Pull-ups the Smolov way

Since 2011, I’ve done a lot of pull-ups. I’ve done them following all sorts of systems, in different volumes, and experimented with different frequencies.

Doing pull-ups based on Smolov’s programs had been on my mind for quite a while. In the first month of this year I decided to make it happen, and I’m happy with the result. It works, and when I say I’m happy, I mainly mean that the program does what it promises. It’s simply hard to measure any direct muscle mass gain right after this 3-week cycle. And that’s how progress goes: a bit of benefit from one program, a bit from another, and over the long run you discover that something has been added. Still, applying Smolov to pull-ups really does work. First, I like the frequency: four pull-up workouts a week suits me very well. Pulling every single day for weeks on end risks overdoing it. You can of course pull every day for certain periods, but it’s advisable to separate such periods from each other with a calmer pulling frequency. Second, what I liked about the pull-up program based on Smolov was the numerically pre-calculated plan. With a little wiggle room, it’s set from workout to workout what weight I need to pull, when, and how much. The better you know yourself and the more thoroughly you’ve logged your previous work, the more accurately you can set your real max, with a reserve in hand. That makes the program all the more enjoyable, because progression runs exactly so that it’s hard, but with effort everything is doable, even with good technique.

How to calculate the weights for training. I approached it simply. Since you have to pull essentially your entire body up, I did my calculations by adding to my body weight the 1 RM of a pull-up performed with very good technique and with a reserve in hand. I chose 45 kg as the max. I can actually pull 3-5 repetitions with 45 kg (I’ve done a set of four with 50 kg), but it’s advisable to calculate such programs with a reserve. All the more so because the undertaking was new to me. This is how I calculated the three-week Smolov program: 1 RM = 45 kg, 97.5 kg + 45 kg = 142.5 kg.

The cycle goes as follows:

Week 1:

Monday (January 12, 2015): 5 kg – 6 x 6
Wednesday (January 14, 2015): 10 kg – 7 x 5
Friday (January 16, 2015): 17.5 kg – 8 x 4
Saturday (January 17, 2015): 25 kg – 10 x 3

Week 2:

Monday (January 19, 2015): 10 kg – 6 x 6
Wednesday (January 21, 2015): 17.5 kg – 7 x 5
Friday (January 23, 2015): 25 kg – 8 x 4
Saturday (January 24, 2015): 30 kg – 10 x 3

Week 3:

Monday (January 26, 2015): 12.5 kg – 6 x 6
Wednesday (January 28, 2015): 20 kg – 7 x 5
Thursday (January 29, 2015): 30 kg – 8 x 4
Saturday (January 31, 2015): 35 kg – 10 x 3

I completed all the training sessions successfully, and I did all the weights, sets and repetitions with a decent reserve in hand. My shoulders stayed healthy! In the program’s last week I varied the training days a little, but the idea behind the whole concept stayed essentially the same. In some pull-up workouts I was even able to add weight on top of the planned starting weight; for example, where 22.5 kg was called for, I used 25 kg, and so on. During this three-week period I trained four times a week, and I did pull-ups as the first exercise in every training session. A split in which you train back and legs together, two times a week, suits a three-week period like this very well.

Monday: back, legs (emphasis on the posterior chain)
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: chest, biceps, abs
Thursday: rest
Friday: back, legs (emphasis on the front of the thigh)
Saturday: shoulders, triceps, abs
Sunday: rest

I’ll definitely repeat a similar approach, but next time I’ll include the longer sets and leave out the sets of three.

For example:
4 x 9
6 x 6
7 x 5
8 x 4

For the calculations, I specifically used the Smolov Jr. program: Smolov Jr. Calculator

Author: Janar Rückenberg

Come and train! ArtGym