Probably A Bad Idea

[nealstar]

Block 9. Cycle 1. Session D.

BW - 227

Waist - 43"

sRPE @ 7

Deadlift -
370X3 @8
275X15 @8

RDL w/Straps - 275X7 @8

Hack Squats (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 75X15, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @8.7/7

Conditioning (following day) - Rower; HIIT (20/100 sec.); 5 rounds

Interesting session.

DL went really well. Like all the powerlifts in this first week, the target weight for 15@9 ended up being too light, and just like all the others, I didn't give a shit and will just try to get @9 next week.

275X7 is a Rep PR on RDL. With straps, but I kind of don't care, because I'll probably train this lift with straps from now on. The movement just feels more focused with double-overhand.

I was worried about the Hack Squats, because single-leg Hack Squats in the pivot block were such a shit show. Ended up just fine. These were all fairly deep as well.

Got access to the gym in my office building and am starting to do conditioning on off-days.

[nealstar]

Block 9. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 232.9

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 8

Chin-Ups - BW+17.5X4, 2 @~10

Press -
152.5X1 @9.75
137.5X3 @9.5
127.5X3 @8.25

Dips - BW+10X10, 10 @8,9

WG Pull-Downs (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 85X18, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6 @8/9

Weak session.

Chin-Ups and Press just weren't quite there for me on this day.

With Chins, my BW spiked on this day, and that really does seem to make a huge difference even accounting for total weight.

But when Press also took a step back, I thought maybe it was just an off day. I still tried to push for my target weights, but both the top single and the first set of 3 were clearly to heavy on this day and so I backed off for the second set of 3.

Dips were slightly better, but the RPE shouldn't have jumped so much on the second set.

Pull-downs were fine though, lol.

[nealstar]

Block 9. Cycle 2. Session B.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 7

Squats -
320X3 @7
265X16 @8

High-Bar Squats - 265X7 @8

Hip-Thrusts (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 135X17, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @9/7

Solid, bounce-back session.

Messed up the top set of Squats and stopped one set early. Should have been going for ~335 @8 here. Then I lost count on the back-off set and ended up doing an extra rep, and STILL hitting under target RPE @9. We'll try to dial that in next week. Eventually, it will be have to be heavy enough, right?

265X7 is a Rep PR on High Bar Squats. I dropped weight and hit a quick triple on high-bars to make sure technique was dialed-in, before jumping back up to the work weight. Worked well.

Hip-thrusts were interesting this week. Pushed the RPE on the top set pretty good, but all the myo-reps sets were too easy. Probably want to up those to 6 reps each for next time.

[nealstar]

Block 9. Cycle 2. Session C, D., Cycle 3. Session A.

BW - 227, 230, 228

Waist - 43", 43.75", 43"

sRPE @ ~8 for all

2.C:
Bench -
205X3 @8
155X15@9.5

Chin-Up 1.5s - BWX6, 6, 6 @~10

Upright Rows (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 90X12, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 @~9

Curls -
65X12, 12 @8, 10
55X12 @8.5

2.D:
Deadlift -
375X3 @8
290X15 @9

RDL - 290X7 @9.25

Hack Squat (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 75X17, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @8/8.5

3.A:
Chin-Ups - BW+25X4, 4 @~10

Press -
147.5X1 @8.5
135X3, 3 @8

Dips - BW+20X10, 8 @8.5, 9

WG Pull-Downs (Myo-Reps; 30 sec. rests) - 85X20, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 @8.5/8

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 1. Session A.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Squat -
320X3 @8
275X7, 7 @~7

Front Squat -
150X9 @7.5
145X9, 9 @7

Sumo DL w/ Straps - 290X5, 5 @7

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 2 rounds; sets of 7-10
- Rower - LISS; 10 minutes

First session getting back to it after a rough few weeks of derailed training and a week of travel.

Testing some stuff I've observed with Emerging Strategies in this block. Based on the last year of using that framework, my best results occur in the first 5 cycles of a training block, and then taper off for a couple of cycles before I pass my peak. This will be a 10 cycle block where the first 4-5 cycles are my "2nd best" rep ranges and assistance movements transitioning into a 2nd round of 4-5 cycles with my "greatest hits" rep ranges and assistance movements. With no pivot block in between, I'll see if I can extend my Time to Peak and if the cycle-to-cycle gains stay high, or if it still tapers off after the first 4-5 weeks and/or peaks around 7-8 weeks.

Something else I'm trying is cutting a set from each movement in the initial session/week to see if that helps with DOMS after little to no training the last couple of weeks.

Squats and Front Squats both went well.

Sumos w/ straps we're way off where I expected them to be on paper, but I was just a little gassed at this point, and didn't want to push the sRPE up.

Also taking advantage of the office gym to get some conditioning and some isolation/hypertrophy work that I always find it difficult to wedge into regular training sessions.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 1. Session B.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 6

Bench -
200X3 @7.5
170X7, 7 @7

CG Bench -
165X6, 6 @7/8
155X6 @7.5

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX5, 5, 5 @7/8.5

GPP Day -
- Circuit: Straight-Arm Pull-Downs, Seated DB Press, Hammer Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Rower - LISS; 20 minutes

Nice little upper-body session.

200X3 @7.5 is interesting because that's about at 99% of where my bench was at the end of the previous, aborted cycle. That was back on 12/22. So almost a month later, with minimal training, bench strength is about where it was. Not sure if there are any take-aways, but if the lift trends upwards from here, and especially if I get a couple of larger-than-average jumps (my Bench tends to have those), I could end up with a good little bench block.

I had to drop weight on the last set of Close-Grips, as the RPE started jumping pretty fast. All good (probably).

Rack Pull-Ups were fairly easy, especially as I'm still dropping a set from each movement in this first week.
vi
GPP Day went well, too! Was able to move through this combination a bit faster and with more reps, resulting in getting a 3rd round in the same amount of time. I think the prior GPP day's circuit probably had a lot more biceps involvement in each movement and that created more fatigue.

Also doubled my time on the rower with no difficulty. Will probably switch to HIIT next week.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 1. Session C.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 8.5

Deadlift -
330X3 @8
300X6 @7

GHR - BWX15 @7

220 Incline Bench - 125X5, 5 @~7

Adductor DOMS from Squats lit up HARD on my first warm-up set of DL. Made all of the subsequent sets incredibly difficult, and drove up the sRPE. Still, once the back-off set of DL got moving, the expected strength levels appear to be there, so I'm optimistic this all bounces back in Cycle 2 once the DOMS start to fade.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 230

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Squat -
332.5X3 @8
292.5X7 @7.25
287.5X7 @7

Front Squat - 150X7, 7, 7 @7

Sumo w/ Straps - 300X5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 8-10
- Rower - HIIT; 5 rounds; 10 minutes

Solid little session.

Went in expecting to get a lot more on LBS and Sumo than the previous session, and that turned out to be true. Just the way I felt on the previous session, and some experience of how this tends to go over the last year played into that expectation. Still, I used RPE on warm-ups to calibrate what the top set would actually be. I tend to go in with the assumption of a larger than average jump, but a 4% jump is WELL above average for me cycle-to-cycle.

First set of back-offs on the Squat were a touch harder than target, and so dropped back on the 2nd set. I expect to be adding a set to each movement over the next couple of weeks, so don't see any reason to push intensity on those now.

Front Squats ended up not progressing as quickly. Maybe just fatigue still from the low bar sets.

Sumo was a bit weird. This is actually the same e1RM as last week, but the RPE dropped slightly on the 2nd set. I think it's technical acclimation coming into play. Likely see a big jump next week if I had to put money on it.

On GPP Day, I still got a third round of the circuit. Switched over to HIIT from LISS on the rower. Last week was just an intro for that. Cut the total conditioning time in half, and will look to add a round or two every session until I'm up in the 7-10 range. Then maybe switch movements?

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 2. Session B.

BW - 227

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 6

Bench -
205X3 @7.5
175X7, 7 @~7

CG Bench - 167.5X6, 6, 6 @7

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX6, 6, 6 @7.5/9

GPP Day -
- Circuit: Straight-Arm Pull-Downs, DB Press, Hammer Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Rower - HIIT; 6 rounds; 12 minutes

Solid upper-body session. sRPE was sub-target for the 2nd week in a row, so if I'm feeling well fatigue-wise next week, I'll be adding a set to each movement.

Bench took a 2% jump in e1RM this week, which is above average for the last year. In my best training 4 training blocks over the last year, bench jumped about 3% in week 2 on average, but the TM on the first week for those bench blocks was 92.7% on average (below the mean for the year), and this block started at 98.9% (the highest of the year). So year-best TM and an above average jump in week 2, are a combo that I haven't seen on bench in the last year, and an auspicious start to the block.

Last week, RPE on Close-Grips ramped quickly on the sets across, but this week I was able to both add weight, and maintain it at target RPE. Nice to have that on track in week 2 as well.

Added a rep to all the Rack Pull-Ups but BW was down, so whatevs. I'm not going to stress over these, even if the data says they were one of my top-6 DL accessories in the last year. They'll progress or they won't.

GPP Day went very well. Got another 3 round in 7 minutes on the resistance circuit. I added weight to all movements, and still hit 10 reps on all sets. Thought I would add 2 rounds to the HIIT, but only adding 1 felt right in the moment.

Didn't get video of my top set of bench.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 2. Session C.

BW - 230

Waist - 44"

sRPE @ 6

Deadlift -
365X3 @~8
325X6, 6 @8

GHR - BWX16 @7

220 Incline Bench -
127.5X5 @6.5
130X5 @7

Solid full-body session.

I was pretty sure DL was going to bounce-back strong from last week's DOMS-laden session, and that was accurate. Had trouble pulling 330X3 last week, but 365X3 was right there for me today on target.

GHR and Tempo Incline all felt good.

sRPE has been sub-target for 2 session in a row, which was going to be my trigger to add a set to everything. Not coincidentally, RPS TRAC system also recommends that as of today based on my perceived fatigue metrics.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 3. Session A.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
340X3 @7
290X7, 7, 7 @~7

Front Squat - 155X9, 9, 9, 9 @~7

Sumo w/ Straps - 315X5, 5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: One-Arm Rows, Upright Rows, Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Rower - HIIT; 6 rounds; 12 minutes

Good session.

sRPE had been sub-target for two sessions in a row, and RTS' TRAC system also indicated an increase in volume, so I took their suggestion and added 1 set per movement. This is the volume I'd originally envisioned for the program, but gave it a couple of weeks for fitness/DOMS to get inverse. sRPE ended up being over target on this day, but this is the hardest session of the cycle, and is the only one that has rest days before it. That's all to say that increasing the volume felt good, though hard, on this day, and that I'll keep an eye on it, but expect it should be fine.

Surprisingly, e1RM for squat on this day is the 2nd highest of the past year. That result seems unlikely, but we'll see how it plays out. The absolute intensity is still well off from my highest of the past year which was, I believe, 380X2@9.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 3. Session B.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.75"

sRPE @ 7

Bench -
207.5X3 @8
177.5X7, 7, 7 @~7

CG Bench - 170X6, 6, 6, 6 @7.25/8

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX7, 7, 7 @~8

GPP Day -
- Circuit: Straight-Arm Pull-Downs, DB Press, Hammer Curls - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 8-10
- Rower - HIIT; 7 rounds; 14 minutes

Okay upper body day.

Right elbow was feeling a bit sensitive, and slowed down the lock out on my top triple, raising the RPE. I was able to increase the weight slightly on the back-offs, but all-told e1RM was relatively flat from last week. Expect a bounce back next week!

Closed-grips were a little better initially, but the RPE ramped up fairly quickly. This may be somewhat a function of adding an extra set to both bench movements.

I ended up not adding an extra set to the rack pull-ups because I always had this set a 3 sets for this program, i.e. I didn't drop a set for the first two weeks like I did with everything else. I'm also getting extra upper-back work on the GPP days, so no big.

sRPE ended up being right about on target, I think.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 3. Session C.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 7

Deadlift -
370X3 @8
335X6, 6, 6 @~8

GHR - BWX17, 16 @~7.5

220 Tempo Incline Bench - 130X5, 5, 5 @7

Nice session. Decent increase on all lifts.

Good jump on DL, especially on the back-off sets. I was working in with someone that had a 100 and a 45 loaded on each side, so I just did that and it ended up being solid despite adding a set.

Speaking of adding a set, I stopped the second set of GHR at 16 because I just spaced that I was supposed to be doing 17.

Tempo incline was interesting. I felt like I started picking up a lot more kinetic feedback in this session sort of "guiding me" in how to keep my elbows under the bar. It made all the reps and sets a lot smoother and easier to execute than the first two cycles when strength seemed to be dipping quickly throughout a set.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 4. Session A.

BW - 228

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
350X3 @8
300X7, 7, 7 @7/7.5

Front Squat -
155X9 @8
147.5X9 @8
140X9, 9 @7, 7.5

Sumo w/ Straps -
325X5 @8.5
315X5, 5 @~8

GPP Day -
- DB Circuit: Curls, Upright Rows, COne-Arm Rows - 7 minutes; 3 rounds; sets of 10
- Stationary Bike - LISS; 20 minutes

Up-and-down session.

e1RM on the top Squat set is fairly flat with last week despite being more weight. However, 300 is a 3X7 PR fwiw.

I haven't slept well the last couple of nights, and was kind of ready to just go home after Squats. Tried to just hit Front Squats at the same weight as last week, but it wasn't there. Ended up having to drop to the lower weight than I've used this block just to his target RPE. A little bummed about that, but also happy that I didn't just throw in the towel on the 4X9 or the session as a whole.

Hoped I would rally a bit on Sumos, but adding weight wasn't there. Ended up using the same weight as last week, which is fine.

Going back and looking at the block from March/April '19 that had Front Squats and Sumos in it, I realize that they weren't all on the same day with back squats. I probably should have paid more attention to that when I was laying out this program, but this part of the block is almost over. I may have this session again next week, or I may move on to Phase 2, depending on how the rest of this week goes. I need to find a way to get some better sleep the next few days, and put myself in the best position to succeed.

On GPP day, I decided to flop the first and last movements for a couple of weeks just to give them a slightly different stimulus. Also did LISS on a bike. May do HIIT on the bike for the next few sessions just to mix it up.

[nealstar]

Block 10. Cycle 4. Session B.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 7

Bench -
207.5X3 @8
180X7, 7 @7, 8
162.5X7 @7

CG Bench - 155X6, 6, 6, 6 @7

Rack Pull-Ups - BWX8, 8, 8 @8.5/9.5

Well that sucked.

Top strength on Bench was completely flat for the 2nd week in a row, but this time back-off set strength nose-dived after the first set.

I then backed way off to see how Close Grips were going to go, and the back-off weight ended up being the work weight.

Sleep hasn't been great this week, so maybe there's a recovery issue. Looking back at the last year+ of training with Emerging Strategies, I've never had two lifts plateau in week 4. This is really throwing a wrench into the experiment of doing back-to-back, 4-5 week "greatest hits" blocks. When I started this experiment, I told myself I would switch to Phase 2 if two lifts plateaued or regressed in Week 4, but I didn't really expect it to happen. On the other hand, it might be fun to have different stuff to do next week....

[nealstar]

Block 10B. Cycle 1. Session A.

BW - 226

Waist - 43.25

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
377.5X2 @10
310X6 @ 8.5
300X6 @ 8

WG Deadlift - 270X9, 9 @~7

Leg Press - 5.5ppsX7 @ 8

Weird session.

I felt a little out-of-it walking into the gym, but tried to rally for Squats.

Warm-ups went OK, but not great. I backed off of my target top set weight, but it was still harder than I wanted (targeting RPE 9). Then the first back-off was slightly heavier than I wanted it to be, but I could tell than the next set was going to be even harder, so I backed the weight off again, and hit the RPE target. At this point, I remembered how I'd dropped a set per movement from the first week of Block 10A, and decided to do that again today to make sure I could get through it.

Then Wide Grip DL and Leg Press were all right on target. Dunno.

[nealstar]

Block 10B. Cycle 1. Session B.

BW - 225

Waist - 43"

sRPE @ 7

Bench -
230X1 @ 8.5
170X9, 9 @~8

DB Bench - 60sX9, 9 X8

Inverted Rows (fleet flat) - BWX12, 12 @7, 8

Solid session. Nice bounce back from the day before, and shows bench progress after being flat for a couple of weeks.

[nealstar]

Block 10B. Cycle 1. Session C.

BW- 227

Waist - 43.25"

sRPE @ 7

Deadlift -
370X1 @ 9
305X7, 7 @~7

Pause Squat -
260X5 @ 6.5
280X5 @ 8

Dips -
BW+15X9 @ 8
BWX10 @ 8.5

[Wilhelm]

You put a lot of thought into your training.

Nice dedication.

[nealstar]

Block 10B. Cycle 2. Session A.

BW - 229

Waist - 43.5"

sRPE @ 8

Squat -
370X2 @9
315X6, 6, 6 @7.5/8.25

WG DL - 275X9, 9, 9 @~7.5

Leg Press - 495X7, 7 @8