Son of a Bench Week 11. Day B.

sRPE @7

BW - 226

Bench - 190X1, 1 @~6

Squat - 

-    up to 330X1 @8.5

-    275X5 @7.5

Machine Flyes - X11, 8 @~9

super-set with

DB Curls - 35sX8, 7 @~10

Floor DB Rolling Extensions - 40sX10, 9, 7 @9/10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X14, 12 @~10

Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds

Life stress is running high, but this session was ok.

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 7. Day B.

sRPE @6

BW - 224

Bench - 185X1, 1 @6.5

Machine Knee Raise - X11, 11 @10

Machine Flyes - X11, 9 @10

super-set with

DB Curls - 35sX8, 6 @10

Pushdowns - X17, 12 @10

super-set with

Machine SL Calf Press - X12, 10 @10

Rower - HIIT, 5 rounds

Just got in and got some work in between weeks off.

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 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 1. Day B.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 224

Bench - 190X3, 3 @~7

Machine Flyes - X8, 8 @7.5

Squat - up to 315X1 @7

ATG Pause Squats - 225X5 @6.5

super-set with

DB Curls - 35sX8, 8 @7/8

Floor DB Rolling Triceps - 40sX8, 8 @7.5/8

super-set with

SL Machine Calf Press - X9, 9 @~9

Rower - HIIT; 10 minutes

Bench and Squats both felt good today, although all the super-setting anything with Squats always feels extra hard.  I'll try it out for a few more weeks and see if I acclimate.

Reload Day

sRPE @6.5

BW - 227

ATG Pause Squat - 225X3 @6

MG Cambered Bench - 155X3 @7

SLDL - 275X3 @6.5

Chin-Ups - BW+25X3 @10

Hanging Flexed Knee-to-Chest - BWX3 @6.5

DB OH Extensions - 55X10 @10

DB Curls - 40sX9 @10

Holiday week got away from me and so I didn't train for over a week.  Swept into the gym yesterday and just hit a little bit of everything so that I can start my new training block on Monday not completely de-trained. 

Chins, Adductors, Pecs, Biceps

sRPE @6.5

BW - 223

Chins - BWX6, 5, 4, 3 @10

Adductor Machine - X20, 20, 18 @6/8

Machine Flyes - X11, 10, 8, 7 @10

super-set with

DB Curls - 30sX12, 9, 8, 7 @10

Not the performance I was hoping for out of the gate on Chins.  We'll see how the rest of this wave goes, and then I've got one more idea for a "Total War, Brother" approach to Chins, and then I may retire this lift from my regular goals.  Frustrating because my lats, etc. have noticeably hypertrophied over the last year+, but performance on this movement never really improves.

Adductor Machine performance weirdly surged on this day.  So that's...a win?

Cambered Bench, Hack Squats, Curls

sRPE @7

BW - 222

Cambered Bench - 

-    up to 205X1 @8.5

-    155X6, 6, 6 @6.5/8

Hack Squats - 25psX10, 10, 10 @~7

DB Curls - 25sX12, 10 @9.5

DB Incline Curls - 20sX10, 8 @10

Singles on Cambered Bench felt good, but difficulty ramped up precipitously on the back-off sets.  

Adductors and Glutes were still pretty sore from SSB on Monday, so I just threw a little weight on the Hack Squat and tried to get some blood in there.  Each set felt better than the last, but I didn't feel the need to push weight.

Upper Push, Leg Press, Curls

sRPE @8

BW - 225

Cambered Bench - 

175X1 @7.5

195X1 @8.5

210X1(PR) @9

225X1(PR) @10

185X4(PR) @10

Machine Flyes - X20, 15, 10 @~10

super-set with

Machine OH JM Press - X20, 15, 10 @8/9

Leg Press - 3ppsX12, 8, 9 @8/9

Seated DB Curls - 25sX12, 10, 9 @8.5/10

Thought I was gonna just chip my previous 205 PR with 210, but got a spot from Nick and 210 felt smooth.  Went YOLO for 2 plates and ground out a slow-ass PR.  Debated skipping the 4 Rep PR attempt, but I was till feeling fresh so I went for it.  Cambered Bench is obviously "weaker" than my competition Bench.  My last comp bench was 205 @8 so feeling good about where that might be sitting right now.

Definitely felt like something low stress was in order after all that so hit some Pec/Triceps supersets. 

Fatigue caught up to me heading into Leg Press and DB Curls. 

Upper Push and Quads

sRPE @7

BW - 219

Bench - up to 205X1 @8

Single-Ply Bench - up to 245X1 @9.5

Dips - BWX8, 7, 6 @8.5/9

DB Curls - 25sX12, 10, 8 @8/9

super-set with

Roman Chair Squats - BWX11, 10, 8 @8.5/9

Posterior Chain was still very sore from the last "instinctual" training session.  So I focused on Pressing movements and a quad-heavy lower body movement.

Only the 2nd time I've ever broken out the bench shirt.  Was a lot trickier than I remembered.  Had to add a belt to hold it in place so that the tensest part stayed on my sternum instead of sliding up towards my collar bones.  Even so, I still had some technical challenges in the assisted portion of the lift.  On the 225 rep, it actually tried to windmill coming off my chest and I had to pull it back into position.

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 A.

sRPE @7

BW - 224

Squats - 

up to 295X1 @6

275 (80%)X3, 3 @6

Plate Deficit DL - 300(74% of DL)X2, 2, 2 @~5.5

Copenhagen Planks - BWX10, 10, 10 (each side) @7/8

DB Curls - 25sX10, 10, 10 @7/8

super-set with

High Incline Leg/Hip Raises - BWX5, 5, 3 @8/10

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 10 minutes

Using a mix of RPE targets and %'s this block on the strength movements.  Assistance movements generally approaching failure.  Autoregulating volume across the board to try and walk out of the gym feeling fresh-to-fine.

I called an audible and added in the Leg/Hip raises.  I feel like since I've not been doing the Toes-to-Bar, I'm feeling more hip extensor discomfort following Squat workouts.  However, this super-set also increased sRPE for the day.  

Still tempted to take this approach on lower focus day of cutting Biceps volume and super-setting in hip extensor work.  Just have to play it by ear.

3 Day FB Hypertrophy. Cycle 4. Session B.

sRPE @9

BW - 222

Bench - 175X3, 3, 3 @~5.5

031 Tempo Work:

-    DB Seated Press - 

    -    50sX7 @10

    -    45sX8 @10

-    RDL w/Straps - 160X10, 10, 10, 10, 10 @7/8.5

-    DB Curls - 

    -    20sX10 @6

    -    25sX10, 10, 10, 10 @7.5/10

Rower - HIIT; 10 minutes

Was purt'near out of gas by the fourth set of RDL.  Really had to drag myself through the rest of the workout.

3 Day FB Hypertrophy. Cycle 3. Session B.

sRPE @8.5

BW - 222

Bench - 170X3, 3, 3 @4.5/5.5

031 Tempo Work w/ Intensity Techniques:

-    DB Press w/ Long ROM Drop Sets -

    -    40sX15/2 @10

    -    45sX8/1 @10

-    RDL (belt and straps) w/ Rest-Pause - 160X12/6, 12/5 @9.5/10

-    DB Curls w/ Long ROM Drop Sets - 25sX11/3, 10/3 @10

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 10 minutes

3 Day FB Hypertrophy. Cycle 2. Session B.

sRPE @7.5

BW - 221

Bench - 170X3, 3, 3 @5/6

031 Tempo Work:

- DB Seated Press - 40sX9, 9 @~9

- RDL w/Straps - 160X9, 9, 9, 9, 9 @8/9.5

- DB Curls - 25sX9, 9, 9, 9, 9 @8.5/9.5

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 10 minutes

Feeling shaky and woozy after the last couple of sets of RDL, and a little bit on curls, too.  Maintaining the slow tempo that close to failure is a whole other thing.

3 Day Full-Body Hypertrophy. Week 1. Session B.

sRPE @6

BW - 218

Bench - 165X3, 3, 3 @~5

031 Tempo Work:

DB Seated Press - 40sX8, 8 @8/9

RDL w/straps - 165X8, 8 @~8

DB Curls - 25sX8, 8 @7.5/9.5

Body is definitely feeling the shift from strength-focused work to hypertrophy-focused work.  The DOMS isn't bad, but it's very noticeable and it's head-to-toe.

Low-Rep Volume PRs. Week 2. Session B.

sRPE @7

BW - 221

Chins - BWX2, 2 @~8

Cable Rows w/end-ROM drop-sets - X16/4, 14/4 @~10

BB Curls - 50X12 @6

DB Curls w/end-ROM drop-sets - 25sX10/4, 11/4 @~10

DB Rolling Triceps (021 tempo) - 40sX10, 10 @9/10

Think I've been training like this a bit too long.  Feeling a bit burnt out on it.  Might just scrap this and do something fairly different for a while.

Higher-Rep Volume PRs. Week 6. Session B.

sRPE @7

BW - 218

Chin-Ups - BWX6 @9.5

Hanging Reverse Shrugs - up to BW+45X9 @10

DB Curls - 

45sX6 @9.5

40sX8, 8 @8/10

35sX10 @9.5

BW Skullcrushers - BWX14, 12 @9

More pivot-ish action.

I've noticed that initiating the pull on chins from a dead hang has felt weak and uncomfortable so today I fucked around with weighted reverse shrugs just to see what they feel like.  On one hand, they feel kind of silly to do, on the other hand...[shrugs]

Swapped out for DBs on curls for one week before going back to straight-bar next week.

Did the BW Skulls in the Smith Machine.  Angle was a little lower and so couldn't get as many reps.

PIVOT. Session B.

sRPE @6

BW - 215

Pull-Downs - X8, 8, 8, 8 @7.5/9.5

DB Curls - 35sX12, 10, 10 @7.5/9

DB Seated Press - 40sX12, 10 @7/8

Rower - HIIT; 6 rounds / 10 minutes