How to add 15kg (33lbs) to your bench press in 3 weeks! The Smolov Jr program

[@TestHardware823]

went from 112.5kg bench to 130kg bench thanks for the inspiration

[@KurtKress]

Great stuff bro!!

[@Swicko]

You could see in your eyes how happy you were with these results man, good job i will 100% test this program :)

[@KurtKress]

Thanks bro! Let us know how u go

[@VassiliTheMotherBuster]

Did you get results?

[@Swicko]

@@VassiliTheMotherBuster yeah went from 75kg to 97.5kg :D

[@shortcartoons2440]

@@Swickodawg that’s insane about 22 kg difference,that’s the most I’ve ever heard from somebody using smolov jr, were u doing any accessories with it or nothing at all and how much would u rest between each set

[@shortcartoons2440]

@@Swickoand we’re u training back and legs as well along on other days?

[@ellekressmusic7115]

Killin it bro, I’m so invested in the journey

[@NIGEL_FN]

Yep I am invested and will definitely be doing this!

[@KurtKress]

Good to hear bro! Let me know how much you gain!

[@janek2643]

Love the side by side comparison !

[@KurtKress]

Wanted to also mention that after doing the program my overhead press strength also went up about 10% and also my strength on dips

[@fredrikandersson1846]

Awesome bro would like to try it out where can i find that calculator?

[@KurtKress]

@@fredrikandersson1846 joshmahony.com/weights/smolov_jr.php Good luck!

[@fredrikandersson1846]

@@KurtKress thanks bro!

[@ShredBundy420]

Well done mate. Smolov taken me from 100kg to 152.5kg in about 3 years.

[@KurtKress]

Good stuff bro

[@ShredBundy420]

@@KurtKress Keep grinding bro.

[@Hielke0315]

Oh damn, so my goal to achieve a 140kg bench in 2025 is not realistic. I bench 100kg rn

[@lennon3712]

crazy work bro, love to see it!

[@KurtKress]

Appreciate it!

[@manuelgarcia1635]

This is awesome! It looks like you were healthy and injury-free before going into Smolov Jr. I tried Smolov starting at 131.5kg, but the heavy splits nearly wore me down. I was only able to add 7kg to my bench press. It was all trial and error, and although I felt stronger, I will not run Smolov Jr again this year. Good work!

[@edenvarciannarn]

what i've noticed was the exact same as your situation but when i ran the Smolov Jr Program again on the 5kg Increments whilst putting in the calculator 5kg below my Pr my gains for the second time i've done the program was 50% higher. I don't know if there could be any external factors for this but possibly that might help you.

[@KurtKress]

7kg is still great man! If we’re you going heavier I would just make sure all the days had a rest day in between and maybe even have to skip legs haha when the cns is getting really fatigued you have to find other ways to help your body recover

[@puckerm9_]

Maybe it's my Nutrition but i did 3 runs of Greg Nuckol's intermediete programme which went well and i thought i'd be able to take on Smolov Jr. Took a 1 week break before starting Smolov and despite the break, i barely survived Week 1 Day 1 and i couldn't finish Day 2. The Volume is crazy.

[@KurtKress]

Hey man it takes a while to recover after a program. I just finished my second run of smolov today. I took a 3 week break in between running the programs and just made sure I would bench in the morning as I’m my freshest then. I would try to redo the program but retest your max bench press 3 days before you restart just so you can get a more accurate gauge of your strength going into it and for the smolov calculator. Goodluck!

[@bowa7620]

This has to be a thirst trap

[@akialter]

Insane stuff. Is this program strictly for increasing bench number?

[@KurtKress]

Well a bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. Definitely will be hypertrophic. My overhead press and dips had an amazing carry over of about a 10% increase in both for strength

[@jesperjee]

50 minutes to an hour?? When I do this it takes about 15-20 minutes. How long are your rest pauses? I do I minute between each set.

[@koolmc8786]

Do u reckon I can use it to go from 70kg bench to 100kg? Also do u train back and legs and stuff during this program?

[@glottis1237]

Yo bro, can i train side delts and biceps during the program?

[@yurtttt9458]

145kg-157.5kg

[@KurtKress]

🔥💪

[@yurtttt9458]

@@KurtKress Im running it again I might be at 0kg by the end of it

[@eugeneimbangyorteza]

Great! How many days did you rest in between the last day of training and the max out day?

[@KurtKress]

2 full days of no pressing

[@KurtKress]

Also I didn’t squat or deadlift in that time just so the cns was better recovered

[@S.A.F707]

​@@KurtKressonly 2 days? I thought you should've took a week. Okay anyway is this method applicable for beginners? I'm into lifting weights like 5 months. With 1 month gap in between as well.

[@halal9091]

would u bench on back or leg days? or would u have only bench days every time?

[@KurtKress]

The first week I would also bench on back days and leg days but weeks 2 and 3 as it gets a lot heavier I would only bench on bench days

[@acegreenburg2768]

This is what I used to hit 225 for the first time but I only got about a 20lb increase. Do you use creatine and were you mainly just benching or were you also doing legs and back as well?

[@KurtKress]

Hey bro I didn’t use creatine but I was just in a caloric surplus whilst doing it so I could recover quicker, and I was still training legs and back twice a week

[@acegreenburg2768]

Good stuff ​@@KurtKress

[@ralphjacob5680]

How long did you rest between each set?

[@KurtKress]

4 minutes but you can rest up to like 7 minutes if you would like

[@burekk4136]

I've ran it once already for a new 10kg pr in 3 weeks and i'm planning on running it again as my next goal is a hefty 20kg away but I figured I'd run it in 8 day weeks basically benching exactly every other day and keeping the increment to a minimal 2.5kg between weeks and just running it for 8-10 weeks straight, what do you think?

[@KurtKress]

Hey bro I am in the process of off making a video on how to run it for the second time because I was just successful in adding another 10kg. Bro 💯 do every other day for sure I would stick to 5kg and only drop to 2.5 if you fail in the process. Bro I would say the deload is a must. You can keep running the process but just have like a week of super light benching or even two weeks and then starting the process again. The biggest thing to slow down progress is injury so make sure you just take the deloading seriously.

[@zezindaesquina5806]

Did you keep your gains after?

[@KurtKress]

Yes sir. I’m actually running the program again

[@max8376]

Nice, what were the results?

[@max8376]

​@@KurtKressi saw some people running back to backs multiple times

[@kyzah9123]

hi, did you do the program on monday,wednesday,friday and saturday ? or did you spread out the workouts evenly through the week?

[@KurtKress]

I did it on Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday, that way the lighter sessions are back to back and not the heavier sessions

[@w1red884]

did this strength you gained maintain when you went back to regular training and not benching 4x a week?

[@KurtKress]

Yeah bro it will stay if you are benching twice a week

[@joshpeng2070]

What did you do on the days ur not benching I’m also trying to hit this program would help a lot if you could tell me your schedule

[@KurtKress]

No worries bro I’m actually also running it again as well! I just trained legs and back on the off days. So only on the bench press days I would only bench and then on the days I wasn’t benching just alternate between legs and back. I would recommend not shoulder pressing or doing any other pressing while ur running this. I just did raises for shoulders and by the end of the program shoulder press strength went up just from the carry over of benching. Goodluck bro!

[@cransaftvalve734]

Is it possible to do it for just 2 days instead of 4?

[@KurtKress]

I think not just because the key factor for smolov is the volume

[@cransaftvalve734]

@@KurtKress umm, thanks.

[@fn-name-ninja46994]

Did u wormup before it??

[@KurtKress]

Always

[@fn-name-ninja46994]

@@KurtKress how was ur split bc iam confused abt this

[@hempar9612]

Can i do Smolov Jr for OHP?

[@KurtKress]

Not too sure but if u want to give it a go I don’t see why not. Please let me know ur progress!

[@hempar9612]

@@KurtKress gonna do it next year I guess a bit hectic this year for me

[@ein0762]

did your bench go down after?

[@KurtKress]

Nope

[@GWRus77]

My secret to adding 15kg is start working out again after 6 months to a year off. The gains you get in those first 3 weeks HAHA It's hyperbole people, relax.

[@KurtKress]

I have not stopped training

[@KurtKress]

Try and if u don’t get at least 10kg let me know 👍

[@GWRus77]

@@KurtKress was just a joke. Once I am back into a better routine and my body won’t kill me, I’ll give it a go 👍

[@KurtKress]

Good to hear my man. I have just repeated the program and I’m now at 130kg. So it really does to wonders man. A lot of other people in the comment section can attest to this. Good luck bro!

[@hallomeinfreundflaviosimon7930]

Did you deload?

[@KurtKress]

Afterwards yes for a week

[@emmaiorfino7900]

This is insane