Sleep has been rough, and humidity is high so I didn't really want to do any of this today. But Pause Squats felt good. Kept elbows down and chest up, but still need to stay back on my heels better.
Felt a little woozy coming into the gym today, but I felt better by the end of the chins.
I initially thought the pins were set around parallel, but video later showed they were high. No big. Video did show me that I wasn't keeping my elbows down, and was forgetting to lead with my chest up out of the "hole." Good reminder for one I rotate regular squats back in soon.
Intro week where I'll only work up to one set in each rep range on the big movements, and look to add sets next week, and then be at "full volume" by week 3.
Squat came in a little lower than I projected, but my technique's been such a mess that I wanted to be conservative and try to focus on sitting back and getting the stretch a bit closer to parallel.
First back-off set took a lot out of me for the AMRAP. Starting off this block with an AMRAP with 70#, and goal is to get that up to 20 before increasing weight.
Cut a set off of the planks because the first sets were bothering my knees a little, and the second sets were just hard at the same reps.
285 for 3X8 is a Volume PR on Squats. Taking things very slow and deliberate building up squat volumes at this effort level. Very deliberate technique, and plenty of rest times between sets with rests getting longer set-to-set. Definitely getting a low back pump about half way through, and dealing with some low back discomfort the next day, but it's not "out." Adding a final, fourth set next week, and will continue to be very conservative until I'm confident the volume at this effort is being tolerated.
Tried 3X8 @6 for Squats over the summer and did not get great results in that block. Next block will likely be lower volume/effort but higher absolute intensity, and the block after that will be more similar to this plus a top-single. So in this exploratory block, I wanted to, as always, reach for some low hanging volume PRs (which I'm already getting here), but also start to remind myself of what it's like to do multiple, higher-rep sets @8.
Backed off weight on Dips top set and everything felt a little bit better. BW reps felt "athletic."
Pin Pressing continues to be really hard, but also really fun. Also seem to feel recovered relatively quickly for such high effort work.
Density; 2 reps every 0:30; 3:00/12 total reps @9.5
DB Rows - 95X10, 9 @8/10
Squat -
335X3 @7.5
225X14 @6.5
DB Curls - 40sX10, 11 @8/10
Hard session. My mid-back was fried from all the benching and upper back work, and made the late-session squats even more brutal than usual.
Squats are about to go on the front burner for a few blocks, so maybe having them first in their session for a while will mitigate some of the issues I've been having with the lift. I also tried to pull back a little and descend a little slower and deeper. Kind of hoping that going uber-controlled and extra-deep for a while will force me to pull back on the weight and fill in some of the cracks that have been opening up around this lift. Just doesn't seem productive for it to be as punishing of a lift as it has been the last few blocks.
On Bench, my current best single is 255. Next week is the last week of this block, and as usual I'll start pulling back on training volume a bit too see if I can reach for some low hanging PRs. Maybe a new Bench 1RM!
Another good session bouncing back from cold and (all-but-gone bronchitis).
Squats made a bigger jump than they have the last couple of weeks. Just felt much more "there." Looking forward to seeing how the block goes.
I was hyper-focused on execution today since I had one less rest day between DL and Squat days than usual. Probably gave myself longer rests between sets than usual on average as well. Closer to 5 minute rests than 3 minute rests.
High Bars and Wide-Grip DLs were all solid as well.
Sleep has been behind a little bit so I was still ready for the session to be over by the last movement. Was meeting a friend to watch a game, so skipped out on conditioning again.
Not sure entirely what happened here. I moved my feet back an inch or so on my deadlift set-up and ended up with my biggest DL in 6 months...at the beginning of a new training block. So you could say it's the stance adjustment. I also pulled Sumo for the first time ever earlier in this cycle. When that came in at 112% of my Training Max (TM), I just assumed that I might be better at Sumo because I'm a good squatter. But now my conventional pull comes in at 115% of my TM, but also with a slightly altered stance so....
I don't know. We'll see. I also got confused a bit by working on a bar pre-loaded with 100 lb. plates, and got it in my head that my back-off sets were supposed to be @7 rather than @8. So I did less volume on the warm-ups, and less intensity on the back-offs. Interested to see how it goes this week.
Front squats came in about where expected 53-58% of squat. Movement felt very comfortable even though I haven't done them in a long time. I think I'm just better at being "in my body" on squats than I've ever been. How to move so that the fleet stay flat and the bar path stays fairly vertical. Also, didn't have much trouble with the cross-arm rack position, but as weight increases, I expect the pressure on my chest to get uncomfortable like it has in the past.
Dips also came in about on target. Expected 240-ish for the top-set weight, and ~15 reps for the back-offs. Satisfied with where these are starting out.
Top set of Squat was a shit show. It looks like I let my chest drop when I hit the hole, sliding the bar forward of mid-foot, and making the concentric an RPE 10 gut punch.
I decided to take it again. I'm showing the last warm-up single and this 2nd top single to compare speed on both. The second single was a "feels" RPE @ 8, but while it was a touch higher than the last warm-up, the speed wasn't much slower, so would be a "bar speed" @ 7.
320X5X5 is a 5X5 PR. All sets were strong. I rated this last set @ 7.5, and video looks close to that.
Inclines were fairly tough at this weight. 205X3 is a Rep PR. Last set was a "feels" @ 9.5, and video was "speed" @ 8.
Chins were fine. No video. Tried to stop @ ~9.
Rows were also fine. I used straps on the last set just to make sure I could focus on the lift. Last set was "feels" @ 7, and "speed" @ 6.
Had a conflict tonight, and so got my work-out in at an "away" gym that I found in the area. The gym was mostly fine, however none of the barbells had a center knurling, and the only spare belt they had was a nylon and velcro affair.
Because of the above, I conservatively lowered my top-set weight for squats from 380 to 365. I kept the back-off weight the same, however. Top set weight was fine, however the old problem of sliding forward at parallel instead of dropping down below parallel crept back in here. Something to watch out for. Same problem was apparent on a few reps of the back-off sets. Top-set and last back-off shown.
The incline benches at this gym were standard 45 degrees, whereas the one I usually use is more horizontal. To gauge it, I worked up to a heavy-ish single, and then backed off. The back-off weight ended up being a bit too light, so I just kept rest periods down. Main floor of this gym was packed, so no video of anything but Squats.
No neutral grip chin options available, so these were all supinated. Felt fine on my wrist actually, and generally fairly strong. Still tried to keep all sets below RPE 10. Last was probably @10, but whatevs.
BB Rows, were not from the floor, but from a fairly horizontal hang position. Wasn't sure if the staff would appreciate me doing Pendlay's on their regular gym floor with iron plates even though it was a padded floor. These were fine.
Top set of Squats were too loosey-goosey. Look ok on video, but felt too chaotic in the moment. May need to take more care with my warm-ups to make sure I'm ready for these top sets. Back-off sets were easy-peasy with the intensity and volume reduction to begin the new wave. Top set and last back-off shown.
Inclines felt pretty good. Obviously the back-off in intensity to begin the new wave makes them easier, but I think it also allows me to lock in some of the technical stuff I developed over the last wave. Busy gym, so no good place to put the camera and grab video of these.
Had a light-bulb moment last week and realized that if supinated chins are bothering my wrist, but I don't want the volume reduction that comes with pronated, I should try neutral grip. Haven't done these in a while and they felt GREAT. Honestly, strength felt comparable to supinated despite a longer range of motion. I was shooting for RPE 9 on all these, and probably could have gotten that extra rep on all of them.
Weird % programming thing that Rows this week are with the same weight as last week, but for less reps. I didn't even notice that until I went to log the first set. I guess I could have added 5 lbs. at that point, but whatevs. Again, to busy in the gym to find a spot for video.
Still getting re-acclimated to bar placement for HB, but got these feeling better by the end. Got focused on technique during the last set and shorted myself a rep. Last set shown.
Bench went well. Only 5 lbs. off my best triple, and I liked the way it moved. Top set, and last back-off shown.
315X5 is a Rep PR for RDLs. These still "feel" hard, but don't look that bad on the video. The main challenge is keeping everything tight and controlled. Last set shown.
First time using a SSB so...Rep PR! I was told the bar is 70 lbs. so 2 plates should be 250. Had to fiddle around with pad placement. Putting it right on tom of my shoulders, I felt it pushing down into my neck rather than my upper back, and it also made it fairly vertical feeling coming up. On sets 2 and 3, I worked to find a "natural" way to set it a bit lower on my back, and was able to use a bit more hip drive with that placement. Ideally, I'd like the mechanics to fall half way between a high bar and low bar, give the benefit of the upper back work from the camber, but also allow for a narrow-to-medium stance to lessen strain on my adductor. 1st and 3rd sets shown for comparison.
This was still the ramp up week for the new program so I just left the press top-set at the same weight as my 3X5 last week. Top-set and last back-off set shown.
Last week, 315X5 on DL felt very easy (as I would hope), so I did add weight to this movement. These were harder than I would have expected, but my set up is pretty weak. My upper back is definitely not extended or "proud" the way it should be prior to the pull. This needs work.
Pull-Downs (supinated) - X12, 9, 7 (straight-weight; same weight as previous)
Hammer Curls -
45sX5
35sX12, 10
Moved Squats back into LP mode to see if I can run them up a bit. Definitely readjusting to what "heavy" sets across feel like, i.e. what it feels like when every rep isn't fast or "easy" all the way through. I probably panicked a bit in the last session when that happened, but I got my mind more right coming into this one, and was able to approach it with more confidence. Also, getting back into my old work set routine of making sure the unrack is stable before I walk it out, and making sure the bar is settled on my back between breath and rep. Last set shown.
2nd day back to LP for Press. These all moved very well. Very happy with how it went. Last set shown.
I Deadlifted for the first time in a couple of months. Zero adductor tightness on this movement, although it's still tender outside of the gym. Just did a set at 315 to feel it out.
As far as the assistance, I'm not caring about it as much now that I'm back on all the main lifts. Pull-Ups were week, pull-downs and curls were both strong.
Missed Intensity Day for the 2nd week in a row. Decided that I'll just repeat everything from last week and shoot for those I.D. lifts this Friday. Sets with 365 on Squat did feel stronger this week than last, and that was a good feeling. Butt shot back at the bottom of the last rep of the last set, shown.
I did up the weight a bit on bench. I'd done 202.5 for two Bench V.D.'s in a row, and they were fast last week. 205 felt good this week. Last set shown.
Was pretty gassed by the time I got to DL. Maybe just conditioning falling off a bit from the erratic schedule the last 3 weeks. Went with my "off" hand supinated for the last warm-up, and first work set. Then switched to my "regular" supinated hand for the last set. Worked in that the set felt better than the previous sets. That hand still has a strained feeling after going supinated on DL. Hoping that will go away soon. Last set shown.
Squat technique felt a little all over the place today, but settled down a bit by the final work set, below.
I wasn't sure how many sets of Bench I was going to do here. On the program, it feels like I've got some latitude to go 3-5X5. I went 5X5 on Press last week, but my shoulders were feeling a little beat up. However, by the 3rd set, I was feeling pretty good and so did all 5. Glad I did, as the final set was moving well.
Something got goofy on my spreadsheet where I was doing 290 for 2X5 last week on DL, and then 3X10 this week and next. I just decided to split the difference and do 300 this week, and then go to 310 next week. Everything moved well. 2nd set shown.
Top set of Squats felt pretty good at the time, but looking at the video I can see that I was getting on the front of my foot on almost every rep. May need to video my warm-ups on Intensity day to try and get that dialed-in before the work set. Back off set felt very easy. It's probably somewhere around 70% of my max so it should.
220 for 3X5 is an LP PR on Bench. REALLY thought I wasn't going to get this after the 2nd set. And you can see that the last rep on the last set in the video was absolute limit strength, RPE 10. Depending on how this went would determine when I would switch over to TM for Bench. I don't see any reason to wait.
Manage to get my chins in one less set than last time. Need to watch myself, as I think I might be starting to cut depth a little bit.
135X9 is a Rep PR on Press. I originally programmed for the third back-off set to be 80%X5, but that didn't feel right on the day. I'm still playing around with how to use the back-off sets but not let tonnage drop too far. 1st and 2nd set shown.
On chins, I got the same total reps as last session in less sets. Feels like progress.
365 for 3X5 is an LP PR. I feel like I should have gone for a 6th, but it's feeling very heavy, and the technique looks off. Depth is borderline-to-high, and bar path is poor. Sigh.
147.5X4 is a Rep PR. Couldn't squeeze out 5 on either set. Will switch over to a top-set of 3, a back-off set of AMRAP @ 90%, and a set of 5 @ 80% for volume. 2nd set of 4 shown.
Increased total reps in the same amount of sets on Chins. First couple of sets were on their own, then super-set a few sets with Squat warm-ups (none b/w last warm-up and 1st work-set), and then a couple more sets after Squats.
360 for 3X5 is an LP PR on Squats. Thought I might go for a 6th rep, but technique was feeling off. Also depth was all over the map. Still, I get to go for 365 for sets across next week, and that's good. 3rd set shown.
145X5 is a Rep PR on the Press, and 3X5 is an LP PR. I kind of forgot about LP PRs, and may have hit a few more recently without noticing. Anyway, these felt solid. Gym was packed so had to go with an odd camera angle.
I did a couple sets of chins on their own, and the rest were super-set with Squat warm-ups. Chins felt strong today with a couple sets each of 5 and 4. No video.
No PR on Squats today, although 355 for 3X5 ties an LP PR. Looking to break that next week obviously. Again, focusing on letting the bar settle after the breath, and a controlled descent. One day, I will Squats back to the beginning of workouts, and I expect them to be more fun to do then.
