Famine + Smolov Jr Results

[burythesystem]

Today I was surprised to hear my name on Super Human Radio. The question I asked Rob about Famine was discussed, as well as Smolov Jr. Rob said concerning Smolov, "I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole." Consider yourself warned, it is not for everyone.

Behold, I am become Smolov, the destroyer of shoulders. Smolov has been rumored to extinguish stars, destroy small planets, drive species into extinction, and cause shoulder trauma faster than you can say nyet. In reality, it is an intense Russian peaking program that crams 4 bench routines a week into a 3 week period, ramping up the weight every week. That is not how I used it, benching 4x a week as prescribed is a fast recipe to disaster for mere mortals. Besides, Smolov himself said to modify the frequency as required based on recovery abilities.

The program calls for a gym max as a base, not an absolute 1RM, the kind of max you could put up on any given day in the gym without getting hyped up. The basic structure is as follows:

Mon - 70% 1RM 6x6
Wed - 75% 1RM 7x5
Fri - 80% 1RM 8x4
Sat - 85% 1RM 10x3

You can add as much or as little weight on a weekly basis, 5-10 lbs is pretty standard.

The Smolov program has intrigued me since I first read about it, and being a bit OCD, I knew I had to try it out at some point, so I decided to give it a run. Understandably, Rob wants to steer people away from this type of program, and for good reason. However, I did use it, and I would like to share my results.

I am 38 years old, and being a bit older, I decided to approach Smolov with caution. I have not benched more than once a week for a very long time, so in order to adjust to the increased volume, I did a two week lead in with reduced poundage. Saturdays routine was pushed to Monday, and the cycle resumes. It was during the second week of my lead into Smolov that I ran Famine.

My best PR at that time was 365, so I decided to use 350 as my base to calculate my percentages. The first week, I benched Mon, Wed, Fri, and I was exhausted. Rolling into the second week, my strength surged BIG TIME, just as Rob said it would. The week came and went, and by Friday, I was drained. I went home, my wife massaged my shoulders, chest, and arms for about 40 minutes, I took an Epsom salts bath and collapsed into a gelatinous heap. Moving into the third week I really started to feel Alpha. By this time, my shoulders had exploded, visibly larger, I added more muscle to my delts in a few weeks than I had in the previous 6 months or more. In this third week, due to a holiday, I benched twice, Tuesday and Friday. Instead of the 10 lb jump, I added 20. Feeling sure of myself and having adapted to the increased volume and frequency, I made a huge jump in weights during the fourth week. Because of the larger weight jumps I made, I decided benching only twice a week was a good idea.

I ended up making a 30 lb jump over the prescribed weights, on Tuesday, I hit 305 for 6x6, and Friday was 320 10x3. That weekend, my right shoulder was not feeling to great. I went to see a friend who is a physical therapist, and he diagnosed the pain as inflammation. He asked me what my routine had been for the last couple weeks, and when I told him, he just shook his head. With two sessions remaining, I had to call it quits.

Another Smolov fatality......... right? Or is there more to the story? Yes, it's disappointing to not finish the routine. Some may think I was a fool for doing the dance of cosmic destruction with Smolov......... fine. I still come out a winner, I learned a TON during this program. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Volume - I learned that benching more than once a week is not over-training. I did not end up looking like the Machinist. Increasing volume and frequency lead to a noticeable increase in chest and delt size in a very short amount of time. This is great because it proved to me that prevailing wisdom is complete shit. I had strong buy-in to the bro-scientific maxim that training a muscle more than once a week is over-training, the fastest way to lose them gainz.

2. Periodization - Having never run any kind of proper periodized program, I learned the power in using such methods.

3. Grease The Groove - I learned a ton about bench form and technique. I have never felt so connected to the movement as I have when I was hitting the bench multiple times a week. Whole body tension. Properly understood and applied, this concept will increase your bench significantly.

4. Failure - I was not failing on ANY of the reps, and despite that, I saw a rapid increase in size and strength. Failure is NOT required for maximum stimulation, it just drains energy better spent on recovery.

It may be pointed out that I could have learned all those things just as easily on a different program. True. But I also could just as easily have hurt my shoulder on another program as well. So I don't blame the program. The X-factor that I did not anticipate was the surge in strength, and like the fool who crashes his new Ferrari, I put the pedal to the metal. I reached too high, and like Icarus, I found my wings are made of wax. I am fairly certain that had I followed the prescribed weights, or decided on a more modest increase, my shoulder would have been fine. I am also sure once the inflammation settles down, I will still set a nice PR.

I am not trying to sell Smolov, I am just relating my experience.

In conclusion, I am bigger, stronger, and smarter. Smart enough to know that treading the well worn path that Coach Rob and others have laid is a wise approach.

[beefcake66]

lol! thank you for the write up. It was a joy to read.