torsdag den 16. januar 2014

Wed 15 Jan 2014

Back squat
Warm up: 8 x 20 - 40 - 60 - 80 kg.
Work sets: 3s x 8r x 100 kg.
Bonus: 10 x 80 kg.

Military press
Warm up: 8 x 20 - 30 - 40 kg.
Work sets: 2s x 8r x 50 kg, 12r x 50 kg.

WOD w Smuksen og Mr. Bo-Jangles
For time:
2000m row
50 thrusters @ 40 kg
30 C2B pull ups

Time: 14:50. Row was 7:15.

13 Dec 2013 - 14 Jan 2014

A long rest period and sporadic light weight training due to back injury.

The next period will focus on getting back on track and injury free.

onsdag den 11. december 2013

tirsdag den 10. december 2013

Smolov Jr. back squat reflections

Two weeks ago I finished my first Smolov Jr. back squat cycle. In this post I will go through 1) my starting point and aims with the program, 2) my Smolov Jr. program and accessory exercises, and 3) my results and post-Smolov physique.

1) Starting point
Stats:
Body weight: 90 kg.
High bar back squat 1RM: 150 kg.
Low bar back squat 1RM: 160 kg.
Front squat 1RM: 125 kg.
Deadlift 1RM: 190 kg.

Since March or April I have done a Wendler 5-3-1 program that has added approx. 10-15 kg to my maxes over 6-7 months. I am a CrossFitter so I also do a lot of other training (endurance, gymnastics etc.) so I consider these gains quite good, as I have a wide focus in my training program.

I chose to do the 3-week Smolov Jr. back squat program because I wanted a high volume medium intensity focused squat cycle, and I had heard from several sources that Smolov Jr. was a good place to go for an intermediate lifter.

My aims was to increase my 1RM in the back squat and hopefully do the same for front squat and deadlift (without actually doing those two movements). Furthermore, I wanted to improve my squatting position and general ability to squat.

2) The program
I simply used this online Smolov Jr. calculator and used my current 1RM of 150 kg to generate the 3-week cycle. I chose to go with a 5 kg week-to-week increment.

I went to the gym 4-5 times per week during the program and stuck strictly to the "on/off/on/off/on/on/off" workout schedule for each week to ensure coherence with the progressive overload theory.

For accessory exercises I did 1-2 upper body strength exercises (military press, bench press, pendlay rows, pull ups, ring dips etc.) in a 3-5 sets of 8-12 reps scheme, along with some longer duration CrossFit WODs that were primarily focused on low intensity cardio work and upper body gymnastic movements. I did NOT do any deadlifting, oly lifting or other squatting during the Smolov Jr. cycle.

See my full strength program (without the WODs I also did) here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjSt1JgcNA3vdERXMDJhT3dLOTVaLWJOQjE5M0JqVUE&usp=sharing

3) The results
During the last 2 weeks I have had a chance to test some of my lifts and here are the results:

Body weight: 89 kg.
High bar back squat: 160 kg (up 10 kg) - tested 3 days after end of Smolov Jr. program.
Low bar back squat: 170 kg (up 10 kg) - tested 3 days after end of program.
Deadlift: 202.5 kg (up 12.5 kg) - tested 1.5 weeks after end of program.
Front squat: 135 kg (up 10 kg) - tested 2.5 weeks after end of program.

All in all I must say that all my lifts have benefitted greatly from doing this program! And also I have to add that all the PRs I have set after the Smolov Jr. strength program was with much better form than my previous PRs. If I had gone all out balls to the wall I could prabably have done 5 kgs more in most of them.

I still have not tested my olympic lifts but it will be interesting to see if there has also been an impact to those.

Final thoughts:
- Squatting this much was great! I started to really love squatting.
- Squatting this much was tough. I did not get any overload injuries or anything, but it will be a couple of months before I do it again (which I definitely will).
- Smolov Jr. is a peaking program (leading up to peak strength). I do not expect to keep all of my strength strength gains, but it does look like some will stick and my squat form has certainly benefitted a lot from doing this.
- The key to a successful Smolov Jr. cycle is to let go of everything else. It puts a lot of stress on the body which means that it is VERY important to get enough rest and to not do too many other things (which can be VERY hard for a CrossFitter).

In conclusion: Do Smolov Jr. if you are not a beginner and want to get stronger and better at squatting. Trust me - it will all be worth it in the end! You will not get fat from lack of cardio work. You will not get slow from lack of explosive work. You will not get weak in the rest of your body from not going full on with WODs all the time.

Warning: stop the program if you start to accumulate pain in hips, groin or knees. This probably means that your squatting form is not good enough for an intense program like this, and overuse injuries can take A LONG TIME to heal.

And remember to have fun!

<3 <3 <3

lørdag den 7. december 2013

Sat 7 Dec 2013

Front squat
Warm up: 10 x 20 - 40, 8 x 60, 5 x 80, 2 x 100.
1RM tes: 1 x 110 - 120 - 130 - 135 kg (PR).
Work sets: 3s x 8r x 85 kg.

1 x 130 kg.

1 x 135 kg (PR).

8 x 85 kg, 2nd set of 3.

Pendlay rows
Warm up: 10 x 20 - 40, 8 x 60 kg.
Work sets: 8 x 65, 2 x 10 x 65 kg.

EMOTM 6 min
2 x full clean @ 90 kg.

WOD w Smuksen
10 min AMRAP of:
30 DUs
10 HSPU
20 russian twists
10 GHD

Score: 4 rds + 30 DU + 10 HSPU.

Fri 6 Dec 2013

Rest day. Still sick.