Smolov Jr. Bench Press, Back, Abs

Smolov Jr. Bench Press, Week 1, Day 2

137/13
192/5,5,5,5,5,5,5

Pendlay Rows

188/5,5,5

Pull Ups

5,5,5

Abs

Planks: 75 seconds, 60 seconds
Roman Chair Side Bends: 22.5 lb. DB/12,12

Smolov Jr. Bench Press, Squats, Curls, Abs

Tonight marked the first day of my three week Smolov Jr. bench press program. I used 252 as my max weight for the calculator, even though my true max is 258. I chose 252 because I am pretty confident that I could bench that weight even on an off night. My level of confidence is not that high with 258. Smolov Jr. requires bench pressing 4 times per week in the following pattern: bench day, off day, bench day, off day, bench day, bench day, off day. After three weeks of this pattern, the lifter tests his or her one rep max. The theory is that the one rep max should increase pretty significantly. We shall see.

I will not being doing any shoulder press work during the Smolov Jr. program because my shoulders are going to be worked a good amount, bench pressing 4 days per week.

Smolov Jr. Bench Press, Week 1, Day 1

177/6,6,6,6,6,6

Squat

133/10, 223/8, 273/3,3,3,3

Hamstring Machine

135/10,10

EZ Bar Curls

80/15, 10

Abs

Hanging Knee Raises: 20,20,15
Roman Chair Side Bends: 20 lb. DB/12,12,12

Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Pendlay Rows

Boy, did my body need that week's rest. I felt great during tonight's workout. I can't remember the last time that I did a squat or a deadlift without feeling a tweak somewhere. Too bad this fresh feeling won't last once I start getting back into it.

I decided to do the major movements tonight since I will be traveling again during Thanksgiving weekend and won't be able to lift again until next Tuesday, which is when I will start the Smolov Jr. bench press template.

Squat

47/10, 138/10, 228/5, 258/5, 278/3,3,3

Bench Press

132/10, 182/5, 222/5,5,5,5,4

Deadlift

133/5, 223/5, 273/3, 323/3, 373/1

Pendlay Rows

193/3,3,3

Training & Outlook for the next month

While it may look like I have been slacking lately when it comes to lifting weights, the truth of the matter is that I am still pretty banged up. My back is not fully healed and I have recently started to feel something in my right knee.

In addition, I am going on a couple of short trips in the next two weeks. I will be sworn in to the D.C. Bar this Friday and will be spending most of Thanksgiving weekend with my father in Cape Cod. As such, my lifting will be pretty limited over the next two weeks. Time permitting, I will do some high rep stuff in the hotel gym over the weekend. Next week, I plan on lifting per regular on Tuesday. While at the Cape, I plan on chopping fire wood with an ax, which will be a good cardio workout. It should be noted that my basketball playing will not be compromised, as I don't plan on missing any sessions.

While this time off will likely cause some strength loss, I hope it is enough to finally get me back to 100%. My goal after Thanksgiving weekend is to run Smolov Jr. for the bench press until right around Christmas. I'd also like to squat and deadlift again during that same time period.

Once the New Year hits, I will start a new template.

Tonight's session was as follows:

Behind the Neck Press (Sitting)

97/12, 107/10, 122/8, 132/5, 142/5, 147/7,7,6

Bodyweight Pull Ups & Chin Ups (Alternating)

Pull Ups: 6
Chin Ups: 8
Pull Ups: 4
Chin Ups: 7
Pull Ups: 4
Chin Ups: 6

EZ Bar Curls

70/20,16

Abs

Planks: 70 seconds, 70 seconds
Roman Chair Side Bends: 20 lb. DB/15,15

Legs & Incline Press

In an effort to make sure that my back continues to heal, I decided to do some non-squat and non-deadlift leg exercises today.  I had a great workout.

Leg Press

2 45lb. plates on each side/20
3/10
4/10
5/8
6/6
7/3
7/3
7/5
2/20

Hamstring Machine

130/12,12

Lunges 

50lb. DB in each hand/8 reps each leg X 2

Incline DB Press

75/10
85/7
95/5
100/3
100/3
65/15

Behind the Neck Press, Pull Ups, Curls, and Abs

Behind the Neck Press (Standing)

47/15, 98/12, 118/7, 138/5, 138/5, 138/4, 108/12

Pull Ups (Bodyweight)

5,5,5,5,5

* Haven't done these in a while. They felt smooth.

EZ Bar Curls

65/20, 65/15, 70/13

* Can't remember the last time I curled with the EZ Bar. Decided to mix things up.

Abs

Planks: 60 seconds, 60 seconds

Roman Chair Side Bends: 10lb. dumbbell/12,12,12

I was going to try timed sit ups again, but I couldn't find anywhere in the gym sufficient enough to hold my feet in place. I will have to stick to doing these at home.
 

Bench Press & Pendlay Rows

Bench Press

47/21, 137/5, 187/3, 227/2, 237/1, 217/5,5,5,5,4 (failed halfway through the 5th rep)

Incline DB Press

70/16, 85/4

Pendlay Rows:

188/5, 188/5, 193/5, 193/3, 193/3

Video- Pendlay Rows: 188/5

Video- Pendlay Rows: 193/3

Sit Ups

35 in 1 minute; improvement of 1 from yesterday.

Saturday Training

My back felt good for the last two days, so I decided to test it today.

Sit Ups

Traditional sit ups- as many as I could do in one minute. This is the standard used in the FBI PT test.

I haven't done a traditional sit up in years, and my abs aren't the strongest, so I wasn't anticipating a great number per FBI standards.

Set 1: 29
Set 2: 34 (done about 30 minutes after Set 1)

* This is my starting point. I plan on building on these numbers to see how well I could do v. FBI standards.

Pause Squats

42/10, 133/10, 223/5, 273/1, 258/5,4,1

* Back tightened up again with the set of 223. This is so frustrating.

Behind the Neck Press- Standing

98/12,12,12,12,12,12

Hamstring Machine

125/12,12