Block 14. Cycle 4. Session B.

BW - 220

sRPE @ 8

Dips - 

BW+60X4, 4, 4 @8/8.75

BW+45X4 @7.5

BW+25X9 @ 8

Bench - 

202.5X3 @8

160X10 @7.5

157.5X10 @8.5

Toes-to-Bar - BWX2, 3 @9.5/8.5

Band Chins (under knee) - BWX5, 5, 4 @~7

280 (BW+60)X4 is a Rep PR on Dips, and I got 3 sets.  260 (BW+45) is also a 4X4 PR.  Dips are going so well that I decided to start adding weight to the back-off sets.  I got 15 reps last week, and at my current BW, I'd have to get well North of 20 reps to get a Rep PR anyway.  I think my best BW set is 228X22.  Hard to say if Dips are going so well because of programming, or if I just haven't given them this much focus, (putting them first in the session, earlier in the week, giving them their own accessory movements, etc.) and it's just allowing existing strength to display.  Whatever the case, I'll take it.  Unlikely I'll feel the need to focus on them again next block.

Bench is still rough following Dips.  But performance was basically flat over last week.  Maybe slightly better on the top set.  Keeping Volume down and RPE up on 2nd and 3rd movements to try and manage fatigue.

TTB was a little all over the place.  First set was done on the chin up bar of a power rack that wasn't well secured to the ground.  Not very fun.  Second set was at my usual station.

Band chins started off a bit stronger, but nose-dived a bit on the last set.  For these pure accessory movements, I'm dropping the RPE to keep Volume up.  Opposite of secondary priority movements like Bench.

sRPE was still a touch higher than I'd like.

Block 14. Cycle 4. Session A.

BW - 223

sRPE @8

Chin-Ups - BWX3, 3, 3, 3 @8/8.5

BB Curls -

60X11, 11, 11 @~8

55X11 @ 8

Deadlift -

365X4 @7.5

330X7, 7 @~7

Upright Rows - 60X10, 10 @~7

sRPE is still a touch higher than I would like, but I managed to bring it down into the more tolerable zone.  My strategy for that coming into this week is to keep the volume and RPE at targets for the first/main movements in each session.  Keep RPE up, but cut one set on the secondary movements, and keep volume up, but cut RPE on the accessory movements.

On chins, sets of 3 across is a bit of progress.  We'll see if I can extend that to 5 sets next week while staying below RPE 9.

Performance was comparable on curls to last week.

DL was up a bit across the board.  In fact, 330X7 is a Rep PR!  Always nice to get a Rep PR for sub-maximal sets across.

Switching Upright Rows to a bit more of a body-building feel, which I likely should have been doing all along.  Instead of driving the weight up, I'm focusing on keeping my scapulae down until my elbows clear parallel and then finishing with a trap contraction.  Basically, "keeping it in my delts" until the end of the concentric.

Block 14. Cycle 3. Session C.

BW - 221

sRPE - @8

Press -

135X1,1 @8/8.5

120X3 @7

110X7 @8

Squat -

295X6 @7

250X10 @6.5

240X10, 10 @6, 6

Decline Cambered Swiss Bar - 95X10, 10, 10 @5

BB Rows - 145X10, 10 @7/8

Pulled back on weight a lot on this day to try and keep the sRPE down.  Feeling gassed after the first movement is not conducive to the plan even if RPE is coming in on target.  Something is off somewhere, and I need to keep the total stress down so that I can get through training session feeling more-or-less "normal."

Block 14. Cycle 3. Session B.

BW - 221

sRPE @ 8

Dips - 

BW+52.5X4, 4, 4, @~8

BWX15 @ 8

Bench - 

200X3 @8

157.5X10, 10 @7/8.25

150X10 @9

Toes-to-Bar - BWX2, 3, 3 @8/9

Band Chins (under knee) - BWX5, 5, 5 @8/8.5

273 (BW+52.5) would be a PR for 2 sets of any reps (i.e. 2X1 PR), and I got 3X4.  That's two weeks in a row hitting volume PRs on Dips.  If everything keeps progressing, I should expect to hit lifetime some lifetime PRs for Dips this block.  These are actually probably all PRs for weight added, but I've always tracked with BW included.  A bright spot in what is an otherwise rocky training block to-date.

Dips progress definitely not showing positive carryover to Bench so far.  Negative, in fact, doing them back-to-back.  My e1RM on top sets has declined every week so far.  However, the back-off sets are maybe showing a little bit of progress.

Block 14. Cycle 3. Session A.

BW - 220

sRPE @8.5

Chin-Ups - BWX2, 2, 2, 2, 3 @8/9

BB Curls -

60X11, 11, 11 @8/9

50X11 @ 7.5

Deadlift -

362.5X4 @7.5

325X7, 7, 7 @7

Upright Rows - 65X10, 10 @7/8

Made sure to be very conservative with everything after Chins.  Still feeling beat down after the inadvertently high sRPE sessions last week.  Chins are the main lift on this day, so "keep the goal the goal" and just punching the clock on everything else.

I have some wrist and forearm discomfort lingering from last week, so I was especially conservative with the curls.  Backed way off and did relatively slow "controlled" reps.

Was still feeling kind of gassed by the time I got through DL warm-ups.  It might be that I'm just not used to this much DL volume this late in a training session.  Regardless, I was conservative with the top set, and didn't try to push the back-off weight past last week since I was adding a set.  Back-off sets ended up being on target AND a 3X7 Volume PR.

Upright Rows were similar to curls.  Wrists weren't loving it, so backed off and did slower reps.

Block 14. Cycle 2. Session C.

 BW - 223

sRPE - @10

Press -

135X1 @8

117.5X3 @7

110X6 @9

Squat -

290X6 @7

250X10, 10 @~7

Decline Cambered Swiss Bar - 120X10, 10 @7/8.5

BB Rows - 145X10, 10 @7.5/8

Left brachioradialis has been giving me trouble this week and it was uncomfortable stabilizing on the Press.  Still got my targets on everything except the AMRAP set.

This week has been tough in general with training, so I was very conservative on the Squat and was rewarded by being right on target.

Similarly, I didn't try to increase the weight on this Decline movement as I was adding a work set.  Still got pretty hard by the 2nd set, and I was ready to be out of the gym.

I made myself to do the Rows even though I didn't want to.  Same weight as last week +1 set, and on target.

Need to start tracking sRPE again.  I define sRPE thusly: after the last work set of the last compound movement of the session, how many more sets could I have gotten at around the same weight/reps/RPE?  Definitely had two @10 sessions this week.

Block 14. Cycle 2. Session B

 BW - 222

Dips - 

BW+45X4, 4 @8

BWX13 @8

Bench -

210X3 @9

155X10, 10 @7/8

Toes-to-Bar - BWX4, 3, 3 @~9

Chins (band under knee) - BWX5, 5 @~8

Dips went really well.

Bench didn't progress at all since last week, but I have to remind myself that it's the 2nd pressing movement of the day, and that if the primary movement of the day (Dips) is progressing, I shouldn't get down about a lack of progress on the movements that aren't the focus.  Keep the goal, the goal, and don't fall back into over prioritizing the powerlifts.

TTB was also a bit harder today for some reason.

Block 14. Cycle 2. Session A.

 BW - 220

Chin-Ups - BWX2, 2, 2, 3 @~8

BB Curls - 

75X11 @9

72.5X11, 11 @8/10

Deadlift - 

365X4 @7.5

325X7,5 @7/back-tweak

Upright Rows - 70X8, 8 @~7

Curls were a struggle today, but not as much as...

Deadlift.  On the first warm-up with 135, my adductors lit up like crazy.  I'd had some mild adductor DOMS over the weekend following Friday's squat session, but that was mostly gone by the AM of this training day.  And yet they lit up so hot that I was struggling to walk around the gym trying to get them to dissipate.  

I did some empty bar stuff and then came back and did 225X7 just fine.  The lifting wasn't bad, but getting down into position was SUPER uncomfortable as the adductors stretched.  So much so, that I knew my starting position was off, and I was having trouble getting good tension on the bar before the pull.  Nevertheless, the top set and first back-off set came in more-or-less on target, but then I tweaked my back on the second back-off set.

As I write this the next day, I'm mostly fine again; as expected.  Some lingering adductor and low-back tightness, but it was physically and psychologically stressful during this training session.

I'm really at a loss as to how to handle the adductor DOMS issue at the beginning of each training block.  The next step is probably to reduce pivot blocks from two weeks down to one (more of a deload week), and keep squats high volume and high specificity in that time.

Block 14. Cycle 1. Session C.

 BW - 221

Press -

130X1 @8

105X8@8

Squat -

285X6 @7

240X10 @6.5

Decline Cambered Swiss Bar Bench (lol) - 120X10 @8.5

BB Hanging Rows - 145X10 @8

I had slotted Cambered Bar Declines as my Dips accessory movement for this slot just to experiment, but the gym got a cambered swiss bar, so I figured close-grip, elbows in was a bit more specific.  These were much harder than I expected.

Block 14. Cycle 1. Session A and B.

 Session A

BW - 224

Chin-Ups - BWX2, 2, 3 @8

BB Curls - 70X11, 11, 11 @7.8/9

Deadlift - 

350X4 @7.5

315X7 @6.75

Upright Rows - 95X10 @10

Session B

BW - 222

Dips -

BW+37.5X4 @7.5

BWX11 @8

Bench - 

205X3 @8

155X10 @7

Toes-To-Bar - BWX4, 4 @~8

Band Chins (under knee) - BWX5 @8

Pivot Block. Cycle 2. Session C

 BW - 222

Beltless Press - 125X3 @7.5

DB Full Front Raises - 20sX10, 10 @7/9

Beltless Pause Squat - 275X3 @5.5

Beltless Squat - 205X15 @5.5

Leg Press - 4.5ppsX15 @6.25

Bench Dips - BW+35#ChainsX15, 15 @6/8

Inverted Rows (feet flat) - BWX13, 13 @7/8.5

Last session of the pivot.  As I've had some very mild adductor DOMS after these beltless sessions, I'm optimistic that I WON'T have crippling adductor DOMS as I start the next dev block.