Chin-Up War Week 1. Day C.

sRPE @6.5

BW - 225

Chins - BWX2, 2 @8

Lat Pushdowns - X14, 11 @10

Leg Curls - X14, 13 @10

CG Cambered Bench - 

-    up to 210X1 @9.5

-    155X5, 5 @~8

Lying RG DB Curls - 15sX13, 12 @~10

Gym wasn't too busy so I took the chance and hit Leg Curls during Bench warm-ups.  

Pivot Block. Cycle 1. Session C.

BW - 227

Waist - 43"

sRPE @ 7

3-2-0 Tempo Deadlift -
255X4, 4 @7
260X4, 4 @~7

Single-Leg Hack Squat -
20X8, 8 @~8
10X8 @~9

NG DB Bench - 55sX15 @8

RG EZ Curls - 50X15, 15 @8,9

Odd session.

Tempo always takes a while to get used to, especially a new tempo, so I was fine with it being difficult to get the tempo pulls dialed-in.

And I also know that Hack Squats can be pretty tough, especially relative to Leg Press.  I did NOT expect them to be "almost hitting failure with 10 lbs." tough.  My left leg in particular seemed to kind of hate these.  I tried staggering which leg I started with, but it didn't seem to make much difference.  Not really looking forward to doing these again this week, but kind of curious what full hack squats are going to be like next block.  I'll be doing them for myo-reps, and right now I'm thinking it will be fairly looooow weight.

Neutral grip DB bench, keeping the elbows close to mid-line throughout, is meant to be pivot assistance for Dips.

Trying out some reverse grip curls because my right brachioradialis has been kind of achy during the prior block from chins.  Seeing if some more direct hypertrophy work for it while I'm not doing chins will help when I bring them back next block.

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.

LRB Back & DL. Week 3. Deadlift

BW - 208

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
225X3
275X2
295X3, 3, 3
315X1
335X1, 1

T-Bars - 90X18

Lever Shrugs (with 3 sec. hold) -
380X3
470X3
560X3
605X3
380X21

Hypers - BW+10X15, 15, 15 (plate held behind head)

RG Curls - 50ishX17, 15, 10

Decided to try the Fatigue Singles option on the Deadlifts today when the 295X3 were moving so well.  I thought 335 moved pretty well for being fatigued.

On hypers, I'd been doing BW+X20 but then my low back would feel to fatigued to use added weight on the next set.  On this day, I tried stopping the first set at 15, and found I felt able to use added weight on the 2nd set, and then felt good enough to do a 3rd set also with weight.  Neat.

LRB Back & DL. Week 2. Deadlift

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
285X3, 3, 3, 3, 3

T-Bars - 2 platesX17

Lever Shrugs -
290X3
380X3
470X3
560X3
605X3
380X20

Hypers -
BW+10X20
BWX25

Reverse Curls - 50ishX18, 15, 18, 12

This was a week ago, and I don't remember too much about the session.  Guess everything went fine.

Of note, all shrugs are down with a 3 second hold at the top, and hypers are done with weight or hands held behind the head.

LRB Back & DL. Week 2. Vertical Pulling

BW - 207

Chins -
BWX5
+10X5
+20X4, 3
+25X2
+30X1, 1, 1
BWX15

Wide-Grip Pulldowns - X8, 9 (straight-weight)

Underhand Pulldowns - X8, 9 (straight-weight)

DB Shrugs - 100sX20, 15

Reverse-Grip Curls - 40ishX25, 25, 20

15 chins at a BW of 207 is an all-around PR!  Since I just started this programming, the routine can't get the credit.  I suspect it's having Chins be the first lift of the session, after years of having them fall after something else.  Fatigue isn't masking strength in this case.

Training: Pressing

BW - 212

High-Incline Bench -
BarX25
95X5
115X4
135X2
155X2
135X15, 8

Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15

RG Curls - 40ishX23
DB Hammer Curls - 35sX20
DB Curls - 30sX18
WG Curls - 50ishX18
Preacher Curls - 40ishX11

Pushed the weight up a bit this week, and probably still left 1-2 reps in the tank on both sets with 135.

Worth noting: one of the strongest guys in the gym mentioned to me this day that he didn't really like the High-Incline bench for strength development very much.  He said he gets better  carry-over to both his flat bench AND his front press from the "regular" incline bench.  In the case of our gym, that's actually an unusual, arched incline bench.  You can see both benches in this picture:


The High Incline is in the foreground and you can kind of see the Arched Incline behind it and to the right (also reflected in the mirror on the back-wall).

The guy said he thought the High Incline was better for body-building.  The guy is strong as hell and has been working out of that gym for a long time, so I'll take it on faith that he's spent some time with both and that his opinion is based on experience.

No skin off mine either way, as I was only hitting this for a couple of high-rep weeks as a break before I got back to pushing the other incline anyway.  Interesting feedback, though!

Training: Pressing

BW - 208

High-Incline Bench -
BarX25
85X5
95X4
115X2
135X1
155X1
115X20, 10

Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15

RG, EZ Bar Curls - 40ishX20
DB Hammer Curls - 40sX15
DB Curls - 30sX15
WG BB Curls - 45X20
Preacher, EZ Bar Curls - 40ishX15

For the couple weeks after my vacation, I just wanted to get some high rep work in on movements that I haven't pushed very hard, and so I decided to just move over to this bench temporarily.

This thing's probably around 60 degrees, so it's almost more of an overloaded front press.  In the past I've only really used this thing when the "regular" incline wasn't available.  I always hated it because I couldn't handle anything near the same weight, and didn't see the point if I was already doing 45 degree inclines AND overhead work.  I sometimes struggled to get 95X10 at this angle when I used this movement for a supplemental lift.

I expected to only work up to 135 and then do medium-to-high reps with 95.  What a nice surprise that 135 was so easy, that taking another single at 155 was a no-brainer.  After that, I knew 95 was going to be way to light for a work-set.  115 was just right.  I probably left 2-3 reps in the tank on the first set, and 1-2 on the 2nd.  This is good feedback to get as my regular incline has been moving faster than my OHP.  I'm instantly planning on using this to supplement regular incline and/or OHP in the future.

Biceps circuit inspired by some more recent Paul Carter stuff.  My brachialis were screaming for 2 days after this.

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 13. Accessories

BW - 210

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X2
105X11, 6
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX10, 6, 6, 6, 6, 4 (38 total reps)

DB Rows - 65X20, 18

Machine Pullover - X15 (burn-out set)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX15, 10
super-set with
DB Press - 40sX20, 10

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

Mixed session.  105X11 is a Rep PR and together with the 17 total reps meets my goal for that weight.  Move up to 115 next week.

Because my low back strain is lingering and I haven't done my regular Deadlift day in a few weeks, I decided to replace pull-downs with DB rows for a while so that in the meantime I'm getting a more well-rounded approach to Back.

I didn't seem to have any gas left by the time I got to Arms.  Except for DB Press where the 40sX20 is an all-around PR.  However, I got less reps on everything else with the same weight as last week.

I also sat up after the last set of Rolling Triceps with the weight still over my chest, and re-aggravated my low back a bit.  Yay.  I will probably just take this entire week off from training to try and get this healed.  If arm training is going to aggravate it, what could be safe?

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.

Reps and Volume. Week 9. Accessories

BW - 203

PBN -
BarX20
65X4
85X3
95X2
115X1
85X17, 6
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX17, 10, 7, 5 (35 total)
and
CG Pull-downs - X15, 10, 8 (straight-weight; more weight than last week)

Machine Pullovers - X14 (same weight as last week)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX17, 12
super-set with
DB OHP - 40sX15, 12

DB Curls - 30sX13, 12
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X15

Had to catch a bus, so cut the session a tad short at the end.

Pressing strength was a little bit off this week from last week.  Probably just one of those things, but to be sure, I'm adding DB Pressing back in on this day instead of the DB Laterals I did last week.

On most everything else, I was able to up the weight and/or reps over last week.

Reps and Volume. Week 8. Accessories

BW - 204

PBN -
BarX20
65X4
85X3
95X2
115X1
85X18, 8
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX13, 8, 9 (30 total reps)
and
CG Pull-Downs - X17, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight)

Machine Pullovers - X12 (more weight than last week)

RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX16, 12, 9
super-set with
DB Side Laterals - 20sX18, 17, 12

DB Curls - 30sX12, 12, 12
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X22, 16, 14 (straight-weight)

BB Curls - BarX17

85X18 is a Rep PR for PBN.  That PR rep was a grinder, though.

Chin-up strength is holding steady for a 2nd week.  Time to push total reps up to 35, I think.

Really pushed myself on the biceps work today.  A lot of R/P to get extra reps in.

Reps and Volume. Week 7. Accessories

BW - 203

PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X3
95X2
115X1
85X16, 8
super-set with
Chins - BWX12, 10, 8 (!!!!)
and
Pull-Downs (Neutral, CG) - X15, 12, 12, 10 (straight weight; more weight than last week)

Machine Pullovers - X16 (more weight than last week)

Reverse-Grip Preacher Curls -
50ishX18, 12
40ishX15
super-set with
DB Press - 35sX20, 15, 12

DB Curls - 25sX20, 12, 12
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X22, 20, 18

BB Curls - 40ishX12, 12

I dropped back on the work-weight on PBN.  I was getting ahead of myself, as I usually like to hit a 20 rep target before I start moving up.  Not being able to get 20 reps with 85 shows that I still need to do that work first.

I don't know WTF was going on with chins today.  I'm confident I wasn't cutting them high, or kipping or anything.  I've never gotten double-digit reps on a 2nd set of chin-ups EVER.  And then to go well over 5 on the 3rd set is just mind-boggling.  I'm sure it will be a one-off, hahahah.

Still, since I only did one AMAP set of pullovers last week, and then had an awesome chin-up day this week, I figured I'd roll with that.  I upped the weight by one plate and still got one more rep than last week.  These and the pulldowns are all very controlled reps with a squeeze at peak contraction and a pause at full extension.

Upped the weight on the reverse curls as well, and got good reps on most everything else.

All-in-all a good session.

Reps and Volume. Week 6. Accessories

BW - 201

Seated PBN -
BarX20
65X8
85X5
95X3
115X2
125X1
95X12, 5
super-set with
Chins - BWX10, 7, 5, 6, 4
and
CG Pull-downs - X19, 13, 10 (straight-weight)

Machine Pullovers - X15 (burn-out set)

RG Preacher Curls - 40ishX22, 15
super-set with
DB Press - 35sX20, 18

DB Curls - 25sX20, 15
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X16, 15

BB Curl - 40ishX13, 12

Lots of time and energy today.  The machine-only press workouts I've been getting in at the office gym have stopped giving me any DOMS in my shoulders even though I'm going after it hard.  So I decided to add in some barbell PBN in addition to the DB OHP on accessory day and see what happens.

By the time I got done with chins and pulldowns, my lats were already on fire.  So instead of doing 3-4 sets of pullovers, I decided to drop the weight a tad and do one set to failure.  As I was only able to get 15 reps with a relatively light weight, I think that was a fine choice.

Everything else went fine.

Reps and Volume. Week 5. Accessories

BW - 205

Chins - BWX10, 6, 5, 5, 4 (30 total reps)

CG Pulldowns - X16, 10, 10 (straight-weight)

Machine Pullovers- X15, 12, 10 (straight-weight)

RG Preacher-Curls - 40ishX22, 15, 12
super-set with
DB Press - 35sX25, 14, 10

DB Biceps Curls - 25sX15, 15, 14
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X16, 15, 13 (straight-weight)

BB Curls - 40ishX20, 15, 16

Ate a giant burrito beforehand, which accounts for the big BW jump.  May have cut into my chin-up reps a bit, but that's kind of beside the point as long as I get my volume in.  After the chins, got a pretty good BB session in.

BB Curls were "40ish" because I just slapped a 10 on either side of an EZ curl bar and grabbed it wide-grip out to the collars where it's a straight bar.

Reps and Volume. Week 4. Accessories

BW - 197 (suspicious office gym scale)

Chins - BWX13, 6, 6, 5 (30 total reps)

Pulldowns - X20, 15, 12 (straight weight)

Straight-Arm Pulldowns - X20, 15, 12 (straight weight)

Reverse Grip Preacher Machine - X15, 12 (straight weight)
super-set with
DB Press - 35sX18, 10

DB Curls - 25sX15, 12
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X25, 20 (ascending weight)

Cable Curls - X21 (burn-out set)

Real good BB session at the office gym.  First set of chins felt really strong.

I may have had an interesting breakthrough on pulldowns.  The machine at this gym is one of the fake iso-laterals where the one cable attached to the weight splits into two and goes to some rope-ish handles.  While trying to find the right groove with this awkward thing, I started allowing my elbows to travel more forward throughout the movement as opposed to out to the sides.  Kind of like a combo pull-down/pull-over.  This really seemed to start making my lats burn.  Something I'll definitely keep in mind and see if I can replicate it with more traditional pulldown machines.

Reps and Volume. Week 2. Accessories

BW - 200

Machine Pullovers -
Warm-ups X15, 20
Work-sets X15, 13

Chins - BWX7, 5, 5, 5, 5, 4 (31 total)

Close-Grip Pulldowns - X20, 13, 12

EZ Bar, Reverse Grip, Preacher Curls - 40ishX18, 12
super-set with
DB Press - 35sX18, 10

DB Curls - 25sX12, 10
super-set with
Rope Extensions - X20, 20

BB Curls - 50X15, 12, 9

I little out of gas from a busier than expected day.  Also at the 'away' gym, so it took an extra warm-up set here and there to find the right working weight.

Reps and Volume. Week 1. Accessories

BW - 195 (!?!?!)

Machine Pullovers -
Warm-up - X13
Work-sets - X15, 10, 8 (straight-weight)

Chin-Ups (V-Handle) - BWX8, 5, 6, 5, 4, 4 (32 total reps)

Pull-Downs (Double-D Handle) - X18, 15, 10 (straight-weight)

EZ Bar, Reverse Grip, Preacher Curls - 40ishX20, 15
super-set with
DB OHP - 35sX20, 15

DB Curls - 25sX15, 13
super-set with
Rope Push-Downs - X20, 18

BB Curls - 45X20, 15

So I opened a new show last week.  I took the week leading up to opening off from training, and I took most of this last week off from tracking my diet.  Somehow over that time, basically 8/15 - 9/1, I lost a solid 5 lbs. of BW.  The first couple times I weighed myself last week and I was at 198 and 197, I thought it might be just a fluke, but now I've gotten consistently lighter over the last week of resuming training and NOT being strict with my diet.  I'm going to assume I've just been casually under-eating.  I'm upping my target daily intake by 250 calories for this phase, so I'll have to buckle down and make sure I'm getting enough food going forward.

Still...my abs are showing pretty well...

Anyway, adding back in a 4th day of body-building style training basically the same as what I did in my Strength and Hypertrophy phases from earlier in the year.  The genesis for this comes from Brandon Lilly's CUBE method.

I'm about 3 plates down from where I was at on Pullovers in early spring.  I expect that strength to rebound quickly once my body gets used to the movement again.

With chins, I'm still just targeting 30+ reps in the fewest sets possible.  On the last phase, I got that down to 4 sets.  After the pullovers, it took me 6 sets here.  I'll be working to try and get it back down to 4 sets.

Supersetting biceps work with Bench accessory.  I think 35sX20 is actually a Rep PR for DB OHP.  I don't really track Rep PRs for movements like that, just Proj.1RM PRs.  Pretty sure about this one though.  Seems like all that PBN volume may have helped out.

Only 2 sets of push-downs, but my triceps were really fucking sore after about 36 hours.  Good stuff.

The idea with finishing with empty bar curls was to just do one burn-out set, but when I only got to 20 reps, I thought I should add another.

Full Body. Week 3. Deadlift

BW - 201

Bulgarian Splits - BWX15, 20, 20

DB Incline -
40sX15
50sX20, 15, 10

Deadlift -
135X5, 5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
365X1
275X5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Chins - BWX12, 6, 5, 4, 3 (30 total reps)

Reverse-Grip Preacher Curls - 40ishX20, 15, 10

Solid session, though a little low energy.

Pushed the reps up on split squats and DB Inclines.  Pec Dec-ing on Wednesday may have gotten in the way of me doing more on my last set or two.  Maybe I'll try moving those to Monday, or maybe it doesn't really matter that much either way.

365 was a bit slow on the Deadlift, but the volume sets were all solid.

Pushed chins and reverse curls up a bit.