Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 9. Day 2.

BW - 225.7

Squat - 285, 295, 305X10

Press - 130X5, 5, 5

Pull-Ups - BWX3, 2, 2

RDL - 275X5, 5

Pull-Downs (supinated) - X10, 8, 7 (straight-weight; +~5lbs. from last session)

Hammer Curls -
40sX5
30sX12, 10

Starr Rehab Squats felt much better today.  305X10 is actually a Rep PR.  Probably going to go ahead and drop down to 8's for the next 1-3 sessions.  Didn't get the same painful low-back pump as the other times I switched, but we're starting to get into range of pre-injury workset weights.  It seems better to kind of "glide" up into 5's, making sure form is consistent rather than grind myself down chasing higher rep sets.  Last set shown.

RPE experiment on Press is over.  Maybe with additional guidance, or more time, I would have found my way into making it productive, but I was sick of each workout with the same weight feeling harder than the one before it, so I'm going back to more traditional SS programming.  I may still stall out this round, but at least I'll have a clearer idea of how to proceed.  Last set shown.

Pull-Ups were fine.  Hadn't done them in about 10 days due to travel, etc.  Left a rep in the tank on every set.

I brought my straps in today for RDLs.  So much easier to execute this way.  Really focused on: 1) bar stays in contact with leg, 2) bard drops because butt moves backwards, and 3) shoulders back hard at the top to contract the lats.  Two sets of 5 and my lats were burning after the first set this way. 

Upped weight on pull-downs with now predictable results.  Will stay here until I get 3X10+.

Dropped the top-set reps on Hammer Curls and that left more in the tank for the back-off sets.  We'll see what happens when I up the weight next time.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 9. Day 1.

BW - 229

Squat - 255, 265, 275X10

Bench - 245X1(0), 1, 1, 1, 1

RDL - 255X5, 5

Was out of town for a few days, so I backed up 10 lbs. on the Starr Rehab squats.  Went ahead and backed reps off to 10 as previously planned.  These were okay, but my adductor was kind of cranky throughout, and has been giving me discomfort ever since.  We'll see how it goes next time.  Finale set shown.

I was looking for doubles with 245.  I failed on my first attempt.  The first rep of the second set made it clear that doubles weren't happening, so I proceeded to complete 5 singles.  Will continue with 5 singles adding only 2.5 lbs. per jump until I can't get 5.  1st, 2nd, and final set shown.

Was training on an off-day and plan to come in two days in a row to get back on track.  So I didn't do any Chins or chin accessories.  I will do just those and Starr Rehab squats today.

Because the adductor was cranky and because of the lay-off, I was conservative with the RDLs and backed off 20 lbs.  If the adductor feels okay next time, I will jump back to the previous weight of 275.  If it then continues to feel okay, I may start pulling from the floor again.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 8. Day 2.

BW - 227

Squat - 235, 245, 255X15

Press -
120X5@7
135X3@7
155X2@9
165X1@10

Chin-Ups - BWX4, 3, 3, 3, 2

RDL - 275X5, 5

Pull-Downs - X12, 8, 6 (straight-weight; same weight as last session)

BB Curls - ~60X10, 9

Starr Rehab Squats continue.  Adductor was bugging me a bit during the first set, but not the others.  Weight has gotten heavy enough now, though, that low-back pump and conditioning are making it very difficult to complete all reps with good form.  Gonna drop on down to 10 reps per set. Last set shown.

Went into this session with a lot more intel on using RPE in the BBM way (gleaned from some YouTube videos by Alan Thrall).  Using the RPE chart, I was dropping the weight on the first and 2nd sets, and the third set would project to be around where it's been.  120X5 was supposed to be @6, but it felt much heavier than expected and was @7.  Based on my understanding of the BBM approach to RPE, I should have stayed there at the next set.  However, Press has been pretty demoralizing the last few weeks, and no progress has really been apparent.  The prospect of reducing average intensity again was a real bummer.  I'm about to go out of town to attend to some family issues, and really didn't want to leave it on this note, knowing I wouldn't be training again for several days.  So instead I just maxed out.  165X1 is a Rep PR.  That was nice to hit.  Some might say that indicates progress, but frankly 165 has been right around my projected max for a while.  Anyway. 

Chin-Ups were okay at the new, stricter, double-paused, chest to bar execution.  1 less rep than last time, though.  Whatever.  Press PR.

RDL felt pretty strong.  Grip seems to be the limiting factor right now.  May just pack straps next time.

Got a couple more total reps on pull-downs with the same weight as last time.

Curl strength was about the same.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 8. Day 1.

BW - 230

Squat - 205, 215, 225X15

Bench - 240X3, 2, 2

Pull-Ups - BWX3, 2, 2 (7 total reps)

RDL - 265X5, 5

Pull-Downs (supinated) - X12, 10, 10 (straight-weight; same weight as last time)

Hammer Curls -
40sX7
30sX10, 8

Starr Rehab Squats feeling good.  Almost no adductor discomfort on this day.  Added a belt back in for the final set.

240X3 is a Rep PR on bench.  Failed on the 3rd rep on the other two sets.  Everything felt pretty good.  Just at the upper limits of my strength where execution has to be absolutely perfect.  For instance, on the 2nd set, the 3rd rep touched too high, and that was enough to throw everything off.  All 3 sets shown.

Similar to chins, I reset my pull-ups to a stricter approach.  Full hang at the bottom, and trying to touch chest at the top.  Couldn't touch, but did pause all reps.

RDLs felt very strong today.  No racks available so had to pull from the floor, but no adductor twinges.

Got all my reps on pull-downs and so can up the weight on those next time.

Curl strength seems to have rebounded or improved slightly.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 7. Day 3.

BW - 227

Squats - 175, 185, 195X15

Press -
125X5
132.5X5
137.5X5

Chin-Ups - BWX4, 3, 3, 3, 3 (16 total reps)

RDL - 255X5, 5

Pull-Downs - X10, 8, 6 (straight-weight; +~5 lbs. from last time)

BB Curls - ~60X11, 8

Dropped Starr Rehab reps down to 15.  Much better.  Adductor feeling a bit better over the weekend as well.

Dunno about all this RPE business.  Part of it is trying to notate it when the system that's worked so well for me for years is an app that doesn't have a convenient way to input set-by-set notes.  If I had to say, these sets went @7, @9, @9.5.

Reset my form again on chins.  Re-dedicating myself to a paused hang at the start and the bottom of each rep and trying to bring my chest to the bar at the top of each.  Probably need to grab some video of it.  I think it was more "elbows to lats" than "chest to bar."

RDLs felt okay.  Probably most challenging grip-wise with the continuous tension.

Upped weight on pull-downs and they went pretty well.

Added a rep on curls.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 7. Day 2.

BW - 224

Squats - 145, 155, 165X25

Bench - 235X3, 3, 3

Pull-Ups - BWX7, 4, 3 (14 total reps)

RDL - 245X5, 5

Pull-Downs (supinated) X10, 10, 8 (straight-weight; +~5 lbs. from last time)

Hammer Curls -
40sX5
30sX8, 8

Starr Rehab squats continue for the adductor.  These are now at the point where they are giving me a very intense low back pump that's making completing sets with perfect form very difficult.  Believe I will go ahead and drop to sets of 15 for a few sessions. Adductor still only feels "okay."

235X3 ties my previous 3 rep PR on bench, and I got it for 3 sets, so that's nice.  1st reps were strong on all sets.  Last reps on set two and three were "have to do everything right" reps. 

Pull-Ups were just okay.

RDLs were fine.  Tried to go double-overhand, but bar was starting to slip on the first set, and so I had to go mixed grip for the 2nd set.  I took these out of the rack instead off of the floor.  Not sure which I like better.  Out of the rack is easier on the sore adductor, but is awkward walking in and out.

Upped weight on pull-downs and the sets went pretty well.  Will try this weight again next time and see if I can get 10+ on all three sets.

Hammer Curls have dropped off a cliff the last few sessions.  Reps are literally going down every session.  So when I could only get 5 reps on the first set this time, I resolved to back off and add a set.  We'll try that again next time.  I'm sure this is mostly due to additional fatigue being present earlier in the session: 1) specific fatigue from the increase in pull-up volume and pull-down intensity, and 2) general fatigue from the Starr Rehab squats and addition of the RDLs.

Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 7. Day 1.

BW - 227

Squats - 115, 125, 135X25

Press -
125X5@7
132.5X5@9
135X5@8

Chin-Ups - BWX8, 5, 4, 4, 4 (25 total reps)

RDL - 235X5, 5

Pull-Downs - X10, 10, 10 (straight-weight; same weight as previous)

BB Curls - ~60X10, 8

Starr Rehab squats continue, and I continue to not feel much of a change.  Staying the course.

Press was strange today.  The set with 135 felt much better than the set with 132.5.  Just one of those things, I guess.

First set of chins felt good.  I actually got my nose above the bar for a 9th rep, but couldn't get my chin over.  Strength dropped off from there.

RDLs felt okay. 

Pull-Downs were stronger.  Finally got 3X10 with the same weight I'd used for the last 3 session without clearing 8.  Some of that is surely breaking vertical pulls up with RDL.

Also, solid curls even though I upped the weight.