Block 9. Cycle 2. Session C, D., Cycle 3. Session A.

BW - 227, 230, 228

Waist - 43", 43.75", 43"

sRPE @ ~8 for all

2.C:
Bench -
205X3 @8
155X15@9.5

Chin-Up 1.5s - BWX6, 6, 6 @~10

Upright Rows (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 90X12, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 @~9

Curls -
65X12, 12 @8, 10
55X12 @8.5

2.D:
Deadlift -
375X3 @8
290X15 @9

RDL - 290X7 @9.25

Hack Squat (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 75X17, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @8/8.5

3.A:
Chin-Ups - BW+25X4, 4 @~10

Press -
147.5X1 @8.5
135X3, 3 @8

Dips - BW+20X10, 8 @8.5, 9

WG Pull-Downs (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 85X20, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @8.5/8

Block 9. Cycle 2. Session B.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 7

Squats -
320X3 @7
265X16 @8

High-Bar Squats - 265X7 @8

Hip-Thrusts (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 135X17, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @9/7

Solid, bounce-back session.

Messed up the top set of Squats and stopped one set early.  Should have been going for ~335 @8 here.  Then I lost count on the back-off set and ended up doing an extra rep, and STILL hitting under target RPE @9.  We'll try to dial that in next week.  Eventually, it will be have to be heavy enough, right?

265X7 is a Rep PR on High Bar Squats.  I dropped weight and hit a quick triple on high-bars to make sure technique was dialed-in, before jumping back up to the work weight.  Worked well.

Hip-thrusts were interesting this week.  Pushed the RPE on the top set pretty good, but all the myo-reps sets were too easy.  Probably want to up those to 6 reps each for next time.

Block 9. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 232.9

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 8

Chin-Ups - BW+17.5X4, 2 @~10

Press -
152.5X1 @9.75
137.5X3 @9.5
127.5X3 @8.25

Dips - BW+10X10, 10 @8,9

WG Pull-Downs (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 85X18, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6 @8/9

Weak session.

Chin-Ups and Press just weren't quite there for me on this day.

With Chins, my BW spiked on this day, and that really does seem to make a huge difference even accounting for total weight.

But when Press also took a step back, I thought maybe it was just an off day.  I still tried to push for my target weights, but both the top single and the first set of 3 were clearly to heavy on this day and so I backed off for the second set of 3.

Dips were slightly better, but the RPE shouldn't have jumped so much on the second set.

Pull-downs were fine though, lol.

Block 9. Cycle 1. Session D.

BW - 227

Waist - 43"

sRPE @ 7

Deadlift -
370X3 @8
275X15 @8

RDL w/Straps - 275X7 @8

Hack Squats (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 75X15, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @8.7/7

Conditioning (following day) - Rower; HIIT (20/100 sec.); 5 rounds

Interesting session.

DL went really well.  Like all the powerlifts in this first week, the target weight for 15@9 ended up being too light, and just like all the others, I didn't give a shit and will just try to get @9 next week.

275X7 is a Rep PR on RDL.  With straps, but I kind of don't care, because I'll probably train this lift with straps from now on.  The movement just feels more focused with double-overhand.

I was worried about the Hack Squats, because single-leg Hack Squats in the pivot block were such a shit show.  Ended up just fine.  These were all fairly deep as well.

Got access to the gym in my office building and am starting to do conditioning on off-days.

Block 9. Cycle 1. Session C.

BW - 230

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Bench -
220X3 @8.25
155X15 @ 8.5

Chin-Ups 1.5s (bottom-half) - BWX3,3; 3,3; 3,3 @9/10

Upright Rows - (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 90X10, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 @8.5

BB Curls -
65X12 @9
60X12 @9
50X12 @8

Okay session.

I hoped to push Bench to 225 for the top 3@8, but warm-up made that seem unlikely, and it turned out coming in roughly on target at 220.  Back-off set came in a little under target RPE @9, but I expect that on the first week or so as I dial-in the target weights.

Based on something Greg Nuckols said on a recent podcast, I thought I'd try a version of 1.5s on Chins.  With this version, I get within a rep or 2 of failure on the full reps, and then I do half-reps in the bottom ROM to within a rep or 2 of failure.  Not sure how to put my performance on these in context.  Last block, I started un-weighted chins by getting 10 total reps across 3 sets.  Here, I got 9 total, full ROM reps across 3 sets, plus nine, half-ROM reps.  So...that's more?  I will say, I felt a little "fresher" after these sets than I think I do after sets of full reps.  We'll see!

Haven't done upright rows in a while.  Thought I would be starting out with more weight for more reps, but whatevs.  My traps were really sore a couple days after doing these.

Curls were also a bit weaker than I expected.

Block 9. Cycle 1. Session B.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 7

Squat - 

330X3 @7.75

250X15 @8

High Bar Squat - 250X7 @8

Hip Thrusts (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 135X15, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @ 8/7.5

Solid session.

Top triple on Squats moved really well.  Weight came in above target, and probably could have gone up 2-5 lbs., but these top sets are really final warm-ups in this block.  

Targeting @9 for the sets of 15 this block, and I know it's going to take some calibration to get there.  This weight was still above target, but definitely well below @9.  On the first week, I didn't want to add in another set for a couple of reasons: 1)  want to avoid adductor and quad DOMS as these have caused me problems at the beginning of past blocks, 2) at reps this high, I could see myself adding weight and suddenly finding myself @ 10+ in the first week.

Plan for High Bars was to shoot for 7@8 with the final weight from low bar.  Hoping to be able to go straight into it, and avoid taking off weight and doing a "warm up" set.  Tried that today, and it was a bit awkward having not done high bar in a few blocks, but I'm hopeful I'll get back in the groove.

Hip thrusts went well in my first real session using them.  May need to up reps on the myo-rep sets, as RPE was a little low throughout.

Block 9. Cycle 1. Session A.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @7

Chin-Ups - BW+17.5X4, 3 @~10

Press -
150X1 @9
135X3, 3 @~8

Dips -
BW+25X10 @9.5
BW+5X10 @8

WG Pull-Downs (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 85X16, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 @8/9

Decent session to start the new training block.

I shifted things around to start off with the movements that struggled the most last block.

Chin-ups were about as expected.

Press ended up being a bit stronger out of the gate than expected.

I thought the opening weight on Dips might be a bit ambitious and I was right.  Will back-off a touch next week.

Using extra-Wide Grip bar on pull-downs to see if I can get a little more focus on all the little muscles that struggle at the top of a chin-up.  Theoretical, and probably a bad idea.

Pivot Block. Cycle 2. Session X.

BW - 230

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 8

3-2-0 Beltless Deadlift - 275X4, 4, 4 @7/7.5

DB Press (350 Method) - 35sX25, 13, 10 @~9.5

Inverted Row (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - BWX15, 5, 6, 6, 6, 8 @8/9

Flexed-Arm Knee-to-Bar - BWX7, 5, 5 @9.5/10