Son of a Bench Week 10. Day C.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 224

Bench - 185X3, 3 @~7

DB Bench - 75sX9(PR), 6 @9/10

Chin-Ups - BWX2, 2 @7/8

super-set with

Copenhagen Planks - BWX15, 11 @8/9

Pushdowns - X17, 12, 11 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X14, 12 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Haven't been able to get a 3rd session in a training week very often the last month or so, and this one felt good.

When I do get one in, I've usually gotten a DB Bench PR like I did today, and that's always encouraging about the direction my general pressing strength is trending.

Son of a Bench Week 10. Day B.

sRPE @6

BW - 225

Bench - 185X1, 1 @~6

Deadlift - 

-    up to 385X1 @9

-    315X5 @7

Machine Flyes - X10, 8 @~10

super-set with

Rope Bayesian Curls - X7, 7 @10

Floor DB Rolling Tri's - 40sX9, 8, 5 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X12, 10 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Solid session.  I guess that's my heaviest DL since July of '24?  Anyway, like Squats, I moved back-offs from a supplement and on to the main lift to start prepping for more regular work on that lift later in the year.

I'd really  like to hit a Bench PR before I move on to other things, but I need a runway of consistent training and recovery if that's gonna happen.  Naturally, I'm about to be out of town for back-to-back weekends.

Son of a Bench Week 10. Day A.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 223

Bench -

-    up to 225X1 @8.5

-    185X5 @7

Lever Dips - 205X12, 7 @10

Hack Squats - 100X9, 8 @~8

super-set with

Pull-Downs - X10, 7 @8

1-Arm DB OH Extensions - 25X12, 8, 7 @10

super-set with 

Machine SL Calf Press - 195X13, 12 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Facilitated both a Birthday Party and a Memorial at the end of the week.  That prevented me from getting a 3rd session in, and left me coming into this session carrying additional stress.

Pretty good session all things considered!

Son of a Bench Week 9. Day B.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 225

Bench - 195X1, 1 @~7

Squat -

-    up to 325X1 @7.5

-    275X5 @7

Machine Flyes - X11, 9 @10

super-set with

DB Curls - 35sX8, 7 @10

DB Floor Rolling Tri's - 35sX13, 11, 9 @~10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X13, 11 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Felt like just doing regular squats instead of doing ATG Pause Squats for  my back off.  Later this year, I'll likely to do a Squat focused block, and I'm probably starting to think about getting more technique work in.

This is supposed to be my "Light" / Lower Stress day, and there's something about this day that's more stressful than I want it to be.  Something about supersetting Flyes and Curls and then going to Floor Rolling Tri's is just harder in practice than it looks on paper.  Might need to move some things around and/or swap out some movements.

Son of a Bench Week 9. Day A.

sRPE @7

BW - 224

Bench - 

-    up to 235X1 @9

-    195X5 @7

Lever Dips - 205X13, 9 @~10

GHR - BWX12, 11 @8

super-set with

CS Rows - 115X10, 7 @8

1-Arm DB OH Extensions - 25X12, 8, 7 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X14, 11 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Right Pec was a little sore throughout Benching, but everything turned out ok.

Upped intensity on Lever Dips, and volume on triceps isolation.

Solid session.

Son of a Bench Week 8. Day C.

sRPE @5.5

BW - 223

Bench - 185X3, 3 @7/8

DB Bench - 35sX12, 8 @9

Chins - X2, 2 @8

super-set with

Copenhagen Planks - BWX15, 10 @8/7

Pushdowns - X10, 11 @~10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X12, 11 @~10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Very nice little session.  Subjective measures of difficulty (sRPE) have steadily declined all week while ~objective training stress (setsXrepsXRPE) has remained about the same.  So I'll go ahead and start selectively bumping volume and intensity next week. 

Son of a Bench Week 8. Day B.

sRPE @6

BW - 223

Bench - 185X1, 1 @6/7

Deadlift - 315X1 @5

SLDL - 225X5 @4

Machine Flyes - X10, 8 @10

super-set with

Rope Bayesian Curls - X8, 7 @10

DB Floor Rolling Tris - 35sX9, 8 @~8

super-set with

Machine Calf Press - X13, 10 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Nice and easy for the second session back.  

Son of a Bench Week 8. Day A.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 224

Bench -

-    up to 225X1 @8

-    185X5 @7.5

Lever Dips - 205X8, 7 @~8

Hack Squats - 100X8, 7 @8

super-set with

Pull-Downs - X9, 8 @~8

1-Arm DB OH Extensions - 25X10, 9 @~10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X10, 9 @~10

Rower - HIIT, 5 rounds

Back from a week long trip.  Basically starting the program over.  This session looks almost exactly like the 'A' sessions from the first two weeks.  It will be interesting to see if lifts progress faster, slower, or about the same.

Happy to report that I had not foot/plantar fasciitis issues at all spending 6 days walking around NYC and an upstate farm.  We'll see if any of that discomfort reemerges (i.e. was it due to training?) or if the calf work and switching ~half my conditioning to the rower helped clear that up.

Son of a Bench Week 6. Day B.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 222

Bench - 205X1, 1, 1 @~7

Deadlift - up to 365X1 @7

SLDL - 275X5, 5 @7/8

Pec Flyes - X10, 9, 6 @10

super-set with

Rope Bayesian Curls - X9, 8 @10

Pushdowns - X10, 8, 8 @10

super-set with

Machine Calf Press - X12, 12 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Was feeling a bit too good today and decided to push SLDL without thinking that, because of getting sick, it had been weeks since I DL'd.  And because of ending one training block and starting another, it had been over a month since I SLDL'd 275.  

My back was all "Huh?!," and today it's all "See?!"

It'll probably be fine in a couple of days.

Son of a Bench Week 6. Day A.

sRPE @8

BW - 221

Bench - 

-    up to 240X1 @8

-    205X5, 5 @8/9

Lever Dips - 205X12, 8, 8 @10

Hack Squats - 110X8, 6 @8

super-set with

Pull-Downs - X10, 9 @10

1-arm DB OH Extensions - 25X13, 7, 7 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Presses - X14, 11 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Whew.  A one set increase in Bench volume, and taking most of my accessories to failure instead of to RPE 8 made this the most short-term fatiguing session of the block so far.

I have houseguests this week which mean I'll probably only get one more session in until next week.  I probably need to be prepared to make some judgement calls on next weeks volume and intensity.

Son of a Bench Week 5. Day C.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 225

Bench - 200X3, 3 @7.5/8

DB Bench - 70sX11(PR), 8, 6 @8

BB Rows -

-    190X8(PR) @9

-    165X7, 5 @8

super-set with

Seated Leg Curls - X12, 8 @10

Pushdowns - X13, 10, 8 X10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X13, 11 @10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Basically, fully recovered from the cold, and the concomitant down time and fatigue.

DB Bench and BB Row PRs to show for it.  Misloaded the first set of Rows with 10 kg plates instead of 10 lb. plates, so PR, lol!

Also resumed conditioning. 

Son of a Bench Week 5. Day B.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 224

Bench - 220X3, 3 @8

Squat - up to 315X1 @8.5

ATG Pause Squats - 225X5, 5 @7/8.5

Machine Flyes - X9, 8, 6 @10

super-set with

DB Curls - 35sX9, 5 @10

Rope Triceps Pullover Station - X10, 9, 9 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X10, 9 @10

Was at about 90% on this day coming back from the cold.

I've been noticing that the 80% work on the second session is a lot heavier than on the first or third session.  Likely because of fatigue carrying over from the heavier first session.  Think I'll try making these 80% singles instead of triples and save the triples for Day C.  

Rolling Floor Extensions have been bothering my elbow, so I tried that weird seated overhead triceps station across from the Jammer.  It was fine.

Son of a Bench Week 5. Day A.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 225

Bench - 

-    up to 245X1 @9

-    200X5 @8.5

Lever Dips - 205X8, 7, 6 @7/6

Seated Leg Curls - X6, 7 @6/8

super-set with

Rope Lat Pushdowns - X7, 6 @8

1-Arm DB OH Extensions -

-    30X6 @8.5

-    25X6, 6 @8

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - 180X17, 13 @~10

Getting on the other side of this gnarly cold and got to the gym again.

My two goals today were:

1)  See if I can work up to something heavy on Bench

2)  Get in volume on everything else regardless of proximity to failure

Was actually able to add weight on Bench over last week although the RPE was higher, too.  That meant my 80% back-off weight was actually a touch lower than last week.

Pulled back on RPE on most everything else and got the volume in.

Subbed leg curls for GHRs because I wasn't sure 180 degree upper body swings would be compatible with sinus pressure.

EX bar lat pushdowns have been bothering my elbow tendinopathy, so I subbed in rope handles and that felt MUCH better.

Similarly, 2-handed DB OH extensions have also been bothering my elbow, so I switched to single-arm and that felt great. 

Son of a Bench Week 4. Day B.

sRPE @7

BW - 224

Bench - 205X1, 1 @~8

Hypers - 35 behind head X7, 6, 5 @8/9

Machine Flyes - X7, 7 @8

super-set with

Rope Bayesian Curls - X6, 6 X8/10

Pushdowns - X18, 7, 7 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X15, 13 @10

Gnarly chest cold interfering with sleep and generally knocking my recovery in the dirt.

Wild how hard singles on Bench were with 80% of Monday's e1RM.

Was no way DL was gonna happen so replaced with weighted Hypers.

Skipped conditioning.

Delayed this session by a day in the hopes I'd feel better.  While I did feel a bit better, my schedule the rest of the week is pretty tight, and so I might not be able to make it in again.  But that's why I train Fully Body: so that schedule disruptions don't result in something getting skipped in a training week.

Son of a Bench Week 4. Day A.

sRPE @ 6.5

BW - 222

Bench - 

-    up to 240X1 @8

-    205X5 @7.5

Lever Dips - 205X11, 9 @10

Hack Squats - 110X9, 7 @8

super-set with

Pull-Downs - X10, 7 @8

DB OH Extensions - 70X8, 5 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X13, 10 @8

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Still adding weight to the top single week-over-week.  Also, this is the easiest the back-off set of 5 @ 80% has felt so far this block.  Still a couple of weeks before I start adding more back-offs on this day.

Also added a rep per set to the AMRAPS on Lever Dips.

The DB OH Extensions are feeling pretty tough right now.  I'm going to back off 10# and go for higher reps starting next week.  See if I can get some momentum going in the 8-12 range and then circle back to 6-10s.  I was supposed to add a 3rd set on this day.  I didn't notice that in the program, but these were so difficult, it's probably for the best.

Son of a Bench Week 3. Day C.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 223

Bench - 200X3, 3 @~7.5

DB Bench - 70sX10(PR), 7 @8

BB Rows - 165X8, 8, 8 @8/9

super-set with

Seated Leg Curls - X9, 8 @~8

Pushdowns - X11, 10 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X13, 10 @~9

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Another PR on DB Bench even still keeping RPE @8.  Next week I push these to AMRAPs, and then start adding volume in the following weeks.

Added a set to BB Rows.  Felt solid.  Probably stay at this weight and rep range for most of this block.

Son of a Bench Week 3. Day B.

sRPE @7

BW - 223

Bench - 200X3, 3, 3 @~8

Squat - up to 315X1 @7.5

ATG Pause Squat - 225X5, 5 @6/7

Machine Flyes - X10, 8 @10

super-set with

DB Curls - 35sX8, 7 @8

Floor DB Rolling Triceps - 40sX10, 7 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X12, 11 @9

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Working out on back-to-back days on a full body program is always a little rough.

Got on autopilot out of the gate and did an extra set of Bench.  Not supposed to add a 3rd set on this day for a few more weeks.  No big deal, just to say I was a little out of it.

Then Squats felt awful on warm-ups until I realized I was using my bench grip hand placement which is narrower than my squat grip.  Got that sorted and things went better.

Everything else was fine.

Son of a Bench Week 3. Day A.

sRPE @6

BW - 224

Bench - 

-    up to 235X1 @8

-    200X5 @8

Lever Dips - 205X10, 8 @10

GHR - BWX11, 8 @8

super-set with

Lat Pushdowns - X8, 8 @~9

DB OH Extensions - 70X8, 6 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X12, 10 @~9

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Both sets of Bench felt strong and smooth at 5# > last week.

Pushing most bench accessories to failure starting this week (not DB Bench yet), and adding volume to non-pressing movements.

Next week, I start adding volume week-over-week to bench accessories.

Son of a Bench Week 2. Day C.

sRPE @6

BW - 222

Bench - 195X3, 3 @7

DB Bench - 70sX9(PR), 7 @~8

Chins - BWX3, 3, 3 @8/10

super-set with

Copenhagen Planks - BWX12, 10 @7.5

Pushdowns - X8, 8 @~9

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Presses - 180X13, 11 @~9

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Was confident DB Bench PRs would start falling this week.  Plenty of room to keep pushing those.

Son of a Bench Week 2. Day B.

sRPE @7

BW - 225

Bench - 195X3, 3 @~8

Deadlift - up to 365X1 @8

SLDL - 225X5, 5 @6

Machine Flyes - X8, 7 @8

super-set with

Rope Bayesian Curls - X8, 6 @8

Floor DB Rolling Triceps - 45sX6, 5 @~9

super-set with

Machine SL Calves - X12, 10 @8/9

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Sleep quality and schedule have been disrupted the last few days, and that may have played into the unexpected heaviness of the first two movements.