In Defense of Smolov Squat
Squatting 4/week is good for you
“The thirteen week Russian cycle packs more work than most American squatters do in a year, no joke. You shall gain but you shall pay with sweat, blood, and vomit, Comrade.”
With these words in a 2002 article for dragondoor.com (badass name), Belarusian trainer Pavel Tsatsouline imported the oft-criticized “Smolov Super Cycle” to the American powerlifting community. “Add up to 100 Pounds to Your Squat in Thirteen Weeks,” he boasts.
When I ran Smolov years ago I met all his metrics — sweat, blood, and vomit — and, when it was all said and done, did indeed add over 100lbs to my 1RM squat (temporarily, more on that below).
Today, I see and hear nothing but Smolov criticism. And some of the counterarguments are valid — high risk of injury, gains don’t last, it’s not feasible to spend eight hours/week squatting. But much of the criticism, in my view, stems from an underlying philosophical debate between Russian and American training regimes. SPETSNAZ — Soviet special forces, Pavel’s background — is about triggering rapid adaptations through super-compensation. The thesis is that fatigue tolerance is also a variable lifters should control: just like the body can adapt to load, it can also adapt to fatigue. American training regimes often miss this key point, treating fatigue tolerance as a fixed threshold and only endeavoring to manipulate load and rest, in service of fatigue management.
But in defense of its critics, Smolov is an unambiguously psychotic program.
During the base cycle, lifters are asked to squat four days each week (meaning two squat days are back-to-back), for a minimum of 30 repetitions: day one is 4 sets of 9 at 70% of your current max, day two is 5 sets of 7 at 75%, day three is 7x5 at 80%, and day four is a shocking 10 sets of 3 at 85%. Each week, Smolov asks that lifters add 10kg (20lbs) to their load from the previous week; therefore, in most cases, by week three, Smolov expects that you’ll be tripling PR weight … ten times. In Tsatsouline’s words: “The mad Commie who dreamed up this anti-Constitutional cycle promises that once you have survived these four weeks your legs will turn into car jacks.”
Unsurprisingly, dialed-in recovery is imperative for the successful execution of Smolov. During the base cycle described above, I slept 12-14 hours/night, lived in an absurd caloric surplus (literally force-feeding), regularly missed load targets (even when quarter-squatting), and, without fail, still went to bed every night feeling like I had been hit by a truck. There’s a good case to be made that this program was designed for people on steroids (it was crafted in Russia…).
Another element of the program that likely alienates American lifters is the bizarre “switching” meso-cycle. After the grueling base week, Smolov instructs you not to practice competition squat for two weeks. Instead, Tsatsouline explains:
“With the exception of negative squats recommended once or twice a week, all lifts and exercises are now performed with maximum explosion. Series of various jumps and hops, deep squat jumps with a light barbell, etc. are on the Party approved list … Exploding from the sticking point in the squat is another fine exercise for the switching period. ‘The motto of the switching program is speed, and speed again,’ explains S. Smolov. For a change of pace as much as anything else.
There is some method to the madness because when it’s all said and done the results are insane and undeniable. Between two meets I raised my squat from 215kg (474lb) to 260kg (573.2lb), all while cutting down a weight class. And I’m not special: if you search Smolov on Reddit or some of the strength websites, there are no shortage wild success stories, many of which far eclipse my own. I think everyone should try it at least once.
So why does Smolov work? I’m not completely sure but have some ideas:
Dialed-in technique — as it turns out, when you squat 136/week, you get really good at squatting. So from a biomechanical efficiency perspective, you can move more weight even if you aren’t gaining tissue.
Dialed-in mindset — forcing yourself under the bar to hit a 10th set of PR weight on your fourth squat day of the week is some Kobe-level BS that pays dividends on meet day.
Secret Russian wisdom — I really do think the Soviet gulag lifters acquired some knowledge that we forget today in America.
But the downsides are real:
Temporary gains — 550 is the closest I’ve been to my Smolov PR. Tsatsouline explains that this is a rigorous meet prep program, not one for general or permanent strength.
Unsustainable — you basically have to be an unemployed college student with infinite free access to protein to pull this off.
Compromises the other lifts — it’s very difficult to optimize for deadlift and bench when you’re running Smolov squat (although your deadlift will go up marginally just off the leg gains).
So, anyway, run Smolov. If you’re a masochist, you’ll love it.