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I just completed smolov jr for bench about 6 days ago
it's weird I'm not sore at all but when i was benching I could feel like a soreness/fatigue in my pecs and triceps
well needless to say I failed even a warmup set leading up to my max and now I don't know what to do
should i wait a few more days and try again? Or should I just count this as a failed day and not try to max for another 2 months?
[QUOTE=Tyler_Durdin;725905461]I just completed smolov jr for bench about 6 days ago
it's weird I'm not sore at all but when i was benching I could feel like a soreness/fatigue in my pecs and triceps
well needless to say I failed even a warmup set leading up to my max and now I don't know what to do
should i wait a few more days and try again? Or should I just count this as a failed day and not try to max for another 2 months?[/QUOTE]
smolov jr is pretty intense. Im pretty sure u r just feeling the accumulated fatogue in the muscles/tendons. I got that way near the end of sheiko benching where my triceps sort of ached
id say wait a few days then try again. Better yet, maybe do some light speed benching friday and Monday then try to max again Wed. (or something along those lines, maybe speed bench M and Wed then try to max friday)
a program that intense puts a lot of fatigue on the body and it takes a bit for the body to recover.
[QUOTE=John Prophet;725924901]smolov jr is pretty intense. Im pretty sure u r just feeling the accumulated fatogue in the muscles/tendons. I got that way near the end of sheiko benching where my triceps sort of ached
id say wait a few days then try again. Better yet, maybe do some light speed benching friday and Monday then try to max again Wed. (or something along those lines, maybe speed bench M and Wed then try to max friday)
a program that intense puts a lot of fatigue on the body and it takes a bit for the body to recover.[/QUOTE]
thanks a lot for the detailed answer man
how long did you wait to max out after sheiko?
The two times I've done smolov jr for the bench I waited 3 days and hit a 20 and 30 pound PR. This probably isn't what you want to hear, but I did smolov jr overhead press, and waited 6 days that time. I too failed on my warm ups, and never ended up setting a PR. My conclusion was that 6 days of rest left the CNS too sluggish to perform.
[QUOTE=Tyler_Durdin;725926931]thanks a lot for the detailed answer man
how long did you wait to max out after sheiko?[/QUOTE]
well I didnt do the sheiko "comp" phase. I did the prep phase and then did my own little "peaking" phase to get ready to max.
Im not even sure on the smolov how it is designed as far as it preparing u to max. It may just be designed to build overall strength as opposed to getting u ready to actually max.
on stuff like a sheiko prep phase u arent really ready to max at the end. But on a sheiko comp phase u can look at it and see that it deloads a little toward the end to give the body recovery time so that u can max
Thats why I just suggested doing a few days of speed benching, nothing heavy, then maybe trying to max again. if a program has serious loading, like smolov, the strength gains may not show up well for a week or two because the body is just so fatigued overall
so when u cut the volume way back the body recovers and the strength gains shoot up nicely
[QUOTE=YoBigFatMomma;725928031]The two times I've done smolov jr for the bench I waited 3 days and hit a 20 and 30 pound PR. This probably isn't what you want to hear, but I did smolov jr overhead press, and waited 6 days that time. I too failed on my warm ups, and never ended up setting a PR. My conclusion was that 6 days of rest left the CNS too sluggish to perform.[/QUOTE]
To add to this the 'gains' you get are sort of deceiving because you're peaking for one specific day that you'll never be able to replicate in the following weeks after the program.
[QUOTE=John Prophet;725930821]well I didnt do the sheiko "comp" phase. I did the prep phase and then did my own little "peaking" phase to get ready to max.
Im not even sure on the smolov how it is designed as far as it preparing u to max. It may just be designed to build overall strength as opposed to getting u ready to actually max.
on stuff like a sheiko prep phase u arent really ready to max at the end. But on a sheiko comp phase u can look at it and see that it deloads a little toward the end to give the body recovery time so that u can max
Thats why I just suggested doing a few days of speed benching, nothing heavy, then maybe trying to max again. if a program has serious loading, like smolov, the strength gains may not show up well for a week or two because the body is just so fatigued overall
so when u cut the volume way back the body recovers and the strength gains shoot up nicely[/QUOTE]
Sounds like I should have done sheiko instead lol
[QUOTE=scarboro;725938441]To add to this the 'gains' you get are sort of deceiving because you're peaking for one specific day that you'll never be able to replicate in the following weeks after the program.[/QUOTE]
wow are you serious? That sucks hard
youll still have gains lol. I dont think you can go thru serious lifting like smolov and not come out with gains
u made all your reps with the smolov?
[QUOTE=John Prophet;725962291]youll still have gains lol. I dont think you can go thru serious lifting like smolov and not come out with gains
u made all your reps with the smolov?[/QUOTE]
Yeah but say you get +30lbs. I'd bet alot of money as soon as your off the program and back into what you're doing you wouldn't keep all of the +30lbs you got. Of course it would still be higher than prior to smolov but not the 'peak' gain. Maybe this is common knowledge but the max you get after 3 intensive weeks of smolov jr is not what you could call an 'everyday working max'.
[QUOTE=scarboro;725967701]Yeah but say you get +30lbs. I'd bet alot of money as soon as your off the program and back into what you're doing you wouldn't keep all of the +30lbs you got. Of course it would still be higher than prior to smolov but not the 'peak' gain. Maybe this is common knowledge but the max you get after 3 intensive weeks of smolov jr is not what you could call an 'everyday working max'.[/QUOTE]
yeah Im sure youre right because a lot of those gains are going to come from the "traces" effect on the CNS. In other words every exercise u do leaves "traces" on the cns. When u r doing the exercise 4 days per week the traces build up, lol. When u back off the frequency then obviously some of those cns gains will retreat
I have never done smolov, but there must be a way to hold those gains with a low vol peaking program thats lets u recover some so u can do a proper max. U may be able to do something like cut the volume way back and just work up to a few heavy singles (not maxes) for maybe 2-3 days
maybe this after the last day of full smolov
Mon 2-4 singles near ur starting max
Wed 4x2@80-85%
Fri 2-4 singles again
Mon 2-4 singles at 90-92% of starting max
We 3x2@80
Fri max
who knows...its all speculation, lol
anyone here ever tried to actually time smolov going into a meet?
I will finish up a Smolov Jr cycle this Saturday. I plan on taking only 1 or 2 days off before going for 1 rep max.
Were you doing a lot of lifting other than bench press?
Did you do any opposing muscle group lifts like rows?
I did 6 days of rest and got a 25lb PR. On the 3rd rest day I did light benching, working up to about 60% for a few sets of 3
[QUOTE=John Prophet;725962291]youll still have gains lol. I dont think you can go thru serious lifting like smolov and not come out with gains
u made all your reps with the smolov?[/QUOTE]
yea I only missed a few reps but I also did a few extra on some sets because I was amazed at how endurance I gained lol
my max was 255 so i put 250 in to get my percentages
on the last workout of the week for 10 sets of 3 I was doing 210
on the very last workout I was hittin 230 no problem
[QUOTE=hammerfelt;726048991]I will finish up a Smolov Jr cycle this Saturday. I plan on taking only 1 or 2 days off before going for 1 rep max.
Were you doing a lot of lifting other than bench press?
Did you do any opposing muscle group lifts like rows?[/QUOTE]
why in the world would you do that lol
yea I did a lot of pullups and seated rows I did very little lower back work though
You mean why would I only wait 1 or 2 days before testing my max? I am very used to squatting heavy 3 days a week and dead lifting 3 days every two weeks for the past 1.5 years. Cutting all that out(fractured foot) and doing only bench press I do not feel very taxed.
[QUOTE=hammerfelt;728497113]You mean why would I only wait 1 or 2 days before testing my max? I am very used to squatting heavy 3 days a week and dead lifting 3 days every two weeks for the past 1.5 years. Cutting all that out(fractured foot) and doing only bench press I do not feel very taxed.[/QUOTE]
should that really matter though? I mean if you can max out 2 days afterwards then that most likely means you could have did more?
[QUOTE=Tyler_Durdin;730876123]should that really matter though? I mean if you can max out 2 days afterwards then that most likely means you could have did more?[/QUOTE] did you max out? how did you do?
I finished the routine on the Saturday, maxed out on the Tuesday, probably not ideal but I was restricted by other things, set a 22lb pr
[QUOTE=entropy1;730961343]I finished the routine on the Saturday, maxed out on the Tuesday, probably not ideal but I was restricted by other things, set a 22lb pr[/QUOTE] Good job. Why was it not optimal? Did you still notice fatigue in your chest/tris?*
Currently doing the program, finishing on a Monday and thinking about maxing on Friday.