Essential Random Gym Thoughts Revisited...

[Son Goku]

I wanna do Smolov badly for legs but a nikka shook..... I know it ain't no joke... . but them power gains are so alluring.....

I started doing the Bulgarian Method as a Smolov for Squats alternative. I saw the volume of the full program and said

 

[trap101-ETHout-Allegri-In]

I started doing the Bulgarian Method as a Smolov for Squats alternative. I saw the volume of the full program and said

See that shyt?.... . and you a vet. After one session Im gonna be in bed for a week..

 

[Son Goku]

See that shyt?.... . and you a vet. After one session Im gonna be in bed for a week..

Well part of it is just knowing yourself. The rep scheme of Smolov 3-4x a week is gonna be a lot more taxing to me personally than increasingly heavy singles 6-10x a week.

Neither program's gains will stick 100% so why suffer needlessly? TBM is also more flexible schedule-wise.

 

[Tr0yTV]

Breh...


This aint the hill you want to die on....


Bench + smith machine....






I guarantee I can go to the smith machine, and within a couple workouts hit 4 plates on the bytch machine FOR REPS, but I guarantee, within a week you can't hit anywhere near 3 plates on bench.

You're literally trying compare apples and oranges.

Make this make sense.
4 plates on smith > 3 plates on bench
I rep 315 on bench

 

[Son Goku]

Make this make sense.
4 plates on smith > 3 plates on bench
I rep 315 on bench

Nikkas that rep 3 wheels on bench don't PR on the Steve Smiff machine.

 

[Serious]

Make this make sense.
4 plates on smith > 3 plates on bench
I rep 315 on bench

Ok Then post a video doing 315 FOR REPS on bench

Nikkas that rep 3 wheels on bench don't PR on the Steve Smiff machine.

This goofy cat is trying brag about hitting 375 on a bytch machine.

I've seen it all now.

 

[trap101-ETHout-Allegri-In]

Well part of it is just knowing yourself. The rep scheme of Smolov 3-4x a week is gonna be a lot more taxing to me personally than increasingly heavy singles 6-10x a week.

Neither program's gains will stick 100% so why suffer needlessly? TBM is also more flexible schedule-wise.

I was just reading the full Smolov, so I wouldn't be doing any other body work or accessory work? Just 13 weeks of squats? no upper body?

 

[Son Goku]

Ok Then post a video doing 315 FOR REPS on bench



This goofy cat is trying brag about hitting 375 on a bytch machine.

I've seen it all now.

 

[trap101-ETHout-Allegri-In]

Ok Then post a video doing 315 FOR REPS on bench



This goofy cat is trying brag about hitting 375 on a bytch machine.

I've seen it all now.

Y'all gonna make this cat have a reckoning with reality when he realize shyt ain't all sweet when you got that 45lb bar, free weights, and gravity pushing on his ass... .

 

[Son Goku]

I was just reading the full Smolov, so I wouldn't be doing any other body work or accessory work? Just 13 weeks of squats? no upper body?

Depends. A lot of masochists combine cycles of Junior for bench with full Smolov for squats.



Some folks only run it solo and still slaw out.


Ask yourself how much pain you want to endure and how much your other lifts would detrain in over 3 months.

 

[Son Goku]

Y'all gonna make this cat have a reckoning with reality when he realize shyt ain't all sweet when you got that 45lb bar, free weights, and gravity pushing on his ass... .

No less than he deserves.


@HARLEM AL told them hoe-ass nikkas to stop taking up space and oxygen in the gym.

 

[Swirv]

Well part of it is just knowing yourself. The rep scheme of Smolov 3-4x a week is gonna be a lot more taxing to me personally than increasingly heavy singles 6-10x a week.

Neither program's gains will stick 100% so why suffer needlessly? TBM is also more flexible schedule-wise.

How close to 100% do you think the gains will stick long term 1+ years?

 

[Son Goku]

How close to 100% do you think the gains will stick long term 1+ years?

Depending on what you do, as much as all of it may be lost afterwards. Prolly no more than 20%.


Doing one of these programs is like doing a cycle of steroids and then coming off it. With or without PCT, you'll lose a large amount of what you gained from the gear. Your baseline will be higher afterwards but it may only be a difference of 10 or 20 pounds in the long run. (Gear works the same way, which is why most users keep using something; they don't only do 1 cycle and then never hop on a bike again.)


Smolov is a peaking program. The Bulgarian Method can also be used to peak. A peaking program is designed to get you to be your absolute strongest on the day of competition. Both of these programs derive the majority of your gains from neural adaptation: squatting heavy weight more often (3-4+ x a week for high-volume sets or multiple singles up to a daily max) makes your nervous system better at squatting; that is to say, they make you better at recruiting more of the muscle you already have. These programs may not make you much bigger or induce any hypertrophy at all.

The higher your leg volume was before starting, the less likely you are to see increases in size.


Smolov is not designed to be ran in consecutive cycles and there is a large degree of diminishing returns for doing so, assuming you physically can. TBM will have you approach diminishing returns as you outkick your recovery coverage from continuing to tax your CNS without a break. These programs are for "blasts" not for "crusing".



Anyone ITT intending to run one of these programs who is *not* competing in a full power powerlifting meet or gym meet (i.e. 1RM squat, bench, and deadlift all done in the same day) who doesn't realize the above is deluding themselves somewhat.

 

[PortCityProphet]

I feel like when this cat @XNoNameX is 70 years old with his grandkids on his knee telling them his life story he gon get to June of 2022 and calmly say "and you see kids...this is where I fukked up"

 

[Mirin4rmfar]

Down 7lbs from 231 . Aiming for another 15lbs. I really hate how I gain weight. It all goes to my stomach. Even though I am tall, any fat gain goes to my stomach lol.