Squats are the king of all lifts in the gym. If you’re not squatting, you’re not lifting. You might as well go home, grab a bag of potato chips, and tune into your favorite television program if you’re not squatting when you’re in the gym.

While squatting is for everyone, Smolov isn’t. This isn’t something I’d recommend to anyone who doesn’t have a couple of years of serious weight training under their belt and who can at least squat 350+ lbs. (158.76+ kg). Honestly, I’d say you’d need to squat at least two times your own bodyweight before embarking on this plan.

No, I haven’t been back into lifting for that long. I’ve only been squatting for about the last six months. However, my workout partner and I both have an extensive background in powerlifting, so we’re well aware of both the physical and mental aspects required for such an undertaking. Even with that in mind, we know it’s a possibility that we won’t finish the program.

Basically, you need to be serious about lifting and know what you’re doing before taking on Smolov. Having balls of steel wouldn’t hurt either. You’ll need them.

What tools do you need?

Well, this is pretty simple. You need the basics:

• Squat rack
• Barbell
• Weights
• Weight belt (optional)

This program was designed before lifting equipment was really used. Plus, I’m not a huge fan of lifting equipment. I’ve always been more of a fan raw powerlifting. But, if you use lifting equipment, save that for the end of the program when you get your new max.

You might also want to invest in a decent to help with those aches and pains.

Other tips

There are two important things you must do in order for your body to recuperate from a program like Smolov. Otherwise, your body will just shut down on you.

• Eat. Then, eat some more. Seriously, don’t starve yourself on this program.
• Sleep. I’m taking a vacation for week #1 just so I can sleep a little extra as my body adjusts. You need a minimum of 8 hours every night.

You’ll also need to skip any other work on your lower back and legs. Especially skip lower back work. It will go through hell with the squats alone. Doing things like deadlifts and rows while on this program will likely cause you an injury. Just don’t do them until the 13 weeks are over. You are free to work your arms and upper back all you want, assuming you have the energy to do so.

The intro microcycle

The introductory microcycle is a two-week cycle to allow your body to adjust to the volume and intensity of the program. If you’re used to squatting heavy (70%+ of your max for 5+ sets) three or four days a week, you can skip this part of the program. However, I recommend it just so you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Just because it’s an intro, doesn’t mean it ain’t tough, so let’s get right to it.

Week #1

The below table does not have typos. Yes, you will be squatting on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I’ll repeat: that is three days in a row of squatting. Don’t worry though. This is the only days in the entire program where you’ll do three days in a row of squatting. I recommend clearing your schedule for eating and sleeping during these days.

Week #2

As you can see, the volume is dialed down to almost nothing compare to week #1, but the intensity is high for your work sets. I recommend continuing with lunges throughout the week to keep your legs stretched out.

Who wants to join me?

What I’ve shown above is just the intro microcycle. The intensity and volume gets much tougher.

If you want to try it out, let me know in the comments. Feel free to ask any questions. Or, if you just want to see if I can last 13 weeks in Hell, well, that should be pretty fun too.