Cambered Bench, Quads, Curls

sRPE @7.5

BW - 223

Cambered Bench - 

-    up to 230X0 @11

-    155X6, 6, 6 @7/8.5

Both-Feet Elevated Split Squats - BWX12, 11 @~9

Open Hip Leg Extensions - X10 @9.5

Rope Curls - X12, 10, 10 @9/10

Tried to chip my previous Cambered Bench PR, but it wasn't there.  Failed pretty shortly off the chest.

Elevated my front foot for Bulgarian Split Squats.  Took some setting up, but once I got it I could really feel it in my quads.

Also messed around with moving the pad way back on Leg Extensions so I could open my hips more and lengthen the RF.  Also put a pad in front of my shins to try and close the knee angle a bit more.

SSB, Pull-Ups, Triceps

sRPE @8

BW - 224

Safety Bar Squats- 

-    up to 335X1(PR) @10

-    225X6, 6, 6 @7/7.5

Band Pull-Ups avg. band under foot - BWX6, 5, 4 @9/10

Machine Pullovers w/ rest-pause partials - X17/9 @10

DB 1-arm OH Extensions - 20X12, 10, 9 @10

Had a hard time keeping position on the SSB single, but nice to get another PR here before I change movements.

Sumo DL, Upper Back, Hips

sRPE @9

BW - 223

Sumo DL - 

-    up to 385X1(PR) @9.5

-    w/ Straps 315X6, 6, 4 @7/10*

Upper Back Attack - 

-    Inverted Rear Deal Rows - BWX12, 12 @~10

-    Inverted Rows - BWX12, 10 @~9

-    Inverted Scapula Shrugs - BWX12, 11 @10

Big Hipper Supersets -

-    VKR Bent Knee Raise - X11, 10, 10 @10

-    Glute Hypers - X12, 10, 10 @9/10

-    Adductor Machine - X14, 12, 9 @10

Pushdowns - X14, 12, 9 @~10

365 moved so well that I thought I would get 405, but still got a PR.  *I had a back spasm on the 3rd back-off set so I cut it there.  No lingering pain from that.

Similar to the Seal Row, the Inverted Row feels ok on Rear Delt and regular rows, but on the Scap Retractions I'm really missing the ability to take my thoracic spine through a good ROM.  I think CS and Cable Rows are just superior in this regard.  I might try this with 1-arm DB rows if I'm feeling really good one day and have plenty of time.

Discovered I could basically due a full concentric rep on hypers just by contracting my glutes.  Fun!  I then tried contracting my glutes on the concentric, but then relaxing them at the top and letting my erectors handle the eccentric.  Kind of a lot to focus on, but ok.

Cambered Bench, Roman Chair Squats, Curls

sRPE @6

BW - 225

Cambered Bench - 

-    up to 215X1 @9.5

-    155X6, 6, 6 @7/8

Roman Chair Squats - BWX12, 10, 9 @~8

DB Incline Curls w/ rest-pause partials - 15sX16/11, 14/8, 12/8 @~10

Looking at the numbers, Cambered Bench was flat over last week, but it subjectively felt more "under control" if that makes sense.  I had hoped to match my PR of 225 today, but that's ok.  

SSB, Pull-Ups, Triceps

sRPE @7

BW - 227

SSB Squats - 

-    up to 305X1 (PR) @8

-    215X6, 6, 6 @6/7

Pull-Ups w/ Avg. Band Under Foot - BWX6, 4, 4 @8/9

Machine Pullovers w/ Rest-Pause Partials - X16/13 @10

EZ OH Extensions - 45X17, 14, 10 @~10

Humid in the gym today but everything felt solid.

Sumo DL, Upper Back, Hips

sRPE @8

BW - 224

Sumo DL - 

up to 365X1 (PR) @9.5

add straps 315X6 (PR), 6, 6 @~8

Upper Back Attack -

-    CS Rear Delt Rows - 55X20, 17 @9/10

-    CS Rows - 100X10, 8 @9/10

-    CS Scap Retractions - 100X12, 10 @~10

"Little Hipper" supersets -

-    Hanging Bent Knee Raise - BWX11, 12 @7/9

-    Adductor Machine - X15, 13 @10

I don't think I've ever actually pulled Sumo mixed-grip before.  Supinated hand swung way out on the top set.

Back-off sets were harder than I expected at this weight.  Felt like my eye was gonna pop out.

Because of the Sumo, etc. decided to not do any hip extension on the "Hipper" super-sets. I did mess around with trying to keep my knees bent back throughout the knee raises with the idea of keeping the RF more lengthened.

Cambered Bench, Hack Squats, Curls

sRPE @7

BW - 222

Cambered Bench - 

-    up to 205X1 @8.5

-    155X6, 6, 6 @6.5/8

Hack Squats - 25psX10, 10, 10 @~7

DB Curls - 25sX12, 10 @9.5

DB Incline Curls - 20sX10, 8 @10

Singles on Cambered Bench felt good, but difficulty ramped up precipitously on the back-off sets.  

Adductors and Glutes were still pretty sore from SSB on Monday, so I just threw a little weight on the Hack Squat and tried to get some blood in there.  Each set felt better than the last, but I didn't feel the need to push weight.

SSB, Pull-Ups, Triceps

sRPE @7

BW - 225

SSB Squat -

-    up to 295X1 @9

-    205X6, 6, 6 2~6.5

Pull-Ups - BWX3, 3, 3 @~10

Machine Pullovers w/ rest-pause partials - X13/12 @~10

Pushdowns - X15, 13, 11 @10

Top set of SSB may tie a PR depending on how much weight I'm crediting the SSB with.  I've decided I'm just gonna call it +20, but I may have factored it at +25 previously based on the Rogue SSB.  If I lift more later, it won't matter.

Haven't really done pronated pull-ups for sets in a while.  I really like wide-grip pronated on pull-downs, so I thought I'd try some pronated pull-ups for a while.  I may mess around with bands on these to get more total reps. 

Deadlift, Dips, Upper Back

sRPE @7

BW - 222

Deadlift - up to 405X1 @8.5

Dips - up to BW+50X6 @10

Upper-Back Attack Giant Set -

-    CS Rear Delt Rows - 45X19@9.5

-        Long ROM Partials - 45X11@10

-    CS Rows - 100X10 @9.5

-        Long ROM Partials - 100X6@10

-    CS Scap Retractions - 100X9@9.5

-        Long ROM Partials - 100X8 @9.5

Final session of testing week.

First comp DL since late February.  First 4 plate pull since mid-September. (geez those last couple of blocks were trash for my DL)

Heaviest Dips since early August.  Would have needed 3 more reps for a PR at this combined BW+Weight.  I didn't really expect a PR here as Dips usually need more frequent training for me to progress them.  

Just hit the Upper Back attack as one long set.  Back was immediately sore.

Possible Take-aways:

1)    I split time evenly this block between DL and Squat variations and supplements.  Assistance work was a arguably more Squat-specific: Leg Press, Hack Squat, Hip Flexion, Adductor work.  But also some Hip Extension and LOTS of Upper Back Work.  That's a big pile of little rocks, but maybe there's something there.

2)  Dips need attention to maintain and progress.

3)  This week's 955 total on the PLs was 35 lbs. better than the heavy SBD specific block I ran previously, and 120 lbs. heavier than any actual weight lifted in the low RPE block before that.  e1RMs were also better.  I would characterize this block as a bit more high-fatigue/low-specificity with a BIG DASH of "doing whatever I felt like."  Now to figure out how to operationalize the former while leaving room for the latter.

Bench, Toes-to-Bar, Curls

sRPE @5.5

BW - 223

Bench - up to 245X1 @9.5

Toes-to-Bar - up to BWX7(BW Rep PR) @10

BB Curls - up to 80X10 @10

First comp Bench since early March.  Heaviest Bench since I hit 255 last July which tied my previous PR.  

Haven't done TTB since November.

On Curls, 80X10 ties my previous PR.  Haven't done BB Curls since mid-February?

Possible take-aways:

-    Bench - This wasn't really a surprise.  I've been doing a flat bench variation almost every week and regularly hitting 225+ singles on them.  Nice to be in striking distance of my previous PR.

-    TTB - Had no idea how this would go, but I've been doing a lot of vertical pulling and hip flexion, so I guess that worked.

-    Curls - Also didn't know how this would go as I've been doing a lot of Long ROM training, partials, tempo, pauses, etc.  Maybe at the end of the day, it's a single-joint exercise and I should expect BB-style training to carry-over really well to that.

-    With working all these variations instead of the main lifts, am I conjugate now, lol?

Chins, Squat, Press

sRPE @6

BW - 227

Chin-Ups - BWX6, 3, 3, 3, 3 @10/9

Pull-Down Long ROM Partials - X12, 12, 11, 9 @~10

Squat - up to 345X1 @9

Press - up to 145X1 @9.5

Doing a little testing week before I inject a little more structure into my programming (fingers crossed).

I'd predicted I'd added ~1 rep to my chins in the last 8 weeks.  I was doing sets of 2 @8 then so this is about where I thought I'd be.  A lot of work to add 1-2 reps [shrugs].

Haven't done comp Squats since late February.  Haven't squatted 345 since early August.  Ability to maintain upper back position felt very strong.  Tempted to credit all the upper-back work with that.  Still tend to get on my toes to much in general.  Weight feels VERY heavy on walk-out but legs feel strong on the actual lift.

Haven't done comp Press since mid-January.  Haven't put up 145 since late May.  No major technical issues  that I could feel.

What does all of that suggest?

1)    It take a lot of work to add a little to my chins.  Per week, I was doing ~9 sets of chin variations, another ~9 sets of general upper-back work, and ~3 sets of Curls.

2)  I can maintain or maybe slightly improve Squats without a ton of specificity.

3)  I can possibly improve my Press without a ton of specificity.

Looking forward to seeing how my other main lifts test out the rest of the week.

Upper Back, Hips, Triceps

sRPE @8

BW - 225

Upper Back Attack -

-    Seal Rear Delt Rows - 80X10, 9, 10 @9.5/10

-    Seal Rows

    -    130X8 @9.5

    -    100X9, 8 @10

-    Seal Scapular Retractions - 100X11, 10, 9 @~10

Big Hipper Giant-Sets -

-    Double-Crunch Machine Knee Raise - BWX10, 12, 10 @8/10

-    Hypers - BWX14, 12, 11 @8/10

-    Adductor Machine - X16, 15, 14 @~10

Pushdowns - X14, 10, 10 @~10

Firs time using the Seal Row bench.  I liked it for the Rear Delt Rows, but didn't like it for the other two movements.

Big Hipper felt good.

Upper Push, Leg Press, Curls

sRPE @8

BW - 225

Cambered Bench - 

175X1 @7.5

195X1 @8.5

210X1(PR) @9

225X1(PR) @10

185X4(PR) @10

Machine Flyes - X20, 15, 10 @~10

super-set with

Machine OH JM Press - X20, 15, 10 @8/9

Leg Press - 3ppsX12, 8, 9 @8/9

Seated DB Curls - 25sX12, 10, 9 @8.5/10

Thought I was gonna just chip my previous 205 PR with 210, but got a spot from Nick and 210 felt smooth.  Went YOLO for 2 plates and ground out a slow-ass PR.  Debated skipping the 4 Rep PR attempt, but I was till feeling fresh so I went for it.  Cambered Bench is obviously "weaker" than my competition Bench.  My last comp bench was 205 @8 so feeling good about where that might be sitting right now.

Definitely felt like something low stress was in order after all that so hit some Pec/Triceps supersets. 

Fatigue caught up to me heading into Leg Press and DB Curls.