Low Bar Squat A 315x6 RPE 9; 275x4x6
Bench press 240x3x3
DB concentration curls 35x3x12 RPE 8.5
Reverse band bench 270x2x2
Pull-ups BWx2x12 RPE 7
Whatever started to surface on Friday hit me over the weekend and I was still feeling the effects of it on Monday. I had originally targeted something higher for a top set, but I knew I wasn’t exactly feeling it and my breathing/bracing was off in general. As a result, going up to true RPE 10 territory would have been asking for trouble. I settled for 315x6 @ a 9 and put the fatigue rating at 3 so I could get quality reps in for the back-off work. It was also the first time benching with a full-range of motion sans bands in two months and although it felt heavy-ish, reps were smooth and had pop off my chest with no tightness or modicum of pain. Cut out snatch-grip DLs because they likely would have killed me lol.
Conventional DL 440x6 RPE 9; 395x4x6
RDLs 325x3x8 RPE 8
Band leg curls light x3x12 RPE 8
Cold remnants have moved on for the most part, but still a minor hang-up with getting my breathing on point. I’m not sure if the 440x6 is an all-time rep PR weight for me, but at the very least it’s a no-belt rep PR without a belt and I could’ve gone for another rep or at the very least bumped the weight up some more.
Bench press 240x3x3
Low Bar Squat B 293x3x6
Reverse band bench 270x2x2
Tempo squats (5:0:0) 255x2x6 RPE 8
Rear delts 10x3x15 RPE 8
One-arm band extensions light x3x15 RPE 8
Did this session 2 days later than it was supposed to be, but at least I got it done. Low bar squats were un-good - just didn’t feel dialed in with form and sitting around all weekend certainly had something to do with it. Tempo squats weren’t bad though, guess the slow descent forces me to really hit the proper groove.
Deload week starts tomorrow. Wonder what gets cooked up for me the next 4 weeks.
Low bar squat A 255x3x6
Bench press 215x3x3
DB concentration curls 30x3x10
Reverse band bench press 235x2x6
Pull-ups BWx3x10
Snatch-grip DLs 255x3x10
Bar weight was light but squat felt much better compared to Sunday. Brought my stance in slightly and pointed my toes out a smidge more and that seemed to help things out. Pec was a little tight so I chose to lower the bar weight on the rehab exercises as a sorta deload.
Spoto press 215x2x6
Deadlift 365x4x6
RDLs 285x3x8
Band leg curls light x3x10
First time for the Spoto presses since early December. Felt a little weird to be honest, but not bad. Deadlifts were smooth and I kept the rest between sets around 2 minutes just to get a little extra degree of difficulty.
Low Bar Squat A 305x4; 285x4x4
Incline bench press 185x3x4 RPE 7
DB curls 35x3x12 RPE 8
Band pushdowns average x3x12 RPE 8
Pull-ups BWx3x12 RPE 8
Snatch-grip DLs 315x3x10 RPE 8
Nice start off to this phase. Added the belt back in for squats and it felt a little weird since I haven’t worn it in well over 2 months. Incline bench made an appearance after a 3-month hiatus, so kept the bar weight low just to to get used to it again.
Spoto press 225x5x4 RPE 7
Deadlift 425x4; 395x5x4
RDLs 335x4x8 RPE 8
Band leg curls light x3x12 RPE 8
Some increased bench volume coming and no complaints from the pec so far. Added the belt in on DLs and all the reps had good pop off the floor, probably around a 7 RPE on every set. Seems the gap between my squat and DL is getting wider by the week. Not that I mind the improvement in my pull, but the stagnation with my squat is irritating.
Competition bench press 225x4; 215x5x4
Low Bar Squat B 295x5x4
One-arm DB Military press 45x4x8 RPE 7.5
Tempo Squats (5:0:0) 245x4x4 RPE 7
KB Rear delt raises 10x3x15 RPE 8
One-arm band extensions light x3x12 RPE 8
Late getting this entered. Squats started off bad, but noticed in video replay my stance was a little cockeyed and everything felt smooth after I got my feet lined up and pointed properly. Tempo squats still suck, but I do really think they do a great job verifying proper torso angle and other issues when you’re descending - otherwise even a very light weight will be really hard.
Low Bar Squat A 325x4; 295x4x4
Incline Bench 195x3x4 RPE 7
DB curls 45x3x10 RPE 8
Band pushdowns average x3x12 RPE 8
Pull-ups BWx3x12 RPE 8
Snatch-grip DLs 325x10 RPE 8
Squats were actually pretty decent today. Top set of 325x4 was no problemo and the back-offs gave me the chance to continue getting comfortable with the form tweaks I have made recently. Was only able to do one set of snatch-grip DLs because it was getting late, but they were a bitch as always.
Today was a good day. Pec continues to feel fine as the weights have increased, so that’s reassuring. I like where my deadlift is trending at the moment. The weights I’m handling this early in a training cycle for multiple sets and reps were in the final weeks leading up to a test date or meet prep for singles and doubles. My all-time deadlift PR in a meet was 555 @ a BW of 215, and while I am not there now I think it’s possible to get there in the not-too-distant future - at a BW of 25-30 pounds lighter (depends on the day).
Competition bench press 245x4; 225x4x4
Low Bar Squat B 315x3x4
One-arm DB military press 50x4x8 RPE 7
Tempo Squats (5:0:0) 255x3x4 RPE 7
Band face pulls light x3x15 RPE 8
One-arm band extensions light x3x12 RPE 8
Heaviest full-range bench (without reverse bands) since the meet in December and glad to report no issues. Squat sets were good and 315 felt easier than 295 did last week. RPE 10 comes on Monday and not sure what the target will be, or if I’ll stay closer to a 9 because I feel as though the conservative approach has been more effective the past several weeks.
Low Bar Squat A 345x4 RPE 9; 315x5x4
Incline bench 215x2x4 RPE 8
DB curls 45x3x10 RPE 8
Band pushdowns average x3x12 RPE 8
Snatch-grip DLs 335x2x10 RPE 8
Another solid day under the bar with squats. Got a little off kilter on the third rep with 345, but got my act together for the fourth. Probably would have been an 8, otherwise. Back-off sets were good and turned down the fatigue rating to a 1, resulting in the gift of an extra set from the ‘ai.’ Got started late so I bagged the pull-ups (I’ll make them up this evening) and cut a set on the snatch-grip DLs.
I know it’s supposed to be RPE 10 week, but since flu season is still in full force here (not to mention the spectre of CoVID-19), I’ll keep it around RPE 9 and work at a lower fatigue rating so I don’t compromise my immunity with a super-straining lift.
Good night for pulls. This is technically a PR at my current bodyweight, but it’s probably not too far off from being an all-time PR at any weight - though I’d be remiss to say in past training programs I usually didn’t go past 3 reps on the DLs.
Competition bench press 255x4 RPE 9; 230x4x4
Low Bar Squat B 320x3x4
One-arm DB military press 55x4x8 RPE 8
Tempo Squat (5:0:0) 265x2x4 RPE 8
Band face pulls light x3x15 RPE 8
One-arm band extensions light x3x12 RPE 8
Bench was just kind of meh today, but squats felt like crap. Was sporting some low back fatigue from deadlifting on Wednesday and the cumulative effect of the week’s intensity in general. Deload time next week.
Low bar squat A 285x4x4
Incline bench 185x2x4
DB curls 35x3x10
Pushdowns average x3x12
Pull-ups BWx2x12
Snatch-grip DLs 275x2x10
Day 2
Spoto presses 215x2x4
Deadlifts 385x3x4
RDLs 315x2x8
Band leg curls light x2x12
Day 3
Bench press 215x3x4
Low bar squat B 275x3x4
One-arm DB military press 45x2x8
Tempo squats (5:0:0) 235x2x4
Band face pulls light x3x15
One-arm band extensions x3x12
I hope everyone is well in these frightening times. Guess it was good that this past week was a deload just to give an opportunity to figure out this big change in day-to-day. Still proceeding as if meet will occur on June 13th, but looks unlikely given how things are spiraling in the COVID-19 hotspots.
So, first day of using the Juggernaut 2.0 and I am more keen on this setup. The spreadsheet has actual options to pick from for assistance work so I can get a little creative from time-to-time for the non-core stuff. The order of my days are jumbled up as well and the method of periodization has shifted to either alternating or undulating. Squats were good and could have handled more weight on the bar.
Bench press 225x5;210x4x5
Low bar squat 255x3x4
DB rows 65x3x12 RPE 7
DB hammer curls 25x3x15 RPE 7
Triceps pushdowns 70x3x15 RPE 7
One-arm DB military press 40x2x12 RPE 7
Situps 2x12 RPE 7
Still rolling along with the tweaks in the program. I like how things are laid out thus far with the alternating/undulating periodization setup during strength phases. More assistance stuff than I’m used to, but I think it’s a function of all the MEV/MRV and other diagnostic stuff in the system.
Deadlift 465x5 RPE 9.5 (rep PR); 420x4x5
Spoto presses 185x4x5 RPE 6
High bar squat 245x4x5 RPE 6.5
EZ-bar curls 65x3x15 RPE 6
Overhead band extensions mmini x3x15 RPE 7
DB front raises 15x3x12 RPE 7
Banded good mornings average x3x15 RPE 6
Single-leg calf raises 45x3x15 RPE 7
Hanging leg raises 2x15
Wasn’t really feeling great headed into the session, but once warmups got rolling started to get in a groove. I had planned on working up to a top set of ~455, but bumped that target up by 10. The 465x5 moved really well and had I wanted to go for broke another 10 pounds wouldn’t have been out of the picture.
I put off the assistance stuff that came after the high-bar squats until Saturday because I got a late start and I didn’t want to be in the garage past 8 pm. First week down and seems like it’s off to a good start.
I turned the readiness rating for today to a 1 and the system thought it a good idea to make me do 7 sets of 5. Not hard, but had me sweating a little bit as I tried to keep the rest periods down to between 2 and 3 minutes. I increased the sets and/or weight on most of the assistance stuff as well. Getting some work done while sheltering in place. Now if only I could get some actual job work accomplished working from home, that would be nice.