Week 1: Legs

This workout was definitely a killer for my quads, as I am still trying to find the sweet spot for 5 sets of 4 reps each. The program seems to recommend a constant weight of 70% my 1rm, but I felt that only 4 reps of about 280 was not heavy enough.

The biggest debate I have right now with this program is the lack of leg work, and what steps I should take to amend this issue. Research into the Smolov routine seemed to reveal the opposite extreme:

• Weeks 1-2 - introduction cycle to prepare your legs. Week 1 you squat 3 day in a row working up towards heavy singles, rest of the week is stretching to speed up leg recovery. Week 2 you squat every other day.
• Week 3-6 - the base cycle where you'll squat 4x/week for 3 weeks. 4 sets of 9 reps Monday, 5x7 Wednesday, 7x5 Friday, and 10x3 reps Saturday. The weight increases each workout, each week. Week 4 is a rest week where you'll only squat once and attempt to break your PR.
• Week 7-8 - the switching cycle is a 2 week deload to give you a well deserved physical and mental break before the next cycle.
• Week 9-13 - the intensity cycle where you'll only squat 3x/week, but 44% of the time it will be using weights between 81 and 90% of your maximum... and for 4 weeks on. Most guys agree this is the hardest part of Smolov. Week 5 you attempt to break your previous Squat PR.

 Way too much leg work for me. I assume that after a couple more weeks of this program, I will have a much better idea of what constitutes my heaviest 4 rep lift. Here is the breakdown for today:

Squats

• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10

• 275 x 4
• 285 x 4
• 295 x 4
• 315 x 4
• 315 x 4

Leg press machine

• 315 x 10
• 365 x 10
• 385 x 10
• 425 x 10
• 455 x 10

Leg extension machine

• 140 x 8
• 170 x 8
• 200 x 8