Son of a Bench Week 1. Day A.

sRPE @5.5

BW - 224

Bench - 

-    up to 225X1 @8

-    190X5 @7.5

Lever Dips - 205X7, 6 @8

GHR - BWX12, 9 @8

super-set with

Cable Lat Pushdowns - X8, 8 @8/9

DB OH Extensions - 70X6, 5 @8

Nice and easy to start off the new block.  Making sure the movements and sequence feel good.

TOTALLY forgot to do either calves or conditioning which are habits I need to get into early before volume and intensity ramp up.

Reps and Volume. Week 12. Accessories

BW - 209

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X3
95X2
115X1
95X16, 8
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX12, 6, 7, 5, 5 (35 total)
and
CG Pull-Downs - X16, 15 (straight-weight)

Machine Pullovers - X15 (burn-out set)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX16, 13
super-set with
DB Press - 40sX16, 14

DB Curls - 30sX18, 12
super-set with
DB Rolling Triceps - 30sX18, 12

BB Curls - 50ishX15 (burn-out set)

Standing Calves - X12, 15, 12
super-set with
Seated Calves - 90X15, 15, 15

Incline Treadmill - 20 minutes; walking

Whew, that looks like a lot.  With the super-setting, it didn't take much time, though.  And a lot of those movements only had 2-3 sets so it's not THAT much stuff.

If you actually add it up, that's 9 sets of Pressing, 8 sets of Lats, 5 sets of biceps, 2 of triceps, then 84 non-stop reps of calves.  Compare that to my last full Squat day, where I did 18 sets of squats, 3 sets of quads, and 2 of hams/glutes.  That's 25 sets vs. 23 sets.  This is a day to fill in little gaps and therefore just has more variety instead of being focused on building one specific movement.

95X16 is an all-around PR for all OHP.  Together with the total volume goal of 18+ means moving up to 105 next week.

For the calf work I'm adding in to try and take advantage of BW gains, I did these super-sets completely non-stop just going from one machine to the other.  This hurt like hell, but combined with the high-incline walking immediately afterwards, my calves finally got sore for a few days.  So this will be something I stick with.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 1. Arms and Squats

Friday-
BW - 200

Incline DB Curls - 30sX20, 15, 12, 10, 8

PJR Pullovers -
40X20
50X17, 13, 12, 8

Ab Wheel - X10, 10, 8, 8, 8

Saturday-
BW - 200

Squats -
BarX12 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
115X5
145X4
175X3
215X2
245X1

205X11, 6

Leg Curls - X20, 15, 12, 10

Lunges - BWX30, 20, 20, 20

Woo-ee.  I wish I didn't end up with hangovers so much on squat days.  Between that and not having kept up with my conditioning, today was a shaky, sweaty, brutal affair. HOWEVER, 205X11 is a Rep PR.  And this is more full squat volume than I've had in over a year.

Forgot to do the 3 sets of calves before squats.

On the small session of arms the day before, I probably went a little heavier than I should have.  Think I'll stay at these same weights for the X15 day.

Ab strength has dropped off the last couple months.

LRB 365: Strong-15 Short. Week 4. Squat

BW - 203

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
155X3
185X3
205X2
235X1, 1
245X1

Pause Squats - 205X3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Leg Press - 3ppsX20, 16

Leg Curls - X20, 16 (heavier than last week)

Decent session.  My right knee has been feeling wonky this week.  At first it seemed like squats were making it feel worse, and then by the end of the pause squats, it seemed to feel better than when I started.  Just wait and see.  Hope it's not a side effect of the weight gain.

Cuing hard with 'chest up' and pushing through 'heels.'  245X1 was good.  The 3rd reps on the last couple of pause squat sets were a little wild card as my form tried to break down, but there was no doubt of hitting them all.

Keeping my stance close on leg press, and quads continue to burn.

Hoping the leg curls will help with the knee.

Skipped calves.

UB: Strong Week 1. Bench

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Neck Machine - 3X20

Bench -
85X5
95X5
105X5
115X5
135X5

Incline DB Press - 55sX10, 5

Dips - Gym BW198+10lb.X11, 4

10 min. lope on the treadmill

I hate the bench.  I keep trying to dial my form in better, but sometimes that seems to make everything feel heavier.  Lately I've been focusing first on driving my upper-back into the pad.  Then I break the bar out of the rack.  Make sure my hands are straight so that the bar is above my wrists.  Look at where the bar is "at" on the ceiling to make sure it comes back to that same point every rep.  Squeeze hard, pull the bar apart, tuck elbows on the way down.  I'm having trouble the last couple of times remembering to flare the elbows while hitting my "target" on the ceiling.  Anyway this session sucked as all this shit makes it a pain in the ass.  Additionally, I was making sure to get a full touch at the bottom, and then drive that shit up.  This made sure the muscles got worked hard with relatively light weight.  However, all this shit in combination, plus only enough rest between sets to reload the bar, meant I was mentally and physically pretty taxed afterwards.