Pivot. Week 1. Day B.

sRPE @6

BW - 227

Bench - 

-    up to 205X1 @6

-    195X3 @7.5, 185X3 @6.5

Hack Squats - 100X8, 8, 8 @~8

Cable Rows - X11, 10 @8

super-set with

GHR Sit-Ups - BWX8, 7 @~8

Machine Standing Calf Raise - X12, 10 @~10

Rower - HIIT; 7 rounds

Out-of-town visitors came in the night before, and performance was a bit muted on this day.  

However, this volume (very similar to what I was doing in the last block) at these RPEs felt fairly easy.  The last few months, I've been pushing higher RPEs on average while being really conservative with volume.  I've been thinking to flip that script a bit and see if pushing volume again while holding back on intensity might alleviate some of the nagging aches and pains that have started to develop.

Son of a Bench Week 2. Day A.

sRPE @5.5

BW - 225

Bench - 

-    up to 230X1 @8

-    195X5 @8.5

Lever Dips - 205X8, 7 @8

Hack Squats - 110X8, 7 @8

super-set with

Pull-Downs - X9, 7 @8

DB French Press - 70X7, 6 @8

super-set with

Machine Calf Press - X11, 10 @~8

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Solid.  Upped weight a bit on Bench over last week, added some reps to the other things at comparable RPE.

I'll start a targeted increase in Volume later this week, and similar with RPE starting next week. 

Close-Grip Bench, Belt Squats, Upper Back

sRPE @7

BW - 226

CG Bench - 

-    up to 235X1(PR) @9.5

-    210X3(PR) @8

-    185X3, 3 @6.5

Belt Squat - 

-    105X10, 10 @7/8

-    140X6 @9

Upper Back Attack - 

-    Cable Rear Delt Rows - X17, 17, 13 @9/10

-    Cable Rows - X15, 14, 11 @10

-    Cable Retractions - X12, 11, 10 @9/10

A couple of nice PRs on CG Bench.  The Data Driven Strength guys recently put out 3 new RPE charts based on recent studies.  I initially copied over the "Average Rep Capacity" chart for my use, but after the last couple of sessions, I've revised to the "Low Rep Capacity" as it seems to line up better with how my heavy singles compare to my heavy triples.  

I've always fucking hated Belt Squat.  I was always trying to do them and maintain BB Squat position with a high chest etc.  I recently saw videos of Mike Israetel doing them for bodybuilding where his upper body was somewhat relaxed, he was holding onto the bars, and was just trying to go as deep as possible.  More like a Hack Squat or a Leg Press.  I tried that out today and it felt GREAT.  Couldn't use as much weight because of the longer ROM, but very happy to have another tool for training legs that I actually might like!

3 Day SBD. Cycle 1. Session A.

sRPE @7

BW - 224

Squats - 

up to 295X1 @6

275 (80%)X3, 3 @6

Plate Deficit DL - 300(74% of DL)X2, 2, 2 @~5.5

Copenhagen Planks - BWX10, 10, 10 (each side) @7/8

DB Curls - 25sX10, 10, 10 @7/8

super-set with

High Incline Leg/Hip Raises - BWX5, 5, 3 @8/10

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 10 minutes

Using a mix of RPE targets and %'s this block on the strength movements.  Assistance movements generally approaching failure.  Autoregulating volume across the board to try and walk out of the gym feeling fresh-to-fine.

I called an audible and added in the Leg/Hip raises.  I feel like since I've not been doing the Toes-to-Bar, I'm feeling more hip extensor discomfort following Squat workouts.  However, this super-set also increased sRPE for the day.  

Still tempted to take this approach on lower focus day of cutting Biceps volume and super-setting in hip extensor work.  Just have to play it by ear.

3 Day Full-Body Hypertrophy. Week 1. Session C.

 sRPE @6

BW - 222

Chins - BWX2, 2, 2 @~7.5

031 Tempo Work:

EZ Cable Face Pulls - X8, 8 @~7

Incline Bench - 95X8, 7 @~7

Roman Chair Squats - BWX8, 5 @8/7

Plan originally was to increase proximity to failure (and reps) week-over-week in 3 week waves.  I hit the first two sessions pretty close to failure just out of enthusiasm for novelty.  Got some pretty good hamstring DOMS for my trouble, so I forced myself to be more conservative in this session. 

High-Rep Volume PRs. Week 3. Session D.

sRPE @7

BW - 216

Deadlift - 

405X1, 1 @7.5/8

245X14, 14 @5.5/7

Dips - BW+20X5, 5, 5, 5 @6/7

Chest-Supported Rows - 

160X6 @8

145X6, 6, 6 @~6.5

DL singles felt a little heavier at the same weight as last week, but high-rep sets were MUCH stronger.  Also, low back fatigue is maybe 50% of what it was following the same session last week. 

236 (BW+20) for 4 sets of 5 is a Volume PR on Dips.

Tried to jump to 3.5 plates on CS Rows but it was clearly harder than target so pulled back.  Sometimes I second guess myself working at RPEs below 7, but usually when I go up I find out I was reasonably close in my estimation. 

Block 18 (Exploratory). Cycle 4. Session B.

sRPE @7

BW - 216

Press - 127.5X4, 4, 4, 4 @~8/9

Chin-Ups - 

BWX9 @~9

NG Density: 1 rep every 0:15; 4:30 (18 total reps) @8

Machine Pullovers - X15 @10

Toes-to-Bar - BWX6, 5 @8/9.5

DB Curls (myo-reps) - 37.5sX15, 5, 5, 4, 3 @10/10

Stretching rests out now on Press to try and keep in target RPE range.  I think I pushed it to 3:30 between 3rd and 4th sets.  PRs still pretty far away on this movement, although there's a chance I hit a 4X4 PR by the end of this block.  However, this is the first of 3 blocks with Press as my upper-body pressing focus, so I still have a few months to see if I can coax some PRs.

Chin-ups were...fine.  First set is a little meh for the second week in a row, but the density work felt stronger.  

Really enjoying hitting the machine pullovers with a BB style.  Pause at the top, strong concentric, squeeze against legs at the bottom, slow-and-controlled eccentric.  When I finished the last rep, it was like coming out of a tunnel.  Any my lats were on fire.  

TTB crapped out a little bit.  That's slot 3 for ya.

DB curls continue to project as stronger than my BB curls, lol.  I think that's just down to strictness.  I'm fairly strict on straight-bar curls because I start to get wrist and elbow issues if I'm not.  With DBs, I can "just curl." 

Block 17. Cycle 5. Session C.

sRPE @7

BW - 216

Deadlift -

430X1 @8

275X13, 13 @~6

Dips -

BW+62.5X7 @8.5

BW+52.5X7 @8

Rope Pushdowns - straight-weightX12, 10 @7.5/10

Incline Bench - 105X12, 12 @6/7

EZ Cable Curls - straight-weightX12, 10 @7/10

On Deadlift, 430X1 is a Rep PR, and 275 for 2X13 is a Volume PR.  Overshot RPE target again on the top single.  Need to force myself to be conservative next week, or I might not be in a great place to go for something really big in the final week.

278.5 (BW+62.5)X7 is a Rep PR on Dips.  Overshot RPE again here.  Not sure what was going on with me this session that I wanted to try and force PRs.  It's only week 5.  Chill out.  Backed off for the 2nd set, but was still over target.

I did make myself keep Inclines at the same weight to see if I could come in on RPE target, and they were much better than last week.

Block 16. Cycle 7. Session A.

BW - 219

sRPE @6.5

Curls -

80X9, 9 @8/9.5

Slower Eccentric - 65X9 @10 

Press - 160X1 @10

DB Laterals - 30sX14@10

Squat - 385X2 @9

GHR - BWX15, 16 @8.5/9.5

As is common in the last week of a training block, I find myself dropping volume a bit and reaching for some stuff for fun.

80X9 is a Rep PR on Curls.  Did a couple of those and then did more of a "bodybuilding" backoff set with a slower eccentric to failure.  Dropped the 4th workset I'd been doing.

Decided to max Press.  This was nice because it both indicated a slight increase in 1RM over the prior week's estimate and was almost EXACTLY what I estimated e1RM to be at for this week.  I don't usually get in my head about the difference between RPE based E1RM and "actual," but it was nice to see this.  The rep was a real grind.  Been a while since I'd done one of those.

Dropped the high-rep back-off set, and just did one AMRAP on laterals instead of two sets.

Worked up to a heavier double on Squat than I've been doing in this block to see what that was like.  This is my heaviest sqaut since I did a 387.5X1 @8.25 in November of last year.  This seems like at least slight improvement over that.  Interestingly, that training block also had Session A's that went Curls, Press, Squat.

Also dropped the back-off sets of 10 on Squat.  I had it as a possibility to do a 3X10 Volume PR on this day, but that just sounded hard in a boring way, and not in a fun way.

Block 16. Cycle 5. Session B.

 BW - 221

sRPE @7.5

Bench - 

235X1 @8.75

170X10, 10, 10 @7/9

Chin-Ups -

BWX6 @8

Density block; 1 rep every 0:10; 3:20 (20 total Reps ) @9

Rope Rows - X8 @9.5

Toes-to-Bar - BWX4, 2 @9/7

DB Incline Curls - 35sX12, 10 @8/10

170 for 3X10 is a Volume PR on bench.  3rd set was harder than I hoped it would be, but I also added the 3rd set this week.  2 more weeks in this block to see if the RPE stabilizes. 

Density Chins were still really tough even though I backed off total time/reps.  Going to pull that WAY back next week.  Don't need to be hitting @9s on secondary, compound movements if I want to keep sRPE moderate.

TTB was also tough.  Maybe just a tough day.

Block 16. Cycle 4. Session B.

BW - 220

sRPE @8

Bench -

235X1 @9

165X10, 10 @6.5/8.5

Chin-Ups - BWX5@7.5

Density Block; 1 rep every 0:10; 4:00 @10; 24 total reps

Rope Rows - X8 @9.5

Toes-to-Bar - BWX3, 3 @~7

Incline DB Curls - 33.75sX12, 10 @8/10

Gym got flooded in heavy rains the day before, and so was pretty miserable for this session.  Really swampy from the heat and water everywhere, and huge fans running everywhere being loud as hell.  Definitely made everything a little tougher and drove up the sRPE.

Bench was a little flat over last week on the top set.  Back-offs were slightly better.

Density chins were awful.  Gonna drop the total time down again next week to 3:20 for 20 total reps.  Try and get RPE down a bit.

Block 16. Cycle 1. Session B.

BW - 221

sRPE @6

Bench 

207.5X1 @7.5

150X9 @5

Chin-Ups - 

BWX3 @7

Density Block: 1 rep every 0:10; 4:00 @9.5

Rope Rows - X9@8

Toes-to-Bar - BWX2 @6.5

DB Incline Curls - 31.25sX12 @8

Always tricky trying to dial-in an RPE @X.5, but otherwise Bench moved very well.  Always a wonder what moving something to the first slot in a training session can do.

Chin-ups moved well, but the increase in density on the back-off "set" from every 15 seconds to every 10 seconds was pretty intense even a 2 minutes less total time than the end of last block.  I'm going to back it up to 3 minutes for next week and progress from there.  This set kept the sRPE for the session from dipping down to 5.

Incline curls were done fairly strict with a pause at the bottom and no swing to start the movement, and yet a combined weight of 62.5X12 @8 projects to the same e1RM as Monday's BB Curls of 67.5X9 @7.  Surprising. 

Block 15. Cycle 5. Session B.

BW - 218

sRPE @ 8

Press - 

137.5X1 @8

110X6, 6, 6, 6 @7

Deadlift - 395X1 @8

Sumo w/Straps - 337.5X5, 5, 5 @6

DB Curls - 37.5sX8, 11 @7.5/10

Rope Curls - X10, 14 (straight-weight) @8/10

110 for 4X6 is a Volume PR on Press.  Top single finally popped above the block baseline as well.  I set a 12 mo. PR at the end of the last block, and I'm within distance to maybe top that in the last couple of cycles of this block.  Still some good distance to go to get into Lifetime PR territory, but current BW is ~10-15 lbs. lighter than when I set some of those lifetime, low rep PRs.

Deadlift is stagnant-to-regressing a bit.  Not too worried about it.

337.5 is a Rep PR on strapped Sumo, and got if for 3 sub-max sets.  I tweaked my back in the middle of the first set, but was able to complete the set, and still do the others.  One of the reasons I rated sRPE a bit higher than target.

One quick note on RPE disparities apparent in something like the Rope Curls.  You might look at 10@ 8 followed-by 14@10 and say "well, you're clearly overestimating RPE on your sub-max sets."  Maybe, maybe not.  First, I'm not THAT worried about being off by 1 or 2 on RPE because over time I'm confident that it will wash out.  Second, there's a difference in approach on a low fatigue movement like rope curls.  The first set is more non-stop until I hit my RPE target.  Knowing that I want to take that last set to absolute failure, I take more min-breaks along the way, and so I'm "fresher" for the final reps.

Block 14. Cycle 5. Session B.

BW - 220

sRPE @ 7

Dips - 

BW+65X4, 4, 4, 4 @8/8.5

BW+25X11 @ 8

Bench -

197.5X3 @7.5

145X10, 10 @~6

Toes-to-Bar - BWX3, 3, 2 @~9/8

Band Chins (under knee) - BWX5, 4, 4 @8/7

285(BW+65)X4 is a Rep PR, and I got it for 4 sub-maximal sets.  Dips have definitely been the star of this training block.

I think it's finally getting through my head not to try and push Bench hard after hard sets of Dips.  Backed off my targets to @7 on the top triple, and @6 on the back-off sets.  Felt physically better during and after the workout, and was able to call sRPE @7 for two sessions in a row.

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 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 9. Cycle 1. Session D.

BW - 227

Waist - 43"

sRPE @ 7

Deadlift -
370X3 @8
275X15 @8

RDL w/Straps - 275X7 @8

Hack Squats (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 75X15, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @8.7/7

Conditioning (following day) - Rower; HIIT (20/100 sec.); 5 rounds

Interesting session.

DL went really well.  Like all the powerlifts in this first week, the target weight for 15@9 ended up being too light, and just like all the others, I didn't give a shit and will just try to get @9 next week.

275X7 is a Rep PR on RDL.  With straps, but I kind of don't care, because I'll probably train this lift with straps from now on.  The movement just feels more focused with double-overhand.

I was worried about the Hack Squats, because single-leg Hack Squats in the pivot block were such a shit show.  Ended up just fine.  These were all fairly deep as well.

Got access to the gym in my office building and am starting to do conditioning on off-days.

Block 9. Cycle 1. Session C.

BW - 230

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Bench -
220X3 @8.25
155X15 @ 8.5

Chin-Ups 1.5s (bottom-half) - BWX3,3; 3,3; 3,3 @9/10

Upright Rows - (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 90X10, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 @8.5

BB Curls -
65X12 @9
60X12 @9
50X12 @8

Okay session.

I hoped to push Bench to 225 for the top 3@8, but warm-up made that seem unlikely, and it turned out coming in roughly on target at 220.  Back-off set came in a little under target RPE @9, but I expect that on the first week or so as I dial-in the target weights.

Based on something Greg Nuckols said on a recent podcast, I thought I'd try a version of 1.5s on Chins.  With this version, I get within a rep or 2 of failure on the full reps, and then I do half-reps in the bottom ROM to within a rep or 2 of failure.  Not sure how to put my performance on these in context.  Last block, I started un-weighted chins by getting 10 total reps across 3 sets.  Here, I got 9 total, full ROM reps across 3 sets, plus nine, half-ROM reps.  So...that's more?  I will say, I felt a little "fresher" after these sets than I think I do after sets of full reps.  We'll see!

Haven't done upright rows in a while.  Thought I would be starting out with more weight for more reps, but whatevs.  My traps were really sore a couple days after doing these.

Curls were also a bit weaker than I expected.

Block 9. Cycle 1. Session B.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 7

Squat - 

330X3 @7.75

250X15 @8

High Bar Squat - 250X7 @8

Hip Thrusts (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 135X15, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @ 8/7.5

Solid session.

Top triple on Squats moved really well.  Weight came in above target, and probably could have gone up 2-5 lbs., but these top sets are really final warm-ups in this block.  

Targeting @9 for the sets of 15 this block, and I know it's going to take some calibration to get there.  This weight was still above target, but definitely well below @9.  On the first week, I didn't want to add in another set for a couple of reasons: 1)  want to avoid adductor and quad DOMS as these have caused me problems at the beginning of past blocks, 2) at reps this high, I could see myself adding weight and suddenly finding myself @ 10+ in the first week.

Plan for High Bars was to shoot for 7@8 with the final weight from low bar.  Hoping to be able to go straight into it, and avoid taking off weight and doing a "warm up" set.  Tried that today, and it was a bit awkward having not done high bar in a few blocks, but I'm hopeful I'll get back in the groove.

Hip thrusts went well in my first real session using them.  May need to up reps on the myo-rep sets, as RPE was a little low throughout.

Block 8. Cycle 3. Session B.

BW - 226

Waist - 43.25"

Press -
135X1, 1 @8/8.5
120X5 @8.25

Bench -
217.5X1 @8
155X12 @7.5
157.5X12 @8

Chin-Ups - BWX4, 3, 3 @~10

Pull-Downs - X11, 8 @~8

Interesting session.

Press strength was not down, but if it was up, it was just barely.

Bench top strength was down on the single, but rep strength on the back-off sets was up.  This is a rep strength focused block for Bench, so it's generally good news.  It will be interesting to how the gap between max strength and rep strength changes as the block goes on.  Similar to Squat, my 12 rep strength seems to be a slightly higher % of my e1RM based on the single that the RTS RPE table predicts.  I'm going to continue to base week-to-week projections on prior week performance, but I think I will definitely need to update my table at the end of this block.

Chin strength wasn't great, but when is it ever.  Added a set of pull-downs because Session RPE was still vary manageable, and as always I want to try and kick chins in the butt.