Pivot Block. Session A.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.25"

5-3-0 Tempo Squat - 225X4, 4 @6

DB Paused Incline Bench - 55sX8, 8 @6

Flexed Arm Knee-to-chest - BWX5, 5 @~8.5

Cable Paused Closed-Grip Rows - X8 @6.5

BB Curls - 60X10, 10 @8

Conditioning - Rower; HIIT; 20 seconds; 7 rounds

First session back from our big annual camping trip.  This trip was...a lot.  Recovery definitely not on point, and so happy to only have pivot sessions to deal with this week.

Because of the DOMS generated by regular training coming out of the last pivot cycle, I'm making some changes to how I program pivots.  I had to do some of it on the fly because I didn't get it done prior to my trip.  Now that I've had some time to work on it, I shorted Squats by two sets here, so I'll up Squat assistance on other days.

Everything else was fine.  Took a lot of sets to find my work weight for DB Inclines.  Don't think there was anything else to note.

Only took video of the last squat set.

Transmutation to Accumulation Pivot Day 8.

BW - 216

Bench-Grip Deadlift (DOH) - 270X4, 4 @7, 8.5

Pause Squat to Low Box - 225X4, 4 @7

Standing, Single-Leg Curls - X13 @8

DB Incline - 60sX8, 8 @~8

Plate Full Raise - 25X15, 12 @~6.5

Conditioning - Treadmill LISS; 20 minutes

Sunday is my #1 least favorite day to train.  Fatigue kicked in pretty quickly across the board at this mid-day session.

Grip was by far the limiting factor on Deadlift.

Box Squats felt very solid.  Shank is nice and vertical; really pushing the lift into the posterior-chain.  No quad pain during set at all.  No increase in quad discomfort outside of the gym within 24 hours following session. 

Ran out of gas quick on the DB Inclines.

Looking forward to switching back to full training.

Transmutation to Accumulation Pivot Day 5.

BW - 217

DOH Bench-Grip Deadlift - 270X4, 4 @7

Low Bar Box Squat (beltless) - 215X4, 4 @7

Standing, Single-leg Curls - X13, 9 @8

DB Incline - 60sX8, 8 @7

Plate Full Raise - 25X15, 15 @8

DOH BG DL (lol) went pretty well got up to @7.5 on grip strength, which is fine.  Doing DOH for a reason.

I think the only other time I've done box squats was when I worked out with Matt Wenning a couple of years back.  These felt very solid.  I kind of thought the weight would be higher, but novelty, plus the lingering quad strain plus [waves hands].

Did DB Inclines for the 4th time in 4 years, haha.  These also felt fine

3 years since I did plate raises. 

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 6. Day 1.5.

BW - 224

Squats - 75X25, 25, 25

DB Inclines - 60s, 65s, 70sX8@~9

Pull-Ups - BWX3, 3, 3

RDL -
225, 245X6
255X7@~8

Hammer Curls - 40sX10, 8

Weird day.  Had to train on back-to-back days because I wouldn't be able to make it during the gym's limited, 4th of July hours.  So this became of a mix of things that I hoped: a) wouldn't be negatively impacted by the previous days session, b) or I didn't care if it would be impacted, c) and would possibly disrupt homeostasis in most of the major muscle groups without d) having a potential negative impact on Friday's "regular" training session.

So, Starr Rehab squats continue.  These were fine, but I also realized I think these are supposed to be increasing in weight set-over-set, so I'm going to start with that next session.

Since I'd done hard Pressing the day before, I didn't want to go for PR territory Bench on this day.  I opted for DB Inclines for sets of 8.  I haven't done them in a long time so I knew that I wouldn't be able to go hard enough to unduly stress the system, but I should be able to get enough tonnage to disrupt homeostasis. Titrated up, and 70sX8 is technically a PR.  Probably about RPE 9.5.

Just threw in 3X3 on pull-ups.  Last set was the only limit set, and that probably because of all the vertical pulling volume the previous day.

Tried out a set of DL with 135 to see how the adductor felt, and it didn't like them very much.  Realized I might be able to do RDLs and that turned out to be the case.  Made sure to keep my stance close and my feet pointed straight forward.  Haven't done these in a long time, either, and they used to really give my low back trouble.  But I use a belt now, and these seemed okay.  Titrated up to an AMRAP set at ~RPE 8.  Low back was vulnerable feeling the next day, but that may have just been DOMS from lack of pulling.  1st and 3rd sets shown.

LRB Back & DL. Week 3. Pressing

DB Inclines -
35sX8
45sX8
55sX8
65sX8
55sX8
45sX8
35sX12

Cable overhead raise - X15, 15, 15 (straight-weight)

Cable Face-Pulls - X20, 20, 20 (straight-weight)

Rope Pushdowns - X100 (R/P 50, 25, 25)

Another session at the hotel gym.

Pyramiding up and down on the DB Inclines worked really well.

The combo of overhead raises and face-pulls worked the hell out of my rear delts.

My triceps are still tender from the 100 rep set 2 days ago.

All in all, this was a really great session despite using a hotel gym.

Reps and Volume. Week 10. Bench Accessory

BW - 207

DB Incline -
30sX25
45sX20
50sX12, 10
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 25sX20, 20, 15, 15

Rolling DB Triceps - 25sX12, 12, 12

Hammer Curls - 35sX20, 16, 12, 12


Wouldn't have been able to get to the gym last night or tonight for my regular Bench session.  Instead of pushing it back, I hit some accessory work at the office gym to keep myself on schedule.

I've got the wife starting to do Rolling DB's in her workouts as push-up accessory, and I realized I hadn't done them in forever.  Fun movement to switch up with.

Reps and Volume. Week 7. Press (Office Gym)

BW - 202

Machine Press -
Warm-Ups - X10, 8, 6
Work-Sets - X15, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight; same as last week)

DB Incline - 45sX13, 10, 10
super-set with
Reverse Machine Flyes - X20, 20, 18 (straight-weight; same as last week)

Rope Curls - X25, 20, 20 (straight-weight; increased from last week0
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes (pronated) - 15sX20, 20, 20

Rope OH Extensions - X20

Good session, I managed to push up either reps or weight on every single movement.  Unlike last week, my shoulders and upper pec area feel a bit sore the next day.

Made good time, so added one AMAP set of overhead extensions.

Reps and Volume. Week 6. Press (Office Gym)

BW - 201

Machine Shoulder Press -
Warm-ups - X12, 10, 10
Work-Sets - X12, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight, same as last week)

DB Incline - 45sX12, 11, 10
super-set with
Machine Reverse Flyes - X15, 15, 18 (straight-weigh, more than last week)

Rope Curls - X37, 20, 20, 20 (straight-weight, same as last week)
super-set with
DB Flyes (pronated) - 15sX20, 15, 15, 15

Reps and Volume. Week 5. Press (Office Gym)

BW - 198

Machine Press -
Warm-Ups - X10, 8, 6
Work-Sets - X12, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight, increased over last week)

DB Incline - 45sX12, 10, 10
super-set with
Machine Reverse Flyes - X20, 20, 20 (straight-weight)

Rope Hammer Curls - X30, 20, 20, 20
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes - 15sX20, 18, 18, 18

Went a little heavier on some stuff this week with only a slight step-back in reps.

Decided to try Incline flyes instead of overhead triceps.  Chest isn't getting much work lately with the bench/shoulder issues.  I did incline because I want to see what the effect is if I keep my grip at a similar angle to the DB Incline Bench.  I'm thinking a little more shoulder involvement that may help with the OHP and Incline work down the road.  Also, a minor change for fun.

Reps and Volume. Week 4. Press (Office Gym)

BW - 197 (sketchy office gym scale)

Machine Press -
Warm-Ups - X10, 8
Work-Sets - X15, 12, 12, 10 (straight-weight)

DB Incline -
50sX10
35sX15, 13
super-set with
Machine Reverse Flyes - X15, 15, 22 (straight-weight)

Rope Overhead Extensions - X15, 16, 12, 10 (straight-weight)
super-set with
Rope Hammer Curls - X30, 25, 20, 20 (straight-weight)

Still feeling the schedule crunch this week, so I got in a session of Overhead BB style work at the office gym.

Solid session.

Only thing to really note is that I've never done OH Rope Extensions and they seemed much harder at the same weight than Rope Pushdowns.  Interesting.

Reps and Volume. Week 3. Press

BW - 197

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X5
95X4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5

DB Incline - 45sX12, 10, 10

Cable High Row -
Warm-Up - X20
Work-Sets - X13*, 20, 9 (ascending weight)

French Press - 40ishX40, 35, 12, 14

Doing this every other week instead of benching, along with some other mobility/PT stuff, to see if I can get my left shoulder to STFU.

I'd been doing 8-10 sets of 3 with 95 on PBN the last few months instead of benching.  Going to keep it at 8 sets and try to slowly push the reps per set up starting from the end.  So here I did 7X4 and then 1X5.  That 1X5 was difficult but doable.  Next time, I'll try 6X4 and 2X5, etc.  When I'm doing 8X5, I'll up the weight.

Had to pull way back on the DB Incline after all that Pressing volume.  I did 50sX23 just a few weeks ago.

I thought about doing the same Reverse Pec Deck that I'm doing on the Bench day, but I thought the lighter overall weights that I'm handling here gave me the opportunity to do something slightly heavier for Back.  Decided I wanted to go with High Rows since the recovery shouldn't really negatively impact Deadlifting a couple days later, and it gives a slightly different stimulus than the other back work I've got on the program.
*...Unfortunately they don't have a high-row machine at my regular gym, so I had to set up at a high-cable station.  I took a shot at trying them with just a lean back, but when I got to my work-sets, I was expending a lot of energy just keeping myself in position on the first set.  So I stuck a DB bench up against the cable stack and was able to brace my foot against that.  The jump from 13 reps to 20 reps was with the same weight; just with the different bracing.  TMI.

Triceps were extended repeatedly overhead.

Full Body. Week 4. Deadlift

BW - 204

Bulgarian Split Squats -
BWX15
20X15
BWX15

DB Incline-
40sX15
50sX23, 15, 12

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
365X1
285X3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Chins - BWX10, 6, 6, 4, 5 (31 total)

Solid session.

Grabbed a DB for my 2nd set of single-leg work, but these just felt crappy this week.   I'll try with weight again next week.

With Paul Carter's 350 method in mind, I got up to 50 reps in 3 sets with the 50's on DB Incline.  Next week I'll go up to the 55's and start over.

Deadlift felt solid.  Upped the weight and dropped the reps a bit on the work-sets.  These felt good, and when 6X3 feels easy, I'll push it up to 5X5, etc.

Chins were okay.  One more total rep than last time.

Felt rushed, so I skipped biceps.

Full Body. Week 3. Deadlift

BW - 201

Bulgarian Splits - BWX15, 20, 20

DB Incline -
40sX15
50sX20, 15, 10

Deadlift -
135X5, 5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
365X1
275X5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Chins - BWX12, 6, 5, 4, 3 (30 total reps)

Reverse-Grip Preacher Curls - 40ishX20, 15, 10

Solid session, though a little low energy.

Pushed the reps up on split squats and DB Inclines.  Pec Dec-ing on Wednesday may have gotten in the way of me doing more on my last set or two.  Maybe I'll try moving those to Monday, or maybe it doesn't really matter that much either way.

365 was a bit slow on the Deadlift, but the volume sets were all solid.

Pushed chins and reverse curls up a bit.

Full Body. Week 2. Deadlift

BW - 200

Bulgarian Split Squats - BWX15, 15, 15

DB Incline -
40sX15
50sX17, 11, 11

Deadlift -
135X5, 5
185X4
225X4
275X2
315X1
365X1
275X5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Chins - BWX10, 7, 6, 5

Reverse Preacher Curls - 40ishX15, 12, 11

Solid session.  Felt a bit run-down and didn't quite have the energy to get after Deadlifts like last time.

Full Body. Week 2. Squat

BW - 200

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
195X15, 10

RDL -
135X10
185X10, 10, 10

EZ Bar French Press - 50X25, 18, 10

Solid session.  Managed to push the reps up on 195 a bit.  Ideally for this block, I'd like to hit a solid 20 reps on the 1st set, and start pushing the 2nd set towards 20 as well.  Energy is a bigger obstacle than strength right now.  As long as I'm keeping my calories where they are, that will continue to be an issue.  Bumping up calories is 5 weeks away at the earliest, and when it does happen will only be about 100-150 more calories a day.

Chalked up and added another set of 10 to RDL's.  Felt good.

Since my shoulder didn't love dips last week, but seems okay with PBN and DB Incline, I thought I'd throw in some overhead extensions.  These felt solid.

Full Body. Week 1. Deadlift

BW - 199

Bulgarian Split Squats - BWX15, 15, 15

DB Incline -
45sX15
50sX10, 11, 15

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
365X1
275X5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Chins - BWX8, 6, 6, 4

EZ Bar, Reverse Grip, Preacher Curls - 40ishX15, 10, 8

No rehearsal, and back at my regular gym, so I was able to get the full session in as originally programmed.

Shoulder didn't love the DB Incline the next day, but it wasn't as aggravated by these as by dips.  On my last set, I got a guy to stand by and take the DB out of my left hand for me.  Getting it down to the ground without dropping it seemed to be aggravating the shoulder more than the actual pressing.

Deadlifts felt strong.  I was originally going to go super-light and stop at 315 and then drop down to something in the low-to-mid 200's for sets of 5-8.  However, 315 was so fast I decided to jump on up to 365 and then back-off to 275.  365 was fast, and all the sets/reps of 275 felt strong and fast until the last reps on the last couple sets.  Had a lot of fun with this.

Was pretty well blasted for chins afterwards, though.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Mini-Review

Quick and minimal results and a few notes from the 1st round of Big-15 training on the LRB-365 program:

Bench - Goal met: 155X15.  I labored in the X13-14 range for a couple weeks, and finally hit this during my final bench session.
DB Bench - Goal met: 60sX15.  Got it at the end, and also hit 55sX20 the week before.
DB Incline - Goal met: 55sX15.  Got this 1/2 way through the cycle.

Squat - Goal met: 205X15.  Hit this on week 3, and got up to 205X17.
Front Squat - Goal met: 125X20.  Got X19 in Week 2, and hit X20 in Week 4.

Chins - Goal met: BW+25X10.  This was an ugly set, but I got it.  May need to start filming these to see if I'm cheating them.  These were all shoulder-width, neutral-grip.
DB Rows - Goal met: 75sX12.  Got it in the final week.  In the previous session, two weeks prior, I got 70X10 for 4 sets across.

Seated PBN - No goal set because I hadn't really done them before.  Hit 95X15 for an all-around Rep PR for all types of PBN, and right around my Rep PR for all OHP.

All the lifts listed above were Rep PRs, and most project to increased 1RM.

In addition, I had my 36th birthday in this time and did my birthday squats that I started last year.  Got 135X36.  125X35 the year before.  Not a major increase but these are mostly a mental effort, excepting that the low- and mid-back fatigue in a way that they don't with lower rep squatting.

Also, on my final Squat day I'd had a few days off and had a week off coming up.  Rather than do the prescribed light hamstring and single-leg assistance, I opted to have some extra fun.  I did something I've never done before which was do all three powerlifts in the same session. 

Because most of my real worksets for a year or so had been in higher-rep ranges.  I decided to just work up to new 2-Rep PRs.  To be clear, I didn't work up to 2RM, but rather I knew I was so much stronger than my previous best 2 rep lifts on Bench and Dead that I just decided to top them both by 10 lbs. 

For Bench that was 185X2, and for Deadlift 325X2.  Bench in particular was ridiculously easy.  Deadlift was a little bit harder, but I had just done a high-rep Squat workout, hahahaha.  Anyway, 185 is projected as my 5-7 RM on bench, and 325 as my 4RM on Deadlift.  So like I said, these weren't humongous efforts, but rather just having some fun bringing my Rep records more in line with the current reality.

Looking forward to the 2nd cycle!

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 6. Shoulders and Bench

Saturday -
BW - 202

Upright Rows - 60X15, 15, 15, 15, 15
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 25sX15, 15, 15, 15, 15

Sunday -
BW - 207

Bench -
BarX15
85X5
95X4
115X3
145X2
165X1

155X15, 4

Chins -
BWX5
+15X5
+20X3, 3
+25X2
+30X1

+25X6, 3
BWX7

DB Incline - 55sX15, 12, 8, 8, 8

Ate my ass off all day Saturday and Sunday morning.  155X15 was the only goal for the cycle I hadn't hit, and this was my last chance to hit it.  I wanted to make sure I had plenty of fuel, and also hoped I might get a little leverage advantage as well.  The result was my heaviest weigh-in since April 2012.  Oh, and I also hit my bench goal, which is an all-around PR.  That's every goal for the cycle hit.

Weight gain made chins a bit rough, though, hahahahaha.

Was able to stay with the 55s for every Incline set, which was a minor goal for this session.  Happy about that as well.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 5. Bench

BW - 201

Bench -
BarX10
85X5
95X4
115X3
142X2
165X1

155X13, 4

Chins (shoulder-width, neutral grip) -
BWX5
+15X5
+20X3, 3
+25X2
+30X1

+25X10, 4
BWX7

DB Incline -
55sX15, 13, 6
45sX10, 10, 10

Two weeks now since I hit 155X14 on bench.  I've only managed 13 reps the last two sessions.  Only one more session to try and hit my cycle goal of 155X15.

My set up is close-grip, with a tight arch with my neck and traps on the bench (but not my scapulae at all) and that has my butt basically floating on the bench and not being supported by it, and my heels are barely touching the ground.  Almost all my reps are paused on the chest, although the pause sometimes gets lost as I push limit reps. The guy that spotted me was between bench sets where he was flat footed, flat back, elbows flared and stopping all reps a couple inches above his chest.  He was doing rep sets with 315.  This has had me all twisted for about 16 hours now, but I've about talked myself back from the ledge.  I swear to god though, if I don't lock out a full rep with 225 in the next 12 months...

+25X10 is an all-around PR for all chinning.  Not saying they were the prettiest reps.

I hit my cycle goal of 55sX15 on DB Incline last time, so now I'm capping the first set there, and working to bring the subsequent sets up.  Significantly more volume over last session.  Would like to get 15 reps on my 2nd set next session.  Something like 15, 15, 8, and I would be ecstatic about 15, 15, 10 and being able to stay with the 55s for the 4th and 5th sets.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 4. Shoulders and Bench

Friday-
BW - 200

Upright Rows - 60X15, 15, 15, 15, 15
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 25sX15, 15, 15, 15, 15

Got a little more density in my volume here.

Sunday-
BW - 203

Bench -
BarX15
85X5
95X4
115X3
142X2
165X1

155X13, 4

Chins (shoulder-width, neutral grip) -
BWX5
+15X5
+20X3, 3
+25X2
+30X1

+25X8, 5
BWX7

DB Incline -
55sX16, 9
50sX8
45sX8, 8, 8

Spent 9 hours yesterday at a music festival standing around in the sun and drinking beer.  I did okay on getting some food and water in, but between that and having one-to-many cups of coffee before training, my bench day got off to a bit of a shaky start.

That being said, being off 2 reps total on my 50% sets on bench from last session isn't really worrisome.  I've got two more bench sessions on this cycle, and my goal is 15 reps.  Still confident I'll get there.

Matched my chins from last time, but it was a grind.

And I hit my DB Incline goal +1!  I'll probably just stay with the 55s and keep pushing the first set, while working to stay at that weight on subsequent sets and get 8+ reps per set.