to my squat. That being said, I hated squatting for months after, I was tired all the time, even more than normal. I also cut out other workouts more or less.

[Mohlentank]

I ran full smolov and I am not on anything. I added 60lbs to my squat. That being said, I hated squatting for months after, I was tired all the time, even more than normal. I also cut out other workouts more or less.

I'm probably speaking for the majority of people then.. What was your diet like? and what percentage did you work off of? I put in my "1RM" as 90% of my real 1RM and still got toasted. I think I may have not been eating enough at the beginning and when I finally tried catching up it was far too late haha.

[isaku900]

everyone looks at smolov and sees "OMG SQUAT GAINZ" and this somehow removes their ability to think holistically about their training.

i don't now, nor will I ever likely again recommend smolov to anyone.

[Dark Phoenix]

I'm probably speaking for the majority of people then.. What was your diet like? and what percentage did you work off of? I put in my "1RM" as 90% of my real 1RM and still got toasted. I think I may have not been eating enough at the beginning and when I finally tried catching up it was far too late haha.

My diet was whatever. Nothing to follow. My pre max was 405, I used 380 as a working max for the whole thing.

everyone looks at smolov and sees "OMG SQUAT GAINZ" and this somehow removes their ability to think holistically about their training.

i don't now, nor will I ever likely again recommend smolov to anyone.

I see smolov mentioned on boards way too often now. It works, but it is tough. One of my training partners wanted to run smolov with two other programs. I told him he was a bloody idiot for it. Then he mentioned something about functional fitness and I went off the rails.