Week 2 Day 2
Bench press 225x6x5
Low Bar squat 265x3x4
DB rows 75x3x15 RPE 7.5
Alternating hammer curls 30x3x15 RPE 7
Triceps pushdowns 70x3x15 RPE 7
DB military presses 45x2x15 RPE 7.5
Sit-ups 3x12
Put a readiness score of 1 for the bench today and I think it was the right call as the 225x6x5 struck the right balance between effort and volume. Enjoying the variation in assistance work that has come with the program tweak, but shewie it gets me sweating.
Week 2 Day 3
Deadlift 395x6x5
Spoto presses 205x4x5 RPE 7
High bar squat 255x4x5
EZ bar curls 72.5x3x15 RPE 7
Overhead extensions mmini x3x15 RPE 7
DB front raises 15x3x15 RPE 7
Banded good mornings average+light x3x15 RPE 7
Single-leg calf raises 45x3x15 RPE 7
Hanging leg raises 2x12
Bit of an easier episode today. Good amount of volume on the deadlift but nothing unmanageable given the lighter load. Still had a good sweat going after it was all over.
Week 3 Day 1
Low bar squat 345x5 RPE 9; 305x5x5
DB lateral raises 20x3x15 RPE 8
Bentover rows 155x2x15 RPE 8
Single-arm pulldowns 60x4x15 RPE 8
Step-ups 55x4x15 RPE 8
Pullthroughs 55x3x15 RPE 8
V-ups 3x15 RPE 8
Good session today. Added a rep since last time using 345 and while the 5th rep required some strain another was in the tank. Back-off sets were tough, kept rest between 3 and 4 minutes per and the garage was warm so there was some serious sweating going on by the time the last rep of the 5th set rolled around. Did the max # of sets and reps on the assistance work, too. I don’t usually sweat much and I looked like I ran through a sprinkler when I was finished lol.
Week 3 Day 2
Bench press 250x5 RPE 9.5; 225x4x5
Low bar squat 275x3x4
DB rows 80x4x15 RPE 8
DB hammer curls 30x4x15 RPE 7.5
Band pushdowns average x4x15 RPE 8
DB military press 47.5x3x15 RPE 8
Weighted situps BW+5x3x15
Bench strength is still down from pre-injury levels, but I’m getting closer. Wanted to get more weight on the bar, but have to remain patient. Upped the volume on assistance work and it really paid off with a good pump and sweat.
Week 3 Day 3
Deadlift 415x5; 385x5x5
Spoto press 235x4x5 RPE 8
High-bar squats (no belt) 295x4x5 RPE 9
EZ bar curls 80x4x15 RPE 8
Overhead extensions 45x4x15 RPE 8
(remaining assistance work to come later today)
I was feeling the cumulative effects of this being the 3rd week and the heavy squats and bench I’d already done the previous two training days. Not to mention just dealing with two monsters at home and trying to get my own job responsibilities taken care of (Cliffs notes - I haven’t).
In other news, the USPA Drug Tested Nationals was finally postponed as I figured it would be, but looks like the Columbus Convention Center stuck it to the USPA and slotted the event in for labor day weekend. I’m not fully convinced they’ll be able to have it then either because we don’t have this thing anywhere near under control and people are going to be afraid to gather if there’s a chance of getting infected.
Week 4 Day 1
Deload time
Squat 255x4x5
DB lateral raises 15x3x15
BB rows 135x15
Single-arm lat pulldowns light x3x15 RPE 6
Step ups 40x3x15 RPE 6
Band pull throughs light x2x15 RPE 6
V-ups 3x15
Week 4 Day 2
Bench press 185x4x5
Low Bar squat 275x3x3
DB rows 65x4x15 RPE 6
DB hammer curls 25x3x15 RPE 6
Band pushdowns average x3x15 RPE 6
One-arm DB military press 45x2x12 RPE 7
Sit-ups 3x15
Another low impact day in the garage, which is good since trying to teach an experiential-based college class has been anything but low impact (or stress). Also just learned earlier this week I’ll likely have to teach a business statistics in the fall, but don’t know if it’s going to be online or not. I hope it won’t be, but it’s usually a big-ish lecture class and the emerging trend for fall 2020 appears to be large classes online and classes with lower enrollment spread out in larger classrooms.
That’s funny. I am teaching a technology in criminal justice class in the fall. I am far from being a tech guy. I really want a seated class and not online. My lack of tech knowledge will really come through in an online class. I can fake it in person.
The tech component I’m ok with for the most part but it’s a pain in the ass to try and do it in real time as you are trying to teach it, though the setup in the room I used before we went online mid-semester sucked and made it harder than it needed to be.
The sessions I had to do via video I recorded my voice and clipped in the in-class econometrics examples using screen recording software and a video editor. Worked nicely, but it did take some time to pull it off - wrote a script and everything.
Week 4 Day 3
End of deload
Deadlift 355x4x5
Spoto press 195x3x5
High bar squat 235x2x5
EZ bar curls 65x3x15 RPE 6
Overhead band extensions mmini x3x15 RPE 7
DB front raises 15x3x15 RPE 7
Banded good mornings average+light x3x15 RPE 7
Single-leg calf raises 45x2x15 RPE 7
Last day of deload. Kept the rest periods as brief as possible and managed to get a little sweat action out of it. Start a new meet training cycle next week since the USPA DTN was moved to Labor Day weekend. System is starting me with 6’s on the main lifts - at least it’s not 10’s.
Week 1 Day 1
Low bar squat 295x6; 275x4x6
DB floor press 50x3x15 RPE 6
Paused Deadlifts 315x4x4 RPE 6
Inverted rows BWx3x12 RPE 6
Step-ups 75x3x15 RPE 7
Pull-throughs 45x2x15 RPE 7
V-ups BWx3x15 RPE 7
Not a bad first day to the revamped training cycle. I haven’t gone over 5 reps for the core lift in a while and I had to keep reminding myself each set to do 6 reps for the squat. First time ever doing paused DLs so I started out light with just 315 and stuck with a double-overhand to get some grip work in as well.
Week 1 Day 2
Bench press 220x6; 210x6x6
Belt squat 100x3x15 RPE 7
Pull-ups BWx2x12 RPE 6
Concentration curls 25x3x15 RPE 7
One-arm Band pushdowns light x3x15 RPE 6
Face pulls light x3x15 RPE 7
Sit-ups 3x12
Fair number of reps on bench, but not too bad given the weight was relatively light. System had me set up for split squats as the primary quad exercise for the day but since I hate them I swapped out to belt squats. Serious Ron Burgundy deep burn action from them. Everything else was done short and sweet.
Week 1 Day 3
Deadlift 405x6; 375x5x6
Spoto presses 200x5x6 RPE 6
High-bar squats 245x4x6 RPE 6
DB curls 27.5x3x15 RPE 6
Triceps pushdowns average x3x15 RPE 7
DB lateral raises 15x3x15 RPE 6
Banded good mornings average+light+mini x3x15 RPE 7
Temptation was there to put more weight on the bar, but stuck with the plan as written. High-bar squats were light and easy, though I didn’t really want to do them because my knees were achy after playing a little driveway basketball with my sons, lol.
Week 2 Day 1
Squat 315x6; 285x4x6
DB floor press 65x3x15 RPE 7
Paused DLs 365x4x4 RPE 7
Inverted rows BWx2x15 RPE 7
Step-ups 85x3x15 RPE 8
Pull throughs light x3x15 RPE 7
(abs today when I have time)
Might not look like a crazy amount of work, but I kept the rest periods relatively tight even on the squat sets so this ended up being a slog. Top set of squats felt good and will be interested to see what I can put up for RPE 10 week next week.
Week 2 Day 2
Bench press 225x7x6
Belt squats 125x3x15 RPE 7
Pull-ups BW+5x2x12 RPE 7
DB concentration curls 27.5x2x15 RPE 7
One-arm band pushdowns light+micro-mini x3x15 RPE 7
Face pulls light+micro mini x3x15 RPE 7
V-ups 2x15
Sit-ups 2x12
Put a fatigue rating of 1 in for bench and the system rewards me with 7 sets of 6. Even though it was just 225, that’s a lot of reps. I really like belt squats and of all the squat variations I feel them in my quads the most by a long way, though they can be a pain to maneuver with the loading pin.
Week 2 Day 3
Deadlift 465x6 RPE 10; 410x4x6
Spoto press 220x5x6 RPE 7
High bar squats 265x4x6 RPE 7
DB curls 30x3x15 RPE 7
Band pushdowns average+micro-mini x3x15 RPE 8
Lateral raises 20x3x15 RPE 7
Calves + abs
I pushed ahead with an extra rep on 465 from a month ago and it was definitely harder this time around. I was feeling kind of meh for this one, too, so to get this for 6 reps was nice. Pretty sure I’ll need to be careful with the deadlift volume for a few weeks because my low back is definitely feeling some heat right now and I still have a heavy squat session to look forward to tomorrow, along with some DL assistance work.
465 x 6 is great. Just be careful with that back. You don’t want a surgical disc fusion. I had one at 30 after ignoring the pain too long.
It’s not pain, more of a fatigue issue. Although keep pushing it too hard and that fatigue issue will turn into greater potential for injury. I am not going to be dumb about it.
Week 3 Day 1
Squat 340x6 RPE 9.5; 300x4x6
DB floor press 75x3x15 RPE 8 (average)
DL with pause below knee 405x3x4 RPE 9
Inverted rows BWx3x12 RPE 8
Pull-throughs light+mini x3x15 RPE 8
Shewie, this was brutal. Back was still a little worn out from DLs last Friday but didn’t hurt the squat much. Unfortunately, I botched my setup on the top set and once I got to rep #3 realized I needed to re-rack the weight and quickly reset. Might have equaled a 10 second pause in the set, but still got 4,5 and 6 with some level of strain. A cleaner set-up would have probably resulted in a RPE of 9. Back-off sets with only 300 were rough by that 4th set.
Pause DLs suuuuuuuuucked. Did the first two sets without a belt and even though they weren’t 10s, I knew the 3rd would have been a shit-show so putting on the belt was an easy call. Thankfully, the rest of the week isn’t too bad as DL on Friday will be lighter than last week.
Week 3 Day 2
Bench press 245x6 RPE 9; 225x6x6
Belt squats 135x4x15 RPE 8
Pullups BW+10x2x12 RPE 8
DB concentration curls 30x3x13 RPE 8
One-arm band pushdowns light+mini x3x15 RPE 8
Face pulls light+mini x3x15 RPE 8
Situps 3x12
Solid day. Bench is slowly coming around, but it’s becoming clear how much the pec strain hurt my strength. I figure I can get back to pre-injury numbers by the time the meet comes around (assuming it goes on as planned) and then some hopefully.