So I decided to try Smolov

People on the Internet generally recommend powerlifters use whatever gear they use in competition when performing the Smolov program. As even greenhorns know the SAID principal (specific adaption to imposed demands), this makes a good deal of sense, but looking at the matrix, the four-day-a-week mesocycle (preliminary part of the program) requires ten sets of three reps on the fourth day. Since the average powerlifter uses knee wraps in competition, which take several minutes to put on, I estimated a ten-set workout to take around an hour and a half, which was a little longer than I wanted to spend in the gym. So, I went at it raw, which I measured my max at 210, which was 30kgs lower than my full-gear max, in case anyone is interested.

The first day called for 4 sets of 9 @ 147kgs (323lbs). First observations: (1) Program is hard, but doable
(2) Holding a heavy barbell on your shoulders is really hard on your wrists, wear wrist wraps.
(3) Clocking rest periods is important, and when in doubt err on the side of too much rest time, because it is the most important variable to prevent failure.
(4) The volume recommended by Westside seems ridiculously low in comparison.
(5) There is a great deal of satisfaction in doing high volume programs, but don't be seduced by this feeling. Powerlifters train for success in competition and would do well not do distract themselves with such considerations.
(6) Had I cooked up this program on my own, I would have been terrified of injuring myself with it.
(7) Four heavy workouts per week means that recovery isn't possible. Active rest exercises are probably necessary to prevent injury even for young athletes.
The next workout was two days later was 160 (352) x 5 sets x 7 reps. Again, hard but doable. I did a couple of sets of moderately heavy good mornings on this day to train by back, but at no time was I so foolish as to try deadlifts during this mesocycle. My bench press training proceeded pretty much as normal.

Two days later, I did 168 (370) x 7 sets of 5 reps. I noticed at this point that every training session, the athlete is required to perform between 30-36 work reps, regardless of the intensity of the lift (% of max).

On the fourth day of the week was 179 (394) x 10 sets of 3 reps. Not possible without a four minutes of rest. Multiply that by nine times you have to rest between sets and you have 36 minutes. Figure it takes one minute to do one set and you have 10 minutes + 36 minutes = 46 minutes. Figure fifteen minutes for a warmup, and you have a workout that takes almost exactly an hour. Doing this made me glad I wasn't wrapping my knees between sets.

In the second week, I decided the program was hard enough that I should take creatine after my workouts. Up to that point, all I had taken was whey protein. I recently heard that taking whey protein before or during training is better, but that's another story. Up to that time, I had never had any problems with creatine, but during the Smolov program, the stuff made my stomach hurt and made it difficult to eat proper meals. The stomach aches weren't that bad, however, and I chalked the slight indigestion I had to the intense training I was doing. It wasn't until the program was over and I went off of the creatine that I realized that it was the source of the problem.

In the second week, the program is identical to the first week, except the athlete is required to add 10 kgs (22lbs) to the weights handled in the first week. I was surprised to find that I could do it provided rest between sets was amply long.

However, an unforeseen problem cropped up toward the end of the second week. I started to have fairly intense heart palpitations. Mostly when I was at work, after lunch for two or three hours my heart would thump very hard several times, miss a beat, and then pound a single beat that was like a sledgehammer in my chest. There is no history of heart disease in my family, and I was pretty sure that it was just the result of overtraining, but it was difficult to ignore. But ignore it I did for a day or two. On Sunday night--a time I am generally a bit anxious about the long week ahead of me--after I went to bed, I was trying to coax myself into sleep, but the pounding in my heart would not stop. I checked on the Internet about heart palpitations and found two recurring opinions from doctors: (1) they're usually not a problem, and (2) don't ignore it, because if your heart stops, you die.