Full Body. Week 5. Press

BW - 200

High Bars -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
155X5
185X15

Fronts - 135X12, 10

BB Rows -
135X8
175X12, 6, 8

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X5
95X3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5

Solid session.

I thought it might be good to start adding Front Squats in again.  I've gotten relatively good at High Bar (hit 250X5 last week, while my Low Bar EDM is around 285), but I know Fronts still suck for me.  Still, I decided to start off with High Bar and then use Fronts for back-off sets.  Just what I felt like doing.

Oh, and I guess 135X12 is technically a Rep PR on Front Squats.  It's one of those dumb-ish ones where you just haven't gone that high on reps in a long time.

Rowing strength was a weaker over-all than last week.  If that happens again next week, it might be time to shake it up and move to T-Bars for a while.

Think it's time to push the PBN volume sets to 5's, and start working # of sets back up.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 3. Press

BW - 203

PBN -
BarX10, 10
65X4
75X3
95X2
105X1

95X14, 7

DB Rows - 60sX10
70sX12, 12, 12, 12
super-set with
DB Bench - 55sX20, 12, 10, 10

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
245X2
275X1

Fighting a cold.

95X14 is an all-around PR in Behind-The-Neck work.

Tried super-setting the DB work.  Much sweating resulted.  20 reps with the 55s is a PR.  Getting 12 reps on all four work-sets on the rows is an improvement on last session.  Ready to hit my cycle goals next time of 60sX15 on DB Bench, and 75X12 on Rows.

Even tired from this other work, and with this bastarding cold, I was able to focus on my deadlift form, and the 275 was still fast.  Feeling good about adding this in, and how I added it.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 1. Bench

BW - 200

Bench -
BarX15
85X5
95X4
115X3
145X2
165X1

155X12, 5

Chins (shoulder-width/neutral grip) -
BWX5
+15X5
+20X3, 3
+25X2
+30X1

+25X6, 4
BWX8

DB Incline - 45sX21, 12, 11, 10

1st session on the Big-15 cycles.  This will run for two 6-week cycles.  Looking forward to it.

155X12 is an all-around PR.  My goal on bench this cycle is to hit 155 for 15 or more.  I should hit that, and possibly fairly quickly.  If I hit 15 before the 6 weeks are up, I think I will continue to rep 155 for the rest of cycle 1, but possibly bump up the warm-up weights to a top single at 175, or my previous Everyday Max.  I would like to hit 225X1 sooner rather than later in the next year, and while 155X15 technically projects to that, I figure I can milk 155 for a few reps above that to help cement the musculature I will need when I finally attempt it.

This was my first time doing weighted chins, so these are all PRs to some degree, but really more like baselines.  My goal for the 6 weeks will be to hit BW+25X10.  Again, if I hit that before the 6 weeks are up, I will just keep pushing the reps.  Jesus, anything over 10 is usually a decent chinning-day for me anyhow.  Maybe this will help change that.

Another thing I will be doing for the 1st phase will be focusing on DB movements for a lot of the assistance/accessory work.  I've largely stayed away from that stuff for compound movements the last couple of years, and I think at least this 1st body-building phase is a good opportunity to explore them, and with gusto.  My initial goal is set at 55sX15 for Incline, but because it's such an under-used movement for me, it could ramp up really quickly, so if I hit 55X15+ next week and the week after, I will bump the weight up.

LRB 365: Strong-15 Short. Week 5. Deadlift

BW - 205

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4, 4
225X3
245X2
285X1
295X1
315X1

295X3, 3, 3, 3

RDL -
245X2 (double-overhand)
245X7 (mixed grip)
245X14 (straps)

Shrugs -
455X5
365X17

Chins (neutral, shoulder-width)- BWX8, 5, 4

DB Curls - 40sX10, 7

Last workout of the Short-15.  Everything went pretty well, but as usual on this cycle's deadlift day I was exhausted by the end.

The 315X1 (my Everyday Max) felt good, and actually looked even better on video:

My grip on my left-hand got a little slippy double-overhand here, so I'm not 100% this lift would pass in a power-lifting competition.

I tried to keep going double-overhand on my back-offs, but it got dicey, and by my last set of 295X3, I had to go full mixed-grip:

Just like my last two sessions with Squat and Bench, this is my first time ever seeing myself deadlift, and to my eyes these look good.   I'm pondering if I should ask some Internet guru or other for a 'form check,' but the more I think about that the more distasteful it gets.

I wanted to go double-overhand strapless on RDLs to get more grip work in, but it was clear that wasn't happening today.  I ended up pulling a PR with straps at 245X14.

Since it was the last session I decided to go all-out and bump the weight up on shrugs by 50 lbs. for both sets.  Felt strong.

Chins and curls felt weak after all this other work.  I was able to use the adjustable chin station so I got that elusive neutral/shoulder-width grip I've been toying with.  My whole upper back is achy today from all this work, and it's impossible to say if any one movement contributed more than any other.

LRB 365: Strong-15 Short. Week 5. Bench

BW - 199

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
115X5
135X3
145X2
165X1, 1
175X1

145X14, 6

Incline - 115X14, 6

Dips - BWX13, 10, 8, 5, 5

Nice, PR-laden session.  The 175 felt good, and I videoed again, and it looks about like it felt:

The video just supports what I know, which is that I'm having a bitch of a time reconciling leg drive with keeping my butt on the bench.  175 is what I've got down as my EDM for bench.

The back-off set is an all-around PR at 145X14.  I videoed that as well, but didn't see anything particularly informative.

115X14 is an all-around PR on Inclines.  So Rep PRs that project new highs in 1RM for both flat bench and incline.  That's what the program is designed to do here, and hopefully the top end strength really is moving.

Nothing spectacular on dips, but I did get more reps per set that previously.

LRB 365: LRB Split. In Review

This will be short, as I suspect the LRB Split and the Strong-15 Short cycle go hand-in-hand in a way that will result in a more complete picture emerging at the end of that 2nd cycle.

Generally speaking, the goals for this cycle were to maintain top-end strength on the main lifts relative to where they've been during the conditioning cycle, while allowing some more carbs back into the diet in order to stimulate muscle growth by going hard with the assistance lifts.

My bodyweight started out hovering in the 192 range at the end of the conditioning cycles, and by the end of the LRB Split was hovering around 195-196.

I set the following PRs on assistance work in chronological order:
RDL: 
205X8
225X9
245X10 (with straps)

DB OHP:
20sX25
25sX35
30sX28

Front Squats:
135X10
145X8
155X9

T-Bar Rows:
95X8
110X7

Barbell Rows:
145X9

Good Mornings were a new movement to me with this cycle and I progressed them as well:
135X8
145X7
145X8
145X10

Regarding Front Squats, I was doing them every week.  They were the first assistance exercise following back squats on Heavy Squat days, and they were the main movement on Light Squat days.  All the PRs were set on Light days, however it's worth noting that while I PR'd with 135X10 on a Light Squat day at the beginning of the cycle, by the end I was doing 135X8-10 for four sets across as assistance on my Heavy Squat days.  In addition to all that, I kept my stance narrow on all the Leg Pressing, and went hard to push reps on leg extensions.  Increasing quad size/strength was my primary goal for this cycle, and I feel good about the results.

I also got some good hamstring volume in with all the RDLs and GMs in addition to the maintenance Deads.  Had sore hamstrings every week.

Lots of shoulder volume on the cycle as well.  In addition to the DB OHP, my regular Press was getting within 5 lbs. or so of PR territory by the end.  Lots of high-rep Inclines, Upright Rows, and Rear Delt Flyes to round it out, all pun intended.  Although I honestly haven't noticed very much growth in my delts.  Hopefully, we'll see some of this work translate into Bench strength on the upcoming cycle.

All in all, I had a really good time through most of this cycle.  Hitting PRs on Fronts and RDLs was really fun, and seeing my wheels growing as a result was really great as well.  Near the end, I had a little bit of a crisis of confidence because I didn't instinctively know if my Every Day Max had improved, and was grumpy about what to set as my goals for the Strong-15 Short Cycle.  In the end, re-reading the manual, and reading an inspiring post by Carter along the lines of the Patience and Belief mantra that he and Brandon Lilly have been going over helped me get my head on straight.  I've decided to program lower for the Strong-15 Short than I did for the Strong-15 at the beginning of the program.  My final singles for the next cycle will be right around weights I've hit a million times before.  With the work I did on this cycle, and the extra back-offs I'm planning for the first few weeks of the next, I'm confident that I will be crushing the weights all the way up to the end.  And isn't that what we're supposed to do?

LRB 365: LRB Split. Week 1. Press - Heavy

BW - 197

Press -
BarX10
65X5
85X5
95X5, 5
105X5

Bench -
95X5
105X4
125X3
135X2, 2
145X1
155X1

Upright Rows - 85X10, 10, 10, 10, 10

V-Bar Pushdowns - X35, 30, 18, 15, 12

Forgot shorts, and had to work out in jeans.  The confusion caused me to forget my mobility and stretching warm-ups until I was half-way through my Press sets.  Ha.

Press felt good.  My goal for this cycle is 125X5, or 10 more pounds a week.  That would be a PR.  Could be ambitious, but since Bench isn't getting pushed as hard, gotta shoot for assistance PRs.

Bench was fine.  155 is well below my Every Day Max, so I focused on getting tight and moving it fast.

Upright Rows were solid.  If I can hit either 105 for multiple sets of 10, or for more than 10 reps in one set by the end of the cycle, that will be a PR.  Again, that's adding 10 lbs. a week.

I want to do bench dips for my triceps assistance on this day, but there wasn't a good/free spot in the gym to set up for these, so I opted for push-downs.  However, I almost exclusively do rope push-downs, so I thought I would switch that up anyway.  Will the grip matter?  Will I be able to do bench dips next time?  Will I vacillate uncertainly between different movements every week?  Who cares.  It's triceps assistance.  Just get some work in.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Bench

BW - 198 (Ah, the weekend finally caught up with me here)

Bench -
BarX16
95X5
105X4
135X3
145X2
155X1
165X1
175X1

Pulldowns - X55, 25, 20

EZ Bar Extensions - 30X60, 40
super-set with
EZ Bar Curls - 30X45, 35, 25

A little bit tired and bloated feeling for this session.  Bench still moved fine, but I definitely didn't feel any stronger than my EDM of 185.

Completely out of gas on pulldowns.

Arms were fine.

Tired.

LRB 365: Strong-15. In Review

The full Strong-15 run that starts Paul Carter's LRB 365 manual is complete.

The biggest difficulty and most important thing switching into this program is determining goals for the cycle.  I switched from 531 to Carter's Ultimate Beastdom program last winter as well.  I just don't have the experience to easily switch from a training max based approach to a goal based approach.  When I did this last year, I charted my E1RM progress over the previous 531 cycles and used that to project goals for the strength phase of the UB program.  This was based on the assumption of equal or better progress.  It worked okay, but I had mixed results for a variety of reasons.  Mostly related to poor form as I approached my goal weights.  Again, inexperience.

It was a bit easier this time because Carter goes into a lot of detail around using what he calls the Every Day Max (EDM) as the baseline for the goals here.  He is very much talking about feel and intuition about what you can lift, but after working in E1RM for so long, I still wasn't positive about what that should be because I was still getting 5-10 reps on all my 531 top sets.  So this time I took my E1RM for each week of 531 for the prior 3 months and averaged it.  I decided that my EDM should at least be in that ballpark.  I then set different, modest (I thought) goals for adding to each of them.  It broke down like this:

Squat - EDM (3 month 531 avg.) 275.  Goal - 285 (+10 lbs.)
Bench - EDM 200.  Goal - 205 (+5 lbs.)
Deadlift - EDM 360.  Goal - 365 (+5 lbs.)

I should note that although I averaged ALL my 531 weeks together, it occurred to me afterwards that it might have been smarter to only have used the 3rd week of each cycle since it's the heaviest.  However, when I go back and look at that, those weeks yielded the highest E1RM of each cycle across the board.  So this still seems fairly conservative.

Now the good news is that I didn't miss any lifts on the program.  The not so good news is that Carter wants the final singles in Week 9 to be "crushed", and they really weren't. Here are the results by the numbers:

Final Squat - 265:  This was really smooth and there was no doubt I would make the lift, however it was a bit slower than I might of hoped.  Still probably my favorite result of the program.

Bench - 185:  This is a true EDM for me in the sense that I've hit this weight on multiple occasions, including in Week 8 of this cycle.  The real news here is that I set rep PR's on my back-off sets each of the last 3 weeks of the cycle.

Deadlift - 335:  This was the biggest letdown.  This matches my previous best actual lift, which is okay, and it was smooth, but it was really, really slow.

With the deadlift, it could be that I overestimated my EDM, or it could be just additional stress of heavy squatting before deadlifts.  Regardless, I came up with a new way to track EDM for myself, that is SUPER-conservative and still allows me to have fun playing with programming spreadsheets.  I've always tracked my Rep PR's, and now I'm just averaging the E1RM of all of those together to give me a result.  Again, this yields amazingly conservative numbers because some of these Rep PR's are really old.  However, if I'm going to buy into Paul Carter's sub-maximal philosophy for a whole year or more, then it seems like a decent way to go.