Friday Oct 9 - Push Day B - (HB-RM@60%)
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Inc DB Press+1 55w25 SETS: 1 16
Banded Bench 99.5w45 SETS: 1 16
Face Pulls 67 SETS: 3 16
Front Squats 110.25w45 SETS: 1 16
Wrist Roller+1 38.5 SETS: 1 16
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Thread: There is no spoon
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10-09-2020, 10:24 AM #391
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10-12-2020, 09:08 AM #392
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10-14-2020, 10:04 AM #393
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Tuesday Oct 11 - Push Day C - (HB-RM@60%)
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Inc DB Press+1 55w30 SETS: 1 16
Paused Bench 114.25w95 SETS: 1 16
Face Pulls 67 SETS: 3 16
Rope Pushdowns 36.25w20 SETS: 3 16
Squats 217.5w135 SETS: 3 16
I'm pretty sure I didn't go to proper failure during the RM microcycle for all exercises. I made sure to get 16 reps, which should be a new rep PR but I think in some cases I likely stopped when I had one more in me. Still, a reasonably productive 10s meso overall.
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10-14-2020, 10:16 AM #394
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Wednesday Oct 12 - Pull Day A - (Strength 3x5@75%)
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Chinups 3x5xBW
Upright Rows 3x5x92.5w45
V Pulldowns 3x5x165.5w120
TRX Rev Flies 3x5xBW
RDL 3x5x350.5w225
I've been doing hypertrophy training for a while so today kicks off the first day of a strength meso. Hopefully the low volume should get me some re-sensitization and set me to up to do some more hypertrophy work, that's the theory anyways. Currently the plan is to increase intensity each micro culminating in a 5RM test at 85%. Today I felt like I was both working harder and slacking at the same time due to the increased intensity but lower volume.
I'm not sure I like heavier upright rows, keeping an eye on that one. No good loading options for the TRX work so I focused on really good controlled slow reps. Chinups with no assistance band felt good today, I think I've made progress there.
Since I've been hitting my systemic fatigue limit before I hit my local MRVs my next hypertrophy meso I'm going to split my muscle groups in half. 50% will be at MV/MEV while the other half get prioritized then I'll run another meso after doing the reverse. Additionally I'm going to re-evaluate exercise selection and probably use more than one rep range at a time since some exercises work better with lower / higher reps.
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10-15-2020, 11:51 AM #395
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Thursday Oct 13 - Push Day A - (Strength 3x5@75%)
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Inc DB Press 3x5x70w40
Bench 3x5x185w135
Face Pulls 3x5x86w40
Rope Pushdowns 3x5x46.5w20
SSB Squats 3x5x225w135
Face pulls and pushdowns are a little iffy with this loading, a bit weak on the lockout. It's obvious I haven't done higher intensity work lately, everything feels much heavier than it should. Apparently all that lower intensity work paid off though, I'm up 20lbs on my SSB squats since the last time I did 5s and I'm only at 75%, supposedly going to end this cycle at something like 255lbs based on the numbers which would be a huge improvement. (Even 20lbs is pretty awesome)
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10-16-2020, 11:14 AM #396
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Friday Oct 16 - Pull Day B - (Strength 3x5@75%)
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Upright Rows 3x5x92.5w45
Calf Raises 3x5x287w185
Bent Rows 3x5x187w135
Plate Raises 3x5x45w25
Deadlifts 3x5x430w225/315
Had break out the belt for deadlifts, I don't normally need it until 4 plates which I haven't done in a while. I did the first set without but definitely felt that in my lower back, once I belted up everything was fine. The predicted numbers I'm supposed to hit this cycle are intimidating, either I'm going to be smashing some great PRs or my theoretical RM calculations are way off. I haven't gone heavy since April so it's possible I actually added significant real muscle, that was the idea after all and the mirror seems to suggest that, but we'll see.Last edited by blue9steel; 10-19-2020 at 10:27 AM.
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10-19-2020, 10:26 AM #397
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
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Monday Oct 19 - Push Day B - (Strength 3x5@75%)
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Inc DB Press 3x5x72.5w40
Banded Bench 3x5x128w45/95
Face Pulls 3x5x86w40
Front Squats 3x5x142w45/95
Wrist Roller 3x5Ex50
My lower back was sore Friday and Saturday so I didn't do any situps for the last three days, but it was feeling recovered this morning. I had a great session today, really did well on the front squats (outside of my normal mobility issues). I think I may have jumped into the strength meso a bit fast, next time I'll do more of a lead in and I'm evaluating my microcycle progression. Originally I had planned 2.5% but that might be too aggressive for some lifts. I've got two more days to figure it out.
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10-21-2020, 06:25 AM #398
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Tuesday Oct 20 - Pull Day C - (Strength 3x5@75%)
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GHR (red) 3x5xBW
T-Bar Rows 3x5x197.5w135
Upright Rows 3x5x92.5w45
Calf Raises 3x5x287w185
Pullovers 3x5x110w40/85
T-Bar Rows aggravated my lower back again because it wasn't completely recovered yet. If I'm going to do them heavy I may have to consider wearing a belt, though in the past that hasn't been necessary.
Pullovers were a bit ridiculous. I was strong enough for the weight, but there were problems with execution. Putting that many 5lb plates on the adjustable dumbbell made it pretty long and likely to hit my head, I ended up having to alternate sides and tilt my head a bit. The weight was heavy enough that my feet sometimes came off the floor which was funny but not very helpful. I finished the sets but I'm going to have to consider some kind of alternative for next time.
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10-21-2020, 10:59 AM #399
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Wednesday Oct 21 - Push Day C - (Strength 3x5@75%)
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Inc DB Press 3x5x70w40
Paused Bench 3x5x147w95
Face Pulls 3x5x86w40
Rope Pushdowns 3x5x46.5w20
Squats 3x5x280w135/225/255x1
My lower back was still sore but was a more proceed with caution than don't use it kind of feeling. I made sure to warm it up & stretch it out then belted up for squats starting at 225, that seemed to work well. I don't do conventional deadlifts again until till Monday so it should be ok by then. RDLs are tomorrow but I'll belt up and be careful, they tend to be light enough not to aggravate it as badly anyways. I got some popping this morning which is usually a sign it's starting to relax and heal up.
Strength overall has been good but I jumped into 75% way too fast. Next microcycle I'll do the first set at the same weight then do a small increase each set as long as things feel good. For example on deadlifts instead of jumping from 430 to 445 (original planned progression) I'll likely do 430, 435, 440. We'll see how that goes, but I'm going to focus on staying conservative and give myself time to adapt.
I topped out at 3x3x298 on squats back in March, 3x5x280 felt pretty good today so I think I've made progress. In theory I should be able to smash 315 for a new PR by the end of this meso which would kick ass, but I'm not going to kill myself just to get there. I'll slowly up the weights and see where I end up.
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10-22-2020, 09:37 AM #400
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Thursday Oct 22 - Pull Day A - (Strength 1x5@75% / 1x5@77.5%)
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Chinups 1x5xBW 1x5x10
Upright Rows 1x5x92.5w45 1x5x95
V Pulldowns 1x5x165.5w120 1x5x171
TRX Rev Flies 2x5xBW
RDL 1x5x350.5w225 1x5x362
Fatigue has risen much faster than expected. Coffee drinking has been up and I've wanted to go to bed early the last few nights. Apparently my increased strength at this intensity more than counterbalanced the reduced volume. It's too early in the meso to just grind through so I lowered volume instead. I combined that with the previous idea about intensity increases so the first set was at 75% and the 2nd set at 77.5%, next micro will go from 77.5% to 80% and so on. With one third less tonnage being moved that should help with fatigue management and the lower volume is actually a plus from a re-sensitization perspective.
I'll probably drop TRX work after this meso, it's just not appropriate in any meso that doesn't use higher rep ranges. (>10) I'm not completely convinced I like my upright row form, I may be doing a high pull instead. I think I'll drop that move for a while after this meso then work on a new form next time I use it. Chinups and V-Pulldowns went very well and RDLs were fine since I belted up for all sets including the warmup.
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10-23-2020, 01:02 PM #401
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10-26-2020, 12:08 PM #402
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Monday Oct 26 - Pull Day B - - (Strength 1x5@75% / 1x5@77.5%)
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Upright Rows 1x5x92.5w45 1x5x95
Calf Raises 1x5x287w185 1x5x297
Bent Rows 1x5x187w135 1x5x194
Plate Raises 1x5x45w25 1x6x45 **No good way to increase loading so I added a rep
Deadlifts 1x5x430w225/315 1x5x444
Fatigue is back down to a manageable level after the volume drop, if that holds through the week then all is well. My initial high disruption over switching to higher intensity work is now mostly over and things are going more smoothly.
I used my belt on all deadlift sets today and had no problems with my back. The weight felt heavy but I could tell I had more strength available. I've started cautiously adding GHR situps back into my cardio session now that my lower back is on the road to recovery.
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10-27-2020, 11:20 AM #403
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Tuesday Oct 27 - Push Day B - (Strength 1x5@75% / 1x5@77.5%)
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Inc DB Press 1x5x70w40 1x5x72.5
Banded Bench 1x5x128w45/95 1x5x132
Face Pulls 1x5x86w40 1x5x89
Front Squats 1x5x142w45/95 1x5x146
Wrist Roller 1x5Ex50 1x5Ex52.5Last edited by blue9steel; 10-28-2020 at 09:52 AM.
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10-28-2020, 09:51 AM #404
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Wednesday Oct 28 - Pull Day - (Strength 1x5@75% / 1x5@77.5%)
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GHR 1x5xBW(red) 1x5xBW
T-Bar Rows 1x5x197.5w135 1x5x205
Upright Rows 1x5x92.5w45 1x5x95
Calf Raises 1x5x287w185 1x5x297
Pullovers 1x5x110w40/85 1x5x112.5
GHRs with no assistance went well today, I'm pretty excited about that. I've come a long way on that movement.
I broke out the belt for T-Bar Rows today, which I've never done before, and it was awesome. Wearing a belt worked really well at taking some of the pressure off my lower back and really left me feeling stable and strong. I'll definitely do that again.
I solved half of my pullover problem by switching to using the triceps bar, now I don't have to worry about the extra large DB hitting my head and I really liked the neutral grip. I may switch to using that instead of dumbbells on regular basis, especially since you can control loading better. I still need to find a way to lock my feet in position but I have an idea about taking out one of the safeties and doing these in the rack so I can hook my feet under the bottom frame member on the other side. I'll try that next time and see if there is enough room to make it work.
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10-29-2020, 09:42 AM #405
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Thursday Oct 29 - Push Day C - (Strength 1x5@75% / 1x5@77.5%)
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Inc DB Press 1x5x70w40 1x5x72.5
Paused Bench 1x5x147w95 1x5x152
Face Pulls 1x5x86w40 1x5x89
Rope Pushdowns 1x5x46.5w20 1x5x48
Squats 1x5x280w135/225/280x1 1x5x289
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10-30-2020, 11:05 AM #406
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11-02-2020, 12:09 PM #407
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Monday Nov 2 - Push Day A - (Strength 1x5@77.5% / 1x5@80%)
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Inc DB Press 1x5x72.5w40 1x5x75
Bench 1x5x192w135 1x5x198
Face Pulls 1x5x89w40 1x5x92
Rope Pushdowns 1x5x48w20 1x5x50
SSB Squats 135x5 185x5 232x1 232x5 240x5Last edited by blue9steel; 11-03-2020 at 10:33 AM.
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11-03-2020, 10:40 AM #408
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Tuesday Nov 3 - Pull Day B - (Strength 1x5@77.5% / 1x5@80%)
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Upright Rows 1x5x95w45 1x5x98.5
Calf Raises 1x5x297w185 1x5x306
Bent Rows 1x5x194w135 1x5x200
Plate Raises 1x6x45w25 1x7x45
Deadlifts 225x5 315x5 405x1 444x5 459x5
Tweaked my back a bit on bent rows. Interesting since my usual issue is lower back in the middle and this is middle back on the right. Not too bad and I managed to smash a new deadlift PR (457.5x3 was my prior record) after by just cranking the belt a little tighter. I'm pretty sure I've got some more strength left there. Looks like my last few mesocycles are paying off.
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11-04-2020, 09:46 AM #409
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Wednesday Nov 4 - Push Day B - (Strength 1x5@77.5% / 1x5@80%)
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Inc DB Press 1x5x72.5w40 1x5x75
Banded Bench 1x5x132w45/95 1x5x136
Face Pulls 1x5x89w40 1x5x92
Front Squats 1x5x146w45/95 1x5x151
Wrist Roller 1x5Ex50 1x5Ex52.5
My back was still sore this morning but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I belted up like a bro and wore it for all exercises today, that held everything tight and kept my back from being an issue. Had a pretty good session despite that minor issue.
My wrist roller progression seems too timid, I'm not sure I got my rep max right last mesocycle. Not going to worry about it for now.
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11-05-2020, 09:28 AM #410
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Thursday Nov 5 - Pull Day C - (Strength 1x5@77.5% / 1x5@80%)
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GHR 1x5xBW 1x5x5
T-Bar Rows 1x5x205w135 1x5x212.5
Upright Rows 1x5x95w45 1x5x98.5
Calf Raises 1x5x297w185 1x5x306
Pullovers 1x5x112.5w40/85 1x5x116.5
The extra setup time was annoying but doing pullovers in the rack so I could hook my feet under worked well to keep me on the bench. My back is starting to feel better, still wore my belt a lot today but didn't need it while I was loading / unloading plates just while doing the actual exercises.
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11-06-2020, 09:49 AM #411
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Friday Nov 6 - Push Day C - (Strength 1x5@77.5% / 1x5@80%)
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Inc DB Press 1x5x72.5w40 1x5x75
Paused Bench 1x5x152w95 1x5x157
Face Pulls 1x5x89w40 1x5x92
Rope Pushdowns 1x5x48w20 1x5x50
Squats 1x5x289w135/225/289x1 1x5x298
Some good numbers this week. My back is continuing to improve, didn't need the belt for the lighter exercises.
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11-09-2020, 11:26 AM #412
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11-10-2020, 10:09 AM #413
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Tuesday Nov 10 - Push Day A - (Strength 1x5@80% / 1x5@82.5%)
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Inc DB Press 1x5x75w40 1x5x77.5
Bench 1x5x198w135/198x1 1x5x204 REPS: 4 1
Face Pulls 1x5x92w40/92x1 1x5x95
Rope Pushdowns 1x5x50w20/50x1 1x5x52.5
SSB Squats 1x5x240w135/185/240x1 1x5x247
Bench issues today, last rep of first set was a nasty grinder and the second set stalled out before hitting five reps. Everything else went fine and I wasn't feeling particularly fatigued. Inc DB Press actually went quite well. I'm going to write it off as just a random event and keep rolling.
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11-11-2020, 10:59 AM #414
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Wednesday Nov 11 - Pull Day B - (Strength 1x5@80% / 1x5@82.5%)
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Upright Rows 1x5x98.5w45 1x5x102
Calf Raises 1x5x306w185 1x5x315
Bent Rows 1x5x200w135 1x5x206
Plate Raises 1x7x45w25 1x8x45
Deadlifts 1x5x459w225/315/405x1 1x5x473 REPS: 2 1
So the good news is that I smashed a new deadlift PR with 473 for a double! Of course the percentages said I should have been able to knock out a set of five at around 2 RIR so obviously that didn't quite work as expected. Missing by that much isn't just a fluke, I suspect results at the end of this meso will be more varied than the numbers would suggest.
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11-12-2020, 11:14 AM #415
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11-12-2020, 11:39 AM #416
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11-13-2020, 10:00 AM #417
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11-13-2020, 10:10 AM #418
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Friday Nov 13 - Pull Day C - (Strength 1x5@80% / 1x5@82.5%)
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GHR 1x5x5wBWx1 1x5x10
T-Bar Rows 1x5x212.5w135/180x1 1x5x218
Upright Rows 1x5x98.5w45 1x5x102
Calf Raises 1x5x306w185 1x5x316
Pullovers 1x5x116.5w40/70 1x5x120
Pullovers in the rack worked well but I'm noticing that when I use the triceps bar instead of dumbbells I'm feeling it more in my lats than in my chest. I think next Meso I'll need to program them in a higher rep range so I can move back to DBs.
I've got my new 5 day 50% emphasis program mostly figured out. I finish this microcycle on Monday so I'm going to come up with a 4 day plan for the remainder of next week to finish out the low volume meso and start my new hypertrophy meso on Nov 23rd. I'll be on vacation that whole week so it's a great time to start a new routine.
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11-16-2020, 10:33 AM #419
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Monday Nov 16 - Push D - (Strength 1x5@80% / 1x5@82.5%)
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Inc DB Press 1x5x75w40 1x5x77.5
Paused Bench 1x5x157w95/135x1 1x5x162
Face Pulls 1x5x92w40 1x5x95
Rope Pushdowns 1x5x50w20 1x5x52.5
Squats 3x3x298w135/225/298x1
Everything went well except squats. I should have been plenty rested after the weekend but for some reason my performance was off. I got under the bar and it just felt really heavy, like it was smashing me down instead of a controlled decent and coming back up was kind of grindy on all reps. I did three sets of triples at 80%, but didn't even attempt to go up to 82.5% which would have been 308. Pretty odd since I smashed 298x5 last time without too much trouble. The crazy thing is that three reps at 80% should have been something like 5 RIR. Since I had trouble with bench, squat & deadlift this week I suspect I'm starting to reach the natural end of this mesocycle, which is good because it's nearly over anyways.
The plan for the next four days is to squeeze in my six days of rep max testing at 80%, skipping exercise repeats and a few minor items like trx straps and plate raises. If that turns out to be too tiring I'll scale it back even more. Next week I start my new meso.Last edited by blue9steel; 11-17-2020 at 09:28 AM.
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11-17-2020, 09:32 AM #420
- Join Date: Dec 2005
- Location: Oregon, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 5,534
- Rep Power: 27216
Tuesday Nov 17 - RM Day 1 - (RM@80%)
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Chinups BWx1 18.5x1 18.5x7
Calf Raises 185x1 306x1 306x7
Inc DB Press 40x5 75x1 75x9
RDL 225x5 374x1 374x9
According to the formula I needed at least nine reps for a PR. I was training with pretty low volumes, so this may be a decent indicator of MV or MEV for each muscle group.
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