Block 19 (Tier 2). Cycle 1. Session C.

sRPE @6

BW - 220

Squat -

365X1 @6.75

315X4, 4 @~5.5

Dips - BW+25X8, 8 @7/8

Pull-Downs - X12 @6

DB Press - 45sX10 @7

Pretty good start to the block for Squats.  

Last time I ran this pivot, Squats started at 103% of the end of the previous block.  This one's a little less clear.  At the end of the last block, I hit 345X1 @~6 which has an e1RM of 400, and 300X8 @7 which has an e1RM of 425.  This new session had respective e1RMs of 410 and 407.5.  So the single rep strength e1RM was higher, but the lower rep strength e1RM was lower.  My general rule is the best e1RM of the day wins, so that means I dropped from 425 to 410, or 96.5%.

I figure if I've only run something twice, it's best to average the two together to decide if it's worth running again in the future.  The average of 103% and 96.5% is 99.75%.  Still very, very good, but not as good as the next best pivot which had a 101.1% increase.  So that pivot moves into Tier 2 for future consideration.  

Again, a very good start to this block for Squats, and for all 3 of my focus lifts.  Now, I get to look forward to seeing how much these increase cycle-over-cycle during this Tier 2 training block.  Still trying not to get unreasonably excited! 

Block 19 (Tier 2). Cycle 1. Session B.

sRPE @6

BW - 217

Press - 112.5X7, 7 @7

Chin-Ups -

BWX5 @6.5

Density - 1 rep every 0:10; 2:20 / 14 total reps @7.5

Toes-to-Bar - BWX3 @7

Hanging-Leg-Raise (90 degrees) - BWX8 @7

BB Rows - 135X10, 10 @~7.5

112.5 for 2X7 is a Volume PR.  Don't get many PRs in my intro weeks!  

This e1RM is also at 97.9% of where I ended my last block.  I used Tier 2 (2nd best) Pivot programming, and that result is even better than the last time I ran that pivot block (before Block 14).  The average starting e1RM between block 14 and 19 is 97.83%

Chin-ups also felt fairly strong on the main set (97.4% e1RM drop-off).  Not quite as good as the last time I ran this pivot (98.3% prior to Block 12), but both this result and the average between them of 97.8% is still better than the next best pivot I've run.

Density chins were tough, though.  The 1 rep every 10 seconds is just hard for me.  I remember it being fairly brutal through-out the last time I ran it, but it yielded good results so we'll see.

TTB also starting off strong.  This e1RM is 101% of the end of the last block!  That's even better than the last time I ran this Tier 2 pivot.  Getting pivot strategies that toy with 100%+ on e1RM change pan-deload is a stretch goal.  I don't really expect to reliably have e1RM maintain much less increase over a pivot/deload, but maybe?

Rows here are actually a Curls accessory.  Again, it's not intuitive for me to increase Curls strength by doing Rows and Pull-Downs, but my 2nd best Curls block of the last couple of years was actually a Chins-focus block where I didn't do any Curl variations, but did Rows, and Pull-Downs.  So we'll see what happens running that again.

Block 19 (Tier 2). Cycle 1. Session A.

sRPE @6

BW - 218

Curls - 75X10, 10 @7.5

Bench - 

210X3 @7

180X6 @6

Gaspari Bar High Front Raise - 50X8 @7

Deadlift - 

400X1 @7

340X4, 4 @5

Solid start to the new block.  I'm really excited to be jumping into Tier 1 and Tier 2 Emerging Strategies work.

For the pivot, I also used Tier 2 programming, which is to say the pivot block programming that had yielded the 2nd highest starting % for a prior training block.  While I did this for all 8 of my main movements, I'm primarily concerned about the 3 movements that are the focus of the block: Curls, Press, Squats.

When I did this pivot previously for Curls, it yielded a 97.8% drop-off from the end of the prior block.  This time it yielded 97.9%!  Curls in particular tend to have a big drop-off for me between blocks with an average start of 89.2%.  Really happy about this.

Bench came in slightly under target in both rep ranges.  After the curls, it seemed like I was "feeling the Bench in my forearms" a lot.  I've had curling first in a session interfere a bit with Press, but usually not with Bench.  We'll see how it goes.

Deadlift felt pretty strong.  DL is my only Squat accessory this block.  Not intuitive to me, but my 2nd best Squat block using Emerging Strategies was a block where I only Squatted and Deadlifted for 1@8 and 4X4 @6.  Excited to see how it goes revisiting that!

Block 18 (Exploratory). Cycle 3. Session C.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 217

Squats - 285X8, 8, 8 @~8

Dips -

BW+55X4 @7

BWX12 @9

EZ OH Extensions - 60X12 @10

Low Pin Press - 125X3, 3, 3, 3 @~8

Gaspari Bar Curls - 57.5X12, 11 @8/10

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.

3rd set of Squats:

Block 18 (Exploratory). Cycle 3. Session A.

sRPE @7

BW - 216

Curls - 77.5X6, 6, 9 @7/10

Bench -

210X1 @6.5

157.5X13 @8

Machine Flyes - X10 @10

Deadlift - 

395X1 @7

280X10 @5

SSB Pause Squats - 190X9, 9 @7.5

Interesting how quickly Bench and Deadlift top-end strength is plateauing with this low volume "maintenance" approach following two dedicated blocks.  This is only the third block trying this set up where slot 2 is medium stress maintenance + hypertrophy, and slot 3 is low stress maintenance.   

Results over the last two blocks were mixed, with the first block showing generally very good results for the lifts that weren't the block focus, and the second block having poorer results.  But on average, I showed improvement on the non-focus lifts within each of the 2 blocks, and even the poorer, 2nd block averaged an increase on those lifts.  

Inter-block is a little bit of a different issue as I had generally poor results coming out of the pivot into Block 17, so although there was good improvement within the block, some of the non-focus lifts ended up with a lower Peak e1RM than in the previous block (Dips and Squats).  Anyway, just something I'm keeping an eye on.

SSB Pause Squats still feeling really good.  

Block 18 (Exploratory). Cycle 2. Session A.

sRPE @6

BW - 219

Curls - 65X6, 12 @6.5/10

Bench - 

205X1 @6

155X13 @8

Machine Flyes - X10 @10

Deadlift - 

395X1 @~6

275X10 @~5

SSB Pause Squat - 180X9, 9 @~7

As usual, curls made a big jump in week 2.  One of the great things about curls always seeming to make a big jump in week 2, is that it seems to be independent of the drop-off between cycles.  Hopefully, in the next two blocks, using the data I've compiled over the last couple of years, I can get less of a drop-off between cycles,  AND get above average increases cycle-to-cycle.

These SSB Pause Squats are ass-to-grass.  Very bodybuilder-y and fun.  I am looking to push these closer to failure, but today the second set was actually easier than the first.  There's some acclimation to get through here before I'll really be able to push them.

Block 11. Cycle 6. Session B.

 BW - 232

Waist - 43.75"

Chin-Ups - BWX4, 4 @8/9

Band Chin-Ups (under raised knee) - BWX7, 7 @~8

Deadlift -

345X6 @8 (grip @10)

315X6, 6 @6/7

Press - 

105X6, 6 @8/9

100X6 @ 9

Machine Pullovers - 

92.5X8 @7

95X8 @8

Hmmmm...

345X6 ties my previous 6 Rep PR on Deadlift, but grip was failing hard and the bar was down in my fingertips by the end of that set so I backed off to get all the volume in.  Thought, "need to work on grip."

But then Press also went backwards pretty hard, and I had to back off the weight there too.  It occurs to me that I also had to back-off weight for my last set of Squats on Monday.  Now I'm thinking it's time to wrap up this block, Pivot, and move to the next block.

Block 10. Cycle 4. Session B.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 7

Bench -
207.5X3 @8
180X7, 7 @7, 8
162.5X7 @7

CG Bench - 155X6, 6, 6, 6 @7

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX8, 8, 8 @8.5/9.5

Well that sucked.

Top strength on Bench was completely flat for the 2nd week in a row, but this time back-off set strength nose-dived after the first set. 

I then backed way off to see how Close Grips were going to go, and the back-off weight ended up being the work weight.

Sleep hasn't been great this week, so maybe there's a recovery issue.  Looking back at the last year+ of training with Emerging Strategies, I've never had two lifts plateau in week 4.  This is really throwing a wrench into the experiment of doing back-to-back, 4-5 week "greatest hits" blocks.  When I started this experiment, I told myself I would switch to Phase 2 if two lifts plateaued or regressed in Week 4, but I didn't really expect it to happen.  On the other hand, it might be fun to have different stuff to do next week....

Block 10. Cycle 4. Session A.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
350X3 @8
300X7, 7, 7 @7/7.5

Front Squat -
155X9 @8
147.5X9 @8
140X9, 9 @7, 7.5

Sumo w/ Straps -
325X5 @8.5
315X5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: Curls, Upright Rows, COne-Arm Rows - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Stationary Bike - LISS; 20 minutes

Up-and-down session.

e1RM on the top Squat set is fairly flat with last week despite being more weight.  However, 300 is a 3X7 PR fwiw.

I haven't slept well the last couple of nights, and was kind of ready to just go home after Squats.  Tried to just hit Front Squats at the same weight as last week, but it wasn't there.  Ended up having to drop to the lower weight than I've used this block just to his target RPE.  A little bummed about that, but also happy that I didn't just throw in the towel on the 4X9 or the session as a whole.

Hoped I would rally a bit on Sumos, but adding weight wasn't there.  Ended up using the same weight as last week, which is fine.

Going back and looking at the block from March/April '19 that had Front Squats and Sumos in it, I realize that they weren't all on the same day with back squats.  I probably should have paid more attention to that when I was laying out this program, but this part of the block is almost over.  I may have this session again next week, or I may move on to Phase 2, depending on how the rest of this week goes.  I need to find a way to get some better sleep the next few days, and put myself in the best position to succeed.

On GPP day, I decided to flop the first and last movements for a couple of weeks just to give them a slightly different stimulus.  Also did LISS on a bike.  May do HIIT on the bike for the next few sessions just to mix it up.

Block 10. Cycle 3. Session B.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Bench -
207.5X3 @8
177.5X7, 7, 7 @~7

CG Bench - 170X6, 6, 6, 6 @7.25/8

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX7, 7, 7 @~8

GPP Day -
- Circuit: Straight-Arm Pull-Downs, DB Press, Hammer Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 8-10
- Rower - HIIT; 7 rounds; 14 minutes

Okay upper body day.

Right elbow was feeling a bit sensitive, and slowed down the lock out on my top triple, raising the RPE.  I was able to increase the weight slightly on the back-offs, but all-told e1RM was relatively flat from last week.  Expect a bounce back next week!

Closed-grips were a little better initially, but the RPE ramped up fairly quickly.  This may be somewhat a function of adding an extra set to both bench movements.

I ended up not adding an extra set to the rack pull-ups because I always had this set a 3 sets for this program, i.e. I didn't drop a set for the first two weeks like I did with everything else.  I'm also getting extra upper-back work on the GPP days, so no big.

sRPE ended up being right about on target, I think.

Block 10. Cycle 2. Session C.

BW - 230

Waist - 44"

sRPE @ 6

Deadlift -
365X3 @~8
325X6, 6 @8

GHR - BWX16 @7

220 Incline Bench -
127.5X5 @6.5
130X5 @7

Solid full-body session.

I was pretty sure DL was going to bounce-back strong from last week's DOMS-laden session, and that was accurate.  Had trouble pulling 330X3 last week, but 365X3 was right there for me today on target.

GHR and Tempo Incline all felt good.

sRPE has been sub-target for 2 session in a row, which was going to be my trigger to add a set to everything.  Not coincidentally, RPS TRAC system also recommends that as of today based on my perceived fatigue metrics.

Block 10. Cycle 2. Session B.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 6

Bench -
205X3 @7.5
175X7, 7 @~7

CG Bench - 167.5X6, 6, 6 @7

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX6, 6, 6 @7.5/9

GPP Day -
- Circuit: Straight-Arm Pull-Downs, DB Press, Hammer Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Rower - HIIT; 6 rounds; 12 minutes

Solid upper-body session.  sRPE was sub-target for the 2nd week in a row, so if I'm feeling well fatigue-wise next week, I'll be adding a set to each movement.

Bench took a 2% jump in e1RM this week, which is above average for the last year.  In my best training 4 training blocks over the last year, bench jumped about 3% in week 2 on average, but the TM on the first week for those bench blocks was 92.7% on average (below the mean for the year), and this block started at 98.9% (the highest of the year).  So year-best TM and an above average jump in week 2, are a combo that I haven't seen on bench in the last year, and an auspicious start to the block.

Last week, RPE on Close-Grips ramped quickly on the sets across, but this week I was able to both add weight, and maintain it at target RPE.  Nice to have that on track in week 2 as well.

Added a rep to all the Rack Pull-Ups but BW was down, so whatevs.  I'm not going to stress over these, even if the data says they were one of my top-6 DL accessories in the last year.  They'll progress or they won't.

GPP Day went very well.  Got another 3 round in 7 minutes on the resistance circuit.  I added weight to all movements, and still hit 10 reps on all sets.  Thought I would add 2 rounds to the HIIT, but only adding 1 felt right in the moment.

Didn't get video of my top set of bench.

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 10. Cycle 1. Session A.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Squat -
320X3 @8
275X7, 7 @~7

Front Squat -
150X9 @7.5
145X9, 9 @7

Sumo DL w/ Straps - 290X5, 5 @7

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 2 rounds; sets of 7-10
- Rower - LISS; 10 minutes

First session getting back to it after a rough few weeks of derailed training and a week of travel.

Testing some stuff I've observed with Emerging Strategies in this block.  Based on the last year of using that framework, my best results occur in the first 5 cycles of a training block, and then taper off for a couple of cycles before I pass my peak.  This will be a 10 cycle block where the first 4-5 cycles are my "2nd best" rep ranges and assistance movements transitioning into a 2nd round of 4-5 cycles with my "greatest hits" rep ranges and assistance movements.  With no pivot block in between, I'll see if I can extend my Time to Peak and if the cycle-to-cycle gains stay high, or if it still tapers off after the first 4-5 weeks and/or peaks around 7-8 weeks.

Something else I'm trying is cutting a set from each movement in the initial session/week to see if that helps with DOMS after little to no training the last couple of weeks.

Squats and Front Squats both went well.

Sumos w/ straps we're way off where I expected them to be on paper, but I was just a little gassed at this point, and didn't want to push the sRPE up.

Also taking advantage of the office gym to get some conditioning and some isolation/hypertrophy work that I always find it difficult to wedge into regular training sessions.

Block 8. Cycle 8. Session D.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 7

Chin-Ups -
BW+30X4, 3, 3 @~10
BWX6 @9.5

Rack Chins (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - BWX8, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3, @~9

Dips -
BW+35X8 @9.5
BWX12 @9.5

Rope Pushdowns - 90X13@9

BB Curls -
80X8, 8 @8.5, 9.75
60X18 @9.5

Some ups and down on the last session of this training block.

257(BW+30)X4 ties a lifetime Rep PR on Chins.  They didn't feel strong, but tying a Rep PR isn't nothing.  Maybe poised to jump to some all-time PRs next block.  That would be nice.

Rack Chins did feel strong.  Even though I got less reps on the first set, I got more total overall reps, and sometimes you've got to be happy with that.

Dips definitely took a step back.  Weighted sets were much harder this week with only ~4 more lbs., and BW back-off sets were much harder.  HOWEVER, 262(BW+35)X8 is a lifetime Rep PR.

80X8 on Barbell curls is a lifetime Rep PR.  These made nice, very  linear progress here.  Probably because I haven't had them in a regular development block in a long time.

All-in-all this block demonstrated to me the power of being able to put together a consistent run of training.  Almost a year into using the Emerging Strategies framework (I may do a fuller write up of this to help organize my own thoughts), and I can see that a full ~7 "week" training block usually  nets around 5-6% increases.  Training Max is around 96%, and usually increases around 12% by the end of a full block.  The big challenge is stringing those together around life interruptions. 

Block 8. Cycle 8. Session A.

BW - 226

Waist - 43"

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
375X1 @ 8.75
290X12 @8.5

Leg Press (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rest) -
4.5ppsX18, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @9/8.5

Hard downturn in Squats this session as I try to push my block length pass my estimated time-to-peak.  Top single was hard kind of out of nowhere based on warm-ups.  First back-off set was so much more difficult than expected, the option was to drop weight, or just stop.  Because this is the last squat session of the block, I just cut it and went to accessory.  Didn't get video of the set of 12.

Leg Press did add some reps to the activation set, but with having skipped the 2nd set of 12 on Squats, who knows about that.

Block 8. Cycle 7. Session B.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 8

Press -
145X1, 1 @~8
127.5X5 @ 8

Bench -
235X1 @8
177.5X12, 12 @~8, 9

Chin-Ups -
BWX6, 4, 4 @ ~10

Pull-Downs -
120X10 @10
90X14 @9.5

Nice session.

I've been flagging Week 7 as my peak week since I've been using Emerging Strategies, and I will say that motivated me to dial-in a little tighter today.

Solid jumps on OHP.

Nice 5 lb. jump on Bench top set.  177.5X12 is a 12 Rep PR.  Second set was much tougher for some reason. 

Reps on Chins were comparable to last week, but BW was up 3 lbs. so it feels like progress.

Pull-Downs felt/have been feeling kind of plateau-y so instead of repeating the weight on the 2nd set, I dropped back to the work weight from week 1.   That was 90X12 @8 on the first set in week 1, so 90X14 @9.5 on the second set feels progress-ish.

Block 8. Cycle 7. Session A.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE@7

Squat -
370X1 @8
287.5X12, 12 @7.75, 9

Leg Press (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) -
4.5ppsX15, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @9/8.5

Nice bounce back session on Squats.

Top end strength on Squat dipped last week.  I went 370@8.25 two weeks ago, but last week was a solid 360X8.  I was ready to only shoot for 365 today, but I still warmed up for 370, and the warm-ups all felt strong, and led to a very nice single at 370.

287.5X12 is an all-time 12 rep PR, and considering I did it for 2 sets with a little room to spare on both, I'm very happy about it.

5pps was clearly an overreach last week on Leg Press.  I backed it off to 4-on-1-side, 5-on-the-other, and it was definitely back on track. 

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, I'm going to try and push into an 8th week.  I haven't pushed that far since I started using the Emerging Strategies framework, but this is a good chance to see if I can sustain or increase my peak for an 8th week.

Block 8. Cycle 5. Session C.

BW - 226

Waist - 42.75"

sRPE @8

Deadlift -
380X1 @8
290X12, 12 @7.5, 8.5

GHR - (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rest) - BWX20, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6 @7/8

Nice session.

My low back was bothering me to various degrees the prior three days, but even thought it felt okay on this day, I did have some trepidation going into this DL session.

Everything ended up going well!  Technically this was the smallest perceived increase in DL strength of the cycle, but DL has been gaining far faster than the other lifts in general, so in some ways this may just be a return to the overall mean.

Also added some reps on the activation set on GHR, so it's time to increase difficulty somehow.  There's a few options I could choose. 

The seemingly most obvious would be to add weight, but I'm not eager to mess with BBs, DBs, KBs, etc. with this particular movement.  I could use chains, but I've only got a few chains available at the gym, and that would make it harder to dial-in specific loading out of the gate.

Another option would be to add in a pause under tension somewhere.  I've been doing these coming all the way down with a little bit of spinal flexion at the bottom.  I personally think the best place to do that would be at the midpoint where the spine and hips have extended, but the knees haven't started flexing.  That would make the final "leg curl" portion much more difficult by removing any trace momentum from the bottom of the movement.  However, because I'm using an Emerging Strategies approach, this would be perceived in a change in movement variation that would muddy my data.

Instead, I think I'm just going to adjust the GHR to something that feels a bit more difficult.  I've had the cross-bar on the lowest setting, so I'll try moving it up a notch next week and see what that does.

Lots of text for something I don't even video.

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.