S/B/D/R+ Week 2. Day B.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 220

Bench - 

-    up to 225X1 @8

-    195X3, 3, 3, 3 @7.5/8.5

FFE BSS - BWX11, 10, 9, 8 @8

Cable Rows - X11, 10, 9 @8

super-set with

GHR Sit-Ups - BWX9, 8, 6 @8

Machine Standing Calves - X8, 7, 8, 7 @~8

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 0:20/1:40; 14 minutes

Solid session.  I've been taking a bit more time on my warm-up singles this week trying to feel out where my top set should be.  On both Squat and Bench, I re-took my last warm-up single and both times found the 2nd set easier allowing me to go for something higher on the top set.  Patience, I guess.

3 Day SBD. Cycle 2. Session A.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 219

Squats -

up to 295X1 @5.5

280 (80%)X3, 3, 3 @~6

Plate Deficit DL - 315 (74% of DL)X2, 2, 2, 2 @5/6

Copenhagen Planks - BWX12, 12, 12 @7.5/10

DB Curls - 25sX11, 11, 9 @7/10

super-set with

Decline Leg/Hip Raises - BWX5, 5, 3 @7/10

Took a lot more time with my Squat warm-ups.  Gave time for my HR to come down between warm-ups sets, and focused generally on being more "ready" for the next set even though they were just warm-ups.  Usually I basically just re-load the bar and go.  Ended up with a slight improvement in the top single over prior weeks, and also was able to add a 3rd back-off set without feeling like it added significantly to acute fatigue.

Similarly, I was able to add a 4th set to the Deficit DLs.  Fatigue was still good, but between longer warm-ups and getting pulled into a couple of conversations, it took about an hour to get through the first two movements.

Accessories were all good, but I was already an hour and a half in at this point (and got to the gym late).  TL;DR:  I skipped conditioning.

3 Day SBD. Cycle 1. Session F.

sRPE @7

BW - 220

SBD singles at 80, 85, 90% of last e1RM:

-    Squats - 275, 290, 310X1 @4.5/7.5

-    Bench - 185, 200, 210X1 @5/7

-    Deadlift - 340, 360, 385X1 @5/8

CS Rows - 130X8, 8, 8 @8/10

Rower - HIIT; 10 minutes

Bench and DL are both showing improvement at the end of the first, full cycle.  Squat has been flat.  I do wonder if some of that is that Squat is always first in the session.  I've been stretching out my warm-ups to see if that would help, but I often just don't feel both warm and clear-headed in a session until the 2nd or 3rd movement.

Most folks these days eschew elaborate warm-up routines before starting the "real" lifting, but maybe it would be worth dabbling in a little circuit or something.

Low-Rep Volume PRs. Week 1. Session A.

sRPE @5.5

BW - 219

Squat - 

250X3

275X1

285X1

300X1 @6

280X3 @6

Press - 85X5, 5, 5 @4/5

DB Laterals - 25sX9, 9 @~10

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 10 minutes

Intro week.  Just hitting 1/3 - 1/2 of target volume, and being very conservative with RPE.

I'll be focused on low rep Volume PRs this block, and I'm reminding myself how I used to warm-up for this kind of work: Ramping rep sets to 90-95% of target back off weight, then ramping singles with 5% jumps to top single, then back-off sets.  This has worked very well in the past for dialing in both the top sets and the back-off sets.  I got away from this while I was working in higher rep ranges because doing ramping sets of 8-17 reps would fucking suck.

Mid-Rep Volume PRs. Week 2. Session C.

sRPE @7

BW - 218

Press - 95X6, 6, 6, 6, 6 @5.5/6.5

Toes-to-Bar - BWX4, 4, 4, 4 @6.5/7.5

Belt Squat - 140X7, 7, 7, 7 @6.5/6

95 for 5 sets of 6 is a Volume PR on Press.

2nd week in a row that the latter sets of Belt Squat were easier than the first.  Probably means I need to take even more time warming up on them.

Higher-Rep Volume PRs. Week 1. Session A.

sRPE @6

BW - 219

Squats - 

315X1 @5.5

185X17 @5.5

Press - 

110X1 @7

75X13 @7

Push Press - 120X4, 4 @~7

Rower - HIIT; 7 rounds / 12 minutes

Intro week.  Just one set per rep range on the mains to feel things out.  

Squats were much stronger than usual following a deload/pivot.  I did some extra warm-ups sets with BW and empty bar.   Also maybe the ME work on Saturday maybe?

Left shoulder was a little aggravated after the back-off set on Press, but Push Press was OK and it feels mostly fine the next day.

Block 5. Cycle 7. Session B.

BW - 222

Bench -
252.5X2 @9.75
212.5X6, 6, 6 @~8.5

Cambered Bar Bench - 175X5, 5, 5 @8

Chin-Ups - BW Density Block; 7 minutes; 7 reps on 1st set; 32 total reps

Bench was a mixed bag here.  252.5X2 is a Rep PR, but with the @~10 it projects as a lower e1RM than last week's 250X2@~9

Frankly, the warm-ups suggested I should take 250 again, but I wanted to try for more weight.  At least it's nice to get some confirmation that I should believe my warm-up feedback. 

I decided to still go on the heavier side on the back-off sets.  The first couple of sets were okay, but the last set was definitely @8.5 and trending up. 

But I was able to add weight to the cambered bench without any trouble.  Some of that could still be acclimation to a relatively novel movement.

Also got one more rep squeezed in on the chin-up density block.

Yesterday, I was optimistic that I might be able to extend this training block another week, and today I kind of want it to be over.  It may come down to how the last session of this cycle goes.  This is definitely one of those places where a good quality coach that's familiar with both my lifting and my psychology would be helpful, but as is I gotta do for self.

All video is of top set and final back-offs.

Pivot Block. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 216

5-3-0 Tempo Squats -
225X4 @5
235X4, 4, 4 @~6

Front Racked Reverse Lunges - BarX8, 8, 8 @~6.5

High Incline Bench -
115X7 @5.5
117.5X7, 7 @6

Inverted Row - BWX6, 5, 5 @~10

BB Curls - 50X10, 10, 10 @ ~8

Nice light session.  I did get the front racked reverse lunges to feel okay on my quad by doing more extensive warm-up sets with BW first holding the squat stand for a set of 8, and then just free standing for a set of 8.  I would have thought the tempo squats were enough of a warm-up, but last time that proved not to be the case.  Anyway, I'm glad I got these to work, as the gym doesn't really have a good bench for the high-step ups I did last time.

Where there is video, it is of final sets.

Block 3 (Transmutation). Cycle 4. Session A.

BW - 212

Squat -
255X7 @6
285X3 @6
300X3 @7
315X3 @7.5
270X7, 7, 7 @6.5/7

CG Bench -
152.5X6 @5.5
162.5X6, 6, 6 @6.5/7

Plate Deficit Deadlift -
230X7 @6
245X7 @7.5
240X7 @7

Based on last block, I thought* there was a chance I could get a larger intensity increase on my comp. movements in the 4th cycle, and that turned out to be the case for Squat here.  *possible placebo

Nice to have 3 plates in the rotation again, and it came in even a tad under RPE target.  I could have tried going up, but I'm wondering about the cumulative fatigue* about warm-up sets @6+ when back-off sets are also going to be prescribed.  So I called it good and moved to the back-off sets, which moved REALLY well, and also came in slightly under RPE target to start. *possible nocebo, lol

Close-Grips also similarly were flying today.  I thought here about going up in weight just a touch, but last block started to plateau in cycle 5, so I don't mind giving myself a bit of "fatigue margin" this week as long as I'm meeting or exceeding goals.

I did get a touch greedy on Deficits and tried going a bit above what 230X7@6 would have indicated, and it did end up being a slight overshoot.

Video is of top sets and final back-offs.

Block 3 (Transmutation). Cycle 1. Session A.

BW - 216

Squat -
297.5X3 @8
260X7 @7.5
255X7, 7 @7

Close-Grip Bench - 152.5X6, 6, 6 @7

45 lb. Plate Deficit DL - 210X7, 7 @7

First session of the new block.  Some up's and down's.  Projected starting weights were based of a TM based off last block's best lifts.  TM was set around 92.5%, and on this day, everything came in closer to 90%.  However, I also had some weird fatigue on this day due to some work stuff.  So we'll see what happens on the 2nd session.

I'm also doing a bit more work on warm-ups with warm-up set reps mirroring work set reps.  For the main lifts where there is a top set followed by back-off sets with different rep schemes, I'm trying starting warm-ups with the higher rep scheme, and then dropping to the top-set rep scheme for the last few sets.  So for squats, I did sets of 7 up to 245 @~5, then did a triple with 275 @~6.  I then went to 290, but 290 was suddenly @7.5, so I went up just a bit more to get an @8 which was the target.

Likewise, Squat back-offs were a bit harder to dial-in, but I got there.

Close-grip benches went a lot smoother.

I haven't done deficit DL in a while.  We'll see how these go.

Block 2 (Accumulation). Cycle 2. Day 1.

BW- 214

Squat - 230X8, 8, 8 @~6.5

Tempo Incline Bench 2-2-0 - 107.5X5, 5, 5 @6/7

Tempo BB Row 0-2-0 - 97.5X8, 8, 8 @6/7

Everything felt pretty good on this day.  No pain issues with quads or low back.

Squats actually seemed to get easier as I went on.  If I was auto-regulating volume, I would have done another set.  I'm getting plenty of warm-up reps with: BWX10, 45X10, 135X8, 185X5, 205X3, but I may need to that if the work sets continue to feel easier as they progress.  Could try reducing reps on the last couple of sets, or conversely shifting some reps from the lighter sets to heavier sets.  Could also give longer breaks between the last couple of warm-up sets.

Tempo work all felt about right.  My ego would obviously like these weights to be heavier, and after the first sets I often think I should go up, but experience has told me that my strength falls off a cliff on upper-body movements, and by the time I get to the 2nd and 3rd sets, the weight turns out to be about right.

No video of the tempo work today.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 6. Day 1.

BW - 223

Squat - 265X25, 25, 25

Press -
125X5@7
130X5@8
137.5X5@9

Chin-Ups - BWX8, 5, 5, 5, 4 (27 total reps)

Pull-Downs - X6, 5, 5 (straight-weight; same weight as last time, but different machine)

BB Curls - ~55X12, 10

Starr Rehab Squats continue just fine.  Conditioning getting much more acclimated.  First set with no thought to stop for extra breaths.  No trouble from the adductor.

Press felt a little bit better today.  I pulled the warm-up weights down a bit.  I'd been going 45, 75, 95, 115, all X5, and I thought maybe I was getting a bit too much fatigue.  So this time I went 45, 85, 105, 115.  The 115 felt much fresher, and so did the first work set.  Enough that I felt confident finally bumping up the weight for the last set, and it still felt @9.  This is all very squishy.

Chin-ups started off feeling very strong for the first few sets, but I also hit a 15 month low in measured body weight.  Still got 1 more total rep than last time.

Pull-Downs were very hard, however I was having to use the "lesser" pull-down machine.  It's not as ideal of a bar path, and who knows how the actual resistance compares to my usual machine.

Curls were a bit stronger.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 4. Day 2.

BW - 225

Press -
130X5
135X5
125X7

Chin-Ups - BWX8, 5, 5, 5, 4

Pull-Downs - X8, 6, 5 (straight-weight, +"5 lbs." over last week)

BB Curls - 50X12, 12

Training day before a camping trip.  Decided to play around with RPE a bit (shhhhh, don't tell).  Was going to to shoot for 3 sets of 5 @ RPE 7, 8, 9.  Regular programming called for 142.5 for 3X5, so I was targeting that for my final set.  That ended up shooting me in the foot a bit.  125X5 felt a bit heavier than expected.  I jumped to 130X5 hoping for an @7, but it ended up being more of an @9.  Went up to 135, and it was just about a limit set.  Not sure what the take-away is.  Either it was a bad day, and I wouldn't have gotten the 142.5 for sets across even though I got 140X5X3 last week, or the additional volume of warm-up sets being all 5s generated enough fatigue to limit performance at higher intensity.  Probably the only real take-away is that I made a bunch of changes at once, and now I can't determine causality. 

Chin-ups went well, though.  More total reps in the same number of sets.

Upped the weight on pull-downs, and they really dropped off.  Will try that same weight next time.

Got to 12 on both sets of curls, so will up the weight next time.

Old Man Texas Method. Week 7. Intensity Day

BW - 229

Squat - 395X5*

Press - 152.5X3, 3

Deadlift - 380X3, 3

Squat reps were all high.  Every single one.  MAYBE  a couple of them were close to parallel.  Maybe.  My headspace was scattered heading into this set.  I knew I cut the first rep high, and from there I struggled to find depth.  So disappointing.  This week I'm travelling, and so will only be able to go to the gym twice.  I guess I'm going to do V.D. on Monday, and I.D. on Thursday, and go ahead and try to go to 400.  I'll try to grab someone at the gym I trust to call out my depth.  From the video, I believe the strength is there, the execution was just garbage.

Press went well.  2X3 PR.  2nd set shown.

Deadlift also went well.  The 2nd set continues to feel better than the first.  That's not a new phenomenon in Starting Strength style training at all, but I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to use warm-ups to try to get the FIRST set to feel better.  2nd set shown.

Old Man Texas Method. Week 5. Intensity Day

BW - 228

Squat - 385X5

Press - 150X3 (fail on 4), 3

Deadlift - 375X2 (fail on 3), 2, 2

385X5 is a PR on Squats.  As has been usual on Intensity Day, the late-middle warm-up sets didn't feel great, but the last single of warm-ups felt okay, and then the work set felt really good. 

That was the good news.  The rest wasn't so good.  Press felt very heavy in the late warm-ups.  I girded my loins and still went into the work set looking for 5, but failed on rep 4.  So okay.  We'll move on to 2X3 for Press on I.D.  Technically, this is a 2X3 PR.  Both sets shown.

Deadlifts were an even bigger disaster.  Based on advice I got from a Starting Strength coach on their forum, I reset my DL by 15 lbs. so that I could progress again with the preferred 1X5 -> 2X3 -> 3X2 -> 5X1 ID progression.  Well, I failed on rep 3.  However, watching the video and being honest with myself, I think I gave up on it pretty quick.  The 2nd and 3rd sets of 2 looked plenty strong and fast.  Therefore, I will go at this weight again next week.  I will either get the 5, or look for 2X3 to progress on.  1st and 3rd sets shown.

Greyskull LP. Session 9

BW - 229

Press - 137.5X5, 5, 7

Chin-Ups -
BW+20X5, 5
BWX9, 6

Squats - 345X5, 5, 5

1357.5X7 is a Rep PR on the Press.  Only needed 6 for a PR, but felt like I could strain and get the extra and I did.  Probably felt the need to do something like that because squats have been going so shitty, and I wasn't looking forward to having to do them today.

Chin-ups went pretty well.  Realized, I could start loading the warm-ups a little bit.  Did +10X2 as my last warm-up, and we'll see if that has any effect on the work sets going forward.  These weighted sets felt okay, and the BW sets felt pretty good.

Squats went a little better than previously.  I videoed every single set from the empty bar up.  Trying to make corrections all the time to keep back on my heels and get the bar path completely vertical again.  Mixed results.  The first set was hard and imperfect, but not as bad as they have been.  The 2nd set, while still imperfect form-wise, was probably the best heavy workset since before Thanksgiving.  Felt good going into the 3rd set, but shat the bed on rep #2, and barely recovered enough to get all 5.  But I feel like if the second rep had been better, I may have had enough in the tank for at least a 6th rep.  Video of 2nd and 3rd sets below.

Novice LP. Session 63 (Greyskull Squats and Press)

BW - 227

Bench -
235X3
207.5X5
212.5X4

Squat -
390X2
350X3
315X5

Chin-Ups -
BW+15X5, 5
BWX6, 5

235X3 is an all-around PR on bench.  I mis-loaded one side of the bar on my first back-off set.  Gonna go right ahead and blame that for missing the 5th rep on on the second back-off set, haha.  Top set felt pretty good.  Probably RPE 9.5.  I'll go ahead and go up again next week and see what happens with the various sets.  Final back-off set shown in the 2nd clip.

390X2 is an all-around PR on Squats.  Worked really hard on warming-up my adductors today to see if I could lessen the discomfort I've been dealing with.  I'd say it felt about 50% better.  Lots of dynamic stretches and empty-bar warm-ups.  Still, my mental game just felt a little off heading into the work sets, and nothing felt locked-in.  The 2nd rep of the top set felt pretty fucking hard, so I didn't go for a third.  First back-off set still felt off, so I also cut that short at 3.  Final back-off set was fast.  Bar path and technique generally look really good in the video despite everything.

242(BW+15)X5 is a Rep PR on chins.  These felt pretty good, and the BW back-off sets felt very strong.  Video is of 2nd weighted set.

Novice LP. Session 61 (Greyskull Squats and Press)

BW - 228

Bench -
232.5X3
210X5, 5

Squat -
385X3
345X5

Chin-Ups-
BW+15X3, 3
BWX7, 5

232.5X3 is an all around PR on bench at the heaviest weight I've ever benched.  RPE 9.5.  Back off sets felt pretty good.  2nd back-off set in video.

385 is an all around PR on squat as the heaviest weight I've ever lifted on any of the main lifts.  Felt pretty good, although the right adductor is still KILLING me on the warm-up sets.  May start doing the grizzled, old "ton of reps with the empty bar" warm-up protocol that so many vets go on about.  Needed 8 reps for a Rep PR with 345, and that was clearly NOT there.  That was surprising and frustrating.

243 (BW+15)X3 is a Rep PR on chins.  2nd set in the video.  Felt pretty good.  RPE 9, I think.  First BW set felt good, but the bottom always seems to suddenly drop out. 

LRB 365: LRB Split. Week 1. Press - Heavy

BW - 197

Press -
BarX10
65X5
85X5
95X5, 5
105X5

Bench -
95X5
105X4
125X3
135X2, 2
145X1
155X1

Upright Rows - 85X10, 10, 10, 10, 10

V-Bar Pushdowns - X35, 30, 18, 15, 12

Forgot shorts, and had to work out in jeans.  The confusion caused me to forget my mobility and stretching warm-ups until I was half-way through my Press sets.  Ha.

Press felt good.  My goal for this cycle is 125X5, or 10 more pounds a week.  That would be a PR.  Could be ambitious, but since Bench isn't getting pushed as hard, gotta shoot for assistance PRs.

Bench was fine.  155 is well below my Every Day Max, so I focused on getting tight and moving it fast.

Upright Rows were solid.  If I can hit either 105 for multiple sets of 10, or for more than 10 reps in one set by the end of the cycle, that will be a PR.  Again, that's adding 10 lbs. a week.

I want to do bench dips for my triceps assistance on this day, but there wasn't a good/free spot in the gym to set up for these, so I opted for push-downs.  However, I almost exclusively do rope push-downs, so I thought I would switch that up anyway.  Will the grip matter?  Will I be able to do bench dips next time?  Will I vacillate uncertainly between different movements every week?  Who cares.  It's triceps assistance.  Just get some work in.

LRB 365: Conditioning. Week 3b. Bench

BW - 193

Bench -
BarX15
95X5, 5
135X3, 3
155X1, 1, 1
135X8

BW Ladder Circuit -
Dips - 3 up to 15, back down to 3
Chins (neutral) - 2 up to 10, back down to 2
Push-ups - 3 up to 15, back down to 3
Hanging Leg-Raises - 3 up to 15, back down to 3

Switched some things up with  my diet.  193 is at least a 9 month low (maybe longer), but need to wait and see if it sustains over the next few weigh-ins.

Bench was all good, excepting the first set of 135X3 felt heavy for some reason.  Need to warm-up more?

This upper-body BW circuit is just significantly harder than the lower body day.  It's mostly having dips and push-ups in a circuit following benching, but leg raises are also harder than sit-ups.  Got through it with some rest/pause on push-ups in particular, but was sweating like crazy.