There is no spoon

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Sep 1 - Push Day C - (HB-5x8@65%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 6x8x55w25
Paused Bench 5x8x111.25w95
Face Pulls 5x8x68.25
Rope Pushdowns 5x8x37w20
Squats 5x8x221.75w135
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

Whew, I survived the 5s cycle again, that seems like it should come with a plaque or something. Lifting has gone well this meso, RM testing starts tomorrow.

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Sep 2 - Pull Day A - (HB-RM@65%)
------------------------------------------------------
Chinups(lg Purple) 10 SETS: 1 14
Upright Rows 76.75w45 SETS: 1 14
V Pulldowns+1 137.25w90 SETS: 1 14
TRX Rev Flies+1 bw SETS: 1 14
RDL 285.75w185 SETS: 1 15

I made sure to stop at technical failure rather than true failure but overall it went well. Hamstrings continue to make strong growth with the 8 rep range.

[blue9steel]

Thursday Sep 3 - Push Day A - (HB-RM@65%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 55w25 SETS: 1 15
Bench 147w95 SETS: 1 15
Face Pulls 68.25 SETS: 1 15
Rope Pushdowns 37w20 SETS: 1 15
SSB Squats 178w135 SETS: 1 15

Good performance today. High rep squats tend to be breathing limited towards the end but I tried to take the minimum time to get a couple of breaths then continue.

[blue9steel]

Friday Sep 4 - Pull Day B - (HB-RM@65%)
------------------------------------------------
Upright Rows 76.75w45 SETS: 1 14
Calf Raises 237.75w135 SETS: 3 14
Bent Rows+1 148.5w95 SETS: 1 15
Plate Raises 35 SETS: 3 15
Deadlifts 356.25w225 SETS: 1 14

[blue9steel]

Monday Sep 7 - Push Day B - (HB-RM@65%)
--------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 55w25 SETS: 1 14
Banded Bench 106w45 SETS: 1 14
Face Pulls 68.25 SETS: 3 15
Front Squats 117.5w45 SETS: 1 14
Wrist Roller+1 41 SETS: 1 14

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Sep 8 - Pull Day C - (HB-RM@65%)
-------------------------------------------------------
GHR+2 (Lg purple) BW SETS: 1 16
T-Bar Rows 157.25w90 SETS: 1 15
Upright Rows 76.75w45 SETS: 1 14
Calf Raises 237.75w135 SETS: 3 14
Pullovers 85w45 SETS: 1 15

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Sep 9 Push Day C - (HB-RM@65%)
------------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 55w25 SETS: 1 16
Paused Bench 111.25w95 SETS: 2 16
Face Pulls 88.25 SETS: 3 15
Rope Pushdowns 37w20 SETS: 3 15
Squats 221.75w135 SETS: 1 15

Finished the final 8@65% cycle strong today, lots of new records. Tomorrow I start the 10@60% cycle, that'll be new, interested to see how that goes.

Added another 139.25lbs to my combined rep maxes.

[blue9steel]

Thursday Sep 10 Pull Day A - (HB-3x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Chinups(lg Purple) 3x10xBW
Upright Rows 3x10x72w45
V Pulldowns+1 4x10x128.75w90
TRX Rev Flies+1 4x10xBW
RDL 3x10x280.5w185
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

First day of the new mesocycle! Sets of 10 felt more different from sets of 8 than I expected, some good change in stimulus there.

[blue9steel]

Friday Sep 11 - Push Day A - (HB-3x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 4x10x55w30
Bench 3x10x144.25w95
Face Pulls 3x10x67
Rope Pushdowns 3x10x36.25w20
SSB Squats 3x10x174.75w135
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Monday Sep 14 - Pull Day B - (HB-3x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Upright Rows 3x10x72w45
Calf Raises 3x10x223.25w135
Bent Rows+1 4x10x145.75w95
Plate Raises 3x10x35
Deadlifts 3x10x334.5w225
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

8s Felt weird after 5s and now 10s feel strange after 8s, I guess it's all just relative to what you've been doing recently.

[ElrondHubbard]

Monday Sep 14 - Pull Day B - (HB-3x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Upright Rows 3x10x72w45
Calf Raises 3x10x223.25w135
Bent Rows+1 4x10x145.75w95
Plate Raises 3x10x35
Deadlifts 3x10x334.5w225
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

8s Felt weird after 5s and now 10s feel strange after 8s, I guess it's all just relative to what you've been doing recently.

Changeups do feel weird, but that's some impressive weight being moved!

[blue9steel]

Changeups do feel weird, but that's some impressive weight being moved!

And that's the easy week, heh. Two more microcycles of adding volume before it's time to re-test.

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Sep 15 - Push Day B - (HB-3x10@60%)
-------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 4x10x55w25
Banded Bench 3x10x99.5w45
Face Pulls 3x10x67
Front Squats 3x10x110.25w45
Wrist Roller+1 4x10Ex38.5
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Sep 16 - Pull Day C - (HB-3x10@60%)
----------------------------------------------------------
GHR+2 (Lg purple) 5x10xBW
T-Bar Rows 3x10x154.25w90
Upright Rows 3x10x72w45
Calf Raises 3x10x223.25w135
Pullovers 3x10x85w45
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Thursday Sep 7 - Push Day C - (HB-3x10@60%)
-------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 4x10x55w30
Paused Bench 3x10x114.25w95
Face Pulls 3x10x67
Rope Pushdowns 3x10x36.25w20
Squats 3x10x217.5w135
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Friday Sep 18 Pull Day A - (HB-4x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Chinups(lg Purple) 4x10xBW
Upright Rows 4x10x72w45
V Pulldowns+1 5x10x128.75w90
TRX Rev Flies+1 5x10xBW
RDL 4x10x280.5w185
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Monday Sep 21 - Push Day A - (HB-4x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 5x10x55w30
Bench 4x10x144.25w95
Face Pulls 4x10x67
Rope Pushdowns 4x10x36.25w20
SSB Squats 4x10x174.75w135
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Sep 22 - Pull Day B - (HB-4x10@60%)
------------------------------------------------------
Upright Rows 4x10x72w45
Calf Raises 4x10x223.25w135
Bent Rows+1 5x10x145.75w95
Plate Raises 4x10x35
Deadlifts 4x10x334.5w225
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

Smashed that deadlift volume but it definitely created some fatigue.

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Sep 23 - Push Day B - (HB-4x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 5x10x55w25
Banded Bench 4x10x99.5w45
Face Pulls 4x10x67
Front Squats 4x10x110.25w45
Wrist Roller+1 5x10Ex38.5
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Thursday Sep 24 - Pull Day C - (HB-4x10@60%)
-------------------------------------------------------
GHR+2 (Lg purple) 6x10xBW
T-Bar Rows 4x10x154.25w90
Upright Rows 4x10x72w45
Calf Raises 4x10x223.25w135
Pullovers 4x10x85w45
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

10s@60% are more fatiguing than 8s@65% even with the same number of sets. I think I'll make it through the meso but I'm definitely tired earlier.

[blue9steel]

Friday Sep 25 - Push Day C - (HB-4x10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 5x10x55w30
Paused Bench 4x10x114.25w95
Face Pulls 4x10x67
Rope Pushdowns 4x10x36.25w20
Squats 4x10x217.5w135
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

Based on external markers I don't think I'll make it through 5s week. Fatigue is up, coffee drinking is up and desire to nap / early bedtime is here. This morning I wasn't even completely sure I wanted to train, going back to sleep sounded nice. My workouts are taking as long as 5s week did for 8@65% and that's pretty much my limit on time. INOL suggests 8@65 is 0.69, 0.91, 1.14, 0.40 while 10@60 is 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 0.43 This cycle each week did feel somewhat like it was a half week ahead so apparently small changes in those numbers are significant. I'm going to spend some time over the weekend figuring out what to do next week, possibly some kind of metabolite work to finish things out before rep max testing. Next time I do 10s I'll have to make some kind of adjustment to have less total systemic fatigue, whether that is less exercises, a specialization cycle or perhaps doing 2,3,4 instead of 3,4,5 sets. On individual exercises I feel like I could keep going I'm just getting crushed on the systemic end.

After I wrap up this meso I think I'm going to roll into a strength mesocycle to finish up the macrocycle before I start over again with more hypertrophy. Overall I feel more muscular and both the mirror and my t-shirts seem to confirm though since I've been trying to avoid weight gain I'm sure it's not huge amounts.

[blue9steel]

Monday Sep 28 - Pull Day A - (HB-DROPx10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Chinups(lg Purple) 10xBW SETS: 10 10 10/5(red)/5(redx2)/5(redx3)
Upright Rows 72w45 SETS: 10 10/7x65/7x58/7x51
V Pulldowns+1 128.75w90 SETS: 10 10 10/6x116/7x104/7x92
TRX Rev Flies+1 10xBW SETS: 10 10 10/5/5/5
RDL 280.5w185 SETS: 10 10/8x252/8x225/8x195
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

Ok, so the plan for this microcycle is regular sets to get in the groove then a triple drop set on my final set to finish things out. I used roughly 10% drops, going to roughly 0-1 RIR, depending on the exercise. Essentially going to failure or as close as possible without being stupid. From a volume perspective I treated each drop set as a full set for figuring out how many total sets to do. Workout was intense and fast paced but the total fatigue was actually much less than five straight sets would have been.

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Sep 29 - Push Day A - (HB-DROPx10@60%)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 10x55w30 SETS: 10 10 10/5x50/5x45/5x40
Bench 10x144.25w95 SETS: 10 10/7x130/7x116/8x102
Face Pulls 10x67 SETS: 10 10/6x60/7x53/8x46
Rope Pushdowns 10x36.25w20 SETS: 10 10/6x32/7x28/8x24
SSB Squats 10x174.75w135 10 10/7x157/7x140/8x123
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

I'm pretty happy with this format as an alternative for the last microcycle, it felt like a pretty productive session but I'm not as bone crushingly tired. We'll see how the rep max testing goes next microcycle, that'll tell me whether I'm making progress this way or just doing work.

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Sep 30 - Pull Day B - (HB-DROPx10@60%)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Upright Rows 10x72w45 SETS: 10 10/6x65/7x58/7x51
Calf Raises 10x223.25w135 SETS: 10 10/11x201/10x179/10x157
Bent Rows+1 10x145.75w95 SETS: 10 10 10/6x131/7x117/7x103
Plate Raises 10x35 SETS: 10 10/5x35/5x25/5x25
Deadlifts 10x334.5w225 SETS: 10 10/6x301/6x268/7x235
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

Drop set deadlifts, now there is some extra fun for you. Overall things are going well, though I do find the extra weight changes kind of annoying.

[blue9steel]

Thursday Oct 1 - Push Day B - (HB-DROPx10@60%)
------------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 10x55w25 SETS: 10 10 10/5x50/6x45/6x40
Banded Bench 10x99.5w45 SETS: 10 10/5x90/6x81/6x72
Face Pulls 10x67 SETS: 10 10/6x60/9x53/8x46
Front Squats 10x110.25w45 SETS: 10 10/6x99/6x88/6x77
Wrist Roller+1 10Ex38.5 SETS: 10 10 10/6x34/7x30/7x26
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Friday Oct 2 - Pull Day C - (HB-DROPx10@60%)
--------------------------------------------------------
GHR+2 (Lg purple) 10xBW SETS: 10 10 10 10/6x(+1red)/7x(+2red)/8x(+3red)
T-Bar Rows 10x154.25w90 SETS: 10 10/5x139/4x124/5x109
Upright Rows 10x72w45 SETS: 10 10/7x65/7x58/7x51
Calf Raises 10x223.25w135 SETS: 10 10/10x201/7x158/7x157
Pullovers 10x85w45 SETS: 10 10/6x75/7x65/7x55
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

[blue9steel]

Monday Oct 5 - Push Day - (HB-DROPx10@60%)
---------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 10x55w30 SETS: 10 10 10/5x50/5x45/5x40
Paused Bench 10x114.25w95 SETS: 10 10/7x103/9x92/8x81
Face Pulls 10x67 SETS: 10 10/7x66/6x61/6x55/7x49 **The 66 set was an loading accident
Rope Pushdowns 10x36.25w20 SETS: 10 10/6x32/6/28/7x24
Squats 10x217.5w135 SETS: 10 10/7x195/8x175/8x155
Band Work (red) 6x5E4

Last day of drop sets, next I can move into rep maxes before doing a strength meso. Lessons learned:
1) Drop sets have less systemic fatigue than an equal number straight sets, rough guess 2/3 to 3/4 worth.
2) 10% drops are likely the minimum, with 15%-20% probably being a better choice for keeping your reps up
3) Microloading drop sets takes way too long, in future I'll always use convenient numbers instead of strict percentages

[blue9steel]

Tuesday Oct 6 - Pull Day A - (HB-RM@60%)
---------------------------------------------------
Chinups(lg Purple) BW SETS: 1 16
Upright Rows 72w45 SETS: 1 16
V Pulldowns+1 128.75w90 SETS: 1 16
TRX Rev Flies+1 BW SETS: 3 16
RDL 280.5w185 SETS: 1 16

First day of RM testing went well, so apparently that drop set microcycle wasn't a total waste of time.

[blue9steel]

Wednesday Oct 7 - Push Day A - (HB-RM@60%)
-------------------------------------------------------
Inc DB Press+1 55w30 SETS: 1 16
Bench 144.25w95 SETS: 1 16
Face Pulls 67 SETS: 3 16
Rope Pushdowns 36.25w20 SETS: 3 16
SSB Squats 174.75w135 SETS: 3 16

I'm not sure I'm going to failure or just wimping out, by the time you get to 16 reps it's hard to tell. Anyways, those count as new rep PRs so it's somewhat moot.

[blue9steel]

Thursday Oct 8 - Pull Day B - (HB-RM@60%)
---------------------------------------------------
Upright Rows 72w45 SETS: 1 16
Calf Raises 223.25w135 SETS: 1 16
Bent Rows+1 145.75w95 SETS: 1 16
Plate Raises x35 SETS: 3 16
Deadlifts 334.5w225 SETS: 1 16