Pivot Cycle 2. Session A.

sRPE @5.5

BW - 217

Leg Raise on Elbows - BWX7, 7, 7 @ ~6

Plate Full Raise - 45X9, 9 @~6

BB Curls - 60X14 @6.5

DB Hammer Curls -

40sX10, 10 @8

35sX10 @6.5

Pivot Cycle 1. Session A.

sRPE @5

BW - 216

Leg Raise on Elbows - BWX5, 5 @~8

Plate OH Raise - 45X8, 8 @6.5

BB Curls - 60X14 @7

DB Hammer Curls - 37.5sX10, 10 @~8

Took a little over a week off to go on vacation immediately after the last training block, so I think I'll do a 2 week pivot back into regular training.

Leg Raises were really weak, but everything else went about as expected.

I'll probably bump volume up slightly the rest of this week and the beginning of next week, and then pull back before I head into the intro week for the next training block.

Pivot Session A.

sRPE @5

BW - 215

Incline Leg Raises - BWX10, 7 @7

Dip Machine - 180X14, 13 @6

Plate Full Raise - 45X6, 9 @5, 7

Spider Curls - 25sX12, 12 @6/8

Those incline leg raises seem good.  Something to keep in the toolbox definitely for pivots, and to try out if I ever have a block where I'm focusing on brining up my Toes-to-Bar.  I should try them as windshield wipers for a pivot!

This sounds dumb, but there's a big difference between doing really high-rep plate raises with a 25 lb. bumper and going up to the 45.  I think I've tried a 45 before, though, and it was a no-go.  This now seems very do-able, there was just a big adjustment in the way I have to brace for them.

Transmutation to Accumulation Pivot Day 8.

BW - 216

Bench-Grip Deadlift (DOH) - 270X4, 4 @7, 8.5

Pause Squat to Low Box - 225X4, 4 @7

Standing, Single-Leg Curls - X13 @8

DB Incline - 60sX8, 8 @~8

Plate Full Raise - 25X15, 12 @~6.5

Conditioning - Treadmill LISS; 20 minutes

Sunday is my #1 least favorite day to train.  Fatigue kicked in pretty quickly across the board at this mid-day session.

Grip was by far the limiting factor on Deadlift.

Box Squats felt very solid.  Shank is nice and vertical; really pushing the lift into the posterior-chain.  No quad pain during set at all.  No increase in quad discomfort outside of the gym within 24 hours following session. 

Ran out of gas quick on the DB Inclines.

Looking forward to switching back to full training.

Transmutation to Accumulation Pivot Day 5.

BW - 217

DOH Bench-Grip Deadlift - 270X4, 4 @7

Low Bar Box Squat (beltless) - 215X4, 4 @7

Standing, Single-leg Curls - X13, 9 @8

DB Incline - 60sX8, 8 @7

Plate Full Raise - 25X15, 15 @8

DOH BG DL (lol) went pretty well got up to @7.5 on grip strength, which is fine.  Doing DOH for a reason.

I think the only other time I've done box squats was when I worked out with Matt Wenning a couple of years back.  These felt very solid.  I kind of thought the weight would be higher, but novelty, plus the lingering quad strain plus [waves hands].

Did DB Inclines for the 4th time in 4 years, haha.  These also felt fine

3 years since I did plate raises. 

Vacation Prep. Week 6. Bench

BW - 210

Incline -
BarX20
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
155X16, 6
115X11

Plate Full-Frontal Raise - 25X30, 15, 12
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15
and
DB Rear Dealts - 30sX20, 20, 20

155X16 is an all-around PR for ALL Benching.  Feels good.

Vacation Prep. Week 5. Bench

BW - 207

Incline -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X2, 2
155X2
185X1
155X14, 5
135X6

Plate Raises - 25X25, 18, 15
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15
and
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 20

Bench felt a little shaky tonight, the 185 moved slower than I would have liked, and my shoulder was bothering me after Inclines and is bothering me a bit the next day.  Nevertheless, 155X14 is a Rep PR for Incline Bench.  It doesn' meet my rep goal for this weight of 16+ so I stay at this weight next week.  I met my volume goal with that 2nd set of 155X5, but I decided to drop down and get one more set in instead of doing hammer bench.  Not a terrible idea, but I may have been better served dropping down to 95 and doing higher reps.  I got lazy and didn't want to unload and reload the bar.

The giant-sets for the shoulder joint were fine.  I added some reps to the full-front(al) raises, but couldn't really add any to the other movements.  I'm pausing the flyes at the bottom, only coming 2/3 of the way up to keep tension on the muscle, and then doing a controlled eccentric back down.  By the time I get over 10 reps with just the 30s, I'm starting to really struggle.

Vacation Prep. Week 3. Bench

BW - 205

Incline -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
145X19, 7

Hammer Bench - 50X20 (burn-out set)

Plate Full Front-Raise - 25X20, 15, 15
super-set with
Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15
and
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 20

Treadmill - Incline Walking; 30 minutes

Because I didn't get to the gym yesterday, I threw in assistance work today in addition to the main lift.

145X19 is a Rep PR for Incline, and would also be a Rep PR for Flat Bench.  Together with 21+ total reps it meets my goal and I will move up to 155 next time.

I didn't really want to do the hammer bench because of time, but since I did it last week and my Incline was stronger this week, I thought I should at least get one set in.

But I really want the bench assistance focus to be on shoulders, and so I did this tri-set, and liked it.

Vacation Prep. Week 2. Bench

BW - 207

Incline -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
145X17, 4

Hammer Bench - 50X20, 17, 15

Incline Flye - 20sX15, 15, 15
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 20

Plate Raise - 25X25

Treadmill - 30 minutes; incline walking

Alright session.  I was looking for 19 reps with 145 on Incline, so I will repeat this weight next week.

I had been hesitant to try the hammer bench, because I didn't want to try another movement that would aggravate my shoulder.  This actually was okay, although the weight was really light.  I'll try it again next week.

I probably went overboard on assistance a little bit here, time-wise.  Starting next week, I will be going more frequently, doing the main lifts on separate days from the assistance, and alternating steady-state with interval cardio.  I want those sessions to be shorter, so I'll just have to contain myself.