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Program & Results - Smolov Jr Bench + Strength First Boston's Deadlift

ChrisLindsay9

ChrisLindsay9

MuscleHead
Jun 17, 2013
2,773
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Back on December 28th, my wife ran two 4-week programs concurrently: Smolov Jr. for Bench and SFB's Deadlift Program ( by @PillarofBalance ). Quick background: she's 43, is pretty new to competing and is interested in push-pull to start. And we picked Smolov Jr, a 4-week program, because she decided to compete in mid-March and we wanted a window of time to peak for it after running these two programs. I then found SFB's deadlift program which was the same amount of time. So the consolidated program ran for 12/28 - 1/21.

Her PRs going into the program were 122.5 touch-n-go bench (gym), and 203 deadlift (meet/gym). She tested her 1RMs last night after completing the training last week.

Here are the results/summary:

Bench
Tied previous PR. She didn't get a touch-n-go bench PR, but she smoked 122.5 again with decent form and technique (for her). She went for 130 and had a technique break-down that caused it to stall an inch or two above her chest. We dropped the weight to 125, and another technique break-down caused her to miss that one as well at the same place. I realized that when she takes heavier weight, she's coming down higher on her chest, and so her elbows shoot in front of the bar and loses all power. I think a little bit of overload work with boards and making sure she positions the bar and lets it settle right after the handoff can help remedy this issue. Also, just keep working on improving her technique so she can better understand and use her leverages.

Deadlift
15lb PR. It was a bit of a grinder, but she powered her way through it. She used to be slow off the floor, but now her sticking point is right above her shins and below her knees. So her PR pull started good, slowed below the knees, then shot up to a lockout that was faster than superhero Flash's sneeze. We went for 222.5 and it stalled below her knees. I think stiffed leg deadlifts and smaller block pulls (maybe 2 plates that are about 3" high) will help remedy the sticking point. I don't think good mornings or paused squats are carrying over at this time. Her upper back is strong, but I think she mentally gets timid of weight that's above her 1RM, so I think some reverse band deadlifts might be something for her to try. There's a national deadlift record in the AAPF for her age/weight division that I think is not too far off (231lbs). To break it, she would have to pull 236. So I might put some bands on 235 and have her pull them (starting with stronger bands and work down to the weaker bands).

Analysis
Despite only 1 PR, I think both programs made her stronger, and I think the Smolov program will have carryover to her paused bench for the upcoming meet. On the very last day of Smolov, when she was doing 10 sets of triples at 90%, she not only got them all - but she ended up doing a bonus 11th set and got that weight for 5 reps, including a pause at the end. Once she's moved weight, she's comfortable with it - even when having to do it for a long pause.

Her Meet Goals (March 11)

Pause Bench - 55kg / 121.25lbs (a little conservative - we're assuming a lengthy press command like her last meet)
Deadlift - 100kg / 220.25lbs (although I think she will have a shot at 102.5kg / 225.75lbs)

The Program
When programming the sets/reps/weight for both programs, I prioritized the bench and deadlift, we put squat work on a lower intensity (between a deload and normal training intensity), and she picked her other accessory work that was to be done at an RPE of 7 (except the last week). She never missed a rep in either program (or even on squat, although she decided to not squat on the third Friday after her 11 sets of bench triples at 90%).

The highlights of the program were her last training bench day of Smolov that I described above, and also seeing her pull 210 from blocks on the last SFB's deadlift program; and then deciding that she could do more and upping the weight to 215 on her second and last set.So here's what her programming looked like:
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