The Smolov Squat Routine is a Russian squat program that allows you to improve your squat by up to 45 kg in three months. The program is named after the Russian weightlifting coach Sergei Smolov. It lasts 13 weeks and consists of five cycles. You squat three to four times a week. If this scares you or if percentages don’t suit you, don’t read any further.
INTRODUCTION
We have to start with some caveats. The promised improvement of 45 kg is firstly the maximum, although you should at least be able to improve your squat by 20 kg. Secondly, the program is not intended for beginners. We recommend that anyone who has been training (squat) for less than two years or less than one and a half times their body weight squat start this program. You will probably get better results on a linear program, such as Madcow 5×5.
THE PROGRAM
The Smolov Squat Routine is a macro cycle that consists of five smaller cycles, namely:
- introductory phase (microcycle) – 2 weeks: this phase is designed to get your legs ready for the weeks to come.
- basic cycle (meso cycle) – 4 weeks: in this phase you lay the foundation for the intensive phase. You will train harder from day to day and week to week.
- transition phase (microcycle) – 2 weeks: this phase is the transition from the basic cycle to the intensive cycle and pays attention to explosiveness. You use relatively light weights and focus on speed.
- intensive phase (meso cycle) – 4 weeks: this intensive phase is what it is all about and is even heavier than the basic cycle in terms of training intensity.
- peak phase – 1 week: in the peak phase you train once more heavily and once relatively lightly, to set a new personal best on your squat after three days of rest.
INTRODUCTION PHASE
Smolov makes no bones about it. In the first week of the two-week introduction phase, you will work towards 90% of your current one-rep max (1RM) in three net days. Use your actual 1RM or use a calculator to estimate your 1RM.
Mind you, days 1, 2 and 3 are – don’t be alarmed – consecutive days! For the next three days, you’ll do ankle lunges and dynamic stretches. Then you rest for two days.
The second week of the introduction week and therefore of the program is not as aligned as the first. Smolov only prescribes that in week 2 you should squat three times with 80-85% of your 1RM with a day of rest in between – for example on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The last day you should work towards one set of five repetitions at 85%. Although Smolov never says that you should also use sets of five repetitions the days before, it seems the most logical to us.
Week 2 could then look like this:
Again, Smolov only dictates that you should train in the range of 80-85% and finish on Friday with 1x5x85%. This can also be done, for example, by working towards two doubles on Monday and a triple with 85% on Wednesday, to squeeze out five repetitions with the same weight on Friday. Mind you, this must be your heaviest set this week! What you do before this is only the prelude to this. So don’t train heavier than 85% and don’t do more than five repetitions with 85%.
BASIC CYCLE
The introductory phase has you ready for the basic four-week cycle, in which you train four days a week.
As the notes already tell you, in week 2 you use the same weights as in week 1 plus 10 kg. In week 3 you use the same weights as in week 1 plus 15 kg, or in other words: the same weights as in week 2 plus 5 kg. So do not add 10 kg in the second week and another 15 kg in the third week. You add a total of 15 kg to all your sets in weeks 2 and 3.
In week 4 you get two days of rest before you start working towards a new 1RM on day 3 and(!) day 4. Again, Smolov does not prescribe exactly how you should do that, but we recommend that you, after a warm-up with some light sets of five repetitions, do a triple with 80% and two doubles with 90% of your ‘old’ 1RM to do. After that you can determine your new 1RM via a few singles. This new 1RM forms the basis for the percentages in the remainder of the program.
TRANSITION PHASE
The transition phase, or transition phase, lasts two weeks and focuses on speed. You will perform explosive repetitions with weights that are far below your maximum (50-65% 1RM), so as quickly as possible. Here again Smolov leaves us somewhat in the dark about the exact interpretation; he just tells us to train four days a week. Since you can only perform a very limited number of reps at maximum speed, we recommend that you do no more than 3-5 reps per set and 5-8 sets in total. Try to keep the total number of reps per workout about the same – 5×5, 6×4 and especially 8×3 are great parameters for speed training, as it is called. (Want to know more about this form of exercise? Google ‘Westside Barbell’ and ‘Dynamic Effort’.)
INTENSIVE PHASE
In the intensive phase, you add another 10-20 kg to your squat. We warn you: this intensive phase is not for everyone. Many therefore give up after the basic cycle and are satisfied with the 1RM they have put there.
The intensive mesocycle lasts four weeks in which you train ‘only’ three times a week on non-consecutive days. We’ll work up to three sets of four reps with 95% of your 1RM. Please note, we work with percentages based on your new 1RM, which you set in week 4 of the base cycle.
PEAK PHASE
In this last week, the peak phase, you train only twice and peak at the end of the week. On day 1 you do 1x3x70%, 1x3x80%, 2x5x90% and 3x4x95%. Then you rest for a day and on day 2 you do 1x4x75% and 4x4x85%. After this you rest for three days and on day 3 you work towards a maximum attempt, which is 10-20 kg higher than the 1RM you put down at the end of the base cycle, just under seven weeks ago and 20-45 kg higher than with start of the programme.
FINALLY
The Smolov Squat Routine is a voluminous and intensive training program for advanced users who have been training for at least two years and can squat about 1.5 times their body weight. We cannot emphasize that enough.
The program assumes that you eat well and (more than) enough and that you rest optimally between the different training sessions. The question of whether you can follow another intensive program parallel to this program is therefore self-answering. Whatever you do, in any case do not perform deadlifts , spare your lower back and do not train on your rest days. If you do want to do some work for your chest, shoulders and back, do it after your squat training. At least if you’re still in the mood for that.
Whether you advance 20 or 45 kg depends mainly on your experience level, body weight and commitment to the program. We ourselves once lifted our squat from 140 kg to 180 kg. After some injuries, we fell back to 160 kg. We have just completed the basic cycle and are back at 180 kg.
We have sometimes been asked whether you can start the basic cycle with your new 1RM immediately after the peak phase or after one or two weeks. The answer to that is short and sweet: no. We recommend that you do the Smolov Squat Routine no more than twice a year, with maximum spacing. In the meantime, you can pick up your regular training schedule and reap the benefits of your stronger squat.