Bench, 2 Count Pause (195 x 2 x 1), RPE 6
Bench (170 x 5 x 4), 88% of Set 1
Machine Chest Press (145 x 15 x 3), RPE 7
Tricep Extension (32.5 x 15 x 3), RPE 7
Lateral Raises (20 x 12 x 3), RPE 7
Pause Bench
Possibly overshot RPE by a hair, but also thinking ahead to where I want to end the phase so being a little more aggressive out of the gate. I could feel bar speed slowing a bit on rep 2.
Bench
Just some inconsistency off my chest, sometimes pausing longer on some reps than on others, but never just touch and go
Work on my breathing. Sometimes not being patient about locking in that breath before I start the descent.
Squat (250 x 5 x 1), RPE 6
Squat (215 x 8 x 3), 85% of Set 1
RDL (210 x 5 x 1), RPE 6
RDL (180 x 8 x 2), 85% of Set 1
Leg Press (335 x 15 x 3), RPE 7
Russian Twists (10 x 3)
Squat
My coach wants me to work on keeping my weight over mid-foot. Sometimes I can fall backwards a little. I really started to nail it in my warmup sets and could tell the difference in how much power and ease I had coming up off the floor. Unfortunately, my working sets were really hit or miss in this regard. Just something to work on for next time.
RDL
Really feeling these in my hamstrings and doing a good job of keeping the bar close to my body.
DB Shoulder Press (40 x 10 x 2), RPE 7
Machine Chest Fly (100 x 15 x 2), RPE 7
Pull-ups (BW x 10), AMRAP at RPE 7
Horizontal Machine Row (120 x 15 x 4), RPE 7
EZ bar spider curls (50 x 15 x 3), RPE 7
DB Lateral Raises (17.5 x 17 x 3), RPE 7
Solid session, but felt a little weird not having one of the big 3 lifts. It’s probably not a bad thing though as this is a way to get some additional upper body volume in without running myself into the ground on this cut.
My issue is forward, but when I warm up for squats, I try to feel the pressure in my feet. It there is a lot on the toes that is a clue I am too forward. When I go heavier, it is a really tough movement for me though. Lots of practice, and it just doesn’t stick when I get to ~80%.
Bench, 2 Count Pause (205 x 1 x 1), RPE 6.5
Bench (165 x 8 x 3), 80% of Set 1
Dips (BW x 12 x 3), RPE 8
Hammer Curls (25 x 15 x 3), RPE 8
Upright Rows (80 x 12 x 3), RPE 8
Bench went up by 10 over last week and I’m definitely feeling like I have room to grow over the next two weeks of this training cycle! 225 does feel realistic, but not a huge deal if I fall a little short because any 2-count pause over 205 will already be a PR for me.
Mentally feeling very solid. For me the secret is getting a secure lift off and make sure I’m pushing forward with my feet as soon as I go to unrack.
Happy with the progress on my accessory moves too.
Pause Squat (295 x 1 x 1), RPE 7
Pause Squat (250 x 4 x 4), 85% of Set 1
Pause DL (315 x 1 x 1), RPE 7
Pause DL (285 x 3 x 4), 88% of Set 1
Walking Lunges (30 x 2 x 16 x 3), RPE 8
Leg Curls (95 x 17 x 3), RPE 8
Pause Squats
So close to 300, but was already up 10 over last week and felt like I was at RPE 7, so I didn’t push it and go for a heavier set
All around feeling better and not falling back as much as last week
Pause Dl
These seemed to really pop off the floor. I think I’m starting to figure out how to work with the floor and bar to get a strong start to the movement
Barbell Row to Chest (125 x 8 x 3), RPE 8
Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown (122.5 x 15 x 4), RPE 8
Cable Curls (47.5 x 17 x 3), RPE 8
DB Rear Delt Flies (20 x 15 x 3), RPE 8
Dead Bugs (6 per side x 3)
Weighed Slant/Incline Board Crunches (20 x 15 x 3)
Weights/reps moving up consistently across the board
Starting to feel more normal/not ‘feeling the cut’ as much as I did on Week 1
Bench, 2 Count Pause (195 x 2 x 1), RPE 7
Bench (175 x 5 x 4), 88% of Set 1
Machine Chest Press (165 x 12 x 3), RPE 8
Tricep Extension (35 x 15 x 3), RPE 8
Lateral Raises (20 x 15 x 3), RPE 8
Pause Bench
My coach had me hold the weight since I felt like I overshot RPE in week one, and it was the right move. Rep 2 felt easier and more controlled.
Bench
Bumped up the weight here even though it puts me over the 12% drop since keeping the weight the same would have been too light/easy
Squat (260 x 5 x 1), RPE 6.5
Squat (225 x 8 x 3), 85% of Set 1
RDL (220 x 5 x 1), RPE 6.5
RDL (185 x 8 x 2), 85% of Set 1
Leg Press (345 x 15 x 3), RPE 8
Russian Twists (10 x 4)
Squat
Much better with feet today, now to get consistent with keeping my elbows in close
RDL
I think I can push the weight up a little more aggressively next week
DB Shoulder Press (45 x 10 x 2), RPE 8
Machine Chest Fly (105 x 15 x 2), RPE 8
Pull-ups (BW x 11), AMRAP at RPE 8
Horizontal Machine Row (125 x 15 x 4), RPE 8
EZ bar spider curls (50 x 17 x 3), RPE 8
DB Lateral Raises (17.5 x 20 x 3), RPE 8
Good session to end the week. Scale is dropping nicely as well going from 194 to the high 190-191 range.
Bench, 2 Count Pause (210 x 1 x 1), RPE 7
Bench (170 x 8 x 3), 80% of Set 1
Dips (BW x 13 x 3), RPE 9
Hammer Curls (30 x 13 x 3), RPE 8.5
Upright Rows (80 x 15 x 3), RPE 8
Based on how 210 felt, I’m probably not going to make it to 225 by the end of this training cycle, but not a huge deal as this is still a PR on bench with the 2 count pause variation.
Better about not letting the bar roll forward at the bottom which I can sometimes let happen
Also a little bit of a mental hiccup, but glad I was able to push through
Happy to see my accessories consistently progressing
Things are getting more serious with my coach wanting weekly physique updates to better assess what’s going on in terms of body composition rather than solely relying on the scale and other measurements, which I’m fine with. I most likely won’t be posting them here on a weekly basis, but probably every 3-4 weeks. Abs coming out a bit more already which is pretty decent for just 2 weeks of cutting.
Pause Squat (305 x 1 x 1), RPE 8
Pause Squat (260 x 4 x 4), 85% of Set 1
Pause DL (325 x 1 x 1), RPE 8
Pause DL (295 x 3 x 4), 88% of Set 1
Walking Lunges (35 x 2 x 16 x 3), RPE 9
Leg Curls (100 x 17 x 3), RPE 9
Pause Squats
First time getting squats into the 300s since my injury last November!
I want to be a little more patient with my pauses at the botto
Pause DLs
Finally figured out how to get my head to stay neutral during these
Focused on bracing a bit more and I was getting a better pop off the floor
Barbell Row to Chest (135 x 8 x 3), RPE 9
Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown (125 x 15 x 4), RPE 9
Cable Curls (47.5 x 19 x 3), RPE 9
DB Rear Delt Flies (20 x 20 x 3), RPE 9
Dead Bugs (6 per side x 3)
Weighed Slant/Incline Board Crunches (25 x 15 x 3)
Solid session with the weights moving up consistently while maintaining form
Bench, 2 Count Pause (200 x 2 x 1), RPE 8
Bench (185 x 5 x 4), 88% of Set 1
Machine Chest Press (165 x 15 x 3), RPE 9
Tricep Extension (37.5 x 15 x 3), RPE 9
Lateral Raises (22.5 x 12 x 3), RPE 9
Pause Bench
Let myself get a bit mental here, rather than staying confident throughout. Otherwise, workout as a whole was solid.
Squat (270 x 5 x 1), RPE 7
Squat (235 x 8 x 3), 85% of Set 1
RDL (230 x 5 x 1), RPE 7
RDL (195 x 8 x 2), 85% of Set 1
Leg Press (355 x 15 x 3), RPE 8
Russian Twists (15 x 4)
Squat
Still having a little trouble falling back, but getting better
RDLs
Good stretch but I noticed sometimes one side of the bar was just going a tad lower than the other
DB Shoulder Press (50 x 9 x 2), RPE 9
Machine Chest Fly (110 x 15 x 2), RPE 9
Pull-ups (BW x 12), AMRAP at RPE 9
Horizontal Machine Row (130 x 15 x 4), RPE 9
EZ bar spider curls (50 x 17 x 3), RPE 9
DB Lateral Raises (20 x 20 x 3), RPE 9
Definitely feeling more fatigued, but a happy to see lifts still increasing
Bench, 2 Count Pause (210 x 1 x 1), RPE 7.5
Bench (175 x 8 x 3), 80% of Set 1
Dips (BW x 15 x 3), RPE 9
Hammer Curls (30 x 15 x 3), RPE 9
Upright Rows (90 x 12 x 3), RPE 9
A little bit of an off day. Everything just felt harder. I decided to hold weight on my top set of bench, but it felt like I slotted into the right RPE rather than being a little over like last week
Pause Squat (315 x 1 x 1), RPE 9
Pause Squat (270 x 4 x 4), 85% of Set 1
Pause DL (345 x 1 x 1), RPE 9
Pause DL (315 x 3 x 4), 88% of Set 1
Walking Lunges (40 x 2 x 16 x 3), RPE 9
Leg Curls (105 x 17 x 3), RPE 9
Pause Squats
Back to 3 big plates!
Pause DLs
Focused on being faster after the pause and made a huge difference, as you can see by how much weights jumped over last week
Barbell Row to Chest (140 x 8 x 3), RPE 9.5
Parallel Grip Lat Pulldown (127.5 x 15 x 4), RPE 9
Cable Curls (52.5 x 18 x 3), RPE 9
DB Rear Delt Flies (22.5 x 20 x 3), RPE 9
Dead Bugs (6 per side x 3)
Weighed Slant/Incline Board Crunches (25 x 15 x 3)
Bench, 2 Count Pause (205 x 2 x 1), RPE 9
Bench (190 x 5 x 4), 88% of Set 1
Machine Chest Press (185 x 15 x 3), RPE 9
Tricep Extension (42.5 x 15 x 3), RPE 9
Lateral Raises (22.5 x 15 x 3), RPE 9
Pause Bench
Another crap bench day in terms of how things felt even if I hit my weights. Over the deload week I’m going to reset. I’ve dropped about 10 lbs since the start of my cut and I know that makes a difference, but it’s also weird taking a performance hit on my big lifts this early into a cut. It usually takes about 6 weeks. That being said, a huge part of this is just mental. My accessories are all moving up so I know I’m making progress in some way.
