Nikhil's Training Log

[NikhilT]

Hello hello!

A bit about me: My name's Nikhil, 29 years old, and I live and train in Brooklyn, NY. Best numbers - 200kg squat, 127.5kg bench, 227.5kg deadlift. In a meet, 195/117.5/222.5 @ 66kg.

I currently am coached by Matt Cronin at Stoked Athletics. Next meet is July 13th at the Liberty Games, then USAPL Raw Nationals in mid-October.

I'm finally stringing some healthy training after a shitty bout of knee tendinitis. Matt's pretty big on PRI stuff and it's only been 5 weeks but his approach has put together the best training I've had, maybe ever.

Goals for this meet, based on where I am right now:

Squat 195-205kg
Bench 125-130kg
Deadlift 225-235kg

I'd basically just like an Arnolds qualifier at Nationals, whatever that looks like in IPF points. I need to finish the year with like a 590kg total to be a top 10 66kg USAPL lifter so if I can crack 560ish I'll be in okay position.

I'm going to backlog this week of training and hopefully update every few days. Matt's approach is pretty submax-DUP-block-periodization so the VAST majority of my volume is @6 or @7 as a top set. I'm also posting because this approach is working really well for me and it's very different from the RTS-inspired training I've had the last 2.5 years or so. Cool beans.

Logging in kg unless I specify otherwise.

Sunday, June 9th
Comp squat - 162.5x2@6, 167.5x2@7, 167.5x2@8, 140x7x3
Comp bench - 112.5x1@6, 95x6@6, 90x6x3
Hand-assisted SSB split squats -82kg x8x2

This day always sucks. I didn't start training until 8pm or so because we were cleaning up from a weightlifting meet. Thursdays has consistently been my strong squat/bench day so frick it, what do I care. Matt keeps the RPEs super low here anywho so whatever.

Monday, June 10th
Comp deadlift - 210x1@7, 180x7@5-6, 170x6x2
3ct pause bench - 100x2@7, 95x7x2
Comp bench - 90x8@7, 85x8x3
Good mornings to pins - 100x8@6, 100x8x2
DB Holds - 60 lbs, :20 on, :40 off, 5 rounds

Grip work. Suck it. But also this felt solid - playing with some deadlift setup cueing to get more on my heels so I can pull 661 like Matt. Or like, mid 500s like a half-decent 145 lb lifter.

Tuesday, June 10th
Air bike - 10 mins
Tempo squat - 127.5x3x3, 120x3x3
Superset: Ipsilateral split squat w contralateral reach, DB spider curls, drunken turtle rolls - 5 rounds, 6s on split squats, 15s on curls, 5 rolls
Air bike - 10 mins

Recovery session. The split squats are for adductor work and rooting, the curls are to get jacked, the rolls are for some back relief. Also woke up at 150.5 lb this morning so expecting an easy water cut.

Split squat -
Rolls -

Thursday, June 12th
Pause squat - 160x4@too ez, 170x4@8.5, 155x4x2
Comp bench - 115x1@7, 110x4@9.5, 100x4x4
Superset - DB bench / reverse grip lat pulldowns. 60 lb x12x4, 12 lb x 12x4
Hammer curls - 25 lb x 10 x 6

Last week Matt had me send it for bench, and I hit 127.5kg for a 7.5kg all time PR. Now back to submax singles to build up some momentum. I'd like 132.5kg since that's a 2x bodyweight bench but I can save it for Nationals.

[ChrisMcCarthy1979]

Welcome!

[NikhilT]

Welcome!

Thanks! Hoping to get some decent logging in.

Friday, June 14th
Comp deadlift - 210x2@7, 190x4x2
Comp bench - 100x8@7, 95x8x2
Superset - Rear Foot Reference Single Leg RDL with Scap Push Up, 3x10
EZ Curl Bar Skullcrushers - 5x7 of some weight who remembers really

THEN A WEEKEND OF PLATE LOADING AND DRIVING FOR NEW YORK STATES AND FUCK I FEEL LIKE TRASH

Sunday, June 16th
Comp squat - 160x1@ass, 135x1@ass
Comp bench - 107.5x1@ass, 90x6@ass

[Wilhelm]

Welcome to the site, @NikhilT, and thank you for adding your log.

Holy smokes!
Great numbers, especially at 66kg.

[KoolaidMannn]

Fuck yeah glad to have you here @NikhilT!
- Colin

[GlasgowJock]

Awesome numbers mate! Cheers for logging your training

[NikhilT]

Welcome to the site, @NikhilT, and thank you for adding your log.

Holy smokes!
Great numbers, especially at 66kg.

Fuck yeah glad to have you here @NikhilT!
- Colin

Awesome numbers mate! Cheers for logging your training

Thanks guys! I'm nowhere near good enough to be really competitive but just chugging along.

Monday, June 17
Comp Deadlift - 215 x1@7, 185x7, 175x7x2
3ct Bench - 110x2@7, 100x2x2
Mid-grip Bench - 90x7@7, 85x7x3
Good Mornings to Pins - 100x8, 110x8x2

Night session. Really strong day. Bench really felt good, considering 24 hours prior my shoulder was really crunchy and achy.

Tuesday, June 18
Tempo Squats - 132.5x3x3, 125x3x3

Ran out of time. Morning session, so like 11 hours between training sessions. Had to catch a flight. Whatever. Next session's in San Francisco and Friday will be back in Brooklyn. Thursday is typically my strong day so hoping to squat somewhere between 170-175 x4 and bench 120ish for my top single.

[grapesherbert]

Hey, welcome. Couple questions for you if you don't mind.

What would you say are the differences between what you're doing now and the RTS approach? Mostly lower avg intensity? Also the technique/recovery stuff?

Also, I've been hearing a lot of people say lately that x day is their best y lift day. Do you think there's any reason for these patterns? I imagine it's just the combo or buildup of training adaptations to stress over the course of the week. Does this change if you start a new block or change variations? I've never really noticed any kind of trend for myself, but that's probably because I'm not super consistent on training the exact same days of the week each week.

Solid lifting for sure, good luck at your meet

[NikhilT]

I'm so fuckin sleepy lmao. Took a 90 minute Uber from San Francisco to Milpitas to train with a friend but jetlag + general life fatigue caught up to me, so I did the bare minimum. Tomorrow I have a 6:30am flight back to NY, land around 3:30 and will just go right to the gym to train again. It is what it is.

Thursday, June 20th
Paused squat - 335 lb x4, 315 lb x4x2
Comp Bench - 260 lb x1, 235 lb x3, 225 lb x3x4

Hey, welcome. Couple questions for you if you don't mind.

What would you say are the differences between what you're doing now and the RTS approach? Mostly lower avg intensity? Also the technique/recovery stuff?

Also, I've been hearing a lot of people say lately that x day is their best y lift day. Do you think there's any reason for these patterns? I imagine it's just the combo or buildup of training adaptations to stress over the course of the week. Does this change if you start a new block or change variations? I've never really noticed any kind of trend for myself, but that's probably because I'm not super consistent on training the exact same days of the week each week.

Solid lifting for sure, good luck at your meet

Hey thanks, glad to be here.

What would you say are the differences between what you're doing now and the RTS approach? Mostly lower avg intensity? Also the technique/recovery stuff?

So take the following with the context that I've run RTS-inspired programming from coaches, and I've gone through a lot of RTS Classroom:

The RTS approach prioritizes the comp lifts, assistance (weak point) lifts, and accessories (hypertrophy). In terms of number of sets per week, you'll typically find that they're pretty evenly split. A common program might look like

Monday: Comp squat x3 @7/9/9, 1 load drop; comp bench x3 @7/9/9, 1 load drop; OHP x10 @6/7/8/8/8
Tuesday: Comp deadlift x3 @7/9/9, 1 load drop; pin press x4 @7/8/9, 1 load drop; split squats x10 @6/7/8/8/8
Thursday: 2ct Pause squat x5 @7/8/9, 1 load drop; 3ct pause bench x5 @7/8/9, 1 load drop; wide grip bench x10 @6/7/8/88
Friday: Deadlift w chains x1 @8, x4 @9, 2 load drops; slingshot bench x1 @8, x4 @9, 2 load drops; RDLs x12 @6/7/8/8/8

So about as much comp squatting per week as paused squatting, and more split squat sets/reps than comp squat. A ton of variation around bench exercise selection, all of which kinda looks like the comp lift but not necessarily the comp lift.

Matt's approach, which I think lines up with most submax DUP folk, is what I'd describe as a polarized exercise selection. It's either the comp lift or a VERY close variation (barbell in the same place, and just adjustment in tempo) or very nonspecific for bodybuilding purpose. There's not a lot in the middle, and the vast majority of my workload is coming from super-specificity.

There's also a bigger emphasis on reps and adding intensity via just introducing front-loaded heavy sets, so my total set count is creeping up and the stress is throttled by keeping the RPE on the rep sets reasonably low. I've heard Sean Noriega describe his style as "hyperspecific bodybuilding" and that's kinda what my program looks like. For context, I'm 3 weeks out this Saturday. My bench programming looks like:

Sunday - Comp bench x1 @7, x6 @7, 3 drop sets @ -5%
Monday - 3ct pause bench x2 @7, 2x2@ -5%, midgrip bench x7 @7, 3x7 @-5%
Thursday - Comp bench x1 @8, x3 @9, 4x3 @ -8%
Friday - Comp bench x8 @7, 2x8 @ -5%

There's also some DB bench, tricep work and lots of curls. Matt introduced intensity essentially by adding top singles and slowly increasing the RPE on those singles, then slowly increasing the RPE on the rep sets. So I expect that a week out I'll still be comp benching sets of 8 to keep my total volume high.

There's also the recovery work - I've done tempo DB RDLs with a foam roller between my legs to promote internal rotation, I have warmup drills that include essentially adductor and hamstring "activation" but the primary driver here I think is just the amount of reps I'm pushing at lower RPEs.

Also, I've been hearing a lot of people say lately that x day is their best y lift day. Do you think there's any reason for these patterns? I imagine it's just the combo or buildup of training adaptations to stress over the course of the week. Does this change if you start a new block or change variations? I've never really noticed any kind of trend for myself, but that's probably because I'm not super consistent on training the exact same days of the week each week.

Yeah I can't quite tell WHY. For what it's worth, my midweek sessions have been strong for the last few years. In prep for my last meet in March 2018, I basically comp squatted heavy triples on Mondays and Thursdays. Over 5 weeks I managed to drive my Thursday session up to 190kgx3 @9, while Monday never got better than 175x3 @10.

There's probably some combination of work stress, nutrition, sleep quality, consistent scheduling, hydration, and motivation all impacting it. I don't question it too much, especially given the specificity. If my Thursday session was SSB squats and pin pressing I'd be a little more concerned, but it's a low bar squat and a comp bench so whatever.

[NikhilT]

Friday, June 22
Comp deadlift - 215x2, 195x4x2
Comp Bench - 90x8, 85x8x2

TIRED

[KDW]

Hi bae. Someone told me you were here now. Kiss kiss.

[NikhilT]

Hi bae. Someone told me you were here now. Kiss kiss.

Yeah I figured it was about time I tried a training log independent of my usual paper and spreadsheet methods

[NikhilT]

Sunday, June 23

Comp squat - 150x1, 155x1, 160x1, 130x7x3
Comp bench - 110x1, 92.5x6, 87.5x6x3
Hand-assisted SSB Split Squats - 82x8x2

Didn't get to the gym until 9:30pm so, another down Sunday. This'll track back up soon enough.

[NikhilT]

Monday, June 24

Comp deadlift - 220x1@8, 190x6@7, 177.5x6x3
3ct Bench - 115x2@8.5, 105x2x2
Midgrip Bench - 95x7@7, 90x7x3
Good Mornings to Pins - 110x7@6, 120x7@7, 130x7@8


Matt is abusing me with reps. I have sets of 9 on bench this Friday, despite it being 15 days out. Kind of a fun approach, considering I feel generally strong (minus squatting all last week) so we'll see.

[grapesherbert]

Thanks for the super detailed response, interested to see how the new approach goes for you after following the RTS style for a while

[NikhilT]

Tuesday, June 25
Airbike: 10 mins
2ct Pause Squat - 160x3 @6.5, 150x3x4
Seal Rows - 60x10, 65x10, 67x10, 64x10
Superset: Ipsilateral Split Squat w Contralateral Reach 30 lb x6x5; DB spider curl 20 lb x15x5
Airbike: 10 mins

1 tri oral mixed in a low sugar Gatorade is a god-tier intraworkout. Combined with a little aggression and ammonia and I'm very happy here.

New block - Tuesday squats went from percentage-based tempos to RPE-based paused squats. Thursday went from paused squats to comp squats.

Thanks for the super detailed response, interested to see how the new approach goes for you after following the RTS style for a while

Any time!

[NikhilT]

Thursday, June 27th

Comp Squat - 365 lb x4 @6, 385 x4 @8, 345 x4
Comp Bench - 260 lb x1 @8.5, 250 x3@9.5, 225x3x4
DB Bench, Chin ups

Training in Baltimore today and tomorrow so pound plates. I managed a really fuckin disrespectful session which is good.

I think a 462@145 squat isn't unrealistic but I'm more interested in 484-501 in October so I'm happy to just take 440 or so.

[tdood]

I just noticed you’re here. <3

[NikhilT]

I just noticed you’re here. <3

fite me irl Tom

[NikhilT]

Friday, June 28th

Comp Deadlifts - 495x2 @8.5, 455 x4x2, 435x4
Comp Bench - 205 x9, 195x9x2
Accessories

PR deadlifts, but straps. B&R bars are rude.

Ok bye