Week 3 Day 3
Deadlift 425x5x5
Spoto presses 235x5x6 RPE 8.5
High-bar squats 275x3x6 RPE 7
DB curls 35x3x13 RPE 8
Band pushdowns average+mini x3x15 RPE 8
DB lateral raises 20x2x15 RPE 7
Banded good mornings average+average x3x15 RPE 8
Ab+calves
Man, I need a deload and thank goodness I’m scheduled for one next week. First few sets of DLs weren’t too bad, but the 4th and 5th were both tough on rep #5. Not like risking a miss kind of tough mind you, but still not fun lol. Spotos, high-bar squats and some assistance work wrapped things up.
Yep, listen to your body.
I did and it communicated via farts.
Week 4 Day 1
Squat 245x4x6
DB floor press 60x2x15 RPE 6
Deadlift w/ pause below knee 330x2x4
Inverted row BWx2x12 RPE 7
Step-ups 65x2x15 RPE 6
Pull-throughs 60x2x15 RPE 6
V-ups BWx2x12
Easy day, but I needed it after all the fatigue I’ve accumulated the last couple of weeks.
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Week 4 Day 2
Bench press 185x4x8
Belt squat 110x2x15
Pull-ups Bwx2x12 RPE 7
DB concentration curls 25x3x12 RPE 6/7
One-arm band pushdowns light x3x15 RPE 6
Face pulls light+micro x3x15 RPE 7
Sit-ups 2x12
Deload is working its magic. Not feeling dump trucked like end of last week and looking forward to putting a little more weight on the bar next week.
Week 4 Day 3
Deadlift 365x3x6
Spoto presses 195x3x8
High-bar squats 225x3x6
DB curls 25x3x15
Band pushdowns average x3x15
Banded good mornings average+average x3x15
Single-leg calf raises 2x15
Situps 2x15
Deload is over
Strength phase
Week 1 Day 1
Squat 305x4; 280x6x4
CG floor presses 205x5x4 RPE 6
Paused DLs (below knee) 365x6x2
DB rows 75x3x12 RPE 6
Split squat (rear foot elevated) 25x2x12 RPE 6
Pull throughs light+mini x3x12 RPE 6
Ab wheel BWx2x12
Squat was just OK today. I rushed things a bit on the top set, but took my time with everything on the back off sets to get some good practice in. I was supposed to do incline bench, but swapped out for close grip floor presses to work on the pressing muscles and mid-range more this phase. Pause DLs had good snap and would probably rate a 6 or 7 RPE. Split squats had my legs on fire even though I was just using 25-lb dumbbells.
Week 1 Day 2
Bench press 235x4; 220x7x4
Belt squat 130x3x12 RPE 6
Deadlift 315x3x3
Pull-ups BW+10x2x10 RPE 6
EZ bar curls 75x3x12 RPE 7
Neutral Grip Push-ups BW+mini x3x12 RPE 7
Face pulls light+mini x3x12 RPE 7
Pallof press mini x2x12 RPE 7
Lots of bench reps today and they all looked good on replay. Did a few new assistance exercises that I have never done before and I think they’re going to be good additions to the rotation (ng pushups with a band and pallof press).
Week 1 Day 3
Deadlift 425x7x3
Low pin presses 205x6x3 RPE 6
SSB squat 255x4x3
3-count pause bench 185x3x4
Hammer curls 35x3x12 RPE 6
Band pushdowns average+mini x3x12 RPE 7
Plate raise w/ twist 25x2x12 RPE 6
Situps 2x12
Had to do a double take when I saw what was put in for Friday’s DL work. Got through it though with no problem, even kept the rest periods down to the 2-3 minute range and all the reps had good pop off the floor and strong finish. Hadn’t done low pin presses in maybe a decade and I remember them always giving my right shoulder an issue, but this time no such problem (though weight was low).
Week 2 Day 1
Squat 325x4; 295x4x4
CG floor press 225x4x4 RPE 7
Pause below-the-knee DLs 385x7x2
DB rows 80x3x12 RPE 7
Split squats (rear leg elevated) 35x2x12 RPE 7
Pull-throughs light+monster mini x3x12 RPE 7
Ab wheel 3x12
Hot day in the garage so I backed down on the squat intensity a bit. Got some nice quality reps in though with the top set and back-off work. Split squats actually sucked more than the regular ones, lol. Was able to get a little lower with the ab wheel this week.
Week 2 Day 2
Bench press 245x4; 225x6x4
Belt squats 145x3x12 RPE 7
Deadlifts 335x3x3
Pull-ups BW+15x2x12 RPE 7
EZ bar curls 80x3x12 RPE 8
Neutral-grip pushups BW+mminix3x12 RPE 7
Face pulls light+monster mini x2x12 RPE 7
Pallof press mini x2x12
Kept the rest between sets down to a couple of minutes for the most part, so even though the garage wasn’t quite as hot as Monday it was steamy enough that I was drenched by the end. Bench felt good and I really like belt squats outside of the awkwardness of the setup I have.
Week 2 Day 3
Deadlift 485x3 RPE 9.5; 425x6x3
Low pin presses 225x6x3 RPE 7
SSB squat 275x4x3
Bench press 195x3x4
Hammer curls 37.5x3x12 RPE 7
Band pushdowns average+mini x3x12 RPE 7
Plate raise w/ twist 35x2x10 RPE 7
Single-leg calf raises 45x2x12 RPE 7
Weighted sit-ups BW+10x2x12
Ended up being a good day. Warmups felt like crap on deadlift and thought for sure I was going to have rein in my expectations for the top set. I said to hell with it and went with 485 for 3 and everything turned out A-OK. I rated it as a 9.5 since I don’t know if another rep was in the cards, but some more weight felt like a possibility for sure. Ignore my pandemic mop-top in the video - my hair is in serious need of a trim, but I’m not about to let my wife butcher it like she did our 7-year old’s hair lol.
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Week 3 Day 1
Squat 350x4 RPE 9.5; 310x4x4
CG floor presses 235x4x4 RPE 7.5
DL paused below the knee 405x6x2
DB rows 85x3x12 RPE 8
*some other stuff to finish later today (split-squats, pull-throughs and ab wheel)
This was probably the poorest squat session I’ve had in weeks. Maybe it was lingering fatigue from DLs on Friday or something, but everything 225 and over just started to feel heavy. Although 350 felt good coming out of the rack and the bar never stopped moving at any point, I just felt slow and I managed to hit the safety pins on the first rep so that didn’t help either. Since I’m far enough out from the meet I am going to run a 4-week stint with reverse band squats on the heavy squat day to build up some confidence under the bar. Floor presses and paused DLs went well, though. Nothing to comment on there.
Week 3 Day 2
Bench press 260x4 RPE 9; 235x6x4
Belt squat 155x3x12 RPE 8
Deadlift 355x3x3
Pull-ups BW+20 2x10 RPE 8
EZ-bar curls 85x3x12 RPE 8
Neutral-grip pushups BW+mminix3x12 RPE 8
Face pulls average+mmini x2x12 RPE 8
Weighted situps BW+10x2x12 RPE 8
Bench was on point today. I haven’t looked back, but I think 260 for 4 is the best I’ve had since leading up to the meet back in December and it wasn’t an all out RPE 10 either. Belt squats are good, though I would rather have some additional 25s to put on the loading pin as I’m using 45# and 35# KBs.
Week 3 Day 3
Deadlift 420x7x3
Low pin presses 235x5x3 RPE 7
SSB squat 295x3x3
Bench press 205x3x4
Hammer curls 40x3x12 RPE 8
Pushdowns average+mini x3x12 RPE 8
Plate raises w/ twist 35x2x12 RPE 8
Single leg calf raises 2x12
Lots of DL reps today, but not too bad though. Kept rest down to ~ 2 minutes per also. Chest was still running a little sore from Wednesday and the right (where the strain occurred back in December) was a smidge tight. It’s deload next week so I’ll take advantage of it and take it easy with any bench-related stuff and keep it on the light side next phase. Last thing I need is to aggravate the gotdamn thing.
Deload week
Squat 250x4x4
CG floor press 200x4x3
Paused DL 330x3x2
DB rows 75x4x12
Split Squat 30x2x12
Pull-throughs light+mini 2x12
Ab wheel 2x12
Not much to write about. Good time for the deload, though.
Deload continues
Bench press 185x5x4
Belt squat 135x2x12
Deadlift 315x3x4
Pull-ups BW+10x2x10 RPE 6
EZ-bar curls 75x3x12 RPE 6
NG Pushups 20x3x12 RPE 6
Face pulls average x3x12 RPE 7
Situps 2x12
Got a damn crick in my neck from falling asleep in the recliner on Tuesday night. Bugged me a little, but luckily it’s deload week so limited chance of straining it.
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I didn’t log my other deload day, but it was exactly what I needed and got me ready to get back to grown-up weights.
Strength phase
Week 1 Day 1
Reverse band squat (mminis) 325x5 RPE 6-7; 305x6x5
Military press 115x4x5 RPE 6
Paused DL below knee 365x4x3
One-arm pulldowns light+mmini x3x15 RPE 6
Leg extensions mini x3x15 RPE 6
Pull-throughs light+mmini x3x15 RPE 6
Weighted situps 10x2x12
Good first day after the deload. Squat reps looked fairly consistent throughout the top set and back-off work. Bands were probably taking 40 or so pounds off at the very bottom of the lift but nothing at the top with the setup I was using. This way, I get a sense of what the bar weight actually feels like, which will help solidifying my setup once the bar weight rises higher in the coming weeks. Not much to say about the rest except that I haven’t done military presses for months and they felt weird.
Week 1 Day 2
Bench press 225x5; 210x6x5
Belt squat 125x3x15 RPE 6
Box deadlift 225x3x12 RPE 6
BB rows 155x2x15 RPE 6
DB concentration curls 25x3x15 RPE 7
Triceps kickbacks 15x3x15 RPE 6
DB lateral raises 15x2x15 RPE 7
V-ups 2x15
Not too tough of a day. Deload seemed to have helped the right pec as it felt a-ok throughout. First go-round with box DLs so I was super conservative with the weight, but I can really see where they will benefit the assistance DL muscles. I’ll push the bar weight up over the next couple of weeks.
Week 1 Day 3
Deadlifts 415x4; 385x4x4
Floor press 195x6x5 RPE 6
High-bar squats 255x5x4 RPE 6
Feet-up bench press 175x3x12 RPE 6
DB curls 30x2x15 RPE 6
Triceps pressdowns average+mi-mini x2x15 RPE 7
Face pulls average+mi-mini x3x15 RPE 6
Band good mornings average+average x3x15 RPE 6
One-leg calf raises 35x2x15 RPE 6
Pallof press mini x2x15
Looked like a lot, but it was fairly low impact overall. DLs were easy and honestly moved like deload of last week. I used to clown on people for the feet-up bench and I’m still not sold on them, but I’ll give them a chance. At the very least they’ll let me lighten the bar weight on a pressing movement and get some hypertrophy work in for the chesticles.
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