Block 10. Cycle 2. Session B.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 6

Bench -
205X3 @7.5
175X7, 7 @~7

CG Bench - 167.5X6, 6, 6 @7

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX6, 6, 6 @7.5/9

GPP Day -
- Circuit: Straight-Arm Pull-Downs, DB Press, Hammer Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Rower - HIIT; 6 rounds; 12 minutes

Solid upper-body session.  sRPE was sub-target for the 2nd week in a row, so if I'm feeling well fatigue-wise next week, I'll be adding a set to each movement.

Bench took a 2% jump in e1RM this week, which is above average for the last year.  In my best training 4 training blocks over the last year, bench jumped about 3% in week 2 on average, but the TM on the first week for those bench blocks was 92.7% on average (below the mean for the year), and this block started at 98.9% (the highest of the year).  So year-best TM and an above average jump in week 2, are a combo that I haven't seen on bench in the last year, and an auspicious start to the block.

Last week, RPE on Close-Grips ramped quickly on the sets across, but this week I was able to both add weight, and maintain it at target RPE.  Nice to have that on track in week 2 as well.

Added a rep to all the Rack Pull-Ups but BW was down, so whatevs.  I'm not going to stress over these, even if the data says they were one of my top-6 DL accessories in the last year.  They'll progress or they won't.

GPP Day went very well.  Got another 3 round in 7 minutes on the resistance circuit.  I added weight to all movements, and still hit 10 reps on all sets.  Thought I would add 2 rounds to the HIIT, but only adding 1 felt right in the moment.

Didn't get video of my top set of bench.

Block 10. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 230

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Squat -
332.5X3 @8
292.5X7 @7.25
287.5X7 @7

Front Squat - 150X7, 7, 7 @7

Sumo w/ Straps - 300X5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 8-10
- Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds; 10 minutes

Solid little session.

Went in expecting to get a lot more on LBS and Sumo than the previous session, and that turned out to be true.  Just the way I felt on the previous session, and some experience of how this tends to go over the last year played into that expectation.  Still, I used RPE on warm-ups to calibrate what the top set would actually be.  I tend to go in with the assumption of a larger than average jump, but a 4% jump is WELL above average for me cycle-to-cycle.

First set of back-offs on the Squat were a touch harder than target, and so dropped back on the 2nd set.  I expect to be adding a set to each movement over the next couple of weeks, so don't see any reason to push intensity on those now.

Front Squats ended up not progressing as quickly.  Maybe just fatigue still from the low bar sets.

Sumo was a bit weird.  This is actually the same e1RM as last week, but the RPE dropped slightly on the 2nd set.  I think it's technical acclimation coming into play.  Likely see a big jump next week if I had to put money on it.

On GPP Day, I still got a third round of the circuit.  Switched over to HIIT from LISS on the rower.  Last week was just an intro for that.  Cut the total conditioning time in half, and will look to add a round or two every session until I'm up in the 7-10 range.  Then maybe switch movements?

Block 10. Cycle 1. Session C.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 8.5

Deadlift -
330X3 @8
300X6 @7

GHR - BWX15 @7

220 Incline Bench - 125X5, 5 @~7

Adductor DOMS from Squats lit up HARD on my first warm-up set of DL.  Made all of the subsequent sets incredibly difficult, and drove up the sRPE.  Still, once the back-off set of DL got moving, the expected strength levels appear to be there, so I'm optimistic this all bounces back in Cycle 2 once the DOMS start to fade.

Block 10. Cycle 1. Session B.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 6

Bench -
200X3 @7.5
170X7, 7 @7

CG Bench -
165X6, 6 @7/8
155X6 @7.5

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX5, 5, 5 @7/8.5

GPP Day -
- Circuit: Straight-Arm Pull-Downs, Seated DB Press, Hammer Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Rower - LISS; 20 minutes

Nice little upper-body session. 

200X3 @7.5 is interesting because that's about at 99% of where my bench was at the end of the previous, aborted cycle.  That was back on 12/22.  So almost a month later, with minimal training, bench strength is about where it was.  Not sure if there are any take-aways, but if the lift trends upwards from here, and especially if I get a couple of larger-than-average jumps (my Bench tends to have those), I could end up with a good little bench block.

I had to drop weight on the last set of Close-Grips, as the RPE started jumping pretty fast.  All good (probably).

Rack Pull-Ups were fairly easy, especially as I'm still dropping a set from each movement in this first week.
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GPP Day went well, too!  Was able to move through this combination a bit faster and with more reps, resulting in getting a 3rd round in the same amount of time.  I think the prior GPP day's circuit probably had a lot more biceps involvement in each movement and that created more fatigue.

Also doubled my time on the rower with no difficulty.  Will probably switch to HIIT next week.

Block 10. Cycle 1. Session A.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Squat -
320X3 @8
275X7, 7 @~7

Front Squat -
150X9 @7.5
145X9, 9 @7

Sumo DL w/ Straps - 290X5, 5 @7

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 2 rounds; sets of 7-10
- Rower - LISS; 10 minutes

First session getting back to it after a rough few weeks of derailed training and a week of travel.

Testing some stuff I've observed with Emerging Strategies in this block.  Based on the last year of using that framework, my best results occur in the first 5 cycles of a training block, and then taper off for a couple of cycles before I pass my peak.  This will be a 10 cycle block where the first 4-5 cycles are my "2nd best" rep ranges and assistance movements transitioning into a 2nd round of 4-5 cycles with my "greatest hits" rep ranges and assistance movements.  With no pivot block in between, I'll see if I can extend my Time to Peak and if the cycle-to-cycle gains stay high, or if it still tapers off after the first 4-5 weeks and/or peaks around 7-8 weeks.

Something else I'm trying is cutting a set from each movement in the initial session/week to see if that helps with DOMS after little to no training the last couple of weeks.

Squats and Front Squats both went well.

Sumos w/ straps we're way off where I expected them to be on paper, but I was just a little gassed at this point, and didn't want to push the sRPE up.

Also taking advantage of the office gym to get some conditioning and some isolation/hypertrophy work that I always find it difficult to wedge into regular training sessions.