Post Meet Pivot Week 1. Session 2.

sRPE @6

BW - 227

Bench - 185X3, 3 @~6

Chins - BWX3, 3 @9

BB Rows - 185X3, 3 @~7

Pushups - BWX14 @10

Leg Extensions - X14 @10

Stationary Bike  S.I.T.; 10 minutes

Chitown Showdown Meet Recap

 BW - 215 (100 kg Class)

Squats - 364, 380, 424 (PR)

Bench - 204, 221, 237 (Meet PR)

Deadlift  353, 375, 424 (Meet PR)

Total - 1086 (Meet PR)

RTS Block 9. Week 1. Day 3.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 228

Deadlift - 

-    335X5 @7.5

-    355X3 @8

-    372.5X1 @7.5

Bench -

-    210X1 @8

-    185X4, 4, 4, 4 @~7.5

Squats - 290X5, 5, 5 @~5.5

Machine OH JM Press - X15, 13, 10 @9

super-set with

Leg Extensions - X14, 14 @~6

RTS Block 8. Week 2. Day 3.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 228

Block Squats - 

-    250X6 @6.5

-    270X4 @6.5

-    292.5X2 @7

Bench - 

-    185X5 @8

-    217.5X1 @9

-    180X4, 4, 4 @~7.5

Low Pause DL - 352.5X2 @8

DL - 315X5, 5, 5 @~5.5

Machine OH JM Press - X13, 11, 9 @~9

super-set with

Leg Extensions - X17, 12 @6

RTS Block 8. Week 1. Day 3.

sRPE 28

BW - 227

Block Squats - 

-    245X6 @5.5

-    270X4 @6.5

-    290X2 @7

Bench -

-    182.5X5 @8

-    215X1 @9

-    180X4, 4, 4 @6.5/7.5

Low Pause DL - 350X2 @8

Deadlift - 315X5, 5, 5 @5.5/7.5

Machine OH JM Press - X12, 10, 9 @~9

super-set with

Leg Extensions - X15, 13 @5/6

This week looks a little rough on paper.  sRPE higher than I'd like for Week 1.  e1RMs on mains the lowest they've been since earlier this year.

The perspective I'm trying to take is that I've had LOTS of disruptions to regular training.  Muscle mass is unlikely to have atrophied much if at all, so I'm going to assume it's a loss of general fitness.

I'm not going to let myself try to force myself "back" to the highs of ~April, but rather just try to cruise a bit and see if fitness returns naturally with the more consistent schedule I should have over the next few weeks.

Also hoping the lingering knee pain recedes with the steps we're taking around that.

RTS Block 7. Week 2. Day 3.

sRPE @9

BW - 228

Block Squats - 

-    315X4 @7.5

-    285X4, 4 @~6

Bench - 

-    207.5X3 @8.5

-    190X4, 4, 4 @7/8.5

-    1756X4 @7

Deadlift - 395X2 @9.5

TnG Deadlift - 330X6, 6, 6 @7/8

SM JM Press - 50X16, 11, 9 @~9

Stationary Bike - S.I.T.; 10 minutes

This session got real hard, real fast.  Not sure why.  Maybe heat, humidity, and wildfire smoke.  Hopefully next week bounces back a bit.

RTS Block 7. Week 1. Day 3.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 226

Block Squats - 

-    305X4 @7

-    290X4, 4 @~6

Bench -

-    205X3 @8.5

-    190X4, 4, 4 @7/9

-    175X4 @7

Deadlift - 385X2 @7.5

TnG DL - 325X6, 6, 6 @7/8

SM JM Press - BarX15, 14, 12 @9/10

Stationary Bike - S.I.T.; 0:20/1:40; 6 rounds

Was conservative on Block Squats, and then tried to push aggressive out of the gate for Week 1 on Comp Lifts.

Overshot just a smidge on Bench, so will likely repeat that weight next week and see if RPE comes down.

Undershot on DL (felt RPE 8, video says max RPE 7), so will look to push that aggressively again next week. 

RTS Block 6. Week 4. Day 3.

sRPE @7

BW - 226

Pause Squats - 

-    305X3 @5.5

-    327.5X3 @7

-    340X3 @8

Bench - 195X5, 3, 3, 2, 2 @8.5/7

Deadlift - 372.5X3 @7.5

TnG Deadlift - 345X6, 5, 4 @8/6.5

Smith Machine JM Press - 50X15, 12, 10 @~9.5

Solid session to end the training block.  Weights and e1RM finishing up on comp lifts, and pushed weight up on Supps and Accessories as well.

Week-over-Week from the end of the last block to the end of this one was quite good at 3.2%.  However, the peak e1RM Total (1107) is still the lowest since I added knee sleeves to squats.  This is mostly due to the taper and peak for the mock meet at the end of last block having not gone well.  

If we can get comparable week-over-week improvement next block, that should put peak e1RM right around my best since adding sleeves (1143).  And then hopefully we can keep stacking mostly positive blocks from there.

RTS Block 6. Week 3. Day 3.

sRPE @7

BW - 225

Pause Squats - 

-    290X3 @5

-    310X3 @7

-    320X3 @7.5

Bench - 190X5, 4, 3, 4, 4 @~7.5

Deadlift - 365X3 @7.5

TnG Deadlift - 330X6, 6, 4 @~7

Smith Machine JM Press - 45X17, 13, 12 @9

Nice session.  Pause Squat bounced back from last week, Bench improved a little, an DL improved a lot.

RTS Block 6. Week 2. Day 3.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 225

Pause Squats - 

-    310X3 @7.5

-    315X3 @8

-    325X3 @9

Bench - 187.5X5, 3, 3, 3, 3 @8/7

Deadlift - 355X3 @7.5

TnG DL - 320X6, 5, 4 @~7

Smith Machine JM Press - 45X14, 14, 12 @9/10

Pause Squats were creaky today and took a step back.  We're going to reduce RPE slightly, and also add some squat accessory to the previous day to see if that keeps fitness up a little better.

Bench and DL progressed nicely over last week.

RTS Block 6. Week 1. Day 3.

sRPE @7

BW - 226

Pause Squats - 

-    325X3 @7

-    340X3 @8

-    350X3(PR) @9

Bulgarian Split Squats - +25lb. ChainX11 @7

Bench - 182.5X5, 3, 4, 4, 3 @~7

Deadlift - 350X3 @7.5

TnG DL - 315X6, 5, 3 @~7.5

Smith Machine JM Press - 

-    65X9 @9

-    45X11, 10 @9/10

Expected this session to be a bit of a bear, but it was really fun!  I didn't even realize that was a Pause Squat PR until the next day.

TnG DL is so much less fatiguing mentally.  I hope this block goes well, and we can keep that strategy for back-off sets.

RTS Pivot Block 6. Day 3.

sRPE @6

BW - 226

TnG Bench - 

-    135X10 @5

-    145X10 @8

-    150X10, 10 @~9

Cable Rows - (ramping) X10, 10, 10 @6.5/8.5

Dips - BWX7, 6, 6 @7/10

006 Tempo DL Beltless - 

-    205X6, 6 @5

-    215X6 @6 

RTS Pivot Block 6. Day 2.

sRPE @5

BW - 226

Bench - 

-    195X3 @8

-    180X2, 2, 2, 2 @~6

Beltless DL - 

-    315X2 @6

-    300X2, 2, 2 @5

Belt Squat (12RM AMRAP in 12 minutes) - 140X12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 6 @~9.5

RTS Block 5. Week 3. Day 3.

sRPE @8.5

BW - 227

High Bar Squat - 

-    275X6 @6

-    290X6 @7

-    300X6(PR) @7.5

Bench - 

-    235X1 @9.5

-    200X4 @8.5

-    185X4, 4, 4 @~7

High Paused Deadlift -

-    350X4 @8

-    330X5(PR) @7

-    315X5, 5 @6.5

DB Bench - 

-    60sX14, 12, 8 @10

-    50sX11 @10

Face Pulls - X17, 14, 12 @10

 Another PR on HBS, but Bench was slightly off compared to last week.  It's tentatively starting to look like a trend for comp lifts to be a bit flat in Week 3, but we'll just have to see how things go with next week's mock meet.

Really focused in on the DLs Paused below the Knee.  Used the same top weight as the last two weeks, and it felt much more in control.  First back-off set of 5 is a Rep PR.

RTS Block 5. Week 2. Day 3.

sRPE @8.5

BW - 227

High Bar Squat -

-    275X6 @6

-    285X6 @7

-    295X6(PR) @8

Bench - 

-    232.5X1 @9

-    205X4 @8.5

-    185X4, 4, 4 @~7

DL Paused below knee w/Straps* -

-    350X4 @8.5

-    325X5 @7

-    315X5, 5 @~7

Hammer Incline - 60X16, 14, 12, 12 @10

Face Pulls - X16, 15, 12 @10

2+ Rep PR on HBS.  

Bench technique felt the best it's felt since I started to tighten up to comp standards.

Pinched the palm of my index finger between two plates loading DL, and raised a blood blister under one of my calluses.  Had to strap up from there on.

For DB Bench, the knurling on the handles definitely felt like it was going to take the top of the blister off, so I switched to Hammer Incline.

RTS Block 5. Week 1. Day 3.

sRPE @9

BW - 228

High Bar Squat - 

-    255X6 @4.5

-    275X6(PR) @6.5

-    290X6(PR) @7.5

Bench - 

-    230X1 @9.5

-    195X4 @8

-    180X4, 4, 4 @7

Deadlift Paused below knee -

-    350X4(PR) @8.5

-    325X5 @7.5

-    310X5, 5 @~7

DB Bench - 

-    65sX14, 9 @10

-    55sX8 @10

-    45sX12 @10

Face Pulls - X18, 15, 14 @10

Really tough session, but I got PRs on High Bar Squats and Paused Deads, and matched a 14 Rep DB Bench PR.  Pretty good for week 1, and hopefully I'll acclimate.  It's basically the same volume of SBD for Day 3 as last block so I should.

RTS Pivot Block 5. Week 1. Day 3.

sRPE @6

BW - 228

003 (tempo to knee) Beltless Deadlift -

-    295X2 @6

-    310X2 @7

-    320X2 @7.5

TnG Bench - 

-    150X10 @5.5

-    160X10 @7.5

-    165X10 @9

Hammer Rows against light band -

-    70X8 @6

-    90X8 @7

-    100X9 @8

BB Curls - 60X12, 11, 9 @~9

super-set with

1-Arm Cable Laterals - X13, 13, 12 @9/10

Totally forgot to do conditioning afterwards.

RTS Block 4. Week 4. Day 3.

sRPE @8.5

BW - 228

SBS - 285X7(PR), 6, 7 @~7

Bench -

-    207.5X3 @8

-    235X1 @9

-    185X5, 5, 5 @6/7

Deadlift Paused below knee -

-    360X3 @8

-    340X4(PR) @8

-    315X4, 4 @6

DB Bench - 70sX12(PR), 8, 9 @~10

Tough session to end the block, but 3 Rep PRs on supplemental lifts.

Went 395X3, 235X1, and 405X3 on SBD this week.  On weight alone, that's a 1035 total.  That's 65 lbs. over my meet PR, and only 80 lbs. away from my lifetime PRs.  Those lifetime PRs include questionable depth on squats, and TnG on Bench with butt coming off the bench.  It will feel good to pass those strict.

Next block is a "Tier 1" peaking block that will end in a mock meet.  I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to beat my lifetime heaviest Squat of 410 if things go at least moderately well.  Beating 255 on Bench and 450 on DL seem fairly unlikely in just one more block.

I'm still looking for a meet in the fall to try and sweep my lifetime PRs in an actual meet, but we'll see.

Also need to work on strategies to mitigate heavy squats beating up my arms.  That'll be agenda item #1 for my live call with my coach next week.

RTS Block 4. Week 3. Day 3.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 226

SBS - 

-    275X7(PR), 7 @~6

-    280X7(PR) @6.5

Bench - 

-    210X3 @8

-    232.5X1 @9

-    180X4, 5, 5 @6/6.5

DL Paused Below Knee - 

-    335X3 @8

-    335X4 @7

-    310X4, 4 @~6

DB Bench -

-    70sX11, 8 @10/9

-    65sX9 @9.5

Chipped last week's weight on Bench, couple of Rep PRs on SBS, and matched an 11 Rep PR on DB Bench.

Weights came up and/or RPE went down across the board, and sRPE was a bit lower for this session than in past weeks.  All around a pretty good day.

RTS Block 4. Week 2. Day 3.

sRPE @8

BW - 227

SBS - 270X7, 7, 7 @~7

Bench - 

-    up to 205X3 @8

-    230X1 @9

-    180X5, 5, 5 @7/8

DL Paused below knee - 

-    up to 350X3 @7.5

-    335X4(PR) @7.5

-    310X4, 4 @6

DB Bench - 65sX13, 11, 8 @9.5/10

Session was forever long b/c taking longer rests to facilitate performance set-over-set, and also waiting for a DL platform to be free.