Smolov Update

2nd session down, once again it was fairly easy.  A thank you to Ian Burch for spotting me on my working sets.  Got all 7 sets for the full 5 reps on 120kg with no stalled reps or any real struggle.  Once again I realise that it's only going to get harder but these last two sessions have built confidence going into the programme.

One thing I am noticing, and appreciating is the fact that because the volume is to high, the rest times are so short and the load is set at a certain limit, I am not having to get myself particularly psyched up for each lift.  I am thinking this is going to be a big positive because I won't be taxing my adrenals anywhere near as much as normal.  Therefore when I come to retest my 1RM, and I have the added adrenaline element it should give me an edge.  That's just a theory though.  We shall see.

For assistance today I jumped straight to the 50kg dumbbells and did 3 sets 0f 8-10 (10 on first set, 8 on second set, and 9 on last set).  Then 4 sets of dips for 6 reps (started at bodyweight and went up to using a 25kg dumbbell).  I made sure not to take these too heavy and not to fail on a rep.  Getting the balance right and doing the optimal amount of work, is probably going to prove difficult.  I intended to do 4 sets of both of these assistance exercises but 3 seemed more appropriate when I came to do them.

It is important to stay slightly fluid with a programme and listen to your body.  All of this is trial and error for me though and 3 sets seemed the right decision today especially as this is the first week of the programme.  I will see how I feel once I complete the first week and reassess when I get round to next week.

I finished the session with some light lateral DB raises and rear delt raises and some banded rhomboid and external rotation work.

More updates to come.

Phil