Son of a Bench Week 12. Day "C".

sRPE @7.5

BW - 224

Bench - up to 225X1 @8

Lever Incline - 100X9, 8, 7 @~9

Reverse SSB Box Squats - 210X3, 3 @7.5/9

FFE BSS - BWX10, 9 @8.5/9.5

Chins - BWX1, 1 @~8*

super-set with

Seated Leg Curls - X11, 10 @8.5/9.5

Pushdowns - X17, 14 @~9

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X13, 10 @~10

Coming back from a long camping weekend.  Kind of went in and did whatever I felt like doing, but ended up with mostly a "Day C" vibe.

Bench actually felt pretty good.  Maybe a slight peak from the time off.

Got a wild hair to do "Eliminators" (Reverse SSB Box Squats).  Kind of cheated them, though, because I forgot you need to keep the pad high on your neck and a loose grip on the handles to really get the upper back stress you want from these. 

Also threw in some Front Foot Elevated Bulgarian Split Squats (Both Feet Elevated Split Squats?  not sure which is clearest).  I'm thinking these are a likely component of a future Squat specialization block, so wanted to start re-familiarizing myself with them.

My left elbow is generally slightly aggravated all the time now, and starting to having some lingering discomfort in the right.  I've been in some kind of pressing specialization going back to December, and I'm thinking having all this travel interfering with training in June may be an opportunity to just kind of mess around in the gym the rest of the month, and then pivot to something else when I get a clear runway. 

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 7. Day A.

sRPE @7

BW - 222

Bench -

-    up to 225X1 @8.5

-    185X5 @7.5

Lever Dips - 205X7, 6 @~8

GHR - BWX8, 8 @~8

super-set with

CS Rows - 115X9, 7 @8

1-Arm DB OH Extensions - 25X9, 7 @~8

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X12, 11 @~10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

After a pretty stressful week off, and with a (hopefully more relaxing) week off coming up, I reduced volume and intensity to intro week levels.

My low back is also still giving me a smidge of trouble after going a bit HAM on SLDL last week.

All in all, just trying to #gaintain until I get back.  It's looks like I'll have a summer pattern of 1 month of disruptions and 1 month of consistent training.  

Chin-Up War Week 3. Day A.

sRPE @7

BW - 223

Chin-Ups - BWX6, 5, 4, 4 @9.5/10

1-Arm DB Rows w/Strap - 95X12, 11 @~9

GHR - BWX13, 10 @9.5/10

Machine OH JM Press - X12, 10 @10

BB Curls - 75X14(PR), 8 @10

Solid session after returning from a weekend of Cheese, Beer, Log Splitting, Heat, Walking, and Poor Sleep.

Consecutive weeks of Rep PRs on Curls is nice.

Chin-Up War Week 2. Day C.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 222

Chins - BWX2, 2, 2 @~7.5

Pull-Downs - X11, 7 @10

Copenhagen Planks - BWX18, 14 @9/10

Dips - 

-    up to BW+65X1 @8.5

-    BW+45X5, 5 @9/10

Bayesian Curls - X13, 10@9.5/10

Solid session before I head to Monroe Cheese Days for the weekend.

Dips, Leg Press, Shoulders, Triceps

sRPE @7

BW - 223

Lever Dips - 225X9, 8, 7, 6 @10

Leg Press Drop Sets - 270X11, 225X9, 180X7, 135X7 @10

DB Incline Laterals - 15sX10, 12, 8, 7 @8/10

super-set with

DB Incline Extensions - 15sX12, 16, 10, 12 @7/10

First day back after 5 day camping trip.  Everything felt good.

Went up to 5 total plates on Lever Dips.  Historically, this lift has been ~90% of Dips, so I'm cautiously optimistic about how the wave of regular Dips will kick off next week. 

Heard some of the science folks talk recently about promising studies on Drop Sets compared to Rest Pause approaches.  I did a lot of Rest Pause recently inspired by Mike Israetel, but haven't done Drop Sets much.  Thought I might give it a shot here and there on compound, low-specificity accessories.  

Between the Drop Sets and the Super Sets it was like 45 minutes in and out of the front door.  That basically demands I start doing HIIT conditioning at the end of sessions again, lol. 

3 Day Full-Body Hypertrophy. Cycle 1. Session E.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 221

Press - 95X3, 3, 3 @ ~5

031 Tempo Work

DB Bench - 60sX8, 8 @9/9.5

Leg Press -

315X6 @7.5

270X8, 8 @7.5/8.5

Lat Pushdowns - X8, 8, 6 @8/10

I was conservative with the Leg Press volume because I had a weekend trip and didn't want to be DOMSing around all over the place.  Turned out to be fine, so I should be able to raise that going forward.

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

sRPE @8

BW - 220

Press - 100X6, 6, 6, 6, 6 @6/7

Chest-Supported Rows - 145X8, 8 @8.5/9

BB Curls - 55X19, 19, 19, 19 @7/10

EZ Skullcrushers (paused on chin) - 65X11, 11 @9/9.5

Moving things around ahead of a vacation that just got cancelled.

Press was a little tough to get rolling having Benched the day before.  Performance was still comparable to last week.

55 for 2+ sets of 19 is a Volume PR on Curls. 

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

sRPE @8

BW - 218    

Squat - 

315X1 @6

340X1 @7

275X9, 9, 9, 9 @6/7.5

Bench - 

215X1 @5

235X1 @6.5

180X9, 9, 9, 9 @7/8.5

Chin-Ups - BWX2, 2, 2, 2 @7/8

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 16 minutes / 9 rounds

275 for 4 sets of 9 is a Volume PR on Squats.

180 for 4 sets of 6+ is a Volume PR on Bench.

Out-of-town next weekend, so moved Chins to this day instead of triceps accessory.

Higher-Rep Volume PRs. Week 3. Session C.

sRPE @8

BW - 217

Bench - 

220X1, 1 @~6.5

140X17, 17 @7.5/8.5

Toes-to-Bar (w/straps) - BWX6, 5, 5, 4 @8/5.5

KB Walking Lunges - 35sX12, 12, 12, 12 @7/8

140 for 2X17 is a Volume PR on Bench.

217 (BW) for 4 sets of 4+ is a Volume PR on TTB.  Used straps again because these bothered my callouses so much last week.  Felt much better on hands.  While straps didn't seem to make a difference on chin-up strength the day before, I felt noticeably stronger on this movement with them.  Same reps as last week were much easier even at a higher BW.

Staying up late to watch basketball and training 3 days in a row had me pretty gassed out on lunges, and I'm training again the next day prior to a weekend vacation.  i.e. I used excuses to skip conditioning. 

Post-Vacation Maintenance Day

sRPE @5

BW - 215

DB Press - 45'sX8 @8

Dips - BWX9 @8.5

Toes-to-Bar - BWX5 @9

Single-Leg Machine Leg Press - X10 @7.5

Chest-Supported Rows - 115X15 @8

DB Curls - 30sX13 @10

Rower - HIIT; 10 minutes / 6 rounds

Just got back from vacation and decided to mash up a lot of stuff from the little maintenance block that didn't get covered before I left.

Post-Meet, Pre-Vacation Maintenance. Week 1. Session A.

sRPE @ 6

BW - 211

Squat - up to 345X1 @7.5

Bench - up to 205X1 @6.5

RDL w/Straps - 225X12 @9

Moved my grip on bench out to the rings.

Unplanned Testing Week Session A.

sRPE @5

BW - 207

Squat - up to 355X1 @9

Press - up to 145X1 @~9.5

Chin-Ups - BWX8 @9

Dips - BW+45X10 @9.5

Coming back from a long vacation weekend and about to start a new training block.  Schedule was kind of cramped to do a 5th week of the current block.  Since this block was SO low specificity, I thought I'd just test out all of my main lifts in one way or another to see where they sit at the end of the block.  The next block will be slightly higher specificity.  This way I get some data on how these lifts were effected during the low specificity phase, and I also get a better idea of where to start some of the slightly higher specificity work in the next phase.

Good news is that these four lifts are in a good spot.  Press and Chins are both STRONGER than they were at the end of the last block.  Squat and Dips are both over 96% of where they were (96% is about my average strength at the beginning of new block).

Also, a bit concerned that I'm getting kind of bored/burned-out on the BBM templates.  Not sure if that comes down to running canned templates, my tumultuous schedule, or a combo of the two.  

BBM PB I Block 1. Cycle 3. Session A.

sRPE @7

BW - 203

Squats - 

315X5 @8

300X5, 5, 5 @~7

Press - 100X8, 8, 8 @~8

GHR - BWX11, 11 @~8

BG Split-Squat - BWX17, 17, 17 @~7

Back from vacation.  Workout was fatiguing, but strength held together more-or-less from last week.

BBM PB I Block 1. Cycle 2. Session C.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 202

Deadlift - 

370X5 @8

355X5, 5 @7/8

Hammer Incline - 120X8, 8, 8 @8/10

Seated DB Press - 

45sX13 @ 10

40sX12, 10 @9/10

Toes-to-Bar - BWX6, 6, 6 @~8

Standing Calf Raises - X16, 16, 16 @~8

Last session before vacation.  Added the TTB in since I'm skipping all the GPP sessions this week.

On Deadlift, 370X5 is a Rep PR, and 355 for, effectively, 3X5 is a Volume PR.

On TTB, 3X6 is a Volume PR.

BBM PB I Block 1. Cycle 2. Session B.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 201

Bench - 

200X5 @8

190X5, 5, 5 @7/8

SSB Squat - 190X10, 10 @~8

DB Rows (Myo-Reps) - 75X15, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @7/9

Curls - 55X18, 12, 11 @9/10

DB Rear Delts - 15sX15, 14, 13 @9/10

Again throwing the "main" lift from a GPP day in here (curls) because of compressed schedule due to vacation.

BBM PB I Block 1. Cycle 2. Session A.

sRPE @7

BW - 201

Squat - 

305X5 @8

290X5, 5 @7/8

Press - 100X8, 8, 8 @8/~9

GHR - BWX10, 10 @8

Chin-Ups - BW+5X3, 3, 3, 3 @7.5/8

Toes-to-Bar - BWX5, 5, 5 @7/9

BG Split-Squats (on wedge) - BWX16, 16, 16 @~7

Schedule once again cramped by vacation plans, etc., so I tacked Chins and TTB from the GPP days I'm skipping onto this session.

100 for 3X8 on Press ties a Volume PR.

There's an adjustable wedge at the gym that must be meant for close-stance BW squats or something.  I tried it out today on the lowest setting for the rear-foot-elevated split squats to see if I could keep my foot closer to my hips and get more ROM at the knee.  Seemed to work fine.

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.

Block 15. Cycle 3. Session A.

BW - 221

sRPE @ 6

BB Curls - 

57.5X12, 12, 12 @~8

50X21 @10

Bench - 

205X1 @7

140X11, 11 @6

Toes-to-Bar - BWX3 @7

HLR - BWX6, 6 @6

Leg Press -440X10, 10 @~7

BW jumped during vacation.  Should see the trend back downwards.

sRPE was also than lower than last week's session despite higher volume.  Going to chalk that partly up to vacation as well.  If it's still light after next week, I may look to add volume.  Likely to Leg Press.

50 lbs. would be a 19 rep PR on curls, and I got it for 21.  Nice to hit any PR since I reset to stricter form to ease left elbow discomfort.

Bench felt about how I want it to feel this block.  Top set fast, and back-off sets easy.  Between this and elbow trouble from curls, I can really fuck things up for the harder Press workout in the following session if I'm not careful. 

Hanging ab work was all easy as well.  Tempted to add volume here if this session is still so easy next week, but this is one of my lowest priority movements this block, so I probably shouldn't.

Leg Press went really well.  30lb. jump from last week while adding a set, and with no real increase in difficulty.  Also no adductor "feels" on the movement this week.  Slotting this movement in on this day so far seems to be helping meet my goal of not having a bunch of adductor issues from Squatting this block.