Thanks guys.

Lower back is a little sore this morning, which isn't really a surprise considering the DL/OHP/paused squat trio is pretty fatiguing in that area, plus I haven't pressed reasonable weight in a while. Hopefully I'll be ok for D3 lifting on Sunday.

Holliday,

Eh. This year should be one long lean bulk in a last gasp to reach adult male status. 2.5 plate bench/3.5 plate squat/4.5 plate deadlift is a hopefully reasonable medium term goal. I look alright in a loco sized t-shirt shirt, but IEL status is probably never happening. There are better '17 candidates.

12/24: 194.6

Claimed by the hol(l)iday fats.

A
Squat (x4 @8, continue until @9): wu, 315x1 (7.5-8), 255x4, 265x4, 275x4x5 (last set ~8.5)

B
TNG bench (x5 @10, drop 5% until @9): wu, 245x1 (7.5-8), 205x5, 215x5, 225x5, 235x5 (9.5), 225x5 (9)

C
NG chins (x6 @8, continue until @9): 6xbw, 6xbw+15, 4x6xbw+25



Good day. Lower back soreness was gone; probably just an artifact from pulling above a true @8 for the first time in a month+. SI/right hip still a little tight, but opened up once I got under the bar and feels good now. Something like 285x4x4 was probably there given how easy set 5 was, but I don't want to push it too much.

I'll either have Larsen or 3 count before TNG or Slingshot on future d3s since the change to the three day split, but given I just did Larsen a few days ago, I figured I'd make today a bit lighter. Might have had 5x240, but I'll take what I got. Chins were fine, outside of shockingly being harder when fatter. Going to give myself an extra rest day for the holiday and make d1 of next week on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Merry Christmas to me.

12/27: 192.2

W7D1

A
Squat (x5 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 325x1 (8.5), 275x5, 285x5, 300x5 (9), 285x5

B
Paused bench (x5 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 245x1 (8), 200x5, 210x5, 220x5, 230x5 (9), 220x5
Hammer Strength Row: 4x10x98
Facepulls: 4x12

C
SG block pulls (x6 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 275x6, 290x6, 275x6x2



Solid day. 300x5 is a rep PR; fakeb thinks I went a hair deep, and I agree. I was concentrating on engaging my quads out of the hole, and I think it helped. Bench warmup felt heavy but moved alright once I got into the working sets.

In a shocking development, snatch grip is harder when you do a bunch of squats and back work beforehand than when you do it first in a session. Grip, even while strapped, is probably what failed first. More stunning insights to come.

Congrats on the PR. Apart from the last rep, it looks like you got rid of the hitch you have before you descend.

jd,

Thanks! Re: the Monte bounce, yeah, it's pretty much gone now; slips back every so often. Still a work in progress!

12/29: 192.2

A
DL (x5 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 345x1 (8), 300x5, 315x5, 330x5 (9), 315x5

B
CG Bench (x5 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 245x1 (8), 200x4, 210x4, 220x4, 230x4 (8.5), 235x4 (9.5), 225x4
Facepulls: 8x12

C
Squat (x5 @8, continue until @9): wu, 225x5, 255x4, 275x5x4



Pretty solid day. Still some helicoptering to work on when DLing, but overall I think it looks k? Had to do another CG set since 230x4 wasn't quite @9, which was curiously demotivating since I'd already decided I was done, save the backoff. Squats were hard. Now I'm hungry.

That's a lot of squat sets

12/31: 192.0

A
Paused squat (x4 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 315x1 (8.5), 275x4, 285x4, 295x4 (9), 280x4

B
3 count bench (x2 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 220x1 (7.5-8), 200x2, 210x2, 220x2, 230x2 (9), 225x2

C
Slingshot bench (x5 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): 175x5, 195x5, 215x5, 235x5, 245x5 (9), 235x5

D
NG chins (x5 @8, continue until @9): 5xbw, 5xbw+15, 5xbw+25, 4x5xbw+35





Mostly k day. Was hoping for 300x4 for paused, but 315 moved pretty slowly for an intended @8 and everything else felt heavy, so I dialed it back a bit. Bench went well; probably had 235x2 on 3 count but my elbows were getting sore. Slingshot and chins went as expected. Tired now, but much cooking for New Year's is required.

Have the elbow sleeves been helping much?

I think so; it's hard to say for sure. Other than needing a lift off for heavy bench sets, I'm generally fine. This would be solved if I squatted last, since I think that actually is the most stressful, but I just can't do it on any day other than DL day. I need the psychological relief of squats being over ASAP.

1/3: 193.6

W8D1

A
Squat (x4 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 325x1 (8), 280x4, 295x4, 310x4 (9), 295x4

B
Paused bench (x4 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 250x1 (8), 210x4, 220x4, 230x4, 240x3* (9), 225x4
Hammer Strength Row: 4x10x98
Facepulls: 6x12

C
SG block pulls (x8 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 225x8, 245x8, 265x8, 255x8



Another one in the books; 310 is a 4RM PR by 5 lbs, though I felt a bit sloppy today. My initial 280 set was a bit twisty, towards my right side (the side with the slightly tight SI), but it got better as the session went on. Bench was meh; left shoulder was a little crackly from squatting and I didn't feel great under the bar, plus my spotter just took the bar from me after a somewhat grindy third rep at 240.

You are doing great. Keep it up. Have you seen an rpe chart with percentages? It might help you get your drop sets after x1 more accurate? If you haven't seen one, I can post one later when I'm at a computer

Nice PR

Thanks!

Yeah, I use one; I just overreach sometimes. I need to stop doing that, I realize.

1/5: 193.0

A
DL (x4 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 355x1 (8-8.5), 315x4, 330x4, 345x4 (9), 325x4

B
OHP (x3 @8, continue until @9): wu, 155x1 (8.5), 140x3x5
Facepulls: 8x12

C
Squat (x4 @8, continue until @9): wu, 255x4, 270x4, 285x4x4



DL felt ok; maybe could have been a bit tighter, but 345x4 felt easier than 345x3 three weeks ago, so whatever. OHP was a little grindy because my left shoulder is a bit touchy from the other day still. Squats were fine; probably had one more set, but still trying to exercise discretion since I'd already deadlifted.

Beast

+1

Nice fkcing work man. Exciting to see weight on the bar. Noticed some of your DL reps can start a hair too far forward, causing the bar to drift. It's not super common though. Gjgj!!

Thanks man. DL setup is definitely still a work in progress, but I'll keep an eye out for drift in the future

1/7: 195.0

Went out for a fancylad dinner with our neighbors last night, and it looks like I caught a case of the fats.

A
Paused squat (x4 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 315x1 (8), 275x4, 285x4, 300x4 (9), 285x4

B
Larsen bench (x3 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 225x1 (7.5), 205x3, 215x3, 225x3, 235x3 (9), 225x3x2

C
TNG bench (x5 @10, drop 5%, continue until @9): 175x5, 195x5, 205x5, 215x5, 225x5, 235x4 (9-9.5), 225x5

NG chins (x5 @8, continue until @9): 5xbw, 5xbw+15, 5xbw+25, 4x5xbw+35



Probably had 305x4, but trying not to overreach since I want 315+ for a triple on Wednesday. Larsen was a PR, and overall the bench volume felt good, even though I pussied out on the 235 set. Chins smooth. Good day overall.

1/10: 193.6

I'm sick; decided to eat away my frustrations at the illness the last few nights, but kept it to reasonable stuff instead of 2k calories of goldfish. No fever, so decided to train.

W9D1

A
Squat (x3 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 325x1 (8), 290x3, 305x3, 320x3 (9), 305x3

B
Paused bench (x3 @9, drop 5%, continue until @9): wu, 250x1 (8), 215x3, 225x3, 235x3, 245x3 (9.5), 235x3

C
Hammer Strength Row: 4x10x98
Facepulls: 6x12



Pretty good day; 320 triple is obviously a PR, and 245 paused is a PR at this bodyweight and for this cycle, so trending in the right direction at least.

Dropped off the snatch grip block pulls, both because I'm fatigued from the illness and because it's probably too much overall. May just move that and weighted chins to a light D4; a lot of the problems I had with the original four day split were with acclimation to intensity. I think I'm alright with the overall intensity/volume of the program now, so we'll see how this works.

What do the @9 and (8.5-9) mean in your logs?

It's notation for RPE (rate of perceived exertion). It's a shorthand way of denoting the intensity of a set, in that an RPE of 10 means that you couldn't do any more reps with good form, an RPE of 9 means you could do one more rep with good form, an RPE of 8 means two more reps, etc. As written, my program has targets for each session for the number of reps and RPE of the top set; practically, this means that I warm up to a single around RPE 8, and use an RPE table to convert that into a target weight for the number of reps I'm supposed to hit for the top set. So, for today's squat, my 325 single @8 converts to an expectation that a triple at 315 is a reasonable expectation for an intensity level @9; I was feeling strong, so I bumped that weight up by 5 pounds.

The earliest time RPE is relevant is in the intermediate phase, so it's not something you need to worry about yet.

Thanks for the explanation.

This thread is reaching ridiculous levels of progress. Wasn’t squatting 320 a PR single a couple of months ago?

He actually failed 320x1 not too long ago

Beware of the sick lifter. Those looked great