I remember the football coach in college had us do wide grip bench. I think my shoulders would fall off these days.
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SSB squatting have any negative effect on your competition squats?
If I do them for too long they do, but otherwise they help me work against the tendency I have of falling forward. Plus they save some elbow and shoulder strain.
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Week 2 Day 2
Spoto presses 230x8 RPE 7; 220,220,225,225x8 RPE 6-7
Tempo squats (5:0:0) 245,255x5 RPE 7
Paused DLs 365x2x5 RPE 7
Barbell rows 145x3x20 3 RIR
Goblet squats 55,65x20 3 RIR
Front raises 17.5x3x20 2-3 RIR
DB kickbacks 27.5x3x20 2-3 RIR
DB curls 27.5x3x20 2-3 RIR
Slowly getting my strength endurance back after all of the meet training, but holy crap I don’t think tempo squats will ever be something I’ll look forward to, haha. Had a little bit of soreness from Monday’s SSB squats and I felt every last bit of it on that 5-count negative for each rep. Good pump from the rest of the session.
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Week 2 Day 3
RDLs 385x6 RPE 6; 375, 385, 395x6 6-7 RPE
CG floor presses 200,205,215x8 RPE 6-7.5 (did an extra rep on 205)
High-bar squats 265x8 RPE 6,275x3x8 RPE 7
Military press 120x2x6 RPE 7
Good mornings 165x15 3 RIR; 175x2x15 3 RIR
Might not look like a lot, but felt like I had been through a gauntlet. App got tough on me with RDLs and ended up giving a “back-off” set that was higher than the opening top set. The high-bar squats were probably the biggest killer though. I wasn’t expecting to have to do 4 sets, but did what I was told. Took a peek at next week and by next Friday might need a post-mortem because it’s got me doing RPE 10 and a butt load of sets afterward. 
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Between the RDLs and Good Mornings it looks liike a lot to the lower back.
Yes, it was. Another week I can handle, but the next 4-week cycle I’ll need to be more strategic.
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Week 3 Day 1
SSB squats 295x8 RPE 9; 255,255,255,265,275x8 RPE 6,6.5,6.5,7,7.5
Wide-grip bench press 215x2x8 RPE 6-7; 225x8 RPE 7
1" deficit DLs 365,385,405x2x6 RPE 6,6.5,7,8
2-board bench press 205x3x5 RPE 5-6
Leg extensions mini+light x3x20 2-3 RIR
Weighted situps 35,45x2x20 2-3 RIR
I’d be lying if I said this was easy. It wasn’t soul crushing, but by the time that 3rd set of deficit pulls came around I was resisting the urge to say ‘fuggit, I’m out.’ The top set on SSB squats probably should have been a higher weight or a lower RPE, but I didn’t brace properly on the 1st rep and it cost me. Says something when reps 2-8 look way better than the first, lol. Back-off sets were too easy at first, but bumping weight up 10# each subsequent hit the sweet spot.
WG bench (which for me is max legal grip) actually felt good and I might explore gravitating toward this as my primary competition grip. Just considering it at this point. Training will primarily remain pinky on ring for pec/shoulder health.
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Week 3 Day 2
Spoto presses 245x8 RPE 9-ish; 220x5x8 RPE 6.5-7.5
Tempo squats 255,265,265,275x5 RPE 6-7.5
Paused DLs 385,395,405x5 RPE 6-7
Goblet squats 80x2x20 RPE 8,9
Barbell rows 155x3x20 1-2 RIR
DB front raises 20x20,20,18 2 RIR
DB kickbacks 30x3x20 1-2 RIR
DB curls 30x3x20 1-2 RIR
This one took a while. I called the Spotos a ‘9-ish’ as my last rep got a little wonky; was unsure whether it was rep #7 or in fact #8. Luckily, I recorded the set and it was indeed #8. Tempo squats weren’t too bad and actually helped work out the lingering soreness in my quads. Snappy on the paused DLs and getting that top set of 5 without a belt and using the TX power bar is reassuring. I was struggling to get that many reps with the power bar wearing a belt on pulls as the first exercise not too long ago. If anything, the assistance work is what really got me.
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Week 3 Day 3
RDLs 425x6 RPE 9.5; 365x4x6 RPE 7-8
CG floor press 210x5x8 RPE 6-7.5
High-bar squats 275x8 RPE 6; 285x3x8 RPE 7-8; 295x7 RPE 9
Military press 125x2x6 RPE 7-8
Good mornings 185x3x15 2-3 RIR
This is one of those sessions where the cumulative impacts just totally wreck you, because while no singular exercise was tough on its own I was wiped by the end. I will say the high-bar squats played a big hand in this, lol. Topped out at 425 on the RDLs, but I probably could have squeezed out another rep. Back-off sets were snappy, too. Like I said before, the squats did a number on me. I hit a wall after the 3rd set set w/ 285, but for some reason I thought it would be a great idea to increase the bar weight to 295. I got to rep #7 and while #8 was likely, the lungs felt like they were full of lava so I didn’t want to chance it.
Deload next week and gotta say it’s much needed.
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Week 4 Day 1
Deload
SSB squats 245x3x8
Wide-grip bench press 185x2x10
Deficit DLs 345x2x6
2-board bench press 195,205,215x5
Leg extensions 3x20
Weighted situps BW+25x3x20
Not much to add. Felt good today after last Friday’s ass-kicker, but kept things nice and light as programmed.
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Week 4 Day 2
Spoto presses 205x3x8 (+1 on set 3)
Tempo squats 225x2x5
Paused DLs 355x2x5
Goblet squats 65x2x20
Barbell rows 135x3x20
Front raises 15x3x20
DB kickbacks 25x3x15
Alternating DB curls 25x3x15
Easy work, though it generated some serious sweat with a hot and humid garage.
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Week 4 Day 3
RDLs 345x2x6; 365x6
CG floor presses 185x2x8
High-bar squats 250x2x8
Military presses 115x2x6
Good mornings 185x3x12
Deload is over. Back to the fun stuff next week, but I’m still ironing out whether to head into a transition block or another hypertrophy stretch.
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Strength Phase
Week 1 Day 1
Squat 295x6; 285x3x6,290x6,295x6 (all RPEs 6-ish)
Wide-grip bench press 215x2x5; 225x2x5 RPE 6
Deficit DLs 365,375,385,395x4 RPE 5-6
Step-ups 95,105,115x15 4-5 RIR
Weighted situps BW+35x3x15 3 RIR
Day 1 of meet training in the books. Tinkered with my squat stance some, but in the process managed not to pay attention to upper back tightness and found myself teetering forward too much on my ‘top’ set of 295. Weight was easy enough that it didn’t matter, but I need to do a better job or I’ll end up getting folded over when the weights get heavier. Brought my hands in a bit and really focused on it in the back off sets and the second go round with 295 was noticeably smoother (a little more fatigue, notwithstanding). Rest of the work was uneventful, though the garage was balmy today which meant taking my shirt off after the session was over was like peeling a banana.
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Week 1 Day 2
Bench press 225x6; 220x4x6; 225x2x6 RPE 6-ish every set
Belt squat 145x15; 170x2x15 RPE 5-6
DB rows 85,90,95x12 RPE 5-6
Pull-ups BWx3x12 3-4 RIR
Face pulls monster minis x3x15 3-4 RIR
Pushdowns monster minis x3x15 3-4 RIR
EZ bar curls 75x3x12 4 RIR
Something of a gym bro workout today, though the belt squats did mark a departure from that lol. Bench reps were smooth and easy, but kinda irritating that after the ‘top’ set the app only had me drop the weight by 5 pounds only to add it back on several sets later, haha.
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Nothing wrong with some gym bro action.
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Ha. Gotta take 'em to the gun show sometime, right? Pew pew pew.
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Week 1 Day 3
Deadlifts 405x5; 385,395,405,410x5 RPE 6-ish
Spoto press 205x3x6; 215x2x6 RPE 6-ish
Paused squats (1/4-way up) 225x2x5; 240,250,260x5 5-6 RPE
Military press 110,115,120x5 RPE 6
Leg curls light band x3x15 4 RIR
Fridays are for deadlifts…and bench / squat variations. Sticking with the TX power bar and no belt on the DLs since I think it’ll have some decent carryover once I switch back to the DL bar and belt up. Decided to try a twist on pause squats by pausing just as I come out of the hole instead of the traditional way of pausing at the bottom. Took a couple of light sets with 225 to get used to it, but even the top set of 260 was pretty easy. Still, it’s obvious that this variation will force me to maintain good positioning during the pause or I could end up kissing the floor. Good end to the first week.
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Week 2 Day 1
Comp squat 310x6; 295x4x6; 305,310x6 (all sets RPE 6-7 range)
Wide-grip bench press 225x2x5,230,235,240x5 RPE 6-7
Deficit DLs 375,385,395,405x4 RPE 6-7
Step-ups 115,125x2x15 3 RIR
Weighted situps 45x3x15 2-3 RIR
Decent amount of volume today. Thought eyes were playing tricks when it said 6 back-off sets, but that’s the hand I was dealt. None of the sets were hard per se in terms of effort, but damn it almost felt like a Smolov-type workout (granted the %s are way lower than that torture). Wide-grip still feels good and deficit pulls are relatively light.
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Week 2 Day 2
Comp bench 235x6; 225x3x6; 230x2x6; 235x6 RPE 6-7
Belt squat 170x15 RPE 6; 190x3x15 RPE 7
DB rows 95x12 RPE 6; 105x2x12 RPE 7
Pull-ups BWx3x12 3-4 RIR
Face pulls micro+monster mini x3x15 3-4 RIR
Pushdowns micro+monster mini x3x15 3-4 RIR
EZ bar curls 85x3x12 3 RIR
Bench and assistance work today. A lot of reps on bench and last of the back-off sets ended up being the same as the top set because the app didn’t think I was working hard enough. Think I finally have the belt squat setup figured out. Right knee was a little cranky at first but eventually felt fine as I started the second set.
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