Block 5. Cycle 6. Session C.

BW - 221

Deadlift -
400X2 @8.75
342.5X6, 6, 6 @8

Pause Squat - 275X5, 5, 5 @8

Axle Bench - 197.5X5, 5, 5 @~8

400 is a weight PR on Deadlift, and obviously a Rep PR.  Nice.  Felt easier than I expected, but not as easy as it looks on the video.  There was some "meet day" mental focus that contributed to this lift, as there always is for a milestone.  Target for next week will be 4 plates (maybe more).  So we'll do it all over again, then.

Back-off sets also all felt very good, although this is a new-ish bar and the heavy knurling on TnG deadlift is brutal on the hands.  I add a ton of extra chalk just to try and mitigate it.

Pause Squats felt very good.  I probably could have added a touch more weight, but 275 is just nice.

Axle bench was a little tough because I still have some DOMS in my pec from the previous session.  Made the first couple of works sets a little tough, but was solid by the end.

Video is of top sets and final work sets.

HLM. Week 4. Day 1.

BW - 228

Squat -
395X1 (high)
395X1
315X5, 5, 5, 5

Incline Bench - 200X3, 3, 3, 3

BB Rows - 185X7, 7, 7

Was again nervous about the top set of Squats.  20 lbs. heavier than last week, and the heaviest weight since rehabbing my adductor.  And once again, the weight was pretty easy, an the adductor feels fine.  Unfortunately, the first set was above parallel.  Wah-wah.  I deliberated about what to do, and ultimately took it again.  Better depth, but still borderline. Decided to take it and try to do better in the future.  Originally, the program was to do a single and 5X5 back-off.  Since I took an extra single, I decided to only do 4X5 to keep the volume "slots" as programmed.  Both singles, and last back-off shown.

After last week's Inclines, I was pretty sure I 4X5 @ +10 lbs. wasn't going to be great.  I was prepared to be surprised, but I could tell from the first couple of reps that I needed to cut to 3 reps if wanted to get all of the volume in without a lot of @9+ RPE sets.  Totally at peace with that decision.  I've decided to incorporate that into the program going forward for the last week of each 3 week Bench wave.  I really want the Incline weight to be the same as the back-off weight on heavy Bench day for the psychological benefits of having handled the weight already on the "harder" movement, so that it may "feel" light on the main movement.  Last set shown.

I was running out of time, and my right wrist has been bothering me, so I decided to skip Chin-Ups.  They can sometimes aggravate my wrists, and I'd like those joints to be fresh for alternate grip DL later in the week.

Week 1 of a new 3-week DL wave, so intensity drops down on BB Rows, but I upped the reps to 7 per set.  These did take a little more "leg" to complete all the reps in the sets, but I kept pretty good torso position and the bar touched in the same area (just above the belt) on all reps.  Gym was crowded, and so I couldn't get video where I was working.

Old Man Texas Method. Week 7. Intensity Day

BW - 229

Squat - 395X5*

Press - 152.5X3, 3

Deadlift - 380X3, 3

Squat reps were all high.  Every single one.  MAYBE  a couple of them were close to parallel.  Maybe.  My headspace was scattered heading into this set.  I knew I cut the first rep high, and from there I struggled to find depth.  So disappointing.  This week I'm travelling, and so will only be able to go to the gym twice.  I guess I'm going to do V.D. on Monday, and I.D. on Thursday, and go ahead and try to go to 400.  I'll try to grab someone at the gym I trust to call out my depth.  From the video, I believe the strength is there, the execution was just garbage.

Press went well.  2X3 PR.  2nd set shown.

Deadlift also went well.  The 2nd set continues to feel better than the first.  That's not a new phenomenon in Starting Strength style training at all, but I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to use warm-ups to try to get the FIRST set to feel better.  2nd set shown.

Novice LP. Session 66 (Greyskull Squats and Press)

BW - 227

Press -
155X2
140X3
125X10

Squat -
405X2
360X3
325X6

Chin-Ups -
BW+20X5, 5
BWX8, 5

155X2 is an all-around PR on the press.  RPE 10.  I thought the first rep was RPE 9.5 actually, hahaha.  Oh!  125X10 is a Rep PR, as well!

405X2 is an all-around PR on Squats.  RPE 9+.  I was only supposed to do 400 today, but the gym was full of quality spotters, and I thought I'd take advantage  instead of rolling the dice with whoever was in the gym on Friday.  I was pretty happy about this as you can see in the video.  I was pretty mentally worn down by the time I got to the AMRAP set and only went to about an RPE 8.5 on that.  I will probably do a reset on Squats now.  I don't want to spend too much time on triples and doubles.

247 (BW+5)X5 is a Rep PR on Chins.  Felt hard, but got both sets.  2nd set shown.

Novice LP. Session 63 (Greyskull Squats and Press)

BW - 227

Bench -
235X3
207.5X5
212.5X4

Squat -
390X2
350X3
315X5

Chin-Ups -
BW+15X5, 5
BWX6, 5

235X3 is an all-around PR on bench.  I mis-loaded one side of the bar on my first back-off set.  Gonna go right ahead and blame that for missing the 5th rep on on the second back-off set, haha.  Top set felt pretty good.  Probably RPE 9.5.  I'll go ahead and go up again next week and see what happens with the various sets.  Final back-off set shown in the 2nd clip.

390X2 is an all-around PR on Squats.  Worked really hard on warming-up my adductors today to see if I could lessen the discomfort I've been dealing with.  I'd say it felt about 50% better.  Lots of dynamic stretches and empty-bar warm-ups.  Still, my mental game just felt a little off heading into the work sets, and nothing felt locked-in.  The 2nd rep of the top set felt pretty fucking hard, so I didn't go for a third.  First back-off set still felt off, so I also cut that short at 3.  Final back-off set was fast.  Bar path and technique generally look really good in the video despite everything.

242(BW+15)X5 is a Rep PR on chins.  These felt pretty good, and the BW back-off sets felt very strong.  Video is of 2nd weighted set.

Hybrid Training. Week 1. Heavy Lower

BW - 228

Deadlift -
up to 285X3
back off sets - 265X6, 6

Front Squats - up to 145X5, 5

Hanging Leg Raises - bent kneesX10, 10, 5

Was very nervous coming in today because my low back had gotten so aggravated late last week.  My back still didn't feel 100%, but I wanted to see what was what.

I approached every set with laser focus on form.  This resulted in both slower reps and rapid "mental" fatigue.  However, I worked up to 285X3 with no issues at all.  On the back-off sets, I had programmed for sets of 8, but on the 6th rep of the first back-off set, it was becoming more difficult to keep the bar against my legs, etc., so I decided to stay at 6 reps.  No other apparent issues here.

Moved on to Front Squats, and was feeling really burnt, mentally.  Programmed for sets of 5 here as well, but again I felt form starting to break down at rep 5, so I stopped it there.  The reps were moving even slower as I focused everything I had on keeping good spinal position.  After the first set, my back was feeling a bit "off."  I did another set, and I could feel it starting to "pulse," so I stopped.

Went with slightly bent knees for all the ab work.  These were all paused at the bottom, and my abs were starting to cramp half way through the final set.

All in all, while I may have slightly re-aggravated my low back issue, I'm glad I was able to get through most of the workout.

Texas Method - Week 6 - Volume Day

BW - 230

Squats -
BarX5
135X4
205X3
245X2
285X5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Bench -
BarX5
95X3
125X2
155X1
180X5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Deadlift -
135X3
225X2
315X1
350X1, 1

 Feeling kind of beat-up.  Starting to look forward more towards after the meet than the meet itself.  My right shoulder (my "good" shoulder) hurts, but I can't tell how much is the pain from chins, dropping the bar on my collar-bone in the clean, and general DOMS.  Knees and hips are achy.  Knees in particular make it hard to get comfortable trying to go to sleep.

Didn't have coaching today.  Pretty sure I was supposed to start singles this week, so I worked up to a single on Deadlift.  Then I wasn't sure if it was one single or multiple, so I did one more and called it.  They were both hard.

Hoping I bounce back a bit both mentally and physically for the meet.

Conditioning. Week 1. Upper Body

BW - 205

Cuff Work - Lots (capsule stretching, band dislocations, pull aparts, 5lb. plate "cleans," front raises with various grips, band external rotations)

Bench -
BarX20, 20
95X6
115X6
135X6
155X8

BB Rows -
BarX15
95X10
135X15, 12, 15

Chins - BWX10, 5, 5

Decline Sit-Ups - BWX10, 10, 10

Being very careful with the shoulder since I seemed to re-aggravate it by sprinting (!).  Just tried to run through a sequence of everything I've ever done for shoulder cuff and shoulder prehab.

That included an extra warm-up set with just the bar, and more reps and smaller jumps on the warm-up sets.  Originally I programmed for 12 reps of 155, which would normally be slightly challenging but completely do-able.  Everything was very tentative today, and I cut it at 8.

The lay-off and tentativeness about the shoulder seemed to cut into my rowing as well.  This felt more like a neuromuscular issue than a strength issue.  My mind just didn't want to let my body "get after it" today on these.

Chins were okay, though.  Programmed for 20 total, and got it in 3 sets.  Hoped to go over on the last set, but 5 was the limit.

The crunches I did in my BW circuits in the last block did not set me up well for decline sit-ups.  Originally hoped to do 60 or so total reps, but had to bring that down, and will adjust my programming for this block accordingly.

Birthday Squats

BW - 202

Squat -
BarX10
95X5
135X4
155X3
185X2
205X1

135X36

10 more lbs. and (obviously) one more rep than last year.  Just like last year, the two main obstacles are the mental aspect and low back cramping.  Between 15 and 25 reps, my mind insists there is no way I'm going to make it to 36.  Right around 25, my low back starts cramping up so that I have to kind of stand straight up at the top of each rep and round my upper back so that I can support the bar but relax my erectors for a couple of seconds.  At about 28, it becomes all determination, and I just drive on to the last rep.

One other thing I played around with is that when my legs started getting tired, I would shift my toes to point more forward.  This seems to distribute the load across the thigh musculature a bit differently, and I think it gave some muscles a bit of a break while recruiting others to soldier on.

I also ate a lot and drank a lot of coffee today in preparation.   We got free samples of breakfast sandwiches sent to work by a catering company, and I had 5 over the course of the day.

See you again next year for 37, birthday squats.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 4. Squat

BW - 201

Calf Raises - 310X15, 15; 305X15

Squats -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
115X5
145X4
175X3
215X2
245X1

205X16, 7
145X15

Leg Curls - X20, 18, 15, 15
super-set with
Lunges - BWX20, 20, 20, 20

205X16 is an all-around PR, and 16, 7 is a volume PR on the 50% set.  I'd been worried that the 245X1 sets had felt wonky, so I videoed it, and it ended up being smooth as hell.  Psychological maybe.

The super-sets were kind of far apart because I was spotting a guy through his bench session.