Tuesday, August 9, 2022

BBM PB I Block 1. Cycle 4. Session A.

sRPE @8.5
BW - 204

Squat - 
305X5 @7
290X5, 5, 5 @6/7

Press -
100X8, 8 @~7/~9
95X8 @7.5

GHR - BWX13, 13 @6.5/8

BG Split-Squats - BWX20, 20, 20 @8/9

Started getting back spasms on my last Squat warm-up.  Worked back up to a little less than the target.  All the physical and psychological strain of working through it really drove up the Session RPE.  Dragged myself through the rest of the workout.

Sunday, August 7, 2022

BBM PB I Block 1. Cycle 3. GPP Session C.

sRPE @5.5
BW - 204

Toes-to-Bar - BWX7, 7, 7, 6 @8.5/10

DB Curls - 
35sX13, 13 @8.5/10
60sX11 @10

C2 Rower - LISS; 30 minutes

On TTB, those are effectively Volume PRs at 2X7, 3X7, 4X4, 4X5, and 4X6.  I was only programmed to do 3 sets, but somehow I got it in my head that if I got 4X7 it would be a Volume PR, and I was bummed I missed it, lol. 

BBM PB I Block 1. Cycle 3. GPP Session B.

sRPE @5
BW - 206

Curls - up to 70X8 @10

Pull-Downs - X12, 10, 9, 8 @~10

Rope Extensions - X16, 13, 12 @9/10

Saturday, August 6, 2022

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

sRPE @7.5
BW - 207

Deadlift - 
375X5 @7.5
355X5, 5, 5 @7/8

Hammer Incline - 120X8, 8, 8 @8/9.5

DB Seated Press - 
45sX7 @10
35sX12, 12 @8/9

Standing Calf Raises - X17, 17, 17 @~7/8

375X5 is a 4 Rep PR, and 355 for, effectively, 4X5 is a Volume PR on Deadlift.  Top set felt great, but, RPE aside, these back-offs were heavy and hard.  Definitely felt like an "earned" Volume PR instead of "I haven't done sets of 13 in a few years, oh look a volume PR."  Also, gym is humid as hell right now.

Hammer Inclines felt heavy but also smooth?  Avg. RPE was slightly lower than with the same weight last week.

DB Press however cratered.  I assume it was a combination of general fatigue from climate and DL plus specific fatigue from the Hammer Inclines, although...why didn't that effect them this much the previous two sessions?  I dunno, but my delts were definitely feeling more fatigued heading into DB Press.  Maybe I'm just getting more efficient at targeting delts on the Hammer machine.

Thursday, August 4, 2022

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

sRPE @7
BW - 206

Bench - 
202.5X5 @7.75
190X5, 5, 5, 5 @7/8.25

SSB Squats -
210X10 @7
200X10 @7.5

1-Arm DB Rows (myo-reps) -
85X13, 5, 5, 4, 3, 3 @9
80X12, 5, 5, 4, 3, 3 @9

DB Rear Delts - 15sX14, 13, 11 @9/10

Bench felt very good today on the technique side.  Initial set-up was good for facilitating leg drive through-out (I'm pushing hard into my heels on the set up and kind of "keeping tension in my heels" from there); Eccentric was well under control, but not too slow; Concentric had an excellent bar path as I was really finding that "slidey" spot part way up where the bar travels back for a moment instead of up.  I first heard Matt Reynolds talk about that back when I used to listen to the Barbell Logic podcast.  His theory was that it allowed the elbows to open a bit more without having to work as hard against gravity.  I don't know about all that, but it also lines up with that classic bar path graphic from Thomas McLaughlin  that shows the difference between novice and elite benchers:
Two things I still need to work on: 
Un-racking to over my shoulders.  Unrack felt good until the weight got heavier, and I realized that "over my shoulders" was further back than where I was starting on my warm-ups.  The result was that my shoulder blades weren't all the way down when I reached the correct starting position, and I had to spend some effort getting them into better position.

Foot placement.  This is a weird issue because the actual issue is my foot sliding out from under me a little under load.  This is probably more of a foot-wear/gym-floor situation, but there's only so much I'm willing and/or able to do about that.  So the other option may be to try and pull my feet back a bit.

Safety Bar Squats were a bit better this week.  I had to do some extra warm-ups because of lingering DOMS from squatting after vacation.  They didn't feel great because of the DOMS, but I was able to lift more weight and at a lower RPE than my target.  This top set is supposed to be @9, and I keep undershooting it, but I also don't want to push it if everything doesn't feel great.

Two sets of myo-reps on 1-arm DB rows really, really sucks.


Wednesday, August 3, 2022

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

sRPE @6
BW - 204

Chins - BWX4, 4, 4, 4 @~8

DB Rolling Triceps - 40sX13, 13, 13 @~8

Hanging Leg Raise - BWX8, 8, 8 @7.5/9.5

Airdyne Bike - LISS; 30 minutes

First regular GPP session after a couple weeks of schedule disruption.  Everything was fine if creaky.

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

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.