TCam's Log - The Road to Elite

Training Training Logs
1261

Focused - Week 11 - Day 2

Reverse Band Squat w/ Belt (-70 at bottom):
1x455-70
1x495-70
1x545-70 - Hard but very solid form-wise. Video here
5x4x475-70 - No AMRAP in me today, so I took another set instead

Conventional Deadlift w/ Belt/Straps - Speed Work:
8x2x455 - 60 sec rests

Smith Machine Split Squat:
2x10/10x140

Standing Single Leg Curl:
10/10x70
10/10x70 + 10/10x50 + 12/12x35 + 15/15x25 - Drop set

Seated Calf Raise:
10x45
10x90
10x90 + 10x45 - Drop set

Reverse V-Ups w/ Ab Dolly:
2x15

Hit my wave goal of 545 with this reverse band set up, so Iā€™m happy with that. Iā€™m especially happy with how well my form held up for it though. It was not an easy rep and it 545 being my 1RM PR felt pretty crushing at the top, but I didnā€™t have any real form breakdown like I usually would on a rep this hard, so thatā€™s the real win here. PR for this variation is 565-55, so Iā€™m about 35 lbs off of that. Would love to be able to crush that and hit 585-70 the next time this variation comes around. Gotta stay healthy though.

1262

Focused - Week 11

Day 3

A1 | Single Arm DB Row:
2x12/12x140

A2 | Lying DB Triceps Extension:
12x35
12x45
2x12x55

Lat Pulldown:
10x150
10x180
8x200

Weighted Push-Ups:
15xBW+45
15xBW+60

Concentration Curl:
2x15/15x30

Very light day here, skipping the open-chain presses entirely. Shoulder and elbow pains have been creeping in since week 2 squats and got a bit worse after this past week. So I knew I should just lay low and not push into any more pain for minimal upside.

Day 4

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps (DL Bar):
1x495
1x545
3x585 - Match PR, but RPE 9. Video here
2x5x495

Pin SSB Squat w/ Belt:
5x3x340

Leg Press - Glute Focus (High/Wide Feet):
2x15x450

Hyper + Plates:
10x45
10x90
10x135
10x135 + 12x90 + 10x45 - Drop set

Hollow Holds:
Few sets of 30 sec with some bicycle kicks and dead-bug limb movements

Really casually hit my 3RM PR today. When I hit that a few years ago, I had an awful time with the 3rd rep lockout , but todayā€™s was really smooth all the way through. Still going to be focusing on squats, but itā€™s nice to be pulling in this range again.

SSB felt pretty awful, so I decided to lower the reps and use a harder variation. Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™ve ever done SSB to pins, but itā€™s super hard for me. Likely going to be using this as my next SSB supplement after this next wave with it as the main squat.

Recapping wave 3 and preparing for wave 4: I hit several goals during this wave with close grip and reverse band squats, so Iā€™m very happy with those. I was going to avoid sumo for a while until I got permission to use the DL bar from its owner, so Iā€™m back on my bullshit there as long as Iā€™m being smart about it. My hip issue is clearing up nicely so far, likely due to the continuation of split squat variations. Some right shoulder pain (and subsequent elbow pain) cropped up mid-wave, but that should clear up as I deload this week and move away from close grip as well. Moving forward Iā€™m going to be switching up how I deload main lifts vs accessories. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever seen a program written out this way, so maybe Iā€™m stupid, but I do have some good letters behind my name.

Main lifts will be deloaded as normal, week 1-3 increasing intensity/volume and then a week 4 deload. Accessories are going to be changed so that I begin a new wave of accessories on the previous waveā€™s deload (of the main lifts). So basically week 4 of the previous wave becomes week 1 for accessories and then those are deloaded on the main liftā€™s week 3 (which is week 4 for accessories at that point).

Reasoning: Every time I get to week 3, I end up slacking a bit on a majority of the accessories because the main lifts at that point are hard as shit each day. The accessories also arenā€™t really providing any additional benefit to the main lifts for this wave, since those lifts are now complete for the wave each day. So I might as well deload them when I feel like shit instead of slacking and then also deloading. This will allow me to get a sort of head start on what I want to work on for the next wave and allow me a psychological break after the heaviest main lifts.

So this week = Main lifts deload and first week of new accessories.

1263

Focused - Week 12 - Day 1

Main Deload / Accessory Week 1

Tempo Bench (3:1:0):
6x3x275

A1 | High Incline DB Bench:
13x80s - Failed 14th
12x80s

A2 | Bent Over Rear Delt Fly:
17x30s
15x30s

Chest-Supported DB Row:
2x12x100s

B1 | BW Triceps Extension:
23xBW
20xBW

B2 | Plate Curl:
2x20x45

C1 | Cable Curl:
2x15x90

C2 | Cable Triceps Kickback:
15/15x45
17/17x45

Cable Crossover Y Raise:
15, 12, 12 x 25s

Good day here, accessories all felt fine. Bench felt shitty. Both of these were expected and I think this switch up described in the post above should work well. Iā€™m still considering exactly how I want to progress the accessories, but Iā€™m working off of the basis of volume being measured just as a number of hard sets. So, this week will be 2 hard sets, next week will be 3 hard sets, and then the last accessory week will likely be something like 3 hard sets with the last set having some sort of intensifier included like a drop set, partials, forced reps, etc. I donā€™t want to tack on a 4th set of everything because it will take too long. Another option for the last week is just attempting to repeat or beat the previous weekā€™s reps with more weight.

1264

Focused - Week 12 - Day 2

Tempo Paused Squat (3:1:0) w/ Belt:
6x3x365

Paused Conventional Deadlift w/ Belt/Straps:
3x5x405

Leg Press (High/Wide Feet):
2x12x720

A1 | Seated Band Leg Curl:
2x15/15xLight

A2 | Bulgarian Split Squat:
15/15x55 - DB
15/15x80 - BB Zercher

Single Leg Calf Raise:
2x15/15xBW

B1 | Reverse V-Ups w/ Ab Dolly:
2x10

B2 | Plank Roll-Out w/ Ab Dolly:
2x10

Squats got better as I progressed through the sets, started off with my hips shooting up, so I moved the bar up closer to high bar and focused on keeping my knees forward out of the hole. Deadlift felt pretty weak today, but thatā€™s fine. Iā€™ll be keeping this slot around RPE 7-8 from now on, unless I feel horrible and just decide to do speed work for the day.

Rest of the workout went well with the new selection of accessories. Weā€™ll see how I handle heavy leg press after squats, since thatā€™s basically a reintroduction of a squat pattern that was removed on the previous wave.

1265

Focused - Week 12 - End of Wave 3

Day 3

Incline Bench:
3x6x225

DB Floor Press:
3x12x100s

HS High Row w/ Angles90 Grips:
10x270
13x270

Lying KB Triceps Extension:
16x60
15x60

EZ Bar Preacher Curl + Band:
10x50+Dbl Mini
10x40+Dbl Mini

A1 | Cable Curl:
2x20x80

A2 | Facepull w/ Bandles:
2x12x80 - When using bands for handles the reps are explosive and paused so that I have to catch and control the rebound from the bands

Cable Crossover Rear Delt Fly:
2x12x45

Back to the barbell for incline. I want to be working with 245-255 for sets of 7-10 this wave. I will make my goals based on how it goes next week.

Day 4

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps - DL Bar:
5x2x495 - Felt hard off the floor

Paused Squat w/ Belt:
3x3x315 - Oh that explains the sumo, my quads are apparently very sore

A1 | Hypers:
2x12xBW+135

A2 | Lying Leg Curl:
10x100
8x100

B1 | Staggered Stance KB Deadlift w/ Hips Banded:
2x15/15x70+Light

B2 | Dynamic Band Pallof Press w/ Hip Hinge:
2x12/12xMonster Mini

The leg press on Day 2 hit me harder than I realized apparently. The point was to hit the glutes more, so Iā€™ll need to focus some more effort there and maybe move the feet up/out a bit more. Hopefully didnā€™t overshoot that accessory, but weā€™ll see, Iā€™ll focus more on active recovery for the quads this next week.

The dynamic Pallof press is something I made up in which I do a normal Pallof press for 2 reps, then with the arms in the extended position, I perform a hip hinge and then perform 2 more reps in that position, before returning to the standing position and repeating.

1266

Focused - Week 13

Day 1

Paused Banded Bench:
3x275+Dbl Minis
3x315+Dbl Minis
2x335+Dbl Minis - RPE 9
3x6x275+Dbl Minis

A1 | High Incline DB Bench:
15x80s
10x80s
8x80s

A2 | Bent Over Rear Delt Fly:
20x30s
2x15x30s

Chest-Supported DB Row:
12x100s
2x10x100s

B1 | BW Triceps Extension:
23xBW
20xBW
15xBW

B2 | Reverse Grip Plate Curl:
2x20x45
15x45

C1 | Cable Curl:
3x15x90

C2 | Cable Triceps Kickback:
3x12/12x55

Cable Crossover Y Raise:
3x10x35

Phew this was a lot of triceps work. I ran out of steam real fast on DB bench after the banded presses. I havenā€™t pressed against bands in years and Iā€™ve never done it for heavy work. Iā€™ve only ever done it for speed work. So weā€™ll see how I handle it over the next two weeks. It was definitely spooky as I got to 315/335. For a goal, I would like to add a rep to my top set or 10-20 lbs at the same RPE 9.

Day 2

SSB Squat w/ Belt:
3x1x430
2x4x390
8x390 - Default PR because Iā€™ve never really gone for an 8RM with the SSB AFAIK

RDL w/ Belt/Straps:
3x6x455 @ RPE 8ish

Leg Press (High/Wide Feet):
3x12x720 - Better than last week

Bulgarian Split Squat w/ KBs - Full Stop:
3x8/8x140 - Heaviest split squats Iā€™ve ever done

A1 | Seated Band Leg Curl:
20/20xLight
2x15/15xLight

A2 | Single Leg Calf Raise:
3x12/12xBW

B1 | Reverse V-Ups w/ Ab Dolly:
2x10

B2 | Plank Roll-Out w/ Ab Dolly:
2x10

Very hard workout here with the additional intensity that Iā€™m not used to coming from the split squats. I liked them a lot more since it was less a struggle in balance and more directly murdering my ass. Feeling my glutes from the lateral hip all the way to my coccyx definitely makes me feel like Iā€™m actually getting something out of it. Weā€™ll see if I can recover well enough for sumo to feel okay after these and the leg press.

Iā€™m abandoning the handles-up form of SSB work that Iā€™ve been trying to do. Itā€™s good for the eccentric effort of holding my position, but holding them up on the concentric is detrimental. I get out of the hole and then the position of the weight doesnā€™t match what Iā€™m trying to accomplish compared to my torso angle. Basically, Iā€™m still squatting like a back squat but the weight distribution is acting like a front squat, which the non-vertical torso angle wonā€™t allow, forcing me to shift the handles back down and finish the rep after nearly fulling stopping at the sticking point. So thatā€™s why there were 3 singles today, figuring that out. Last rep was the best, so I kept with it for the volume sets and they felt much better. I just need to focus on keeping my upper back tight and not let the bar win that battle.

RDLs felt very heavy, but moved very well. These were real RDLs and not my light touch-n-go reps Iā€™ve called RDLs before. This will be my naming convention from now on.

1267

Focused - Week 13

Day 3

Incline Bench:
3x6x245

DB Floor Press:
2x12x120s

HS High Row w/ Angles90 Grips:
13x270
12x270
11x270

Lying KB Triceps Extension:
17x60
2x15x60

EZ Bar Preacher Curl:
3x12x70

Cable Curl:
3x?x? - I donā€™t remember now

Facepulls:
3x12x120

Cable Crossover Rear Delt Fly:
3x12x45

Day 4

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps - DL Bar:
1x585
2x3x545
6x545

Pin Squat w/ Belt:
2x8x365

A1 | Hypers:
3x12xBW+135

A2 | Lying Leg Curl:
12x75
6x100 + 6x75
8x75

KB Suitcase Carry:
2 x 230 ft x 80 per hand

Dynamic Band Pallof Press w/ Hip Hinge:
2x12/12xMonster Mini

1268

Focused - Week 14 - Day 1

Paused Banded Bench:
3x275+Dbl minis
3x315+Dbl minis
2x335+Dbl minis - 3rd wasnā€™t going to happen safely
3x6x275 - More fatigued than last week

A1 | High Incline DB Bench:
3x10x80 - Sets 2 and 3 RPE 10

A2 | Bent Over Rear Delt Fly:
20x30s
2x15x30s

Chest-Supported DB Row:
3x12x100s

B1 | BW Triceps Extension:
23xBW
20xBW
20xBW

B2 | Reverse Grip Plate Curl:
3x15x25s

C1 | Cable Curl:
2x15x90
15x90 + 6x70 + 6x50 - Drop set

C2 | Cable Triceps Kickback:
2x12/12x55
12/12x55 + 10/10x40 - Drop set

Cable Crossover Y Raise:
15x25s
2x12x30s

Good amount of bilateral pec tightness coming into this session unfortunately. So I ended up having to repeat last weekā€™s bench work. Pretty happy that I was able to honestly, but the fatigue on this variation is getting high on the anterior shoulders in general. DB incline was worse than last week, but these 3 sets were closer to absolute failure than last week, so thereā€™s an argument for it being a progressive stimulus even if the volume wasnā€™t higher.

1269

Focused - Week 14

Day 2

SSB Squat w/ Belt:
1x430
1x450
1x470
2x4x390
9x390 - +1 rep PR over last week

RDL w/ Belt/Straps:
3x7x455

Bulgarian Split Squat w/ KBs - Full Stop:
3x10/10x140

Seated Leg Curl:
2x12x140
12x140 + 6x100 + 6x60 - Drop set

Calf Raise:
5x10xBW+65

B1 | Reverse V-Ups w/ Ab Dolly:
2x15

B2 | Plank Roll-Out w/ Ab Dolly:
2x10

Squats felt pretty solid today. Good eccentric control and no lateral shifting. Most Iā€™ve had on a SSB is 485 for a double, so Iā€™m happy to be nearing that number again at least. Never went for that 500 on it. Hopefully soon.

RDLs were hard, but otherwise good. 3x8 would be nice next week.

Skipped the heavy leg press to move that to Day 4 to see how it will affect sumo not having that fatigue coming into that day.

Day 3

Incline Bench:
3x7x245

DB Floor Press:
2x12x120s

HS High Row w/ Angles90 Grips:
3x15x270 - Some partials on last set

Lying KB Triceps Extension:
3x15x70

EZ Bar Spider Curl - Dead Stop:
3x12x70

Rope + KB Curl:
3x10x70

Facepulls - High Angle + Low Angle:
2x15+10x100

Cable Crossover Rear Delt Fly:
12x45
2x15x45

Got to my originally stated goal of 245-255 for 7-10 reps on incline, even though itā€™s the very bottom option. Iā€™ve been having some right shoulder pain since my last bench day. Mostly the day after and itā€™s been getting better each day, so I didnā€™t have any pain today. Just being a little cautious, not pushing to far into that goal and then also not progressing floor press. Happy with what I was able to hit though.

1270

Focused - Week 14 - Day 4

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps - DL Bar:
4x585 - +1 rep PR! Video here
3x5x495 - Paused

Pin Squat w/ Belt:
3x5x365 - Slightly lower pin than last week

Leg Press:
2x12x720

A1 | Hypers:
12xBW+135
2x15xBW+135

A2 | Lying Leg Curl:
10x70
8x95
6x95 + 6x70 - Drop set

Dynamic Band Pallof Press w/ Hip Hinge:
2x12/12xMonster Mini

No real plan on deadlift at the moment, just taking whatever is there on the day and then backing off based on how hard I allowed the top set to be. Adding a rep to my 3RM was pretty hard, so I dropped a full plate and did some lower RPE work with the paused reps. Iā€™m fairly certain I had a 5th rep in me with 585, but form would have been too sloppy at that point.

Backed off the number of reps on pin squats just based on how it was feeling. Using a different rack caused the use of a different pin height, but this one was preferred since it was just a couple inches over parallel rather than several.

Moving the leg press to today seemed to help me be ready for deadlift, but that means I would be adding fatigue heading into heavy squats in a couple of days, so I dropped a set to be safe.

1271

Focused - Week 15 - Day 1

Paused Bench:
1x365 - Fast, easy
2x6x315
8x315

Standing Single-Arm OHP:
2x10/10x65

HS Low Row:
2x10/10x135

Triceps Pushdown:
2x20x100

Cable Curls:
2x15x100

Pecs were feeling shitty going into this. I knew I wasnā€™t going to do banded bench again, just based on how recovery has been going against those. Decided to just do a normal comp bench and go for a single. 345 and 365 both felt heavy in my hands, but moved well. Pecs were still a concern, so I cut it there.

Accessory deload started today as well.

1272

Focused - Week 15

Day 2

SSB Squat w/ Belt:
1x430
1x460
1x480 - Not bad
3x4x390 - Harder than previous weeks, so no AMRAP

RDL w/ Belt/Straps:
2x6x405
12x405

Lat Pulldown:
15x120
2x15x150

Standing Single Leg Cable Curl:
15/15x35
2x15/15x50

The other day I slightly tweaked my hamstring while bracing during the machine row, which is just the type of dumb shit that happens sometimes, so I decided against using 455 for RDLs. Didnā€™t really feel it with 405 either, but wanted to be safe-ish at least. Decided against bulgarian split squats as well for that reason. No big deal, this is my accessory deload week.

Squats went well enough for the single. My goal was just to beat last week and I did that. 485x2 is my PR on the significantly-more-comfortable EliteFTS SSB. I probably had an ugly 2nd rep in me here.

Day 3

Incline Bench:
2x7x255
9x255 - Wanted 10, misgrooved 9th, otherwise would have taken it

A1 | DB Floor Press:
2x15x120s

A2 | HS High Row w/ Angles90 Grips:
2x15x230

B1 | Triceps Pushdown:
2x12x110

B2 | Alternating DB Curls:
2x12/12x30

Some upside down KB holds

Pretty happy with incline for this wave. My goal was to work with 245-255 for 7-10 and got pretty close to the top of that today.

Went up on reps for floor press pretty easily today as well. Both this and incline going well are from the lack of fatigue from removing banded bench earlier this week would be my guess.

1273

Focused - Week 15 - Day 4

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
1x495
1x585
2x615 - Donā€™t even have a recorded 2RM, so benchmark PR here
3x495 - Meh, moving on

Squat w/ Belt:
5x3x405

Leg Extension:
2x15x135

Single-Leg Curl:
20/20x25 - Cue cramping

Machine Calf Raise:
2x12x180

Last day of the main lifts for wave 4. I wasnā€™t sure how my little hamstring issue would feel with sumo, so I went for a PR. But really, I took the warm-ups pretty tentatively and all seemed fine. It seemed to throw off my start position a bit because I wasnā€™t sitting my hips back as much as usual, but otherwise felt fine. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve pulled over 585 since I hit a pretty easy 645 last October actually. Mostly due to circumstances like not having a DL bar and also lockdowns hit. But weā€™re back at it, bb.

Recapping Wave 4 and preparing for Wave 5: Squat and deadlift seemed to be the movers this wave. Iā€™m nearing PR levels with the SSB and barbell work with 405 today just got better as the sets progressed until it felt like actual speed work on a few reps. Going to keep with the program by moving back to the barbell for the main day and moving SSB to the secondary day. I think Iā€™ll either do paused SSB or pin SSB to get me used to controlling the weight in the hole better or getting out of my sticking point above the hole, relatively. Sumo is likely going to stay the similar. I may do a biweekly top single, double, or triple sort of thing, rather than weekly. Honesty deadlift is the one thing I really trust myself to autoregulate on the day, so if something decent is there, Iā€™ll take it, otherwise Iā€™ll just do the back-off work I would have done. Only lower body pains Iā€™m feeling from this wave is the super light hamstring strain and my left hip a bit again. The former seems to be completely fine, but Iā€™ll still take the deload week relatively easy, and the latter hopefully just needs the re-addition of single leg work, since that was skipped this week.

Bench is the only questionable lift right now. Choosing banded bench was just too much for my current capacity. Right shoulder started feeling awful and my pecs were hating it. Skipping it on the 3rd week was the right choice and Iā€™m feeling better now. Tentative plan is to perform a weekly comp single of 365-385, followed by another variation. Should probably do what I thought about doing for Wave 4, which is slow eccentric and possibly long pause as well.

Thinking about dragging my chains into the gym for squats and bench soon.

1274

Focused - Week 16 - Deload

Day 1

Feet Up DB Bench:
2x12x115s

A1 | Machine Dips - Plate Loaded:
2x15x160

A2 | HS Iso-Row:
2x15x270

Machine Preacher Curl 21s:
2x21x60

B1 | Cable Rope Reverse Grip Curl:
2x20x60

B2 | Cable Overhead Triceps Extension:
2x15x100

Cable Rope Lateral/Y-ish Raise:
2x12/12x40

DB Lateral Raise:
2x15/15x30

I didnā€™t prepare well for this workout, so I definitely didnā€™t meet the ā€œfocusedā€ name on this one. Sort of floated around and took whatever was available. Will either just keep these accessories and try harder the next couple of weeks, or replace a couple. Pecs were feeling pretty shitty with DBs, so I know I need to focus some recovery efforts there.

Day 2

Tempo Paused Squat (3:1:0) w/ Belt:
6x3x365

Conventional 2" Block Pull w/ Belt/Straps:
6x405
6x455

A1 | DB Split Squat:
2x15/15x90

A2 | DB RDL:
2x15x115s

Seated Leg Curl:
2x15x120 - 10 leaned back, 5 leaned forward to take advantage of that there length-tension relationship

Standing Cable Ab Pulldown:
12x80
12x100

This one was better and more focused. Squat wasnā€™t feeling great at first. Too much hip shifting away from the achy left side and also my positioning wasnā€™t holding up. I adjusted my gaze and head position so that I was look about 15 feet in front of me rather than down, and it felt 100% better. Gotta make sure Iā€™m doing that all the time.

Low volume on the block pull to get a feel for what I want to do on this next wave. Iā€™d like to work up to around 495 for 6 at RPE 8 or less. Need to remember this day should not be killing my main deadlift day.

Split squats this wave are going to be free ballinā€™. No bench for support, no hard stop on the ground with KBs. Just me, my shitty balance, and trying not to die. Would like to be working with 70s to match my hard stops with the KBs from last wave. DB RDLs are going to be dependent on how I feel following block pulls, but the plan is to focus more on hamstring tension and maintaining my lumbar position than weight. Still, I would like to work with the heaviest DBs there with great form, which are just 140s.

1275

Focused - Week 16 - Deload - Day 3

Mid-Incline DB Bench:
10x90s
8x105s
6x115s
10x115s

JM Press:
2x10x135

Machine Lat Pulldown w/ Angles90 Grips:
2x10x230

Cable Curl:
15x90
12x105
12x115
10x125

A1 | Landmine Press:
2x12/12x70

A2 | Single-Arm DB Curl on Incline Bench:
12/12x30
10/10x30

Duffin Upright Row:
2x15x50

Other than the DB incline, I skipped any heavy pressing to allow some more pec and shoulder recovery before starting the next wave. Iā€™m not certain on what Iā€™m using for my bench slot on this day yet. I may do something like speed bench to make it more like a practice day at this point in the cycle, as opposed to a higher rep supplement.

Incline DB felt better than the flat DB pressing I did the other day, so thatā€™s good. Iā€™m going to be pushing these to heavy 6-8s this wave. I would like to use 130s in that range. Iā€™m not sure Iā€™ve ever used more than 125s for an incline variation.

1276

Focused - Week 16 - Deload - Day 4

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps - Cluster Sets:
3x1+1+1x545 - 30 second rests between reps

SSB Pin Squat w/ Belt:
3x3x340

Belt Squat + KB Goblet:
8x180+45
2x8x180+60

HS Low Row:
2x10/10x180

Seated Hamstring Curl:
2x20x100

Band Pallof Press w/ Split Stance:
2x12/12xMonster Mini

Iā€™ve never done cluster sets before today. I would have thought doing 3 singles over a minute plus would be easier than a set of 3, but getting through the whole set up 3 times made it harder. Probably 5 out of 9 reps felt good. Others were just not technically solid.

Thatā€™s the end of the deload though, so itā€™s time to get back into the focus groove.

1277

Focused - Week 17 - Start of Wave 5

Day 1

Tempo Bench (3:3:0):
1x375 - Normal tempo/pause
3x4x315 - PR

A1 | Machine Dips - Plate Loaded:
2x12x230

A2 | HS Iso-Row:
2x12x360

Machine Preacher Curl - Plate Loaded:
2x10x75

Incline DB Curl - Slow Eccentric:
2x15x15s

Cable Overhead Triceps Extension:
2x12x70

Cable Lateral Raise:
2x15/15x30

Cable D2 PNF Pattern:
2x10x25

Since I didnā€™t try hard enough for a real week 1 on accessories last week, this will be week 1 along with the main lift. All those went well. Bench moved well all the way up to the single, but my pecs were definitely feeling it. Wasnā€™t impressed with my eccentric control nearing the chest with 375, most likely due to fear instead of any real issue. Forcing that control with the tempo bench is clearly the answer. Would like to hit 5 for multiple sets or get to 6 at 315 this wave.

Day 2

Paused Squat w/ Belt:
1x455
4x4x405

Conventional 2" Block Pull w/ Belt/Straps - Stiff Bar:
6x455
2x6x495 @ 7.5/8.5 - Wave goal hit

A1 | DB Split Squat:
2x15/15x100

A2 | DB RDL:
2x12x130s

Seated Leg Curl:
12x140
15x140

Standing Cable Ab Pulldown:
2x12x110

Same deal with this day with the accessories from last week, so this will be week 1 for this day. Next 2 days were fine last week, so itā€™s just shifted by a couple of days.

Left hip is giving me the same issue as a few months ago, but Iā€™m going to hopefully keep it from actually affecting my strength this time. I was too focused on it for my single at 455 and it didnā€™t look great. Ended up dialing it in better for the volume work.

Happy with the block pulls and already hitting my goal there. Unsure at the moment if I want to move up in weight, reps, or sets over the wave now.

1278

Focused - Week 17 - Day 3

Mid-Incline DB Bench:
8x105s
2x8x120s
6x120s

Tempo Bench (3:1:0):
6x3x275 - Alternating comp grip (middle fingers on rings) and medium grip (pinkies on rings)

A1 | Incline JM Press:
3x12x135

A2 | Machine Lat Pulldown w/ Angles90 Grips:
3x12x230

B1 | Landmine Press:
12/12x70
15/15x70

B2 | DB Spider Curl:
2x15/15x30

Cable Curl:
15x90
15x105
15x115
12x125

Duffin Upright Row:
3x12x60

Pretty good stuff here. Incline DB bench is feeling solid. Those were done via RPE, so I didnā€™t push the last set, though I had 8 in me. I think my goal of 6-8 with the 130s is manageable there. That would put me around matching my barbell incline PR with DBs.

Decided to go with the ā€œpracticeā€ sort of variation for the secondary pressing. Good control on the eccentric and decent speed on the concentric. May not increase the intensity here and just try for better quality and faster reps.

1279

Focused - Week 17 - Day 4

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
1x495
2x1x585 - First one wasnā€™t as good as I wanted
2x635 - 20 lb PR! ~RPE 9. Video here
3x3x545

SSB Pin Squat w/ Belt:
2x3x390
2x6x340

A1 | Belt Squat + KB Goblet:
3x10x180+60

A2 | Band Pallof Press w/ Split Stance:
2x12/12xMonster Mini

HS Low Row:
2x12/12x180

Seated Hamstring Curl:
2x20x140

Reeaal happy with pulling 635 for a double with a probable rep to spare. According to my old estimate 1RM charts, thatā€™s putting me right at the precipice of pulling 700. Just gotta do it.

3x3 with 545 following that PR was basically harder than the PR itself. Definitely got some fatigue from it and couldnā€™t hold positioning as well as I should have.

SSB and belt squats were both really tough. Good positioning for the most part. Just getting the work done.

1280

Focused - Week 18 - Day 1

Tempo Bench (3:3:0):
1x385 - Normal tempo/pause
3x5x315 - PR. +1 rep per set over last week. Wave goal achieved.

A1 | Machine Dips - Plate Loaded:
12, 12, 15 x 230

A2 | HS Iso-Row:
12, 10, 10 x 360

Machine Preacher Curl - Plate Loaded:
2x10x75

A1 | Incline Cable Curl:
3x15x50

A2 | Cable Overhead Triceps Extension:
3x12x125

Cable Lateral Raise:
12s, 12s, 10s x 40

Cable D2 PNF Pattern:
2x10/10x25

Another wave goal achieved prior to the end of the wave. Sets with 315 were all solid with each 5th rep being the only time it slowed down. Not sure Iā€™d be able to reach past the original goal to get 3x6, but thatā€™d be great next week. Likely will repeat 385 for the single and try to keep making that easier and more controlled. Itā€™s moving fast, but Iā€™d like the eccentric to be better, because I know that loading a PR and trying with my current control wonā€™t allow for the same concentric power. Arch would get smooshed.