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. Taper. Day 2.

sRPE @6

BW - 224

Pause Squats -

-    320X3 @6

-    330X3 @6.5

-    335X3 @7

Spoto Bench - 

-    195X2 @6

-    205X2 @7

-    210X2 @7.5

-    215X2(PR) @8

Face-Pulls- X15, 12, 11 @10

Pull-downs - X14, 12, 10 @10

Testing on Saturday morning.

RTS Block 5. Week 3. Day 3.

sRPE @8.5

BW - 227

High Bar Squat - 

-    275X6 @6

-    290X6 @7

-    300X6(PR) @7.5

Bench - 

-    235X1 @9.5

-    200X4 @8.5

-    185X4, 4, 4 @~7

High Paused Deadlift -

-    350X4 @8

-    330X5(PR) @7

-    315X5, 5 @6.5

DB Bench - 

-    60sX14, 12, 8 @10

-    50sX11 @10

Face Pulls - X17, 14, 12 @10

 Another PR on HBS, but Bench was slightly off compared to last week.  It's tentatively starting to look like a trend for comp lifts to be a bit flat in Week 3, but we'll just have to see how things go with next week's mock meet.

Really focused in on the DLs Paused below the Knee.  Used the same top weight as the last two weeks, and it felt much more in control.  First back-off set of 5 is a Rep PR.

RTS Block 5. Week 2. Day 3.

sRPE @8.5

BW - 227

High Bar Squat -

-    275X6 @6

-    285X6 @7

-    295X6(PR) @8

Bench - 

-    232.5X1 @9

-    205X4 @8.5

-    185X4, 4, 4 @~7

DL Paused below knee w/Straps* -

-    350X4 @8.5

-    325X5 @7

-    315X5, 5 @~7

Hammer Incline - 60X16, 14, 12, 12 @10

Face Pulls - X16, 15, 12 @10

2+ Rep PR on HBS.  

Bench technique felt the best it's felt since I started to tighten up to comp standards.

Pinched the palm of my index finger between two plates loading DL, and raised a blood blister under one of my calluses.  Had to strap up from there on.

For DB Bench, the knurling on the handles definitely felt like it was going to take the top of the blister off, so I switched to Hammer Incline.

RTS Block 5. Week 1. Day 3.

sRPE @9

BW - 228

High Bar Squat - 

-    255X6 @4.5

-    275X6(PR) @6.5

-    290X6(PR) @7.5

Bench - 

-    230X1 @9.5

-    195X4 @8

-    180X4, 4, 4 @7

Deadlift Paused below knee -

-    350X4(PR) @8.5

-    325X5 @7.5

-    310X5, 5 @~7

DB Bench - 

-    65sX14, 9 @10

-    55sX8 @10

-    45sX12 @10

Face Pulls - X18, 15, 14 @10

Really tough session, but I got PRs on High Bar Squats and Paused Deads, and matched a 14 Rep DB Bench PR.  Pretty good for week 1, and hopefully I'll acclimate.  It's basically the same volume of SBD for Day 3 as last block so I should.

3 Day FB Hypertrophy. Cycle 4. Session C.

sRPE @8

BW - 224

Chins - BWX2, 2, 2 @~7

031 Tempo Work:

-    EZ Face Pulls - X11, 11 @10

-    Incline Bench* - 95X10, 10, 10, 10, 10 @6.5/10

-    Roman Chair Squats - BWX10, 10, 10, 8, 6 @9/10

Stationary Bike - HIIT; 10 minutes

*Finally found the technique on Incline that's giving me the sensation I'm looking for, that is, a stretch feeling across the upper chest and front delts: 1) Wider grip; hands at the rings.  2) Arms flared to 90 degrees throughout; "guillotine" style.  3)  Driving my elbows towards the floor right before the concentric; getting a vertical forearm under the bar to push through.

Roman Chair 2 cycles ago (before the lower volume, intensity technique cycle) I did 5 sets of 8.  Turns out strength hasn't gone up enough to hit 5 sets of 10, lol.  These were hard, but like most BW-only movements, don't seem to be systemically fatiguing.  I also played around with trying to "kick" my feet into the brace out of the bottom to try and shift as much of the tension to my quads as possible.  That kind of felt like it was working.

3 Day FB Hypertrophy. Cycle 3. Session C.

sRPE @8

BW - 221

Chins - BWX2, 2, 2 @~7

031 Tempo Work w/ Intensity Techniques:

-    Face Pulls w/ Long ROM Drop-Sets - X16, 13/5 @~10

-    Incline Bench w/ Rest-Pause - 95X11/5, 8/4 @9.5

-    Roman Chair Squats w/ Long ROM Drop-Sets - BWX10/2, 8/3 @9.5/10

Rower - HIIT; 10 minutes

Tried just doing rear delt row partials as the first drop set on Face-Pulls, but they were too easy.

Might need to move my grip out again on Inclines as it still feels primarily Triceps.  Also I keep tucking my elbows strength-style, instead of keeping them flared.

Wasn't sure if I'd get "stuck" in the bottom of the Roman Chair Squats when I hit failure or not, but turns out you can just lean forward and get stand up pretty easily. 

3 Day FB Hypertrophy. Cycle 2. Session C.

sRPE @7

BW - 221

Chins - BWX3, 2, 2 @9.5/8

031 Tempo Work:

 - EZ Face Pulls - X11, 10 @9.5

 - Incline Bench - 

  - 115X9, 9 @9/10

  - 95X9, 9*, 9 @9/10

 - Roman Chair Squats - BWX8, 8, 8, 8, 8 @9/10

Rower - HIIT; 10 minutes

*Started out Close Grip on Inclines, but was feeling it all in my triceps, so I moved the grip out to a moderate grip and it felt more balanced across all 3 pressing muscle groups. 

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

 sRPE @6

BW - 222

Chins - BWX2, 2, 2 @~7.5

031 Tempo Work:

EZ Cable Face Pulls - X8, 8 @~7

Incline Bench - 95X8, 7 @~7

Roman Chair Squats - BWX8, 5 @8/7

Plan originally was to increase proximity to failure (and reps) week-over-week in 3 week waves.  I hit the first two sessions pretty close to failure just out of enthusiasm for novelty.  Got some pretty good hamstring DOMS for my trouble, so I forced myself to be more conservative in this session. 

Mid-Rep Volume PRs. Pivot Session A.

sRPE @7

BW - 219

Horizontal Leg Press - X9, 9, 9, 9 @~6

GHR - BWX15, 15, 10 @7/8

Paused PL Machine Dips - 180X10, 10, 10 @6/8

Paused Bench Dips - BWX15 @9

Lat "Prayers" - X16, 13, 8 @9.5/10

EZ Cable Face-Pulls - X13, 12, 11 @~9.5

Feeling run down and beat up most of the week, and have a lot going on over the weekend, so decided to do an ad hoc pivot session.  I actually felt pretty good most of the day and was tempted to just do my regular training, but decided to stick with the plan.  

Interestingly, the RTS Stress app reads this as MORE stress than what I usually do.

High-Rep Volume PRs. Week 5. Session D.

sRPE @8

BW - 218

Deadlift - 

405X1, 1 @7/8

265X8 @10*

Dips - BW+20X7, 7, 7, 7 @7/8

EZ Cable Face-Pulls to top of head - X14, 14, 10 @~8

Tate Press - 30's?X10, 10

super-set with

Machine Flyes - X10, 12

*strained an oblique or similar on my first down-set of DL.  Interfered very much with the rest of the training session.

However, 238 (BW+20) for 4 sets of 7 is a Volume PR on Dips.  No interference on this movement.

I was looking for a horizontal pulling movement I could do without too much pain.  Straight-arm pushdowns ended up being a no-go, so I then "invented" EZ Bar Cable Face-Pulls to the top of the head.  I actually felt these more in my shoulders than I really ever do with rope face pulls.

Jumped in on some conjugate accessory work with the guys at the end.

BBM PB I Block 2. Cycle 3. Session B.

sRPE @8

BW - 204

Bench - 

240X1 @8

220X3, 3 @8/8.5

215X3 @8.5

190X5, 5 @~6

Front Squats - 185X8, 8, 8 @8/9

T-Bar Rows - 

115X8 @9.5

90X12, 12, 10 @8

Face-Pulls - X13, 13, 12, 12 @7.5/9

BBM PB I Block 2. Cycle 2. Session B.

sRPE @7

BW - 205

Bench - 

235X1 @8

220X3 @8.25

190X5, 5 @~6

Front Squats - 185X8, 8, 8 @8

T-Bar Rows -

105X12 @10

95X12, 12 @~8

Face Pulls - X16, 16, 16, 14 @8/8.5

I think that's an 8 Rep PR on Front Squats.

BBM PB I Block 2. Cycle 1. Session B.

sRPE @6

BW - 203

Bench - 

230X1 @8

215X3 @8

Front Squat - up to 165X8 @7.5

T-Bar Rows - 

115X8 @10

90X12, 12 @~9

Cable Face Pulls - X20, 16, 15, 14 @6.5/9

Pivot Day 1

BW - 216

Bulgarian Split Squats - BWX8, 8, 8, 8

EZ-Bar Seated French Press - 50X8, 8, 8, 8

Cable Rear Delt Rows - X8, 8, 8, 8

BB Curls - 65X8, 8, 8, 8

Haven't done rear-foot elevated split squats since Jan '15.  So awkward.

A brief exchange with Mike Tuchsherer led me to decide to go into another brief pivot while my low back heals up.  2-day pivot cycle.  Hopefully just doing one and then jumping into another dev block on Monday.

Hybrid Training. Week 9. Light Upper

BW - 227

Warm-up:
Cable Pushdowns - X20
Cable Stiff-Arm Pushdowns - X15

Bench  - 177.5X2, 2, 2, 2

CG Bench (4/0/0) - 157.5X3, 3, 3, 3

Rolling, EZ Bar Extensions - 80X6, 6, 6

Chest-Supported Rows - 115X8, 6, 9
super-set with
Chest-Supported Retractions - 115X10, 9, 9

Reverse-Grip Preacher Curls -
50X8, 8, 8
drop-set - 50X6, 40X4, 30X3

Face-Pulls - X20, 18, 15

Good session.  Had a lot of energy for a Friday.

Bench moved pretty fast.  I got a hand-off for all my work-sets to make sure I could stay as tight as possible.  Losing that little bit of tightness unracking myself seems to make a real difference in speed.

Added 1 sec. to the eccentric on close grips.  No problem at all.

Tried switching to rolling ez bar extensions this week.  Not sure if I got much out of them.  Will try to push them a bit more next week.

Really dug chest-supported rows to near failure into the retractions.  There was a bit of controlled thoracic extension on these as well.  My upper back was achy as shit for the next two days.

Hybrid Training. Week 8. Light Upper

BW - 229

Warm-up - Rope Triceps/Lats Pushdowns Superset

Bench - 167.5X3, 3, 3

CG Bench (3/0/0) - 157.5X3, 3, 3, 3

Incline, Paused Tate Press -
35sX6
40sX4, 4
giant-set with
DB Rolling Triceps -
35sX12
40sX7, 4

DB Rows - up to 80sX8, 6

Rope Face-Pull - X20, 15, 12 (straight-weight)
giant-set with
Rope Lat Pushdowns - X12, 10, 8 (straight-weight)

DB Hammer Curls - 35sX8, 7, 5 (paused on thigh)

That all looks like a lot of stuff, but it's actually just 5 things:
Barbell Bench - 7 sets
DB Triceps - 3 sets
DB Upperback - 2 sets
Cable Upperback - 3 sets
DB Biceps - 3 sets

Triples all moved nice and fast on the Speed Bench.

The 3 second eccentric with 157.5 wasn't nearly as challenging as 4 second eccentrics with 155 last week.  Kind of felt more like explosive work.

Giant-setting the Tate Press with the Rolling Triceps worked pretty well, but I was surprised how few reps I was able to get on the 2nd set.  Not sure if I should have stayed with the 35s or if I need to just start with the 40s (I'll probably do the latter).

That rope giant-set for upper back is still brutal.