Dips, Quads, Curls, Shoulders

sRPE @7.5

BW - 223

Bench Dips - BW+25# ChainX16, 12, 10, 10 @10

Roman Chair Squats - BWX10, 10, 10, 10 @9.5/10

DB Preacher Curls - 20sX14, 12, 10, 10 @10

super-set with

Seated DB Laterals - 20sX9, 9, 9, 7 @10

Adding weight to the Bench Dips to get the reps more in the range I expect to eventually be training full Dips in.  Much triceps burn.

Thought about doing something higher stress for legs, but it was pretty darn sweaty in the gym, and I wanted to make sure I had energy to drive through the full workout.

I think this may be the first time I've done DB Preacher Curls?

Block 12. Cycle 5. Session A.

 BW - 230

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 8

BB Curls - 75X11, 11, 11 @8.25/9

Press - 105X7, 7, 7 , 7 @~8

Squat - 

387.5X1 @8.25

315X4, 4, 4, 4 @5.5/6.5

BB Preacher Curls - 47.5X12, 12 @~8

75X11 is a Rep PR on curls.

I was able to keep Press in target RPE range by stretching out rest times to 3+ minutes.

Top set of squat was solid, but kept the back-off work at 3 plates because I'm starting to get various lingering aches and pains in my legs following last weeks squat session.

Block 12. Cycle 4. Session A.

 BW - 232

Waist - 44"

sRPE @ 7

BB Curls - 72.5X11, 11, 11 @~8

Press -

107.5X6*, 7 @~9.5 *dumped the first set

100X7, 7 @8.5/9

Squat - 

385X1 @8.5

315X4, 4, 4, 4, @~6

BB Preacher Curls - 45X12, 12 @~8

Grip got wonky on the first work set of Press and actually dumped the bar forward.  Really strange.  The weight ended up being too much anyway.

Top set of Squat was a little awkward, but still nice to be flying over 3.5 plates on squat at this effort level.

Pulled back on Preacher Curls a bit.  I've got forearm discomfort around the elbow that's starting to linger during this Curls-focused block, and this movement seems to aggravate it the most.  Worked up slowly with very controlled reps, and this ended up being the right weight for that effort.

Block 12. Cycle 3. Session A.

BW - 232

Waist - 43.75"

BB Curls - 70X11, 11, 11 @~8

Press - 105X7, 7, 7, 7 @~8.5

Squat - 

367.5X1 @7.5

315X4, 4, 4, 4 @~6.5

BB Preacher Curls - 50X12, 12 @~8

70X11 is a Rep RP on Curls.  Nice to get it for 3 sets, too.

105 for 3X7 would be a 3 set PR, and I got that for 4 sets, although they were a bit tougher than I would have liked.

Top single on Squats felt great, but when I tried to go a little over target on the back-off sets, they were tougher than expected.  I may need to start separating the projected work weights for the single and the sets of 4.

Preacher Curls were a lot harder on this day, and I had to back the weight off.  No big.  

Block 12. Cycle 2. Session A.

 BW - 231

Waist - 43.75"

BB Curls - 67.5X11, 11, 11 @~8

Press - 100X7, 7, 7, 7 @~8

Squat - 

357.5X1 @8

305X4, 4, 4 @~6

BB Preacher Curls - 55X12, 12 @8.5/9

67.5 for 3X11 on Curls is a Volume PR.

100 for 4X7 on Press is a Volume PR.

Block 12. Cycle 1. Session A.

 BW - 231

Waist - 43.5"

BB Curls - 

62.5X11 @7

65X11, 11 @~8

Press - 97.5X7, 7, 7 @8

Squat -

345X1 @7.5

295X4, 4 @6

BB Preacher Curls - 52.5X12, 12 @8/9

62.5+ for 3X11 on BB Curls is a Volume PR.  NBD, because I designed the rep ranges for Curls and Press this block to grab some low-hanging Volume PRs.  Also, I took the trouble to weight the straight bar I've been using and discovered it's a ~30 lb. bar, and I thought it was ~20 lbs.  

As above, 97.5 for 3X7 is a Volume PR on Press.  Weight came in lower than I was targeting to start this block, but I've got a bit of discomfort in my right shoulder that seemed to come up doing tempo presses in the pivot.  Food for thought.

Squat went well.  345 is the heaviest weight I've used since the pandemic started and it moved nicely.

Bench

BW - 213

Bench -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
175X1
185X1
135X22, 9

Preacher Curls -
40ishX8
50ishX8, 8, 8, 8

Seated French Press - 70ishX12, 12, 12, 10, 10

135X22 is a Rep PR.  This is right at my target reps for this weight as I get back into the flat bench.  I'm going to go ahead and move up to 145 next week.  Shoulder is still feeling pretty good.  Some mild crunchiness today, and I think I'm going to talk to my P.T. about how to amp up some of the rehab movements I'm doing.

BENCH!!!

BW - 211

CG Bench -
BarX20
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
175X1
185X1
195X1
135X20, 8

Preacher Curls -
40ishX12
50ishX10, 8, 10, 8

French Press -
50ishX15
60ishX12, 12, 12, 12

2nd day back on bench, and I hit a PR!  135X20 is a Rep PR.  My previous best was 135X17 on 8/5/13.  195X1 is also my heaviest bench since I did a bunch of doubles with 205 on 4/22/14.  I just decided to work up to the heaviest single I could without getting into grinding territory.  No pain on the day or afterwards.

Those dates are a bit rough for me to look at.  I put off getting professional help on my shoulder for so long, and after working with  my P.T. for just over a month, I hit a high-rep PR, and my top-end strength feels like it's at least 80% what it was before the injury.  Why the fuck did I put this off for so long?

I'll stay at 135 for my work-sets until I can beat 22 reps.  Back to my old 25/45/Volume programming which forces me to keep reps high for a long time.

Inclines

BW - 212

Inclines -
BarX25
95X5, 5
135X3
155X2
185X1
135X21

BB Preacher Curls -
40X10
60X8, 8, 5
40X12

super-set with

French Press - 50X15, 15, 15, 15, 15

Well shit.  My target here is to beat 135X22.  Really thought that was going to happen today.  Oh well.  Slow and steady.

Inclines

BW - 208

Inclines -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
135X18, 10

Preacher Curls - 40ishX12, 12, 12, 8, 9
super-set with
Seated French Press -
40ishX20
50ishX15, 15, 12, 12

Didn't meet my goal of 135X23 on the first set, so I'll stick at this weight next week.  135X20 is my best.  Hit my volume goal on the follow-up set.  No shoulder issues during or to this point the next day.

Overheads

BW - 208

CG Seated Press -
BarX12
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
135X1
115X8

DB Preacher Curls - 25sX20, 20, 20, 20

Hammer Curls - 45sX6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

115X8 is a Rep PR for all overhead work.

Upped the reps on preacher curls and the weight on hammer curls.

Overheads

BW - 216

Seated CG Press -
BarX15
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
125X1
105X14

DB One-Arm Preacher Curls - 25X20, 20, 20, 18

DB Hammer Curls - 40sX6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

105X14 is an all-around PR across all overhead pressing!

Overheads

BW - 210

Seated, CG Front Presses -
BarX15
65X5
95X3
115X1
85X16

DB Preacher Curls - 25sX20, 20, 15, 15

DB Hammer Curls - 40sX6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

Shoulder Cuff work

McGill Curl-Ups - X25
Side Planks - 60sec. each side
Bird-Dogs - 25 each side

Never done seated front presses before.  Kept the grip close (index on the smooth) and elbows forward to try and put more pressure on the triceps.  All these weights were crisp.  The unrack was the "heaviest" part.  Will move the back-off weight up to 95 next time.  Should be able to work with that weight for awhile.

One-arm preacher curls were kind of awkward at first.  Never done them before.  Never really gone this heavy on hammer curls, either.  Lots of firsts today.

Training: Pressing

BW - 212

High-Incline Bench -
BarX25
95X5
115X4
135X2
155X2
135X15, 8

Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15

RG Curls - 40ishX23
DB Hammer Curls - 35sX20
DB Curls - 30sX18
WG Curls - 50ishX18
Preacher Curls - 40ishX11

Pushed the weight up a bit this week, and probably still left 1-2 reps in the tank on both sets with 135.

Worth noting: one of the strongest guys in the gym mentioned to me this day that he didn't really like the High-Incline bench for strength development very much.  He said he gets better  carry-over to both his flat bench AND his front press from the "regular" incline bench.  In the case of our gym, that's actually an unusual, arched incline bench.  You can see both benches in this picture:


The High Incline is in the foreground and you can kind of see the Arched Incline behind it and to the right (also reflected in the mirror on the back-wall).

The guy said he thought the High Incline was better for body-building.  The guy is strong as hell and has been working out of that gym for a long time, so I'll take it on faith that he's spent some time with both and that his opinion is based on experience.

No skin off mine either way, as I was only hitting this for a couple of high-rep weeks as a break before I got back to pushing the other incline anyway.  Interesting feedback, though!

Training: Pressing

BW - 208

High-Incline Bench -
BarX25
85X5
95X4
115X2
135X1
155X1
115X20, 10

Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15

RG, EZ Bar Curls - 40ishX20
DB Hammer Curls - 40sX15
DB Curls - 30sX15
WG BB Curls - 45X20
Preacher, EZ Bar Curls - 40ishX15

For the couple weeks after my vacation, I just wanted to get some high rep work in on movements that I haven't pushed very hard, and so I decided to just move over to this bench temporarily.

This thing's probably around 60 degrees, so it's almost more of an overloaded front press.  In the past I've only really used this thing when the "regular" incline wasn't available.  I always hated it because I couldn't handle anything near the same weight, and didn't see the point if I was already doing 45 degree inclines AND overhead work.  I sometimes struggled to get 95X10 at this angle when I used this movement for a supplemental lift.

I expected to only work up to 135 and then do medium-to-high reps with 95.  What a nice surprise that 135 was so easy, that taking another single at 155 was a no-brainer.  After that, I knew 95 was going to be way to light for a work-set.  115 was just right.  I probably left 2-3 reps in the tank on the first set, and 1-2 on the 2nd.  This is good feedback to get as my regular incline has been moving faster than my OHP.  I'm instantly planning on using this to supplement regular incline and/or OHP in the future.

Biceps circuit inspired by some more recent Paul Carter stuff.  My brachialis were screaming for 2 days after this.

Reps and Volume. Week 14. Accessories

BW - 209

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X7, 4, 3, 1
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX10, 8, 6, 5, 6 (35 total)

DB Rows - 70sX20, 12

Machine Pullovers - X12 (upped the weight)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX15, 10
super-set with
DB Press - 45sX15, 10

DB Curls - 30sX12, 13
super-set with
Rolling Triceps - 30sX15, 12

Incline Treadmill - 15 minutes; walking

Mixed session.  115X7 is a Rep PR, and combined with 15 total reps meets my goal for this weight.  Moving up next week.

Everything else was a mix of slightly better, about the same, or slightly worse.  Weirdly, my biceps curling strength seems to be regressing.  May need to just try switching out some movements for a while.  I've been doing those same two types of curls, in the same order, on Saturdays for about 20 weeks straight.

Reps and Volume. Week 13. Accessories

BW - 210

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
105X11, 6
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX10, 6, 6, 6, 6, 4 (38 total reps)

DB Rows - 65X20, 18

Machine Pullover - X15 (burn-out set)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX15, 10
super-set with
DB Press - 40sX20, 10

DB Curls - 30sX15, 12
super-set with
Rolling Triceps - 30sX15, 12

Mixed session.  105X11 is a Rep PR and together with the 17 total reps meets my goal for that weight.  Move up to 115 next week.

Because my low back strain is lingering and I haven't done my regular Deadlift day in a few weeks, I decided to replace pull-downs with DB rows for a while so that in the meantime I'm getting a more well-rounded approach to Back.

I didn't seem to have any gas left by the time I got to Arms.  Except for DB Press where the 40sX20 is an all-around PR.  However, I got less reps on everything else with the same weight as last week.

I also sat up after the last set of Rolling Triceps with the weight still over my chest, and re-aggravated my low back a bit.  Yay.  I will probably just take this entire week off from training to try and get this healed.  If arm training is going to aggravate it, what could be safe?

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.

Reps and Volume. Week 9. Accessories

BW - 203

PBN -
BarX20
65X4
85X3
95X2
115X1
85X17, 6
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX17, 10, 7, 5 (35 total)
and
CG Pull-downs - X15, 10, 8 (straight-weight; more weight than last week)

Machine Pullovers - X14 (same weight as last week)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX17, 12
super-set with
DB OHP - 40sX15, 12

DB Curls - 30sX13, 12
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X15

Had to catch a bus, so cut the session a tad short at the end.

Pressing strength was a little bit off this week from last week.  Probably just one of those things, but to be sure, I'm adding DB Pressing back in on this day instead of the DB Laterals I did last week.

On most everything else, I was able to up the weight and/or reps over last week.

Reps and Volume. Week 8. Accessories

BW - 204

PBN -
BarX20
65X4
85X3
95X2
115X1
85X18, 8
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX13, 8, 9 (30 total reps)
and
CG Pull-Downs - X17, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight)

Machine Pullovers - X12 (more weight than last week)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX16, 12, 9
super-set with
DB Side Laterals - 20sX18, 17, 12

DB Curls - 30sX12, 12, 12
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X22, 16, 14 (straight-weight)

BB Curls - BarX17

85X18 is a Rep PR for PBN.  That PR rep was a grinder, though.

Chin-up strength is holding steady for a 2nd week.  Time to push total reps up to 35, I think.

Really pushed myself on the biceps work today.  A lot of R/P to get extra reps in.