Sumo DL, Upper Back, Hips

sRPE @9

BW - 223

Sumo DL - 

-    up to 385X1(PR) @9.5

-    w/ Straps 315X6, 6, 4 @7/10*

Upper Back Attack - 

-    Inverted Rear Deal Rows - BWX12, 12 @~10

-    Inverted Rows - BWX12, 10 @~9

-    Inverted Scapula Shrugs - BWX12, 11 @10

Big Hipper Supersets -

-    VKR Bent Knee Raise - X11, 10, 10 @10

-    Glute Hypers - X12, 10, 10 @9/10

-    Adductor Machine - X14, 12, 9 @10

Pushdowns - X14, 12, 9 @~10

365 moved so well that I thought I would get 405, but still got a PR.  *I had a back spasm on the 3rd back-off set so I cut it there.  No lingering pain from that.

Similar to the Seal Row, the Inverted Row feels ok on Rear Delt and regular rows, but on the Scap Retractions I'm really missing the ability to take my thoracic spine through a good ROM.  I think CS and Cable Rows are just superior in this regard.  I might try this with 1-arm DB rows if I'm feeling really good one day and have plenty of time.

Discovered I could basically due a full concentric rep on hypers just by contracting my glutes.  Fun!  I then tried contracting my glutes on the concentric, but then relaxing them at the top and letting my erectors handle the eccentric.  Kind of a lot to focus on, but ok.

ME Lower Team Training

sRPE @8.5

Reverse Safety Bar Box Squats - up to 290@8.5

Sumo Rack Pulls w/Straps - up to 405X1 @8.5

Inverted Rows - BWX14, 14, 12 @8.5/9

GHR Sit-Ups - BWX14, 10, 10 @~8

Standing Cable Abs - some

Belt Squat March - 1:20@9.5

Belt Squat Static Holds - 

Full Dept X0:30 @9.5

Half Depth X0:30 @9.5

Awful.  Awfully fun!  Training with the conjugate crew.

Block 15. Cycle 6. Session B.

BW - 220

sRPE @ 8

Press -

140X1 @8.25

112.5X6, 6 @7/7.5

110X6, 6 @7

Deadlift - 387.5X1 @7.25

Sumo w/Straps - 342.5X5, 5, 5 @6/7

DB Curls - 80X8, 11 @8/10

Rope Curls - X8, 12 (straight-weight) @7.5/10

342.5X5 is a Rep PR on Sumo DL.

Block 15. Cycle 5. Session B.

BW - 218

sRPE @ 8

Press - 

137.5X1 @8

110X6, 6, 6, 6 @7

Deadlift - 395X1 @8

Sumo w/Straps - 337.5X5, 5, 5 @6

DB Curls - 37.5sX8, 11 @7.5/10

Rope Curls - X10, 14 (straight-weight) @8/10

110 for 4X6 is a Volume PR on Press.  Top single finally popped above the block baseline as well.  I set a 12 mo. PR at the end of the last block, and I'm within distance to maybe top that in the last couple of cycles of this block.  Still some good distance to go to get into Lifetime PR territory, but current BW is ~10-15 lbs. lighter than when I set some of those lifetime, low rep PRs.

Deadlift is stagnant-to-regressing a bit.  Not too worried about it.

337.5 is a Rep PR on strapped Sumo, and got if for 3 sub-max sets.  I tweaked my back in the middle of the first set, but was able to complete the set, and still do the others.  One of the reasons I rated sRPE a bit higher than target.

One quick note on RPE disparities apparent in something like the Rope Curls.  You might look at 10@ 8 followed-by 14@10 and say "well, you're clearly overestimating RPE on your sub-max sets."  Maybe, maybe not.  First, I'm not THAT worried about being off by 1 or 2 on RPE because over time I'm confident that it will wash out.  Second, there's a difference in approach on a low fatigue movement like rope curls.  The first set is more non-stop until I hit my RPE target.  Knowing that I want to take that last set to absolute failure, I take more min-breaks along the way, and so I'm "fresher" for the final reps.

Block 15. Cycle 4. Session B.

BW - 217

sRPE @ 7.5 (Humid AF)

Press - 

132.5X1 @8

105X6, 6, 6, 6 @~6

Deadlift - 395X1 @7.25

Sumo w/Straps - 335X5, 5, 5 @6

DB Curls - 37.5sX8, 13 @8/10

Rope Hammer Curls - X11/13 @7/10

Back-off sets for Press were supposed to be @7, but I mis-read my notes / so fucking humid in the gym today it was hard to think straight, lol.  Press continues to be flaaaaaat.

Top-single on conventional DL was also, flat, but 335X5 is a rep PR on Strapped Sumo again for 3 sub-max sets.  Mid-back LIT UP by these.

37.5sX13 is possibly a Rep PR on DB Curls.  Hard to tell because I used to record the weight of the individual DB rather than the combined weight.

Block 15. Cycle 3. Session B.

BW - 219

sRPE @ 7

Press - 

137.5X1 @8.25

112.5X6, 6, 6 @ 7/8

Deadlift - 395X1 @7.5

Sumo w/Straps - 330X6, 6 @6

DB Curls - 

35sX8 @6.5

37.5sX11 @10

Rope Curls - 70X10, 14 @8/10 (lol)

Press was flat again this week in general, BUT 112.5 for 3X6 is a Volume PR.

Conventional DL was flat as well, but 330X5 is a Rep PR for Sumo w/ Straps, and I got it for two sub-maximal sets.  My lats and traps are lit up the next day which is kind of nice.

Decided to push the second sets of curl accessories to AMRAPs with breaks for breath, etc.; really trying to push the set.  DBs were more or less on target based on the first set RPE, but the RPE on the first set of Rope Curls was a little further off.  No big.

Block 15. Cycle 2. Session B.

 BW - 216

sRPE @ 6

Press - 

137.5X1 @8.5

117.5X6 @8.5

110X6 @7

Deadlift - 390X1 @7

Sumo w/Straps - 322.5X5 @5.5

DB Curls - 31.25sX8, 8 @~7

Rope Curls - X10 @8

Press was tough today for some reason.  Kept getting lightheaded during reps.  Top set performance flat from last week, and back-off sets took a step back.

No problems on DL, though.  Didn't increase volume on these because of the condensed training schedule this week.

Block 15. Cycle 1. Session B.

BW - 217

sRPE @ 6

Press - 

135X1 @8

110X6 @5.5

Deadlift - 385X1 @7

Sumo w/Straps - 320X5 @6

DB Curls - 30sX8 @7

Rope Curls - X10 @8

Everything felt crisp.  

My best and last set of Sumo w/Straps is 325X5 @8.5 from Feb. of last year.  Nice to see that's more-or-less kept up whilst not being trained at all!

Block 10. Cycle 4. Session A.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
350X3 @8
300X7, 7, 7 @7/7.5

Front Squat -
155X9 @8
147.5X9 @8
140X9, 9 @7, 7.5

Sumo w/ Straps -
325X5 @8.5
315X5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: Curls, Upright Rows, COne-Arm Rows - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Stationary Bike - LISS; 20 minutes

Up-and-down session.

e1RM on the top Squat set is fairly flat with last week despite being more weight.  However, 300 is a 3X7 PR fwiw.

I haven't slept well the last couple of nights, and was kind of ready to just go home after Squats.  Tried to just hit Front Squats at the same weight as last week, but it wasn't there.  Ended up having to drop to the lower weight than I've used this block just to his target RPE.  A little bummed about that, but also happy that I didn't just throw in the towel on the 4X9 or the session as a whole.

Hoped I would rally a bit on Sumos, but adding weight wasn't there.  Ended up using the same weight as last week, which is fine.

Going back and looking at the block from March/April '19 that had Front Squats and Sumos in it, I realize that they weren't all on the same day with back squats.  I probably should have paid more attention to that when I was laying out this program, but this part of the block is almost over.  I may have this session again next week, or I may move on to Phase 2, depending on how the rest of this week goes.  I need to find a way to get some better sleep the next few days, and put myself in the best position to succeed.

On GPP day, I decided to flop the first and last movements for a couple of weeks just to give them a slightly different stimulus.  Also did LISS on a bike.  May do HIIT on the bike for the next few sessions just to mix it up.

Block 10. Cycle 3. Session A.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
340X3 @7
290X7, 7, 7 @~7

Front Squat - 155X9, 9, 9, 9 @~7

Sumo w/ Straps - 315X5, 5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Rower - HIIT; 6 rounds; 12 minutes

Good session.

sRPE had been sub-target for two sessions in a row, and RTS' TRAC system also indicated an increase in volume, so I took their suggestion and added 1 set per movement.  This is the volume I'd originally envisioned for the program, but gave it a couple of weeks for fitness/DOMS to get inverse.  sRPE ended up being over target on this day, but this is the hardest session of the cycle, and is the only one that has rest days before it.  That's all to say that increasing the volume felt good, though hard, on this day, and that I'll keep an eye on it, but expect it should be fine.

Surprisingly, e1RM for squat on this day is the 2nd highest of the past year.  That result seems unlikely, but we'll see how it plays out.  The absolute intensity is still well off from my highest of the past year which was, I believe, 380X2@9.

Block 10. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 230

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Squat -
332.5X3 @8
292.5X7 @7.25
287.5X7 @7

Front Squat - 150X7, 7, 7 @7

Sumo w/ Straps - 300X5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 8-10
- Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds; 10 minutes

Solid little session.

Went in expecting to get a lot more on LBS and Sumo than the previous session, and that turned out to be true.  Just the way I felt on the previous session, and some experience of how this tends to go over the last year played into that expectation.  Still, I used RPE on warm-ups to calibrate what the top set would actually be.  I tend to go in with the assumption of a larger than average jump, but a 4% jump is WELL above average for me cycle-to-cycle.

First set of back-offs on the Squat were a touch harder than target, and so dropped back on the 2nd set.  I expect to be adding a set to each movement over the next couple of weeks, so don't see any reason to push intensity on those now.

Front Squats ended up not progressing as quickly.  Maybe just fatigue still from the low bar sets.

Sumo was a bit weird.  This is actually the same e1RM as last week, but the RPE dropped slightly on the 2nd set.  I think it's technical acclimation coming into play.  Likely see a big jump next week if I had to put money on it.

On GPP Day, I still got a third round of the circuit.  Switched over to HIIT from LISS on the rower.  Last week was just an intro for that.  Cut the total conditioning time in half, and will look to add a round or two every session until I'm up in the 7-10 range.  Then maybe switch movements?

Block 7. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 228

Waist - 42.5"

Squat -
355X1 @8
362.5X1 @8.75
367.5X1 @8.75
322.5X4, 4 @8
292.5X7 @7.5

Paused Bench - 190X4, 4, 4 @8

Deadlift w/ Straps - 345X3, 3, 3, 3 @8

Solid session even though I was dog tired running on only 4 hours of sleep.  I got an iced coffee on the commute to the gym, and just kept topping it off with water all session to keep the caffeine drip running.  Seemed like it may have helped get through.

Squats felt pretty good.  The second to last single was on the heavy side, but then the top single felt as easy if not easier.  I thought about going up one more, but I didn't want to push it with so much work still to do in the session.  Back-offs all felt very good.

I pushed the weight up a bit more than projected on both Paused Bench and DL w/ Straps.  All went pretty well.  DL felt fairly heavy, but still @~8, and it IS meant as overload, so...

Video is of top sets and final work sets in each rep range.