Squatting Screw-up

As some of you may know, I have recently finished a 4 day/week squat program called the Smolov squat program. It's base cycle is three weeks straight, with the fourth week used as a deload week before beginning the next cycle. I only went through the base cycle.

Recently, since finishing the Smolov, I have not been squatting up to par. This includes both not being able to work at the intensity I want, and not hitting the volume at lower intensities I'm working with.

Therefore, the purpose of this post is to evaluate the previous two months of squatting sessions to find when my squat mojo left, and what caused it to leave. First I will include my thoughts on what is going on. Then I will list each of my squat sessions from the last couple months.

I will warn you before reading any further...I am one of those kinds of people that over-analyzes EVERYTHING. Training is not exception to this either. That is problem numero uno, but it is certainly not the cause of this mishap because I have always been this way. My second thought is that my motor patterns have changed because of tightness in my right leg. Since I've finished the Smolov, my right sartorius has been extremely tight to the point of pain at it's origin (my right ASIS/hip bone). In my opinion, this is probably the culprit because the posterior chain of my right side has not felt right since this started. Anyone who has squatted can attest that if your glutes/hamstrings aren't firing, you're in for some sub-par performances. Another thought that I have been having is that my right triceps surae (calf muscles) are overactive, which could be causing some improper motor unit firing patterns. This thought came to me because I always feel my right 'calf' over my left when I'm walking...and I feel my left glute over my right while walking. Therefore, this could very well be adding to the problem as well. Are you still with me? I told you I over-analyze! These top the list of my thoughts (believe me, there are more). I've tried everything to fix these...stretching, strengthening, foam/ball rolling. Nothing is working!

Here is the list of my squat sessions (used belt all days except first):

7/26 (Start Smolov) Bwt = 167lbs
60x4, 90x3, 107x4x9

7/28 Bwt = 164.4lbs
60x5, 90x3, 105x2, 114x5x7

7/30 Bwt = 168.4lbs
60x4, 90x3, 110x2, 122x7x5

7/31 (#)
135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 245x1, 275x3x3, 2+1,",4x3,2+1

8/2 (#)
135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 255x4x9

8/4 Bwt = 168.6lbs
70x5, 90x3, 110x2, 124x5x7

8/6
60x5, 100x3,2, 110x2, 120x2, 130x1+2,2, 125x2, 122x1, 110x4,5,2
This was easily the worst day of the program. My R quad was cramped and tight.

8/7
70x5, 100x2, 110x2, 125x10x3

8/9
60x5, 90x4, 110x2,9, 112.5x3x9

8/11
70x5, 90x4, 110x3, 115x7, 120x7, 122.5x3x7

8/13 Bwt = 168.6lbs
70x3, 100x3, 110x3, 120x1, 130x5,5,4/5, 127.5x4+1,",4/5,2+1+1/2, 120x1
By the last few sets, I wasn't able to finish the sets. The last set with 120 was just to make up the few reps I missed, but probable would've failed beyond one rep.

8/14 (Last day on Smolov) Bwt = 169.4lbs
70x3, 100x3, 110x2, 120x2, 130x3x3, 132x3, 130x6x3

8/20 (Max attempt)
70x4, 90x2, 110x2x1, 120x1, 130x1, 140x1, 110x5
This was a horrible day...140 almost crushed me. This was actually 12.5kg less than my previous max before starting the Smolov. My hope was to get around 160kg. This will have to happen another day.


Hopefully this will paint a picture as to what is going on with my squat. If you see anything, let me know! Until this gets worked out, I will be putting my head down and pushing forward to get back to where I was just a few short weeks ago.

Smolov: Reflection

I finished the Smolov base program on Saturday. This last week was, by far, the toughest to get through. More importantly, Friday, day 3, was the worst of the week. I had to get through 7 sets of 5. I was supposed to be working with 137kg, but started at 130kg. I did the first 3 sets with 130kg, failing on the 5th rep of the 3rd set. From there I dropped to 127.5kg and finished the rest of my sets at that weight. I did fail on two other sets as well, but finished all but three reps in the session. Saturday I finished the program with 10x3 @ 130kg. Yes, I know it was the same weight I used the day before, but this was as high as I was able to go while still completing all the reps. Saturday's prescribed weight was 144kg, but there was no way I was using that weight. I'm working at higher reps with weight I'd normally only get for 1 or 2 reps. I'm very glad I did this program and plan on doing it once per year from here on out.


Here is a video of the 2nd day of the last week (5x7). Pat knocked over the camera on the second rep, but I can assure you all 7 reps were done.

Smolov: Week 2, Days 1 & 2

Today was day 2 of the second week. I can tell I am adapting to the higher volume because my legs are not nearly as sore as they were the first week. I am definitely making gains with this program. I feel stronger with the warm-up sets and haven't had that much trouble, relatively speaking, with any day so far. Sure, some of the sets were not the greatest, but I've made it through every repetition. Today I had 5x7 at 124kg...fun stuff! I can't wait for this program to be over! Not because of the difficulty, but because I want to see what gains I've made in my max. I'm hoping for around a 10kg gain. The plan is to take a week of rest and go into a short cycle of triples, doubles, and singles along with my Olympic lifts. Then, after a few weeks, I will have a max day.

Smolov: Week 1, Days 1 & 2

I started the Smolov base cycle this week. It consists of: Day 1 = 70%1RM x 4 x 9, Day 2 = 75% x 5 x 7, Day 3 = 80% x 7 x 5, and Day 4 = 85% x 10 x 3. I started this after a week of relatively no training. The reason I am doing this program is obviously to increase my squat, but also because I tweaked my elbow in the OH state meet...so I'll be giving my elbow some much needed rest for this cycle. I am still doing the weightlifting movements, but they are very low intensity and volume. It will be very interesting to see how my body adapts to this very new training stimulus. I have squatted up to 4 days/wk before, but that was a mix of back and front squats. This time it is all back squats. Train hard, train smart!

Changes in Training

So, I just competed in the state meet for Ohio on the 17th and hurt my elbow on my third snatch attempt of 102kg. Whippeeee! :( I was able to finish the meet and actually attempted a PR clean and jerk attempt of 122kg. Because of the elbow injury, I will be taking on a large task in my training. I will be starting the Smolov base program for squats. The problem with this is that my knee actually hurts now for some reason. I've felt this before and it has been something I could train through and eventually disappeared. Hopefully this happens again. Time will only tell, but I am really excited to take on this squat program. My goal is to raise my squat max to 165kg. My elbow should be good to go once this 4-week Smolov program is completed. From there I will begin to focus more one my Olympic lifts. Train hard, train smart!