RTS Block 6. Week 4. Day 2.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 227

Spoto Bench - 

-    180X3 @5.5

-    190X3 @7

-    202.5X3 @7.5

BFE BSS - BW+57lb ChainsX9 @8

Low Bar PBN -

-    65X6 @8

-    55X8, 8 @6.5/8

Pulldowns - X17, 12, 8 @10

CS Rows - 120X13, 9, 9 @~10

Face Pulls - X13, 10, 8 @10

Spotos were feeling great, but I stayed conservative rather than go for a PR.  Don't want to sap my chance to make a bigger jump on Comp Bench on Friday.

Moved the grip out on LB PBN until I was able to return each rep to a low bar position.  Thinking about trying to gradually move grip in vs. trying to gradually move reps lower with normal Squat grip.

RTS Block 6. Week 3. Day 2.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 227

Spoto Bench - 

-    180X3 @6.5

-    190X3 @7

-    200X3 @8

Bulgarian Split Squats - +35lb. ChainX11 @7

Low Bar PBN -

-    85X1 @7

-    95X1 @9

-    100X1 @10

Pulldowns - X14, 11, 11 @10

CS Rows - 120X12, 10, 9 @10

Face Pulls - X12, 11, 9 @10

Technique feeling very dialed-in on Spotos, and may attempt a 3 rep PR next week if warm-ups feeling good.

Moved BSS to this day because I had a lot of quad discomfort on last Friday's Pause Squats after having 3 days off from any Squat movement. 

Tried going as heavy as possible on the low bar PBN to see if that helped the bar return to the low bar position after the Press, but it didn't.  Currently, I can start the movement in low bar position, but can't return any lower than the top of the traps.  The point of this movement is to increase my shoulder mobility slightly to see if it lessens elbow pain with heavier weights on Squats.  Probably we'll just roll with in the way it is and see if it improves over time, or possibly abandon in favor of something else.  TBD.

RTS Block 6. Week 2. Day 2.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 225

Spoto Bench - 

-    175X3 @6

-    185X3 @7

-    192.5X3 @7.5

Low Bar PBN -

-    65X8 @5

-    67.5@8 @6.5

-    70X8 @7.5

Pulldowns - X17, 14, 12 @10

CS Rows - 120X12, 10, 9 @10

Face Pulls - X11, 10, 10 @10

Mis-loaded the top set on Spot with a 2.5 and a 5 on either side.  Meant to load 195.  

RTS Block 6. Week 1. Day 2.

sRPE @6

BW - 225

Spoto Bench - 

-    175X3 @6.5

-    180X3 @7

-    185X3 @8

PBN - 

-    65X8 @5.5

-    67.5X8 @6

-    70X8 @7.5

Pulldowns - X15, 13, 11 @10

CS Rows - 115X13, 10, 9 @10

Face Pulls - X12, 12, 10 @10

RTS Block 5. Week 3. Day 2.

sRPE @7

BW - 224

Squats - 395X1 @8

Marrs Bar Squat - 

-    315X6 @7

-    305X4, 4 @5

Spoto Bench - 

-    195X2 @6.5

-    200X2 @7

-    205X2 @7.5

-    210X2(PR) @8

Low Bar PBN -

-    75X8 @8

-    65X8 @5

-    67.5X8 @6

CS Rows (pronated) -

-    115X13, 10 @10

-    90X11 @10

Pull-Downs - X14, 12, 10 @10

Squat stability wasn't quite there to meet or beat last weeks 405.  Hopefully we'll get a little bounce-back for next week's mock meet.

Spoto Bench came together in the last couple of sets for a modest PR there.

Finally finding the right weight for the "low bar" PBN.

RTS Block 5. Week 2. Day 2.

sRPE @7

BW - 228

Squat - 405X1 @7.5

Marrs Bar Squat - 

-    315X4 @6

-    300X4, 4 @5.5

Spoto Bench - 

-    190X2 @6

-    195X2 @7

-    200X2 @7.5

-    205X2 @8

PBN - 

-    65X8 @6

-    75X8 @7.5

-    80X8 @8

CS Rows -

-    120X12 @10

-    115X10 @10

-    90X11 @10

Pulldowns - X13, 12, 10 @10

8 years since I last squatted 4 plates.  Feeling good.

RTS Block 5. Week 1. Day 2.

sRPE @7

BW - 227

Squat - 400X1 @8

Marrs Bar Squat - 

-    310X4 @6

-    295X4, 4 @5

Spoto Bench - 

-    185X2 @6

-    190X2 @7

-    197.5X2 @7.5

-    205X2 @8.5

PBN - 

-    75X8, 8 @6

-    80X8 @7.5

CS Rows - 115X14, 11, 10 @~10

Pull-Downs - X9, 11, 10 @10

First time squatting 400+ since late May 2018.

Transmutation to Accumulation Pivot Day 2.

BW - 218

Pause Low Bar Squat -
275X2 @7
285X2 @8

Belt Squat - 135X8, 8 @8.5

Standing PBN - 95X3 @8

Bench-Grip Press (dead-stop on chest) - 95X5, 5 @8

Bench-Grip Deadlift -
245X8, 8 @~7.5
255X7 @8.5

Rope Cable Curls - X9, 8 (straight-weight)

More improved pivot work.  Broke a little further out of the mold on this day by using no comp. movements.  Also didn't bother getting video of anything but the BGDL.  Wish I'd gotten video of the BG Press, though.  Those felt good.

Squatting still difficult because of quad pain.  A little better on belt squat, but obviously much lower intensity.

I used to do a fair amount of PBN, but I tried doing these as dead stops on my traps, and they felt like crap.  May try them again in the future with a floating rack above the shoulders.

A year or so ago, one of the strongest guys in the gym had mentioned that he got more carryover from the press to his bench if he moved the grip out and allowed the bar to sit fully on his chest.  I've had that in the back of my mind ever since.  I rolled it out today, and once I found a good grip position they felt great.  Feels very stable, especially with a belt on.  The lift kind of starts with the hips pushed forward already to allow the bar to sit on the chest.  This makes it virtually impossible to use hip drive, and thus makes the movement much "stricter."

Decided to do a wider grip DL and only use double-overhand.  SGDL has always made me a bit nervous as far as technique breakdown under fatigue, but bench-grip has always felt comfortable to me.  Decided to do this of high single-digit reps.  The capped it with some rando-curls.

Overheads

BW - 213

Press -
BarX15
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X1
105X14, 5

DB Bench -
50sX15
55sX14

DB Curls - 30sX12, 12, 10, 10, 8
super-set with
Bench Dips - BWX20, 20, 20, 20, 20

105X14 is a good sized, all-around PR.  My previous best standing with this weight was 105X10.  Last month I did this seated, but I find seated pressing to be slightly easier because the first rep starts at the top instead of the bottom, and I'll often hit a weight/reps PR seated before I hit it standing.  On to 115 for reps next week.

This all also seems to show that the standing front press isn't particularly magical for me.  Before this session, I'd done this lift exactly six times since December '13, and hadn't used more than 85 lbs. any of those times.  But with lots of Inclines and a fair amount of PBN, I can come in and set a big PR on the Press, and even have my Bench be in good shape after a year away because of the shoulder injury.

Anyway, my shoulders were on fire after the Press PR.  I went to do a 3rd set of DB Bench, and my shoulders said, 'Nope.'  No pain, just no oomph.

Had enough oomph for Bench Dips, though, and 5X20 gave me zero pain.  I'll talk to my P.T. this week about what's next.  Hoping I get cleared to start doing full dips again, but maybe he'll want to wait and see how the shoulder handles some heavier weight on flat bench or something first.

Overheads

BW - 214

Seated PBN -
BarX21
65X5
75X5
85X12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12
super-set with
Machine Reverse Flyes - X12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Slow Rack Pulls at the knee - 135X5, 5, 5, 5

Upped the weight on both PBN and Flyes this week, and still got 12 reps on all sets.  Two weeks ago, I fell 3 sets short of that with 75.  Progress.

I'm really surprised, but these really light and slow rack pulls leave my hamstrings really sore the next days.  I know, I know, DOMS does not equal Hypertrophy, yada-yada.  Just surprising.

Overheads, and Bench test

BW - 212

Standing PBN -
BarX15
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
95X15, 6

CG Bench -
BarX25
95X5
115X4
135X15, 7, 7
super-set with
Face-Pulls - X15, 15, 12, 12, 12, 12

Physical Therapist cleared me to start testing my shoulder on flat bench.  For safety's sake, I'm going to move forward with Close-Grip only, and may stop making the distinction in the log.

Still, the day was originally programmed for PBN, so I went ahead and started with that.  About the same as last week, but a couple fewer reps on the back-off set.  No big deal.

Bench was fine with no pain.  First time doing BB Flat Bench in a full year, and strength is good here.  My previous best was 135X17, so being only 2 reps off of that with all the fatigue from PBN shows that a lot of the work I've been doing, Inclines, overheads, etc., has maintained a good base.  Won't be surprised if my bench is actually stronger than before once I get technique locked back in.

Speaking of which, I forgot what a fucking chore setting up for flat bench is, hahahaah!  Because of all the Incline work, I seem to have naturally drifted from a feet under set-up to a feet wide-and-away set-up.  Feels pretty good, and I seem to be able to keep more tension in my legs throughout AND my butt doesn't seem to want to shoot off the bench nearly as much.  All in all, a promising start.

Overheads

BW - 210

Standing PBN -
BarX15
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
95X15, 8

Face-Pulls - X15, 15, 15, 12, 12, 12

Good session.  Only one day removed from doing some PBN and rear delt volume, I was able to come in and lift right at previous PR levels.  95X15 is only one rep off matching previous bests for both regular Press and PBN.

Overheads

BW - 213

Seated PBN -
BarX20
65X12
75X12, 11, 12, 12, 10, 10

super-set with

Reverse Pec Deck -
Warm-up - X20, 12
Work-Sets - X12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 10 (straight-weight)

Rear delts were screaming by half way through this, and obviously I wasn't able to handle much weight on the sets of 12 on PBN, but it was a pretty good session anyway.

Overheads

BW - 210

Standing PBN -
BarX12
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X1
95X12, 7

Face-Pulls - X20, 15, 12, 12, 13, 12

First time doing "standing" anything since my back injury.  All the seated OHP benches were taken, and I felt good enough, and the weight is light enough, that I decided to give it a tray.  No low-back problems, but my abs were fried after the 95X12 set.

Vacation Prep. Week 6. Press

BW - 210

PBN -
BarX16
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
95X16, 7

Upright Rows - 95X10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Hmmmm.  Well, 95X16 matches exactly the all-around PR I set in early December.  I also felt generally strong today, as I was able to up the volume on Upright Rows as well.  I really want to push the PBN up to 95X20+, but I have to keep telling myself that vacation is just a couple weeks away, and that driving towards bigger goals can wait for March.

Vacation Prep. Week 4. Press

BW - 206

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
95X14, 7

Upright Rows - 95X10, 10, 8, 8, 8

Treadmill - 25 minutes; incline walking

Been a long time since I've done upright rows.  I liked this session.  Short and to the point.  I hit the shoulders hard, but was able to balance out elbow extension and flexion this way.

Vacation Prep. Week 2. Press

BW - 203

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
135X1
95X14, 8

Chins - BWX12, 9, 5, 5, 4

DB Curls - 35sX12, 10, 8
super-set with
Overhead Extensions - 40ishX20, 18, 15

Walking - 30ish minutes; outdoors!

135X1 is a Rep PR.  It was a real 50/50 grinder, too.  I wish that hadn't been the case.  We'll just have to see how it goes in future weeks.

Vacation Prep. Week 1. Press

BW - 209

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
125X4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1

Chin-ups - BWX10, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4 (38 total reps)

DB Curls - 30sX18, 12, 11
super-set with
Overhead Extensions - 50ishX25, 15, 12

Treadmill - 30 minutes; incline walking

125X4 is a Rep PR.  Together with 14 total reps, that takes me to the end of a full cycle of PBN.  I'll start over next week working up to 135 as my over warm-up and then repping out lower weights again.

Everything else was fine.

Reps and Volume. Week 14. Accessories

BW - 209

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X7, 4, 3, 1
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX10, 8, 6, 5, 6 (35 total)

DB Rows - 70sX20, 12

Machine Pullovers - X12 (upped the weight)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX15, 10
super-set with
DB Press - 45sX15, 10

DB Curls - 30sX12, 13
super-set with
Rolling Triceps - 30sX15, 12

Incline Treadmill - 15 minutes; walking

Mixed session.  115X7 is a Rep PR, and combined with 15 total reps meets my goal for this weight.  Moving up next week.

Everything else was a mix of slightly better, about the same, or slightly worse.  Weirdly, my biceps curling strength seems to be regressing.  May need to just try switching out some movements for a while.  I've been doing those same two types of curls, in the same order, on Saturdays for about 20 weeks straight.

Reps and Volume. Week 12. Accessories

BW - 209

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X3
95X2
115X1
95X16, 8
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX12, 6, 7, 5, 5 (35 total)
and
CG Pull-Downs - X16, 15 (straight-weight)

Machine Pullovers - X15 (burn-out set)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX16, 13
super-set with
DB Press - 40sX16, 14

DB Curls - 30sX18, 12
super-set with
DB Rolling Triceps - 30sX18, 12

BB Curls - 50ishX15 (burn-out set)

Standing Calves - X12, 15, 12
super-set with
Seated Calves - 90X15, 15, 15

Incline Treadmill - 20 minutes; walking

Whew, that looks like a lot.  With the super-setting, it didn't take much time, though.  And a lot of those movements only had 2-3 sets so it's not THAT much stuff.

If you actually add it up, that's 9 sets of Pressing, 8 sets of Lats, 5 sets of biceps, 2 of triceps, then 84 non-stop reps of calves.  Compare that to my last full Squat day, where I did 18 sets of squats, 3 sets of quads, and 2 of hams/glutes.  That's 25 sets vs. 23 sets.  This is a day to fill in little gaps and therefore just has more variety instead of being focused on building one specific movement.

95X16 is an all-around PR for all OHP.  Together with the total volume goal of 18+ means moving up to 105 next week.

For the calf work I'm adding in to try and take advantage of BW gains, I did these super-sets completely non-stop just going from one machine to the other.  This hurt like hell, but combined with the high-incline walking immediately afterwards, my calves finally got sore for a few days.  So this will be something I stick with.