Novel post/rant-
Last squat erryday update:
Started on 6 Aug. Last day will be Saturday.
Squat 1RM went from a grindy 390 to a slow 510 (wrapped). That's 120 lbs. in 11 weeks, with a lifetime pr of 50#.
Pendlay Row 1RM went up by 25 lbs. Vertical pulling (chin-ups/pull-ups) seems to have decreased.
Bench has only gone up 20 lbs. in 8 weeks. I've been doing Smolov Jr since the beginning of the month, will post results after this week and some off days.
Deadlift actually regressed by about 15 lbs., probably since the frequency, intensity, and volume all decreased compared to my normal training programs. Also doesn't help that the lower back and quads were never 100% recovered when I pulled. Overhead press is likely down as well (haven't been training it seriously).
Final thoughts:
1) Don't do this if you are not an accomplished squatter/have suspect form. The frequency will hone good form but will wreck you if your form is bad.
2) Do not do this if you are not used to high frequency training. If you don't already squat/deadlift religiously 3+ times a week, I would not recommend this.
Warning: Heavy weights beat you up and heavy training often tends to lead to overuse injuries. I would not recommend this if you have a physically demanding job or tend to get injured often.
3) Most of the gains were neural. I did put on some size, mostly in the upper legs and chest, but this program won't turn you into the Hulk. Regular hypertrophy splits are far superior for size.
4) Program is relatively imbalanced and I think the lifts show this. Idk how you could do enough hamstring work to balance a quad-dominant squat without frying the lower back. The more benching you do, the more back and rear delt work you need to maintain shoulder health and balance. I feel like eventually you'd need to break this up into 2 sessions: 1 for squat and bench and 1 for rows/chins/pulldowns, face pulls, hamstring work, biceps, core, etc.
5) This program is not the end all be all, especially for powerlifting, but it can be used to bring up a lagging lift relatively quickly.
5a) Of all the programs I have personally run, high volume PPLs, the Arnold Split (Chest/Back; Arms/Delts; Legs twice a week), and PHAT (with extra volume) are far superior for hypertrophy. A bro split could probably produce the same size gains, provided you have enough volume in it and actually do the leg day. Even with back-off sets and lifting 6, 7 days a week, there just simply isn't enough volume to drive large amounts of hypertrophy.
5b) Of the programs I have personally run for strength gains, only 5/3/1 Who Was CNS came close to this. I won't include peaking programs like Smolov/Jr., as they are not designed to be ran indefinitely (this theoretically could be). Only beginner full body LP programs like SS and SL 5x5 would have you progressing faster, but if you can still make linear gains this program is not for you yet anyway.
6) Seems like DL, Row, and Bench improve most on moderate frequency (2x per week for DL; 2-3x max for Bench). SQ seems to lag at only 1x/week and improves decently @ 2x. Anything more than 3x and it takes off like a rocket. YMMV.
tl;dr: Program works but is not ideal for aesthetics or powerlifting. Not sure what percentage of the largely neural gains will diminish once frequency decreases. If you do this, recommend following up with a hypertrophy program to transmute as much of the strength gains into size gains.