starting strength gym
Page 1 of 7 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 63

Thread: Wrestling with the bear

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Apartment 1, Ivory Towers
    Posts
    885

    Thumbs up Wrestling with the bear

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    I just finished a 3 week cycle of Pavel's Russian bear and I thought i would give it a bit of a review.

    The program was as follows:
    Train Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday

    Every day is the same sets and reps with the same two exercises.

    1x5 deadlifts (a weight you can do for 7)
    1x5 deadlifts with 10% less
    as many sets of 5 as you can do at 10% less again with a max 1 minute between sets.

    1x5 press (with a weight you can do for 7)
    1x5 press with 10% less
    as many sets of 5 as you can do at 10% less again with a max 1 minute between sets

    Cycle the weight up either in a wave or linear (or whatever the hell you want). I added weight every second or third session.

    For the final weight aim to do between 10 and 25 sets but ten is the absolute minimum.

    I ran this for 3 weeks and was pretty wrecked by the end of it. I could have maybe gone slightly longer but not much. There were some days after 15 sets of deadlifts that i had to lie down for 10 minutes before starting the presses.

    I wasnt sure how i would cope with recovering from this volume so for the three weeks i ate like a horse and slept at least 9 hours a night.

    The results were excellent. So excellent in fact that i am now scheduling 3 weeks of the bear every ten weeks. Both of these lifts were lifts that I had been a bit stuck on and both made huge gains. Prior to starting i didnt test my deadlift 1RM but my best ever lift had been 170kgx2 and today i did 1x200kg (which was my target goal for the year). I also added 10kg to my press. I had previously made 1x72.5kg but had been struggling and prior to starting the bear i tested it again and it had dropped to 1x70kg. I tested it today and made 1x80kg. that is a 12.5% increase in 3 weeks. Astonishing.

    As a short term bulking/strengthening program I give the Russian bear 5 out of 5 and advise anyone who's press or DL is stuck (or who just wants to get larger) to give it a go.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    4,864

    Default

    Is that like Smolov?

    How did you manage to maintain your strength in squats/bench?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Apartment 1, Ivory Towers
    Posts
    885

    Default

    i have explained exactly what the routine involves in the OP. I think it is much shorter and less complicated than smolov (but i dont really know smolov)

    While i haven't done any bench or squats for 3 weeks I dont think i will have lost any (or very little) strength on them for a few reasons. Firstly, i have become much stronger overall. Secondly, i think there is some carry over between deadlifts and squats and even a little between press and bench. I also read that getting a much stronger upper back (from deadlifts) can also help your bench by making it more stable, at least that is what i read but i dont really understand how. Finally, it has only been 3 weeks, how much strength can you lose in three weeks?

    I will find out next week anyway when i go back to (kind of) heavy squatting.
    Last edited by Campbell; 07-14-2010 at 04:35 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Denver
    Posts
    211

    Default

    Outstanding post. I love these "here's what I did, here's what happened" types of posts.

    So what kind of BW gains did you experience?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    hawaii
    Posts
    253

    Default Yep, Smolov

    Quote Originally Posted by Campbell View Post
    i have explained exactly what the routine involves in the OP. I think it is much shorter and less complicated than smolov (but i dont really know smolov)
    You were doing the four day a week Smolov intro, before testing out for your new 1RM, then following that with (2) weeks explosive power training, and finishing off with the meat of the Smolov program... I believe...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Apartment 1, Ivory Towers
    Posts
    885

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by poopmonkey View Post
    So what kind of BW gains did you experience?
    About 3 kg gain (obviously some of it was fat)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Birmingham
    Posts
    8,414

    Default

    I might be into trying this. Squats are giving me bother with hamstring tendonitis and twisty pain in the knee (have some sort of damaged ligament).

    Press is very stuck, but deadlift is making strong progress.

    This would give me the opportunity to capitalise on strong deadlifts and also focus high volume on my pathetic press.

    This also seems like a great programme to try for those without access to a power/squat rack.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    St. Thomas, Ontario
    Posts
    4,277

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Dastardly View Post
    power/squat rack.
    I noticed this, too. I have 320lbs of mostly bumpers in my basement and no rack. I'm thinking next time I wear myself out I'll take a break then try something new like this.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Birmingham
    Posts
    8,414

    Default

    I am tempted to try this but am wondering whether I should learn more about it first? Some of you guys are saying this is a smolov? I thought smolov was a squat thing?

    Also, im wondering, if so much deadlift volume is done how is it possible to deadlift the same weights the next day? And then try to increase it a couple days later?

    Just seems so tough, impossibly tough.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    431

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    fuck....bumpers....really ....wow...

Page 1 of 7 123 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •