Nate's Log

[Nate B]

Sunday, 6/13:

This is supposed to be a scheduled low stress week, but I'm going to be hiking and camping in Yellowstone all week next week and obviously won't be able to train. In the interest of not detraining too much, I didn't want to take a full blown low stress week this week when I won't be able to train at all next week, so I'm doing a low-ish/moderate stress week this week (basically amounts to simply knocking a set or two off my backoff and supplemental work) and adjust loads accordingly.

BW: 207

Comp Squat:
415x1 @ 8
340x5x3 @ 6-7

Wasn't feeling very strong today, but wasn't very surprised by this. Hit my RPE targets, though, so meaningful stimulus was achieved.

Comp Bench:
295x1 @ 8
265x5 @ 9
255x3x3 @ 6-7

Touch was a little sloppy and the pause was quick on the top single - probably wouldn't have gotten the press command in any legitimate fed tbh.

DB Bench:
90s x10x3 @ 8-9

EZ Bar Cable Curls:
110x13x2, 12x2 @ 8-9

Machine Lateral Raises:
90x15x2, 13x2 @ 8-9

[Nate B]

Monday, 6/14:

BW: 207.2

Comp DL:
525x1 @ 8
435x5x3 @ 6-7

525 felt a little heavier than last week, but still moved well on video. Backoffs felt a little more taxing than usual.

3-1-0 Tempo Bench:
275x1 @ 8
230x4x3 @ 5-6

Wenning Belt Squat:
+230x10 @ 5
+250x10 @ 6.5
+270x10x2 @ 8, 8

Low Row Machine:
+200x15x4 @ 8-9.5

It's just accessory work, but I was pretty happy to maintain 15 reps for all four sets, even if the last set was close to RPE 10

[Nate B]

Thursday, 6/17:

BW: 207.4

2ct Pause Squat:
340x4 @ 9
305x4x3 @ 6-ish

Comp Bench:
270x3 @ 8
250x5 @ 7

My left pec was painful during warmups and started cramping after the set of 250x5. Didn't feel comfortable attempting more backoffs, so I just called the session here. This day 3 bench session has been a mess lately. Kinda frustrating.

[Nate B]

Yellowstone was cool. Lots of hiking - more distance and elevation change than I was used to. Scheduled a sort of re-acclimation week to account for detraining and hiking related fatigue.

Monday, 6/28:

BW: 205.6 (kinda surprised because my nutrition was trash for most of the trip, but I guess my energy expenditure was a little greater given all the daily hiking).

Comp Squat:
410x1 @ 9
325x4x3 @ 5-6

Pretty bad overshoot on the top single. Last warmup of 385 felt more or less like RPE 6 so idk what happened. Oh well.

Comp Bench:
285x1 @ 8
225x5x3 @ 5-ish

I had planned to do some pushups while I was away but ended up doing precisely zero. Honestly expected worse than 285, so I'll take it.

DB Low Incline Bench:
75s x15, 13, 12 @ 8

Just wanted to hit somewhere between 12-15 reps per set with an RPE 8 cap. Strength dropped off quickly, but I also wasn't resting more than 2 or 3 minutes.

Straight Bar Cable Curls:
100x15x4 @ 8-9

Machine Lateral Raises (myo-reps):
90x15 @ 8, 90x5, 5, 4, 3, 3

[Nate B]

Tuesday, 6/29:

BW: 205.8

Comp DL:
515x1 @ 7.5
425x4x3 @ 5-6

Better than expected.

Floor Press:
225x6 @ 6
235x6 @ 7
245x6x2 @ 8

Hadn't done floor press in a while. Hoping that the reduced demand on my pecs might help with the off and on nagging pain and cramping I've been experiencing while still getting good pressing volume in.

Nebula Hack Squat:
+230x8 @ 5
+250x8 @ 6.5
+270x8x2 @ 8, 8.5

Never used a hack squat machine in my life, but I want to keep trying out gym toys for my supp movements while I'm still in dev blocks. Gym owner said the unloaded weight of the machine is about 100 lbs but wasn't sure, so I'm just logging added weight. 3pps ended up being about right for [email protected]

Low Row Machine:
+200x14x4 @ 8-9

[Nate B]

Thursday, 7/1:

BW: 205.6

HBBS w/ belt:
295x6 @ 6
305x6 @ 7
315x6 @ 8
305x6 @ 7

Belting up for these to keep them around -10% of my comp squat. Hoping for 325+ for the top set by the end of this block.

TnG Bench:
245x4 @ 6
255x4 @ 7.5
260x4 @ 8
245x4 @ 6.5

Didn't feel particularly strong, but my left pec felt good at least. Dropping the comp pause in this slot for a bit. Didn't think the practice was all that necessary since I'm not training a top set of 1-3 here this block.

Feet Up CGBP:
185x8 @ 5
195x8 @ 7
205x8x2 @ 8, 9

Hit a brick wall on the last set of 205x8.

[Nate B]

Friday, 7/2:

BW: 206

Conventional DL w/ belt:
385x6 @ 6
405x6 @ 7
415x6 @ 8
395x6 @ 6.5

Cycling some conventional work back in. Felt kinda weak, but I'm sure I'll improve over the course of the block. My right hip has been bothering me a bit recently, too, so I'm hoping that switching from comp sumo + sumo variation to comp sumo + conventional might help it calm down. Plus, conventional seemed to help improve my comp sumo before.

Block Bench:
245x5 @ 6
255x5 @ 7
265x5 @ 8
250x5 @ 7

Pendlay Row:
185x8
205x8 @ 6.5
225x8 @ 8, 8.5

EZ Bar Cable Curls:
100x16x2, 15x1 @ 8-9

EZ Bar Cable Triceps Pressdowns:
140x18, 17, 16 @ 9

[Nate B]

Sunday, 7/4:

BW: 206.4

Comp Squat:
410x1 @ 8.5
330x4x5 @ 5-6

Overshot again. Squats have been giving me fits recently. Really felt like I had turned a bit of a corner before I took a week off for Yellowstone. Hopefully I can build back soon.

Comp Bench:
290x1 @ 8
225x5x5 @ <5-6

Decent single and hammered the submax volume.

DB Low Incline Bench:
75s x15, 14, 12 @ 8

DB Hammer Curls:
45s x15x2, 14x2 @ 8-9

DB Lateral Raises:
25s x15x2, 13x2 @ 8-9

[Nate B]

Monday, 7/5:

BW: forgot

Comp DL:
520x1 @ 8
430x4x5 @ 5-6

My wife was having some unexpected car troubles, so she took my car out of town for the day while hers was in the shop - which meant I did my deadlifts in the shed. It was so hot and the uneven floor was very apparent after using a nice platform for the last 4 or 5 months. I was pretty happy with where my strength was given the circumstances.

Floor Press:
225x6 @ 6
235x6 @ 6.5
250x6x2 @ 8, 8.5

Nebula Hack Squat:
+230x8 @ 5
+250x8 @ 6
+270x8x2 @ 7.5, 8

Went in for a quick 9 pm session to finish these and the rows up after my wife got home. Felt a good bit easier than last time, but maybe I was just a little more rested than I normally would be.

Low Row Machine:
+200x15x2, 14x2 @ 8-9

[Nate B]

Wednesday, 7/7:

BW: 206.8

HBBS w/ belt:
305x6 @ 6.5
315x6 @ 7.5
325x6 @ 9
300x6x2 @ 6.5, 7

Got a little too ambitious here. Would've been okay with a 0.5 RPE overshoot for the top set, which should've been there, but maybe I misrated 315x6. Shouldn't be a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

TnG Bench:
245x4 @ 6
255x4 @ 7
265x4 @ 8
250x4x2 @ 7, 7

Felt a lot better this week. I think the combo of slightly lower overall benching intensity and variations that are a little easier on my chest/shoulders (floor press and block bench) are helping with the pec pain.

Feet Up CGBP:
185x8 @ 5.5
195x8 @ 7
205x8x2 @ 8, 9

[Nate B]

Thursday, 7/8:

BW: 207

Conventional DL w/ belt:
385x6 @ 5.5
405x6 @ 7
415x6 @ 8
385x6x2 @ 6, 6

Digging conventional in this secondary DL slot so far. The loads are humbling, but my hip feels better already and hopefully the posterior chain building will help my sumo (and the decreased stress on my hips and glutes will help me feel fresher for my comp sumo day and maybe my comp squat as well). I'm eyeing a meet in mid October, so depending on how my comp sumo holds up I might keep this up until I start my meet prep cycle.

Block Bench:
245x5 @ 6
255x5 @ 7
265x5 @ 8
245x5x2 @ 6.5, 7

Low Row Machine:
+230x8 @ 6
+240x8 @ 7
+250x8x2 @ 7.5, 8

Got into the gym late and wanted to home and eat at a reasonable time, so I felt like I could breeze through these machine rows faster/with less fatigue than Pendlay rows while supersetting with block bench. Kept the prescribed rep scheme.

[Nate B]

Sunday, 7/11:

BW: 207.2

Comp Squat:
415x1 @ 9
335x4x5 @ 5.5-7

Overshot the top single again - pretty annoying. Might have been a bit of a misgroove because it felt/looked like I had pretty good RPE 8 type speed out of the hole, but the bar path looked a little out in front of me and hit a sticking point a little higher up than my usual one. Plus, my last warmup of 390 felt like RPE 6 so idk. Looked on video like I might be descending a little too upright, so I corrected that for the backoffs @ 78% and they went a little easier than I expected. Probably just need to cue myself to get my hips back and my torso leaned over a tad more.

Comp Bench:
295x1 @ 8
235x5x5 @ 5-6.5

Happy with these. Hoping to get back to 300x1 @ 8 next week.

DB Low Incline Bench:
75s x14, 14, 12 @ 8

EZ Bar Cable Curls:
100x18x2, 16x2 @ 8-9

Machine Lateral Raises, myo reps:
105x12 @ 8.5
105x4, 4, 3, 3

[Nate B]

Monday, 7/5:

BW: 208.2 (been a little lax with my nutrition lately. Need to be more consistent)

Comp DL:
525x1 @ 7.5
445x4x4 @ 5.5-6.5

Smoked the top single. Week 3 or 4 in a block is typically where I'll see a jump in strength, followed by a plateau, so I wouldn't have been surprised to see this as an RPE 8, but very pleased to see a half RPE undershoot with a 5 lbs load increase from last week. Unfortunately, I started to feel the same sciatica-like pain sensation in my right glute that I was experiencing about 3 months ago on my second backoff set and worsened on subsequent sets, so I stopped at 4 sets. I'm going to dial back the load and volume on my conventional day and hope for the best. This pain kind of disrupted some good deadlift progress in the recent past, so I'm hoping I don't set myself back too much again. Might be a fools errand, but I'm also going to look critically at my programming the two times now that I've experienced this pain and look for possible patterns that might explain the flare ups - might have something to do with volume/load dosage.

Floor Press:
235x6 @ 6
245x6 @ 7
255x6x2 @ 8, 8.5

Nice little 5 lbs jump on these too.

Squat Press Machine:
+540x8 @ 5
+560x8 @ 6
+590x8x2 @ 7, 8

Decided to ditch the hack squat machine for the "squat press" leg press machine. The hack squat machine was progressively irritating my knees, even with light warmups, since I started using it regardless of where I positioned my feet on the platform - I'm 6'1" with long-ish legs, and it kinda feels like my legs are too long for the fixed path of the machine or something. 6 pps + 25 on the squat press was a nice load for top sets of RPE 7-8.

High Row Machine:
+230x12x4 @ 8-9

My usual low row machine was occupied, so I did these instead.

[Nate B]

Right glute update: Pain was very bad for the first 30 minutes or so after getting out of bed on Tuesday morning. Any sort of contraction of the glute caused sharp, pinched nerve/sciatica pain that was mostly localized to the glute (not really radiating down my thigh much if at all). Walking was difficult, basically had to limp around, not because of any radiopathy down my leg but rather because contracting my glute while taking a stride caused the pain to flare up pretty badly - probably a 7/10. Felt better as the day progressed, but would return upon standing and walking after sitting or laying down for more than a few minutes - not as bad as in the morning, though, probably a 4/10. Wednesday morning went about the same but not quite as bad - maybe a 6/10. Was able to calm it down enough to take my dogs on their morning walk, but I was definitely limping a bit. Pain was about 5/10 when starting the walk and got down to about a 3/10 by the time I got back. Gradually felt better and better while I was at work to where I wasn't walking with a limp and glute contraction while walking only caused a slight bit of discomfort. I have been able to air squat and deadlift intermittently throughout the day without issue. I'm taking my secondary high bar squats easy today, so we'll see how I feel during and after that session later this afternoon.

It's been difficult to pinpoint a cause since the pain sort of crept up both times (not due to a singular event). However, after doing some thinking and looking back at my training log, I think that overshooting my comp squat (and to a lesser extent my comp deadlift) singles in the weeks leading up to both pain events may have possibly been the culprit. I think that, out of frustration, I rated some squat overshoots @ 8.5 instead of a more honest @ 9, and that caused me to use too heavy of loads on my backoff volume work. Both times I've had this pain now, I've been in/immediately coming out of blocks where I'm pushing at least a couple backoff sets into the RPE 7 equivalent percentage range, so pushing somewhat hard.

Also, possibly incidentally, I was doing conventional deadlifts as my secondary pull leading up to both instances of this pain. Conventional was hard on my lower back in the past (partially the reason I switched to sumo as my comp pull) because I struggle to get into a good position, but I figured that not really pushing them very hard (top set [email protected]) wouldn't cause issues. I'm not ready to say that conventional deads are part of the problem, because I generally dislike kinesiophobic statements like that. I will, however, definitely try to do a better job of being more honest and conservative with my load selections on squats and deads and try to avoid chronic overshoots that mess up my backoff sets.

[Nate B]

Wednesday, 7/14:

BW: 207.2

HBBS:
225x8x3

Was able to manage 2 plates for some sets of 8. Didn't feel like I was quite hitting depth - my glute felt really tight toward the bottom of the squat. Felt decent, but didn't feel comfortable going any heavier with the tightness.

TnG Bench:
245x4 @ 6
255x4 @ 7
265x4 @ 8
250x4x2 @ 6.5, 7

Feet Up CGBP:
185x8 @ 5.5
195x8 @ 7
200x8x2 @ 8, 8.5