smolov squat cycle

Definition

A brutal 13-week Russian squat program featuring up to four squatting sessions per week with progressively heavier loads, guaranteed to either add 100 pounds to your squat or destroy your soul trying.

Example Usage

Started the Smolov cycle three weeks ago and now I squat in my dreams, my nightmares, and whenever I blink.

Origin

Created by Russian master of sports Sergey Smolov in the 1990s

Fun Fact

Smolov requires squatting up to 80% of your max for 10 sets of 3 reps in a single session, volume so insane that even powerlifting veterans question their life choices mid-program.

Source: Powerlifting and Russian strength training methodology

Related Terms

Beginner

wall ball

A medicine ball squat-and-throw exercise where you hurl a weighted ball at a target on the wall, combining the joy of squatting with the upper body aggression of assaulting vertical surfaces.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Beginner

endurance

The measure of how long you can keep doing something awful before your body stages a mutiny. In fitness, it's your ability to sustain prolonged physical activity; in life, it's how many Zoom meetings you can survive in one day.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Beginner

weightlifting

A sport where competitors lift progressively heavier weights in two main events: the snatch and the clean and jerk, both of which sound vaguely inappropriate but are actually technical Olympic lifts. Unlike your average gym bro's bicep curls, this requires explosive power, perfect technique, and the ability to grunt louder than everyone else. It's the difference between fitness and competitive masochism.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Advanced

mesocycle

A training phase lasting several weeks to a few months within a periodized program, typically focused on a specific goal. The middle child of training blocks that nobody talks about but does most of the work.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Beginner

max out

Testing your one-rep maximum on a lift to measure absolute strength and fuel your ego for approximately three weeks. The gym equivalent of seeing how fast your car goes.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Intermediate

giant set

Four or more exercises performed consecutively without rest, targeting the same or different muscle groups. A superset that went to graduate school and got ambitious.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Translate This Term

See “smolov squat cycle” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

bisly

but i still love you...