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. 

Mid-Rep Volume PRs. Week 4. Session C.

sRPE @8

BW - 212

Deadlift - 

385X1 @8

305X9, 9, 9 @6.5/7.5

Cambered Bench - 135X6, 6, 6 @6

Reverse Cambered Bench - 185X19 @9

Pull-Downs (myo-reps) - X15, 5, 5, 4, 4 @10

DB Incline - 50sX11, 11 @7/8

305 for 3X9 is a Volume PR on DL.  My low back was TAHRED after this, and I had to carefully manage the rest of the session, and the rest of my day, as a result.

But the reduced volume on the supplemental lifts still kept sRPE a bit in check.

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 8. Cycle 3. Session C.

BW - 227

Waist - 42.75"

Deadlift -
370X1 @8
270X12, 12 @7/7.5

GHR (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rest) -
BWX18, 5, 5, 5, 5, 7 @8/8

sRPE @7

Nice session.

Top set on the DL moved up a touch, but the rep strength seemed to increase a bit more than that.  Acclimation to the programming, etc., I'm sure.  While target RPE is 8, I didn't feel the need to go up this week since I was already adding 10 lbs. to last week's weight.

GHR is also getting pretty well acclimated.  My low back felt fairly worked after DL; not a pump, but more of a...kind of light poking sensation.  So I was a little on edge going into these, as I'm doing them with a bit of flexion.  However, I still added reps to the activation set, and on the final myo-rep set I ended up repping it out a bit more without even thinking about it because they were feeling so easy.  Once I hit 20 reps on the activation set, I will adjust the settings on the bench to be more difficult.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 7. Day 2.

BW - 224

Squats - 145, 155, 165X25

Bench - 235X3, 3, 3

Pull-Ups - BWX7, 4, 3 (14 total reps)

RDL - 245X5, 5

Pull-Downs (supinated) X10, 10, 8 (straight-weight; +~5 lbs. from last time)

Hammer Curls -
40sX5
30sX8, 8

Starr Rehab squats continue for the adductor.  These are now at the point where they are giving me a very intense low back pump that's making completing sets with perfect form very difficult.  Believe I will go ahead and drop to sets of 15 for a few sessions. Adductor still only feels "okay."

235X3 ties my previous 3 rep PR on bench, and I got it for 3 sets, so that's nice.  1st reps were strong on all sets.  Last reps on set two and three were "have to do everything right" reps. 

Pull-Ups were just okay.

RDLs were fine.  Tried to go double-overhand, but bar was starting to slip on the first set, and so I had to go mixed grip for the 2nd set.  I took these out of the rack instead off of the floor.  Not sure which I like better.  Out of the rack is easier on the sore adductor, but is awkward walking in and out.

Upped weight on pull-downs and the sets went pretty well.  Will try this weight again next time and see if I can get 10+ on all three sets.

Hammer Curls have dropped off a cliff the last few sessions.  Reps are literally going down every session.  So when I could only get 5 reps on the first set this time, I resolved to back off and add a set.  We'll try that again next time.  I'm sure this is mostly due to additional fatigue being present earlier in the session: 1) specific fatigue from the increase in pull-up volume and pull-down intensity, and 2) general fatigue from the Starr Rehab squats and addition of the RDLs.

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.

Texas Method - Week 1 - Volume Day (coached)

BW - 230

Squat -
BarX5
135X4
185X3
225X2
265X1
295X5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Bench -
BarX5
95X3
125X2
155X1
182.5X5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Deadlift -
135X3
225X2
285X1
330X4

First session of the TM.  Volume day with slightly shorter rests (3-4 min.).

All the Squat worksets were fast and easy.

Bench is still a bit more technical/less intuitive for me, but these were still fairly smooth.

....and once again I bounced off of a Deadlift.  The strength was there for the last rep, but I felt my hips trying to curve "under" the bar just past my knees, and I'm so paranoid about aggravating my back issues that I set it back down.  Disappointing.

Arms

BW - 212

Rope Pushdowns - X40, 40

Seated French Press - 40ishX20, 20, 20, 20, 18, 18

BB Curls -
40X10
45X10
50X10
52.5X10
55X10
60X10

Bird-Dogs and Side Planks - 2 rounds

Saw a new physical therapist yesterday, and have some new protocols for dealing with my low back AND my shoulder issues.  Until he clears me for barbell squat and deadlift variations, I will continue doing upperbody bodypart specialization programs such as this one, and cobbling together body-building style work for legs and back that are low-impact on my low back.

Training: Deadlift

BW - 208

Deficit SLDL (on a plate) -
135X5
185X4, 4
225X3, 3
245X3, 3
265X2, 3
245X4
225X4
185X10, 10

Chest-Supported T-Bar Row -
45X5
90X9, 7, 6
70X9

Why not.  I originally planned to hammer RDLs for a couple weeks.  However, I kept thinking about this weird (to me) concept of the Stiff-Leg Deadlift that's been floating around.  Since I was a teenager, I always thought an stiff-leg DL was done by keeping the legs locked and perpendicular to the ground, and bending only at the waist so that the bar descends in an angle AWAY from the legs as it moves to the floor.  Basically a movement for the erectors.  And if you search for it on the 'net, that's still a pretty common definition.

For a few years now though, I've been seeing Paul Carter do what he calls a deficit stiff-leg.  To me it looked like an RDL that just started off the floor.  That is, the knees locked but slightly bent, and the butt moving backwards and forwards as the bar goes up and down basically staying in contact with the legs through the movement.

I did find an piece by Bret Contreras where he describes the SLDL this way, but it still just seemed like an RDL with a different starting position.

I decided on this day to just break down and try it.  I was very cautious however about making sure my low back didn't round at the bottom.  Keeping the back flat and NOT bending the knees in order to drop the bar those last few inches is really tough, and so these reps were slow and not at all explosive.  I don't know.  My hamstrings are sore today, so I'll try it again next week.  Still feels a lot like an RDL, though.

Full Body. Week 3. Squat

BW - 203

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
195X17, 10

RDL -
135X10
185X10, 10, 10

EZ Bar French Press - 40ishX35, 20, 15, 12, 12, 15 (109 total)

Good session.  Pushed the first set with 195 for a couple more reps. Low back was getting really fatigued on these.

Everything else was fine.

Accessory +Biceps. Week 5

BW - 209

Jogged to and from the gym; about 15 minutes each way with some intermittant walking.

Machine Pullovers -
Warm-upX10
Work-setsX15, 12 (straight-weight; same as last week)

Chins - BWX6, 3, 4 (double-paused)

Pulldowns (medium, neutral-grip) - X16, 12, 10 (straight-weight; same as last week)

Reverse-grip, EZ Bar, Preacher Curls - 40ishX20, 15, 14, 12
DB Curls - 35sX10, 10, 10, 10
all curls super-set with
Rope Extensions - X22, 18, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

BB Curls - BarX20

Decline Sit-ups - X15, 10, 3*

Everything went well.

*wasn't sure if my low back was loving this or not.  Otherwise, the movement felt pretty good, and it was nice to have something different to do besides Ab Wheel. 

Phase 2. Week 6. Squat

BW - 213

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
155X4
185X3
225X2
275X1
255X9, 3

High Bars - 185X8, 8

Fronts - 155X8, 5, 5

Hypers - BWX20, 20

Good session.  255X9 is a Rep PR and my phase goal for this weight.  Some sloooow reps at the end of both sets, though.  Still moving up next week.

Managed to push the reps on  High Bars and Fronts a bit more.

I'd been pondering swapping out lunges for hypers for a while, because sometimes my low back is really fatigued after my main squat sets, and I thought it might be a good idea to start reinforcing that area.  Plus, it could always help out with Deadlifts, too, since I've got a couple days off between squats and deads.  This is probably a good idea, as these two sets of 20 really lit up that whole area, and I was a bit twingy the rest of the night.

If I get to feeling realy froggy, I might super-set lunges with hypers.  Yolo.

Birthday Squats

BW - 202

Squat -
BarX10
95X5
135X4
155X3
185X2
205X1

135X36

10 more lbs. and (obviously) one more rep than last year.  Just like last year, the two main obstacles are the mental aspect and low back cramping.  Between 15 and 25 reps, my mind insists there is no way I'm going to make it to 36.  Right around 25, my low back starts cramping up so that I have to kind of stand straight up at the top of each rep and round my upper back so that I can support the bar but relax my erectors for a couple of seconds.  At about 28, it becomes all determination, and I just drive on to the last rep.

One other thing I played around with is that when my legs started getting tired, I would shift my toes to point more forward.  This seems to distribute the load across the thigh musculature a bit differently, and I think it gave some muscles a bit of a break while recruiting others to soldier on.

I also ate a lot and drank a lot of coffee today in preparation.   We got free samples of breakfast sandwiches sent to work by a catering company, and I had 5 over the course of the day.

See you again next year for 37, birthday squats.

LRB 365: LRB Split. Week 1. Back - Light

BW - 195

RDL -
95X10
135X8
185X6
205X5, 5, 8

Pull-downs - X25, 20, 20, 20, 20 (to a top set)

BW Hypers - 4 sets of 15

Machine Curls - X25, 25, 25 (to a top set)

Hanging Leg Raises - BWX5, 6, 7, 6, 5

205X8 is a Rep PR on RDLs.  Gonna push the weight and the reps on these.  Looking for a 5 rep PR by the end of the cycle.

With pull-downs I focused on holding each rep at my chest for a beat on the early sets, and making sure the bar touched my chest on the top sets.

Hypers were really burning.  Trying to keep my glutes relaxed, and keep as much of the tension on my erectors as I can.

Gonna use the biceps machine on the light back day for the cycle.  Just to see.

I'm adding ab work to two of the light days on this cycle.  I have to get in the habit of keeping that as an integral part of my programming if I want to get stronger there.  On these leg raises, I brought my feet to the bar on every rep, and tried to resist the descent.

5/3/1 BBB: Cycle 2. Week 1. Dead

BW - 204

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5, 5
215X5
245X5
275X10

Hypers - 5 sets of 10-15

Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 5-10

+10% session, but Deadlift often is.  I focused on making sure my knees locked out after the last couple of sessions, and just thinking about it seemed to take care of the issue.  Everything felt strong, and 275X10 is right around my projected 1RM and ties my 10 Rep max.

This cycle I'm doing hypers and ab wheel for my assistance.

On hypers, my hands are behind my head, or I'm holding a weight behind my head.  Significantly harder than over my chest.

On ab wheel, I realized I can get a few more reps if I keep my head forward rather than looking at the ground.  Somewhere Mark Rippetoe is probably screaming about my cervical spine, but whatever.  When I can kick out 5 sets of 10 this way, maybe I'll return to neutral.

Birthday Squats

LRB Diet - Week 10

BW - 197

Squats -
BarX10 (long pause at the bottom to stretch)
95X5
125X4
145X3
185X2
205X1
125X35!!!

Chins - 5 sets
super-set with
Push-ups - 4 sets

Band Pull-Aparts; Medium Grip - 2 sets of 50

Fucking hell, this was the hardest damn set ever.

To recap, about a month back, inspired by Dave Tate's Halloween tradition of doing a "death-set" of 315, I decided I would aim to do a a 35 rep set for my 35th birthday.  I projected my 40RM, which is a hilarious idea especially in the middle of running 531.  I used 40 precisely because projecting a max for a rep range that's far away from the range you've been working in is a dicey proposition, so I knew I would need a margin of error.  That weight projected to be 125 lbs.

Then for the last 3 weeks I've been adding back-off sets on my heavy squat day with 135.  Again, I used a heavier weight to train for this to create "elbow room" for the 35 rep set itself.  Week 1 I did 135X10, Week 2 135X15, and Week 3 I did 135X20 and then a 50% set of 135X12.  This helped me get used to working in a higher rep range, and with a heavier weight than my "event" weight.

For the programming of the event itself, I used Paul Carter's Big-15 #'s which are designed to over warm-up to a moderately heavy single, and then back-off to some higher-rep work sets. This was perfect.  The 125 felt feather-light for the first 10 reps or so thanks to the over warm-up.  I got to 20 and everything was still OK, but around 25 reps I didn't know if I would make it.  My lower back started cramping pretty hard from holding my arch that long, and that meant that taking a rest at lock-out was really no rest at all.  It was a toss-up as to which was harder at the end, squatting or holding at lock-out.  The weight was so light that I even tried standing straight up and using my hands to hold the weight against my back, but the cramping continued.  By the time I got to 30 there was no option left but to finish, however.  Those last reps will go down as the ugliest squat reps of my life, but I got my 35.  I racked it, and collapsed onto the safety pins and just stared at the ceiling panting.

Diet-wise, I didn't eat any carbs the day before, and on the day I added some carbs back in to breakfast and lunch, and then added a 2nd lunch a couple hours before training along with a cup of coffee.  As a result, I was lean in the morning, but had plenty of energy for squatting. 

This all went pretty damn well.  If I had it all to do over again, the only thing I would change would be to add hypers at the beginning and/or end of every session leading up to this.  That low-back cramping was no joke.

After the squats, I just did some chins and push-ups to make sure I got some push-pull in before my vacation.  No point in recording the reps performed, because the numbers would be extreme outliers after that squat session.  I was just too wiped to be much good for anything.  I will say that I kept both movements strict, and with a tight pause at the bottom of each rep.

Lastly, I threw in some pull-aparts for balance because I got more push-ups than chins.

5/3/1 Full-Body: Cycle 4. Week 1. Bench

LRB Diet - Week 8

BW - 199

Hypers - 5 sets of 15

Pause Squats -
Bar, 95, 135X5
160, 185, 210X3

Bench -
BarX10
95, 110, 125X5
145X8

Press -
65, 85X8
75X8, 6, 5
super-set with
Wide-grip Pull-Ups - BWX1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3

Chin-ups - BWX5, 5, 5, 5, 6

Another decent session.  I guess this kind of thing can happen when you're only working one job, heh.

Pause Squat weight creeps up a little bit more for the next few weeks.  Getting gradually closer to PR range. 

Best bench session in a long while.  This is an all-around PR with close-grip and pausing every rep on the chest.  I really wanted this today, and I got it.  I'm thinking about dropping some or all of the overhead work in my program after I get back from vacation at the end of the month to try and get some real, steady progress on this lift by incorporating Incline Presses instead.  But I'm going to be patient, and finish out the shoulder volume programming I've implemented until vacation.

Speaking of Press, I had to remind myself to stop after a few sets here.  I'm only really supposed to be doing 4 work-sets, and I got 4-5 here and was about to start another before I snapped to my senses.  My Klokov's sucked ass last week, and I don't want that to happen again.

Pull-ups on a straight bar this time, whcih was a little harder than the bent bar.  Still got all my rungs done.  And then chins felt strong even though I ultimately could only get 6 on my all out set.

Not a lot of low-back work on this session, so I opened it with hypers for my core work.

5/3/1 Full-Body: Cycle 3. Week 3. Press/Dead

LRB Diet - Day 46

BW - 198

Pause Squats -
Bar, 95, 135X5
155, 180, 205X3

Klokovs -
BarX5
60X5 uh...heavy
70X3 heavy, da fug
80X6 WTF?!

Deadlift -
135X5, 5
215X5
240X3
270X8

BB Shrugs -
225, 315X10
405X3, 3, 3, 3, 3
425X2, 1
445X1, 1, 1, 3

Chiro Crunches - 5 sets of 40-45

Pause Squats felt a little heavy today, but not as heavy as...

...Klokovs.  As you can see from the notes above, I was completely baffled and caught off guard here.  I even "got up" for the top set because I was concerned by how heavy the other work sets felt.  3 weeks ago, I hit 75 for 15, and 2 weeks ago I hit 70 for 20.  It's inconceivable to me that a 5-10 lb. jump can cut my rep range down from the high-teens to the mid-single digits.  I'm gonna chalk this up to fucking astrology or fatigue from Bench Day or something, and I expect to rebound next time.

Deadlifts went really well however.  270X8 projects to a # 2 all time 1RM, and is a Rep PR.  What's more, the set was more about focus than straining, and I didn't walk away feeling gassed, nor do I feel wrecked today.  All good signs that my favorite lift is in pretty good shape at the moment.

Wanted to start flirting with increased weights on the shrugs so instead of hitting a back off set in the 300's after my triples, I started adding 10's and doing singles.  My form/ROM felt a little shitty, but I was able to get 3 on my last, all-out set.  Next time I may go with 425 for the triples, and bump up to 455 for the singles.

Skipped hypers at the top of the session to make sure my back was super fresh for Deadlifting, and so finally made myself get some ab work in the session.  I think that since I added in the additional shoulder work, the sessions just feel to damn long with both hypers AND crunches, so I'll have to start alternating.  I'll probably settle on crunches on Squat and Deadlift day since they've got heavier low-back movements, and do hypers on Bench day.

5/3/1 Full-Body: Cycle 3. Week 1. Press/Dead

LRB Diet - Day 33

BW - 197

Hypers - 5 sets of 15; 30 second rests

Pause Squats -
BarX10
95, 135X5
155, 180, 205X3

Klokov Press -
BarX10
55, 60X5
70X20

Deadlift -
135X5
135X5 (RDL)
185, 215X5
240X10

BB Shrugs -
225X10
315X5
405X5 (add straps)
405X3, 3
405X5
365X5, 5
315X12

Full-bore, balls out session for me.  +10%.

I've shortened the rest on the hypers and lowered the reps a tad because I like the "pump" feeling I get in my low back.  It seems to help me keep my arch at the bottom of the pause squats to have my low back warmed up this way.

Going into my last set of pause squats, I thought about trying to rep it out a bit, but reminded myself that this is still kind of part of my warm-up, and that I still had a lot of lifting to do.  I'll put that idea on the back-burner until next cycle.  Not talking anything crazy; just going for 5 on the top set.

Continuing to PR on Klokov's in the higher rep range.  This was an all-out effort to get the 20.  Looking forward to what happens with this lift as the numbers continue to climb.  I assume that at some point the rep range on the top set will start to spiral down.

I'm renewing my focus on form with the deadlift a bit.  I'm trying to stay tight and almost motionless at the bottom of each rep so that the only  movement is taking a breath and/or taking the slack out of the bar before I start the next concentric.  This felt really great today.  I probably left a rep or two in the tank, and my low back didn't feel taxed at all after the top set.  It was actually my legs that seemed to be getting fatigued this way.  Front squats may return in my near future if that continues.

On to CNP shrugs!  OK, I made sure to note which level I stuck the pins in this time, because I'm positive it was lower than last time.  I was pulling these off just above my knee, and it was fucking hard to get up into position, yet kind of awesome at the same time.  I have zero illusions that pulling 405 from above the knee will help me pull 405 off the floor, but it was still a grind at the beginning of every set, and I'm sort of proud of them in context.  Rather than hit a high rep back-off set on 315 after the 405's the way I did last session, I decided to up overall volume by dropping to 365 for a couple sets and then hitting a modest back-off set.  I just wasn't ready to be done shrugging, but I was done with 405.